How high is your vision?

"The only person that can put a limit on yourself is you."
Michael Phelps
14-time Olympic Gold Medalist

When Michael Phelps was 11 years old, he had a vision. His vision, as he recently shared at the 2010 GNC Franchise Convention, was to be an Olympic Gold medalist. It wasn't enough to just be able to compete at the Olympics. It was more detailed than that. It was so specific that Michael wanted to achieve the pinnacle of perfection and reward in his sport. He surrounded himself with excellent coaches, trainers and he had a support system through his family that helped shape and mold his talent into the greatest swimmer of all time.

Do you have a vision? This can be personal or it can be part of your business environment. Either way, what do you see when you look into the future? If you see nothing, then you are well on your way to a life of ease and you should be able to coast all the way in. Do you surround yourselves with a network of success or negativity? Is it intentional? Are you always in a position where you are drug down and bad things happen to you all the time? Or are you in a position where you are lifted up, given the support of your piers, and have Lady Luck visit you so much you are on her speed dial?

Tomorrow, look at everyone around you. If they are negative, why? What benefit are they to you or your organization? If they are positive, are they having enough of an effect on you to keep you motivated and positive on the hard road ahead? Or are they dragging you down and getting in the way of success? I'm not talking about a wholesale reduction of all your friends, family and co-workers. But if you are putting yourself in a position to be around negativity all the time, what does that say about you?

Chances are you have your vision set too low or you don't have one at all. It's not that you lack a certain drive and determination. It's that you have no clue where you're going. You need some kind of map or outline. If you want to climb Mt. Everest, you gotta start walking. And do a lot of it! And take along one of those Sherpas who are skilled in mountain climbing.

Write your vision down. Break it down into manageable, meaningful targets so you can track your progress. Follow up at least on a weekly basis until you see some progress. You will not achieve it overnight. It took Michael Phelps 12 years for his vision to become a reality.

How high is your vision?