I just finished watching the movie “Taken”. IMDB’s synopsis of the movie describes it thus:

A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who was kidnapped on a trip to Paris to be sold into prostitution.

One of the most memorable quotes in this film is when Liam Neeson speaks to the captures and says:

I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.

At this point he goes and does what he does best. Fights his way through an army of thugs, dirty cops and rich villains to try and save his daughter.

I found myself thinking and feeling he is the man that every man wants to be. He stops at nothing to protect his family and anyone who comes between him and his family will suffer. He is singular in purpose, passionate about his family and never gives up. The biggest difference between Bryan (Liam Neeson) and most men I know is that Bryan spent years training as a CIA operative. He sacrificed his wife, marriage and family for his country. As the move starts his wife is married to another man and Bryan has almost no relationship with his daughter. He sacrificed his whole life to attain the skills that we watch and marvel at through out this film. While he was on his journey to save his daughter I wasn’t thinking about what attaining these skills cost him. I didn’t think, “Yeah, he might get his daughter back but, it cost him his whole life.” It cost him 12 years of his daughters life and his marriage to be able to step in and make the bad guys pay for 3 days.

Is it worth it?
In the moment of being able to accomplish this task I’m guessing yes it is worth it, but should we sacrifice our whole lives on the chance that one day we may have to step in and kick 50 bad guys asses and save our family? I find my self asking the question, how would it be different if he’d been more available and not lost his wife, marriage and relationship with his daughter? Would his daughter even have been put in that situation if he’d been around more, if he’d been there? What would it look like?

It is easy to see how Liam’s character is a hero and very easy to admire this character. We find it easy to see extraordinary men step up and be their best self in extraordinary circumstances and think wouldn’t it be awesome to be that guy. I’d like to put a quote in here, but I can’t find the source to quote so I’d like to paraphrase a quote I hear once and I don’t know where it comes from. ‘The degree to which we put another person on a pedestal is the degree to which we let our self not be extraordinary in our own way’.

Essentially, its easy to step up when our world is coming to an end, but we don’t put the same value on being extraordinary every day when our world is not in crisis. The most recent example of this I watched was BOATLIFT – An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18lsxFcDrjo). In this documentary we see how half a million people were evacuated from lower Manhattan during 9/11. I thought well its easy to get organized when there is a clear objective and goal and the world is ending and nothing else matters. What about when our lives are going well, good, great, or awesome? Even the opening frame of the film is a quote, “A hero is a man who does what he can” – Romain Rolland. Note: the quote makes no mention of the circumstances around this action just that a man does what he can. Please know that I do find the Boatlift story inspiring and an amazing tail of human greatness, what I wonder is why don’t we do this when there isn’t a disaster to deal with.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to see a movie about a guy who day after day gives his best self to him self, his family, his friends and his community. A movie where a man does what he can to ensure that his world is taken care of. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just a great husband who loves his wife and family. Nothing remarkable about him except that he is an essential part to his thriving community. Nothing god-like about this man except his great heart and spirit which he generously shares with anyone who needs it. While I find it awesome to admire a man who can do physically stunning feats and kick ass I believe that it is better to be a man within your self, a man within your family, a man within your community and a man within the world.

Imagine the movie of your life. You are on your death bed, your family and loved ones are gathered around you and smiling. Through a series of flashbacks we see you at various ages and periods of your life. In the present day where you are living your last moments each person smiles and thanks you, there are only tears of joy and gratitude. The people around honor you and tell you that your work is done, that you are the greatest man they have known. You are: “The Man we all want to be.” My question is what did you do in each of these flashbacks? Who were you and who are you that people gather to honor you and to thank you for your service?

To all of you men who are practicing this life being the man you want to be I honor you. Continue your work we need more like you.

To those that are called to step up at this point: Congratulations! Welcome it is good to have you with us.

To the women: For every man you know if he takes an action, makes a choice or any time he is the best man he can be, TELL HIM! Let him know how his choices and actions are the actions of a great man, let him know what it means to you to have someone like him in your life.

