Ever put together a jigsaw puzzle? Have you tried your jigsaw puzzles without using the picture on the lid? Why does it make it easier when we use the picture on the lid? Because, we can see where we’re going. We can see what’s possible. What a powerful and useful concept for jigsaw puzzles.

    This is also a very powerful and useful concept in business planning and personal planning. You see, our businesses and our lives are also made up of many small pieces -- places to go, things to do, people to see, hours, minutes, months and days. The way we assemble the pieces determines our destiny.

    This is not an easy job. Our life’s jigsaw puzzle has over 50 million pieces! Lots more complicated than that of our parents or grandparents. Just this year, most of us will:

• go more places,
• do more things,
• spend more money,
• meet more people, and
• travel more miles

    If you can articulate a clear vision of your preferred future, focusing on those areas that are important to you and to your business, that vision becomes the picture on the lid. That clear vision allows you to set goals in the direction of your preferred future. That vision provides motivation, energy, purpose and direction. It certainly helps you to communicate with the people around you. You'll use the statement of clear vision in all your upcoming planning sessions.

    Starting with a clear vision of what’s possible helps you answer the question we must ask ourselves each day -- why are we doing this piece of work and is it taking us where we need to go? Many people continuously work on business or personal tasks that are leading nowhere. I believe Thoreau could have been referring to those people when he wrote:

“the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation”.

    If you’re puzzled about how to thrive in the face of relentless, accelerating change, remember this breakthrough strategy. Develop a clear vision of your preferred future, then get laser focused on the key activities that will take you in that direction.