Running You Incorporated: Visioning

This is not a course on Narcissism. This is serious investing stuff :-p

Why does a person need a vision? It is tied to what I said about A*PISS*PASS (Age, Primary Income Source Stream and Passion). Having a vision in life will keep you driven, and will provide a direction for you.

What is a vision? It is something that you ultimately want to be. Being rich is not a vision. It is an ambition bordering on daydreaming. Everyone wants to be rich, and this is precisely why a majority of us are poor. Being rich is a vague statement, what's your mission statement then? Buy a car, buy a house, buy an island?

Of course, telling you to make a vision for yourself sounds more like preaching than teaching. Not everyone can come up with a vision statement. Some spheres in your life can provide clues for you. Look at your career, maybe you want to be the top honcho one day. Look at your private life, maybe you want to be a popular singer one day? What about your social inclinations? Probably you might want to be able serve others some day by being a social worker?

A vision has to be exact in nature. You should be able to picture it in your head. A good reason for having a vision? Well it will answer your question of whether you have succeeded in life or not. Let's say you don't have a vision, and you're already the Regional Manager of a multinational company. You might still blindingly work and attempt to be a Global Director or something along those ranks.

What if all you've wanted was just to be a Regional Manager? While some people may dispute that we are generally a creature of intense greed, that we are insatiable and always want the next bigger pie, there are successful people who knows that they have reached their peak, and that it's time to do something else.

Going back to my example, a better vision statement, instead of "I want to be rich" is to say "I want to be a good provider such that my wife need not go to work anymore and can stay at home and take care of the kids". Please don't construe that as a sexist remark. :)

Or, if you are single, "I want to be able to live on my own without the support of my parents".

Or, if you are business-y, "I want to be a successful restaurateur in the (insert type of food service here)".

There are volumes of books out there that talk about personal improvement. There are few ones though, that tell you that personal financial success is very much tied up to your personal attitude and mindset of life in general. My blog espouses that.