I look forward to 2012 – The Year of the man we want to be!

P.S – There is a movie about a man who day after day does his best to be his best. If you havn’t seen it yet is is popular around christmas and is called “Its A Wonderful Life”

I know what your thinking: “Next Stage Jevon? We haven’t heard from you in months and now you have a next stage?”

Yes I do.

I’ve made many choices this year which have altered the course of my travels, and although my destination remains unchanged the path has. Starting this July I will begin a 10 month program on personal and executive coaching. While this is a new program for me it ends up being a continuation of the work I started 2 years ago, but moves out of being strictly facilitation and broadens the tool selection at my disposal. Also by the completion of this program I will be eligible to be certified by the International Coach Federation (http://www.coachfederation.org/)

I’m looking forward to the final leg in this journey and would like to begin this stage by thanking all of you who have supported me so far on my journey. It is through working with all of you that I have traveled this far and experienced so much. I could not ask for better traveling companions and from my heart thank you all.

So here is to the next stage of the journey, to all of you who have been there before, and to all of those who have yet to join me.

Salut!

There is a Buddhist saying, “If you want to know your past, look into your present conditions. If you want to know your future, look into your present actions.” The clue here is that our present holds the answers which we need in order to navigate from where we are to where we want to go.
Join Jevon for an evening of discussion and fun as we explore tools and techniques which can be used to determine your current position, allowing you to map out the course that will lead you to your desired destinations

Date: April 29th, 2009
Time: 7:00 pm (Doors open @ 6:45)
Location: Britannia Room, 125, 6940 – Fisher Road SE (Evoco Inc)
Phone: (403) 861-2574
Email: jevon@thewarriorsvoice.com

Overview:
Now that we have defined what a Vision is (Vision, Mission and Values – Part 3: Vision) it’s time to create, clarify and focus on your Vision. There are many techniques to do this. Meditation is a popular technique and the one which is attractive to me, but there is also ‘Vision Board’, ‘Vision Video’ and ‘Mind Map’. I will discuss and give examples of each of these techniques. There may be other tools which I have not yet discovered so don’t be afraid to go and do a little research to find other ways that work for you.

Vision Tools for Creation of Vision:

Meditation: What is Meditation? Meditation is the act of being conscious and mindful. Sleeping is not meditation as you are not conscious. Jon Kabat-Zinn describes it as, “Simply put, it [Mindful Meditation] is a method for paying attention in your life, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.” It is not about Not-Thinking, but rather it is about not following your thoughts as thoughts are about the future or the past and not the present. There are many excellent sources on meditation and I will include some in the links section.

The type of meditation that works for visioning is not about being in the present moment but rather to project your self into the future and to feel and experience your life as you would like it to be.

1. You may play soft music or light a scented candle for relaxation.
2. Start off the session with some stretching exercises and coordinate them with long deep breaths.
3. Sit in a comfortable upright position with your hands placed lightly in your lap.
4. Close your eyes, relax your body and focus on your breathing. Do not judge or change your breathing, just notice it as it flows in and out.
5. Once you feel completely relaxed, at peace and your mind is calm, begin the visualization.
6. See yourself at the end of your life (far in the future), feeling completely content and satisfied with everything you have achieved and having done everything you wanted to do. What does it feel like? Experience how you would feel when you have accomplished these things.
7. Write down what you have seen as your long-term goals put these goal in each area of your life or as Stephen Covey says, “Your Roles”. For me these roles include: Husband, Son, Contribution to the community. These should be where you want to end up in life, so they should be grandiose.
8. You can then work backwards to make short and medium term goals that are more achievable. These will be milestones to help show you that you are on your path and be in the direction of your expected outcome.

If you have never done meditation or visualizations before, it may take several practice trials, but when you do get the clear vision of what you want your life to be, it will be a profound experience. I know for my self that I have found my path when I can’t help smiling or giggling. These are signs for me of true excitement. This exercise should also be repeated as many times as necessary and on a regular basis in order to realign yourself with your vision, as well as to accommodate any changes as your life progresses.

