The Vision Quest Chronicles: Tales of Living One's Vision

At the “Taking Your Dreams from Design to Destiny” Conference on Jan. 15, 2011 participants were given an opportunity to go through the 7 steps below  to create a draft of their Success Plan to take it to the next level in 2011!  We started on 1.12.11 with step 1 (see below  post dated 1.12.11). Over the next several  weeks I am going to continue to share the  SEVEN Practical Steps to achieving your goals and ultimately your Vision of Success.   This week we are on Step 5. Updates will occur on Wednesdays  in celebration of Women Owned Business Wednesdays.

SEVEN Practical Steps to Achieving Your Goals

Step 1-Find and Clarify your Vision of Success

Step 2-Define Your Goals Clearly

Step 3-See/Visualize Yourself Achieving Your Goals/Vision of Success

Step 4-Make a Clear Plan With a Timeline

Step 5-Chart your Progress

 Step 6-Enjoy Your Success!

Step 7-Give Back.

This Week’s Step: #-5- Chart your Progress

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said “Heights by great men (and woman) reached and kept were not obtained by sudden flight but, while their companions slept, they were toiling upward in the night.”

It is important to establish a time to check your progress.  Pick a day once a week or once a month and read your plan and see if you are on schedule.  If you need to change something do so, and be realistic.  If something has changed and you no longer have as much time as you did when you wrote your plan then you need to change your plan.  Also be honest with yourself.  Visions and goals can change.  If you find that you no longer really want this thing do not be afraid to change your plan.  When you achieve one goal on your plan give yourself a treat.  If this week you were supposed to complete 2 loan applications  and you did then reward yourself with something you enjoy like going to the park or the movies. 

If you did not achieve a weekly goal, for example, do not beat yourself up.  Think about what might have stopped you and how you might prevent this from happening next week.  Could you  accomplish this goal later?  If so then just move the goal to the next week and try again.  Don’t be discouraged.  If your plan is making you feel frustrated or too pressured then give yourself a bit more time.

Try these Success Coaching Exercises…

Get a Goal Buddy

Many experts suggest setting goals with a buddy, someone to share your plans with and who will help you check your progress.  For example you could tell your buddy that you will read one book by Friday and she may need to do one job application by that same day.  Then call each other and ask if you have done the task.  Talk about why or why not and encourage each other to keep going and reward your success with compliments and encouragement.

Book Ending

Just pick a friend, doesn’t have to be an established “goal buddy” just call them up and tell them you are committing to taking a certain step or action toward your vision or goal. Tell them when you are going to do it and then call them back after you have accomplished the goal. It’s a shorter term exercise and you don’t need to have a goal buddy who is always the same…just pick any friend who you know supports your visions.

If you have a comment or question drop me a line at Dr.Cutts@nicolecutts.com

Much Continued Success & Well Being,

Nicole

Nicole Cutts, Ph.D., CEO

Vision Quest Retreats & Cutts Consulting, LLC

Are you a Woman Business Owner? Check out Women Owned Business Wednesdays! 

At the “Taking Your Dreams from Design to Destiny” Conference on 1.15.11 participants were given an opportunity to go through the 7 steps below  to create a draft of their Success Plan to take it to the next level in 2011!  We started on 1.12.11 with step 1 (see below post dated 1.12.11). Over the next several  weeks I am going to continue to share the SEVEN Practical Steps to achieving your goals and ultimately your Vision of Success.   This week we are on Step 4. Updates will occur on Wednesdays  in celebration of Women Owned Business Wednesdays.

SEVEN Practical Steps to Achieving Your Goals

Step 1-Find and Clarify your Vision of Success

Step 2-Define Your Goals Clearly

Step 3-See/Visualize Yourself Achieving Your Goals/Vision of Success

Step 4-Make a Clear Plan With a Timeline

Step 5-Chart your Progress

 Step 6-Enjoy Your Success!

Step 7-Give Back.

This Week’s Step: #-4-Make a Clear Plan With a Timeline

Napoleon Hill said “A goal is a dream with a deadline”

Once you have defined your goal and written it down and visualized your success you must outline a concrete plan with steps to achieving this goal and your overall vision of success.  Use the ideal scenario that you wrote and then pulled goals from. These goals are what you will place in your plan. Consider breaking your plan down into 5 year goals, 1 year goals, 6 months, 3 months and 1 month achievements. After completing this plan you can do weekly goals that will put you on schedule for all of the other timeline goals. Be realistic here so you don’t get discouraged. 

Check to see that your goals are in line with and build upon each other.  For example if in 5 years you plan to be out of college then at one year you need to have been accepted to a school and at 6 months you need to have applied to a school.  It is unrealistic to say that you will finish a four year college in 2 years, but it is also unrealistic to say you will finish a 4-yr college in 10 years if you never apply!

Try this Success Coaching Exercise…

Pull 3 goals from the work you did in steps 1 & 2.  Just circle them then write them down. Decide for each goal when you would like to accomplish it. Then one at a time break that goal down into smaller steps and put due dates on those smaller steps keeping in mind realistic impediments but still pushing yourself a bit. Once you have done that for these 3 goals repeat for all others. This is  a draft so be flexible and move things around. Don’t get discouraged and don’t try to accomplish it all at once.

