I read in the book “The Answer” by John Assaraf a line that said, and I am paraphrasing: “…to build a successful business, you have to begin with the aspect that nobody sees, The Vision. The seed of your business is your vision. You need the power and the precision of an idea. You have to become an expert in creating the seed of what you want with great precision.”

Many times we focus on how to do things, perhaps thinking that’s our answer, only to find out that it is not. It is true, that you have to learn how to do a lot of things that will be crucial for the success of your business. But the real key to create the business of your dreams, is in the clarity and the strength of your vision, The Seed. The “how” always comes after the vision is clear and the decision to act on that vision drives you.

My example is a classic. As an engineer, I wanted to know all the nuts and bolts, on how to build a business in general, and then how to build a real estate brokerage. I developed a classic case of analysis-paralysis, where there’s a lot of reading and studying, but not a whole lot of action or implementation. Eventually, I built a small business, but without a clear vision. Once I became comfortable with what I had built, the business became stagnant and I lost the passion for it. Why? Because I did not have a vision of where to go next. Heck, I didn’t have a vision period! My business was drifting and without structure. After realizing, thanks in part to this book, what I needed to do, I hunkered down and began working on my vision.

The outlook of my business today is very different than what it used to be. The goals and aspirations for me and my business were all derived off of my vision. I’m glad I did this and I invite you to do the same. To sit down and really think what you want out of life. Think about what makes you happy or better yet, when you see yourself in the future, happy and accomplished what does that feel like. Write down a description of those feelings and sentiments. Then put it together into a two or three sentence statement which you will call “My Vision.”

One last thing. Don’t forget that this is work-in-progress. Always come back to adjust it as you grow.