Vision Board – A Vision Board is a collection/collage of images which represent the goals and dreams you want to attract and achieve in your journey. It can serve as a reminder and
keep you focused on where you are going, kind of like a map. It is important to be specific on this board, for example if you want to attract a car then it is important that you have a picture of the exact model, year, color you want.

Creating a vision board is as simple as having a flat piece of cardboard, a pair of scissors and some glue. Then go though magazines and find pictures on the web, cut them out and paste them on your board. You can also include words or affirmations like “I Love my new house” on the board. Then hang or place this board in a spot where you will see it daily to remind your self of where you are going.

NOTE: Be sure to notice when each of these items appears in our life and be grateful for the abundance. If you are not thankful then you will diminish how much you attract.

Vision Video - Similar to a Vision Board a Vision Video is a collection of pictures and movie clips that you put together to watch on a daily basis and remind your self of where you are going. Add to this movie a piece of music that you find inspirational. These videos can be made with many free/cheap pieces of movie making software like Windows Movie Maker or iMovie.

Mind Mapping – A Mind Map is a diagram of ideas (words and images) that center around a key concept. Researchers claim that is more effective than a list as it actually represents the ideas in the same way our brain thinks about them. I have included a link to a video where Tony Buzan describes what and how to do a mind map so I will not go into great detail here.

Although I’ve not found an example of how to use this tool to create Vision, the way I’d approach Mind Mapping my vision is to have the central piece be me at some future time (e.g. Me at age 90) and then draw out the links and concepts of what I have achieved at that point.

Conclusion:
So now I’m going to spend some time trying these techniques and focusing on my vision. I plan to start with one or more mediation sessions to clarify my vision and as I do this I will likely spend sometime putting that into a vision board to remind my self.

I will ‘document’ my progress in future entries. If you are called to do so, please share with us your own journeys.

Thanks again to those before me who have shared their knowledge and wisdom in the area of creating guidance tools.

Walk in Peace,
Warrior Jevon:In-Service

Sources and Resources:

Meditation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwwKbM_vJc

http://www.mindfulnesstapes.com/

Vision Board:
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Create-A-Vision-Board-And-Attract-Your-Goals&id=430204

http://videotutorialoutpost.wordpress.com/2008/07/09/how-to-create-a-vision-board/

Mind Maps
http://www.jcu.edu.au/studying/services/studyskills/mindmap/

http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/p231811849_Creative-planning-techniques-mind-mapping.html

Vision Statements:

http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/p245813700_How-to-create-a-vision-statement.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Create-Your-Vision&id=957304

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cornelis_Boertjens

http://top7business.com/?id=573

In the third part of my journey on Vision, Mission and Values I will be discussing Vision in detail and presenting to tools and techniques to assist with this. For a review of what I have already discussed please see my previous articles in this series. Vision, Mission and Values – Part 1: Overview and Vision, Mission and Values – Part 2: Values and Beliefs

Overview:
What are Values, Vision and Mission? These are tools designed to focus and guide to you in your life’s goals. We create these so that we can measure our daily actions and insure that we are on track with where we want to go. With these we are able to take a critical look at what we are doing, where we are putting our energy, and decide if it is assisting us in getting where we want or if we are doing something that will hinder us.

What is a vision? A vision describes where you want to go either personally or organizationally. It must be inline with your values and cannot contradict these values. This does not mean that visioning won’t affect your values. While visioning you may discover that it provides clarity and changes or re-prioritizes your values. This is OK. None of these guiding tools are written in stone. If you find that they don’t work for you then take the time to re-evaluate and modify them so that they are in line with who you are and the direction you want to travel. These statements are likely to shift over time as we our selves develop and grow in ways we did not anticipate.

Stephen Covey often draws a parallel between the United States Constitution and a Mission Statement. He notes that sometimes changes to the Mission statement may be required if it no longer serves us. The US Constitution has since been amended twenty-seven times, the first ten amendments being known as the Bill of Rights. So as we develop and create this guiding tools for our selves it has to be ok to amend them as times change.