If you have a comment or question drop me a line at Dr.Cutts@nicolecutts.com

Much Continued Success & Well Being,

Nicole

Nicole Cutts, Ph.D., CEO

Vision Quest Retreats & Cutts Consulting, LLC

Are you a Woman Business Owner? Check out Women Owned Business Wednesdays! 

At the “Taking Your Dreams from Design to Destiny” Conference on 1.15.11 participants were given an opportunity to go through the 7 steps below  to create a draft of their Success Plan to take it to the next level in 2011!  We started on 1.12.11 with step 1 (see below post dated 1.12.11). Over the next several  weeks I am going to continue to share the SEVEN Practical Steps to achieving your goals and ultimately your Vision of Success.   This week we are on Step 3. Updates will occur on Wednesdays  in celebration of Women Owned Business Wednesdays.

SEVEN Practical Steps to Achieving Your Goals

Step 1-Find and Clarify your Vision of Success

Step 2-Define Your Goals Clearly

Step 3-See/Visualize Yourself Achieving Your Goals/Vision of Success

Step 4-Make a Clear Plan With a Timeline

Step 5-Chart your Progress

 Step 6-Enjoy Your Success!

Step 7-Give Back.

This Week’s Step: #3- See/Visualize Yourself Achieving Your Goals/Vision of Success

Before setting off on the path to your own success you must first be able to see yourself achieving your success.  You must believe that you can do it.

As motivational speaker Dr. Cherie Carter-Scott states “Ordinary people believe only in the possible. Extraordinary people visualize not what is possible or probable, but rather what is impossible. And by visualizing the impossible, they begin to see it as possible.”   

One way to do this is through Creative Visualization. “Creative Visualization is the technique of using your imagination to create what you want in your life.” Shakti Gawain

During Creative visualization your imagination or ability to create a mental image, idea or picture in your mind is used to create an image of something or situation that you want to manifest or create. Many experts suggest keeping pictures of the goals that you want to achieve.  It is more powerful if you have a picture of yourself in this situation.

Try these Success Coaching Exercises…

1) Writing affirmations or statements of what you wish to do is a useful tool for this step.  For example you would write “I am a successful college professor, I love my job and my students love learning from me.”  Really put as many details as you can, really imagine what you will feel like when you are living your vision of success and write this all down. Put these affirmations were you can see them.

2) Make a Vision Board or Treasure Map  

3) Try the Pink Bubble Technique

If you have a comment or question drop me a line at Dr.Cutts@nicolecutts.com

Much Continued Success & Well Being,

Nicole

Nicole Cutts, Ph.D., CEO

Vision Quest Retreats & Cutts Consulting, LLC

Are you a Woman Business Owner? Check out Women Owned Business Wednesdays! 

At the “Taking Your Dreams from Design to Destiny” Conference on 1.15.11 participants were given an opportunity to go through the 7  steps below and to create a draft of their Success Plans to take it to the next level in 2011!  We started last week with step 1(see above post date 1.12.11). Over the next six weeks I am going to continue to share the SEVEN practical steps to achieving your goals and ultimately your Vision of Success.   This week we are on Step 2.

Step 1-Find and Clarify your Vision of Success

Step 2-Define Your Goals Clearly

Step 3-See/Visualize Yourself Achieving Your Goals/Vision of Success

Step 4-Make a Clear Plan With a Timeline

Step 5-Chart your Progress

 Step 6-Enjoy Your Success!

Step 7-Give Back.

This Week’s Step: #2-Define your Goal Clearly

Not all wishes are goals.  Goals must be:

A)  Realistic, something you can achieve. 

B)   You must deeply desire your goal.  Napoleon Hill, the author of “Think and Grow Rich” said. “The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat.”

C) A goal must be clearly defined.  Shakti Gawain in her book “Creative Visualization,” states, “As soon as I have a very clear, strong intention to create a particular thing, it manifests almost immediately… 

Writing your goals down is very important and gives them more power than just thinking or imagining your success.

Try this Success Coaching Exercise…

Using your ideal scenario from step 1 pull out concrete goals that must be achieved to complete your ideal vision of success. For example if your ideal scenario said something like ” I have a successful thriving business that sells antiques.” then one goal might be “secure loan” or “rent store” or “get certification as an antiques dealer” You get the picture. Don’t worry about the timeline for accomplishing these milestones yet…that comes later. For now just write down your goals and read them to yourself.

If you have a comment or question drop me a line at Dr.Cutts@nicolecutts.com

Much Continued Success & Well Being,

Nicole

Nicole Cutts, Ph.D., CEO Vision Quest Retreats & Cutts Consulting, LLC

If you could become anything you wanted, or accomplish anything you wanted in life, what would it be? What can YOU do to make this happen? Are you doing these things? (If not, why not?)  

G*ddess Unites with Her Vision (2007)

Many people will tell you, you can be anything you want or if you can see it that you can be it, but what they might not tell you is HOW.  What can you do to reach your goals in life? Sometimes you might be frustrated because you don’t know what you want to be or sometimes you do and you can’t see how you can ever get there.  Sometimes you feel overwhelmed because you know what needs to be done but you need help or you don’t know how to do it.

