You have a plan, you have to-do lists, and you are always one step ahead, asking “What’s next?” “What’s the next step?” But over the weekend, as I talked to a lot of creatives, the thing I didn’t hear often was, “I give myself time to think about what I really want to do, and then plan a path to get there, then evaluate it.”
Just a Dream by Enrico Agostoni
That part where we dream a plan, try it on, see if it fits, revise it, and then create it, that part is often missing.
We decide one step ahead, we do it. We do a lot of moving ahead, actions, pushing forward, but there is not often time to dream and then re-shape the dream into a plan that makes sense for what we want.
We listen to clients, we listen to our budget, we listen to safety. We compare our dream to the success we wish we had, and we always fall short.
When was the last time you sat down and asked yourself what you wanted, what you are really good at, what you ache to do? In fact, have you ever asked yourself that? We do what we have to, we put our shoulder to the wheel and our nose to the grindstone. And it’s awfully hard to have vision that way.
Not every vision is a great one, or even a good one. But every vision deserves the time it takes to think it through. And often, we don’t give it that. We just do the next thing that needs doing–laundry, a marketing plan, bill paying, equipment buying. And while that jumbled order gets something done, it’s often not the work we are called to do.
There are many ways to build a business, but the first step is to have a vision. A complete vision. One that you can describe and explain. And that’s the wonderful place to start. Write it down. Because if you don’t, it won’t be there tomorrow for you to create.
—Quinn McDonald spent time on an airplane, dreaming.
QuinnCreative 