Being there is not a reference to the Jerzy Kosinski’s book and movie “Being There” starring Peter Sellers, instead we are speaking about how we can train our brains and bodies to get us to where it is we say we want our future to be. Simply put “Being There is How We Get There”. Let’s explain using what we have all heard from many sports and entertainment figures: “When I was young I would dream of making the last shot in a basketball game to win the championship”. Or, “I dreamed about hitting a home run to end the baseball game”. Or, “I was being awarded an Academy Award for Best Actress in a movie, all to outrageous applause and cheers”. If you talked with anyone who has had this kind of vision about their lives, you will learn that they are not at all surprised by what others might call a spectacular feat. They have lived with the actual event in their heads and hearts for many years.
Being There is How We Get There
We all can agree that predicting the future, even with the use of big data, is nearly impossible and yet if we can imagine ourselves in our future condition, we recognize what it will take to get us there. Looking back from this view we learn how hard we will need to work and practice on being our future self. Our focus changes as we become clear about our purpose (our “why”). So we now know two of the steps of getting where you want to be: 1) Have a vision. And 2) See what it takes to get there. Now comes the most difficult part.
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Staying on Purpose: The difference between Being There and a Dream
We’ve all had dreams that were grand, where we saw our future lives as fantastically rewarding, full of success and blessings. But life has not turned out that way. Well, nothing is guaranteed. As we are never too old to have a dream or an aspiration for ourselves, what is required is our being imaginative and allowing own brains and bodies to relax a bit. (Meditation is great for this.)
You need to work hard to stand out!
So you have a vision. You see what it takes to get there. Now…
- Discover what is required of you, the practices you will need to adopt and who you will need to be for other people.
- Take action on this vision and don’t be a spectator of your own life. If you are basketball player then always be shooting. (“Putting the work in every single day, being creative with the work that you’re doing,” says Steve Kerr, Coach of the Golden State Warriors and historically the game’s best 3 point shooter ever.) If you are a photographer, take tons of pictures etc. Not everything we do will result in a success, there can be a lot of disappointments. Use these disappointments and “mistakes” as motivation for moving forward.
- Stay on purpose. Because we are ourselves, we have difficulty in seeing how and what we are doing. Without the support of others we can easily stray and even give up. To avoid dreams gone bad (#DGB), be a glutton for feedback and find a good personal or executive coach who will hold you accountable for your vision. Have the words “I WILL” be the first thing you say to yourself each morning and leave nothing to Chance.
