Many years ago I listened to the audio book, “Fish Tales.” This is an incredible story about John Yokoyama, the owner of the Seattle Pikes Place fish market and how he took it from a struggling work place, where staff fights and employee walk-outs were the norm to the financially successful, world-famous fish market that it is today.
Do you know what he attributed his success to? Connecting his staff to a unified purpose. He did this by working with his staff to identify their mission/vision.
They decided that they wanted to be “world famous.” But not just in terms of being known throughout the world. Their inspiration was to interact with customers in a way that made a world famous difference for each and every customer – regardless of whether they bought fish or not.
Pick up most any book on building a thriving business and you will find this is one of the key ingredients to business success. This same concept applies to creating financial success in your personal life.
Many people are familiar with the idea of writing a vision or mission for a business but not for their personal lives. In case you’re not familiar let me give you two very simple definitions: A vision provides you with a visual image of what you’re striving towards. A mission connects you with your life’s purpose.
Creating Our Own Vision
During a camping trip several years ago I asked my husband, “Would you be willing to work with me to create a mission/vision for our marriage and our financial life?” He agreed.
What could our vision be? We wondered. During an afternoon hike we brainstormed ideas. We agreed that we wanted our vision to be simple. Finally, after much discussion we came up with our vision, to be a “world-class winning team.”
This is what our vision means to us: My husband and I strive to be a winning team when it comes to handling our finances and communicating as a couple. Here’s one example of how this mission/vision has guided us in our relationship.
Using Our Vision as a Guiding Force in Our Lives
I remember shortly after we created our vision we had a disagreement. I was upset with my husband, certain that I was right, and he was wrong.
However, in a brief moment of clarity I said a quick prayer asking for how to best approach our conversation. Immediately, the following thought entered my mind, “How would a team player handle this situation right now?” The answer came to me.
“A team player would remain calm, hear her husband’s point of view, and yet speak her truth as well, without blame or judgment.” I immediately implemented my inspiration.
The outcome amazed me. While I still felt tension as we discussed the issue, but I didn’t react or blame, which in turn had a calming affect on my husband. He became more understanding and less defensive.
Don’t get me wrong; we don’t always have the clarity of mind to take the high road. However, when we feel stuck we often ask ourselves, “How would a winning team handle this particular situation?” As a result of continually asking this question, we gain new insight and direction.
How Does This Apply to You?
What is the vision you have for your life and financial situation? Think about this as you go about your day. What do you want to accomplish, and how do you want to affect others? Powerful visions begin with how we act as individuals and end with how we can affect the world, even in small ways. A vision gives you something to strive towards.
And remember, it doesn’t mean you have to be perfect, it just means that you commit to keep showing up and staying the course each day.
Leslie Cunningham specializes in working with women entrepreneurs who experience fear and self-doubt in their ability to consistently make more money in their business. The end result that women achieve through following Leslie's advice and expertise is that they are able to permanently get off the emotional financial roller coaster ride and break into six-figures and beyond. http://impactandprofits.com/