Today I am going to share SEVEN practical stepsto achieving your goals and ultimately your Vision of Success.  These are techniques used by women and men who have been successful in their chosen careers and life paths.

Step 1-Find and Clarify your Vision of Success

Step 2-Define Your Goals Clearly

Step 3-See/Visualize Yourself Achieving Your Goals/Vision of Success

Step 4-Make a Clear Plan With a Timeline

Step 5-Chart your Progress

Step 6-Enjoy Your Success!

Step 7-Give Back.

Step 1-Find and Clarify your Vision of Success: Some successful people have always known what they have wanted to be, but many of us do not.  Some people do not discover their true passion until later in life and some never do.  If you do not yet know what you want to be that’s okay but there are ways to find out.  Some examples are…Ask yourself what you are good at.  Ask yourself what you enjoy doing.  If you do not know the answer to these questions then pay attention to what you feel and think when you hear people talk about their visions or when you see people on TV or read about them in books.  What draws your interest? Write all of this down in a journal.  Talk to your friends about their goals and dreams.  Ask questions of people who do the things that you think you might like to do.  Follow your instincts and when they tell you  something DO IT, even if this means earning less money, volunteering, taking an internship etc. If you are searching for your passion let money come later…believe in abundance!

Once you start following your instincts your vision will become more clear. Write down your Vision or Ideal Scenario for your life. Don’t worry if it’s not totally clear or if it doesn’t seem to make sense. Just write down as much as is clear. 

Use these suggested headings to guide you or choose your own. 

• Work/Career
• Lifestyle/Possessions
• Relationships
• Personal/Spiritual Growth
• Physical Health

Once you have articulated your Vision of Success you are ready to move on to Step 2-Define Your Goals Clearly (Please come back next week prepared to move on to step 2) If you just can’t wait there is still time to register for this Saturday’s “Taking Your Dreams from Design to Destiny” Women’s Conference where participants will get a chance to go through the above steps and create a Success Plan to take into 2011!

Much Continued Success & Well Being,

Nicole

Nicole Cutts, Ph.D., CEO Vision Quest Retreats & Cutts Consulting, LLC

202.669.5777

Women Owned Business Wednesday was established in conjunction with the “Taking Your Dreams from Design to Destiny” Women’s Conference to be held Jan. 15, 2011

In support of the mission of this conference; helping women clarify and achieve their visions of success in a context of prosperity, WOB Wednesdays (WOBWs) supports and celebrates women owned businesses.

What are we doing?

1) Vision Quest Retreats is offering discounted registration of $50 (regularly $60) to all women business owners on every Wednesday starting December 1 until the conference Saturday January 15, 2011.

2) We are also promoting the women business owners who take advantage of this special registration by putting them “on blast” wherever we promote the “Taking Your Dreams from Design to Destiny” Women’s Conference 2011  i.e. conference website, newsletters, blogs, social media sites, radio and TV interviews.

How can you get involved?

1) Spread the word by inviting women business owners to “LIKE” the WOBWs Facebook Page.

2) Post information about your favorite women business owners (yourself included) who are doing big things with their businesses on the WOBWs Facebook page, on this blog or Vision Quest Retreats Facebook page. Don’t be shy. Start promoting your business today. Tell us about the big things you are doing!

Do you have some favorite women owned businesses? Let them know by posting their info on WOBWs Page.

Much Continued Success & Well Being,

Nicole, Founder WOBWs

CEO, Vision Quest Retreats & Cutts Consulting, LLC

Who is on Your Team?

I was meeting with Ananda Leeke and Marie Isabell Laurion; two of the women in what I call my Vision Circle the other day and we were discussing ways to support other women business owners and entrepreneurs. Ananda mentioned some of the women who are on her “team” and we got to talking about paying attention to who supports us and who we support. This got me to thinking about who is on my team. Whose businesses do I choose to support and who supports me in mine? I think it’s important to examine who we have on our team. What values do they hold, what aspect of us and our vision do they support? Do I have the right people on my team with the right energy, the energy that is aligned with my values and my vision? Who we pick for our team is important because they support us on the road of living our vision. 

So let’s look at my Team roster…

My Team

I’m a pretty visual person so I made a sketch of who’s on my team. I drew a circle with me in the middle and drew lines and other bubbles around me with the different aspects of my life written in the middle, then I put the names and positions of the team members around these circles. By the way, they are not all women…that’s not what matters. What matters is who we choose to have on our team and why. One thing I discovered from this little exercise was that I have a pretty extensive team! My other discovery was how good I feel about the people and entities on my team. I have a lot of support!

Try This: Make a pictorial representation of who is on your team. After you do this take a look and assess the extent to which your team members support your Vision of Success. You may find you need more players or that you have the wrong folks on the team and they need to be cut and replaced. Maybe you will find you have a bigger source of support than you thought. 

So who’s on your team? Drop me a line and share your discoveries!

Much Continued Support, Success and Well Being!

Nicole

Important P.S. the sketch above represents only a partial listing of my team!