NOTE: Personally I feel that when we create these items we should work with them for a significant period of time before changing them otherwise we won’t get closer to our goals. I don’t have a set period of time in mind for my self, but I feel that I must try and make these work prior to changing them.

What are the Elements of a Vision? These can and should be unique to each situation a vision is developed for. For my personal vision statement I will seek to answer the following questions.

Personal

* How does your life look in 5 years, 10 years, 25 years, and at the end?
* Where will you be living?
* What have you achieved in this time?
* How have you grown personally and spiritually?
* How are you a better person?
* What are doing in your non-work time?
* How do you feel about your life?
* How much is your personal income?

Questions to ask around Visioning.

1. Why are you creating a vision? Create a vision because you want it, not because everyone has one. The value of a vision should be in its ability to provide direction.
2. Don’t be afraid to change it. If the current vision is not working and does not inspire you then, throw it out! Decide what you want and start making it happen.
3. Keep it Simple. It will not serve you if you can’t remember your vision and where you are going. So short and memorable is far more beneficial.
4. Focus: It may be necessary to have a multi-layered vision. Some people think you should not have a vision that is too grandiose as you won’t be able to achieve it. For example ‘World Peace’. It is suggested that you bring this down to something that you can see and get too. For my self I have a feeling that having a grandiose vision can be very inspiring, but also note that I may want to break it down into more manageable pieces or milestones. For example if my main vision was to ‘Create World Peace’ I might want a shorter term vision of creating peace in my house and then neighborhood.

Process and Suggestions:

1. A vision is never about the HOW. Do not concern your self with how will I get there. It is more important to put the emphasis on where you want to go and leave the getting there to the mission statement.
2. While you are visioning do not assume that things will work the way they are now. Don’t get bogged down in ‘tradition’ or ‘that’s the way it has been done’. If the way you are doing things now was working that well then chances are you’d already have your vision met. You will probably need to broaden your frame of reference in some aspects of your life, make some changes which will then allow your vision to come to fruition.
3. As you develop your vision it should get you very excited and be full of energy otherwise why would you bother going on the journey. If your vision is not exciting to you then you must be missing an important piece of the puzzle.
4. Creating a vision can take some time especially to fully ‘flesh’ it out. Take the time now so that you are on the right journey for you and don’t forget you can always tweak and modify your vision as it becomes clearer.
5. Creating a clear vision statement for your life and your life can be fun! Take some time out, ask yourself some key questions and allow yourself to dream.

Closing:
I am splitting Vision into two posts so that I can more thoroughly cover it. In the next part I will discuss tools and techniques that can assist us in creating the fullest Vision. I would like to thank all of those who have done this work and provided so much material to assist others, like myself, in doing this work.

Sources and Resources:
http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/p245813700_How-to-create-a-vision-statement.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Create-Your-Vision&id=957304

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cornelis_Boertjens

http://top7business.com/?id=573

Tools to help you define your values and beliefs:
Creating a list: Start with creating a list of your values. I have included a few different exercises you might try to help you identify your values. When doing these exercises there are a few rules:
1. Don’t Sensor your self or edit your answers while creating the list. This is a brainstorming session and you need to write everything down
2. Include Everything even values which you do not currently have. For example if you value Love and you are not in a loving relationship you still need to include love.
3. Be Honest and Truthful with yourself » Read more: Vision, Mission and Values – Part 2: Values and Beliefs

It’s been a while since I’ve spoken in this forum, either by blog or podcast. It turns out that I was on a hiatus and taking a much needed break to reflect, regroup and recharge. However I’m now back in motion and actively pursuing my journey.

Part of what I have realized, through this break, is that I was not necessarily clear about why and what I wanted for my self in this journey. With out knowing where I wanted to go, or how I wanted to travel it ended up being a bit of a ‘merry-go-round’. So I decided to start this next piece of the journey by discovering and identifying what this currently looks like and that the best tool I know to help me with this is the model of creating Vision, Mission and Values statements.

