Envision Your Success

By Michael Bucci

A few decades ago, Steve Jobs had what he called "an insanely great idea," which was the foundation of Apple Computers and became the foundation of the personal computer software business. Bill Gates took that vision and turned it into Windows, all while making himself into the richest man in the world.

ideas start in the imagination

Imagination is the workshop of the mind. It has been said that man can achieve anything he is able to envision. Men have imagined many things that most thought impossible. That is, until someone proved them wrong and made it happen.
At the end of the 19th century, science fiction novels spoke of rocket ships and man setting foot on the moon. The stuff of fiction and over-imaginative minds, thought most people. Lo and behold, man not only sent rocket ships to the moon, he walked on it. How was that possible? Because man imagined it -- and then made it reality.

focus your imagination

The imagination is a fun thing. We can imagine that we are floating in midair or jumping over tall buildings. In fact, our imagination gives us carte blanche to visualize almost anything we wish.

However, it is important to understand that in order to become successful, you must learn to focus your imagination on building the plans that will turn your thoughts into something tangible.

If you are to succeed in life, you will need to plan a path to achievement. If you want to become the next Larry Ellison, you'll need to have a solid plan to get started and achieve your objectives. Realize that the plan will not be in some book, but rather it will lie in your imagination, waiting for you to extract it and make it a reality.

be the architect

Proper use of your imagination will allow you to mold the world around you. You must learn to use your imagination to take the factors that surround you into account (money, people, information, etc.), to come up with novel ways of building the necessary plans.

Remember, ideas start with the imagination. If you're able to look around you and see the opportunities available, you are one step ahead of the game.

When Bill Gates stated his long-term vision for Microsoft of "a computer on every desktop," most in the computer industry laughed at him and his far-fetched statement.

What they didn't realize at the time is that Mr. Gates had imagined a future where his vision was reality. Furthermore, he looked around him and thought long and hard about how he could make his idea a reality. His thoughts led to what is often called "The Microsoft Way."

To be really successful you must learn to mix imagination with decision. Read on!

where there's a will

You might wait for something to happen, and wait forever you will. You can imagine yourself starting your own company, hiring employees, buying computers, etc. until the cows come home. But all that imagining won't give you anything unless you make a decision to make it happen.

This sounds obvious doesn't it? Perhaps it does, but most people never take the first step -- which is the hardest part. You might have a great idea; as a matter of fact, you might have come up with the best plan the world has ever seen. To live your dream, however, there is one thing you must do if you want others to actually see your idea -- start executing your plan!

Why is the first step so difficult to take? In most cases it's because you are looking at everything that you must do to make your plan work. Faced with such a workload, it's difficult to get started.

The trick is to look at your job as a series of smaller jobs. This way the workload will seem more achievable and you'll have a better sense of the tasks at hand rather than simply facing one large, near impossible task.

establish a definite timeline

Now that you've established your plan and have taken the first step to start executing that plan, there is another important factor that needs to be considered -- you must have a timeline.

If you imagine your company having $1 million in sales at some point, you will have to set a date by which you will aim to achieve your goal. The purpose of setting a timeline is to pace yourself and your organization. If you see that you're on track to breaking your projections, then make new, more ambitious ones that will propel you to even greater heights.

If you are not hitting your targets, then you should modify your plan -- imaginatively of course -- in order to get back on track and achieve your targets.

life is short

Tell yourself that what you're envisioning is something that you really want in life. Don't procrastinate; make your dreams come true today . Come up with a plan of action and execute it. If you wait for "one day...", it will be too late and your dreams will remain in your subconscious, while reality passes you by.