Are you a natural visionary, or do you have difficulty dreaming big?
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Today we are talking about how to dream big when you aren’t wired to be a big visionary thinker.
Dreaming Big
How do you dream big when you’re wired to plan small? I want to dream bigger, but I’m wired to be a support system and a servant of other people and it often leads me to dream small. Maybe you are the same way, and you aren’t comfortable with the big futuristic dreams. You’re telling yourself that since you are an operator you can’t dream big, but that’s just a lie. You can dream big, it’s just uncomfortable for people who are wired in this way.
I’ve had to work on this myself, so I wanted to share with you how I’ve broken out of this thinking.
Don’t Buy the Lie
Telling yourself that you can’t dream big is just a lie; we can dream just like anyone else! We all grew up dreaming about what we could be. Just because we are operators doesn’t mean that we have zero percent vision.
“Our mind wants to protect us into thinking small because it’s very safe.”
I am a risk averse person. I love to be second in command because it protects me as I am executing on someone else’s dream. But if we are going to be in business for ourselves we will have to lean into the same things that we are helping our visionaries with. We have to flip the script and dream bigger than we ever have before.
Finding the Time
You need time to make this happen, and because we aren’t wired this way immediately it will take us some time to settle in. The biggest struggle is that you can’t really control when these big dreams are going to come. You are not going to be able to plan this out on your calendar… it just doesn’t work that way. Know that it takes time.
Space
For me, the best dreaming has come outside of the places I frequent. I need a new environment and a new space, which allows me not to be confined to the typical things that I usually think of. If I want to think new thoughts and expand where I am, I need to leave the four walls of my office.
Leverage your community
I love hearing about other people’s businesses. I’m not looking to copy them, but I love learning about all of the options that are out there. I am part of a mastermind, which is my safe space to run to when I have big ideas. They also call me out when I’m dreaming too small. Having that community who are able to call me out and guide me when I am thinking too small is so valuable. You need a small and mighty community to lean on.
Why is dreaming a big deal?
The same thing day after day is just not going to be fulfilling long term. You also run the risk of being outpaced by your competitors. If you don’t continue to push the needle you may fall out of love with what you are doing and building.
“I am certain that your big dream becomes your vision, and your vision becomes your plan.”
We all love plans. So if you don’t have new plans that you are creating, you will get stagnant, and boredom in business is not a good combination. It is a challenge for operators to have that big visionary thinking, but it doesn’t mean you are incapable of dreaming big.
I love consistency and methodical action, but if I do it inside of my own business, I’m going to get tired of it. This will lead to monotony and will constrict where you are going long term. You have to think bigger to avoid burnout and boredom.
5 Tips to Thinking Bigger
Give yourself 5 years.
Start your thoughts with “By 2026, I will…” This puts you in a safe, defined container, but you are still able to see outside of today.
Start With You Rather Than the Business.
It’s much easier to think about what our personal life is going to look like in five years because it’s time bound. Think about you before the business and if there are things you want to accomplish in your personal life.
What Needs to Happen?
What does your business need to look like if you want to make those personal things happen? This applies specifically to a lifestyle business. What do you need to generate and what does the business need to look like? Does your business model change?
What if it Worked?
If everything went better than imagined? What success would you have? What would you accomplish? What would your business look like?
Don’t go directly to planning.
Sit with this big vision for a few weeks or months. When you feel like you can finally voice this new vision, then you can start planning. When it starts to feel safe, put the plans in writing and they will become more powerful once you get to the point where you can speak them.
“Give yourself the space and grace to create the dream before you start breaking it down.”
Weekly Ops Activity
Come into our facebook group and let us know… if everything went according to plan, what is one success that you would have in the next 5 years of your business?
Episode Sponsor:
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