The area of Vision, Mission, and Values has a great number of disparate views and ideas put on it. I have spend may sessions developing these for different organizations and have spent as much time with the groups of these organizations agreeing on what these terms mean. So to that end I will give you the definitions that I will use for my process around this. If you have other definitions or disagree with my definitions that is fine, but it is important for the parties involved in strategic planning to have the same base that they will work from.

Please note that in my definitions they often refer to organizations or groups. Vision, Mission and Values can be personal (to guide your self), group (to guide a project), Corporate or any combination. So when define these be clear on what you are defining for. For the purpose of this exercise I am trying to define ‘my’ Vision, Mission and Values.

Definitions:

• Vision statements
  • Describe an ideal future.
  • Reflect the essence of the organization’s values.
  • Answer the question, what impact do we/I want to have on society?
  • Unite an organization in a common, coherent and strategic direction.
  • Convey a larger sense of organizational purpose, so that individuals see themselves as “building a cathedral” rather than “laying stones”.
• Mission statements

• Describe the overall purpose of an organization or group: what we do, who we do it for, how and why we do it.
• Set the boundaries of the organization’s current activities.

In other words:

VALUES – are the qualities I want to invite into my life.

VISION – is my desired ‘goal’ or ‘milestone’, it where I want to end up next.

MISSION – what I will do to make that vision a reality and the values describe how I will carry out my mission.

Starting with Values I can the develop my Vision which these values can help dictate. From the Vision I can then create my mission to help me create my vision.

What are my Values and how to they create my Beliefs?

Values can be adjective which describe qualities or characteristics you admire and value. For example Confidence, Honesty, Love, Supportive. Values can also be objects like Family, Community and others.

Values then form your beliefs. If you value confidence then people who exhibit confidence will appear valuable to you. As stated above true Values don’t change over time. Desires, wants and needs can change dramatically as we go through our live but values remain.

• Your beliefs must meet your goals, organizational goals as well as community goals.
• Your beliefs are a statement of your values.
• Your beliefs are a public/visible declaration of your expected outcomes. “Be the change you wish to see in the world”
• Your beliefs must be precise and practical.
• Your beliefs will guide the actions of all involved.
• Your beliefs reflect the knowledge, philosophy, and actions of all.

Creating a Vision

When visioning the ‘change’ I ask my self, “What is my preferred future? While I feel in to the answers around this I need to be sure to:

• Describe what I want to see in the future.
• Be specific to each organization or in this case myself
• Be positive and inspiring.
• Do not assume that the system will have the same framework as it does today.
• Be open to dramatic modifications to current organization, methodology, teaching techniques, facilities, etc.

While the process and outcomes of Visioning can be nebulous and or vague and also seem superfluous the long term benefits are substantial.

Visioning can:

• Breaks you out of boundary thinking.
• Provides continuity and avoids the stutter effect of planning fits and starts.
• Identifies direction and purpose.
• Alerts stakeholders to needed change.
• Promotes interest and commitment.
• Promotes laser-like focus.
• Encourages openness to unique and creative solutions.
• Encourages and builds confidence.
• Builds loyalty through involvement (ownership).
• Results in efficiency and productivity.

There are also several factors which can inhibit and prevent vision coming forward:

• Tradition
• Fear of ridicule
• Stereotypes of people, conditions, roles and governing councils
• Complacency of some stakeholders
• Fatigued leaders
• Short-term thinking
• “Naysayers”

Developing a Mission Statement

Once you have clarified your Values and beliefs and used them in defining a Vision, and then build on them to define your mission statement which is a statement of purpose and function.

• Your mission statement draws on your belief statements.
• Your mission statement must be future oriented and portray your self, group and or organization as it will be.
• Your mission statement must focus on one common purpose.
• Your mission statement must be specific to the organization, not generic.
• Your mission statement must be a short statement, not more than one or two sentences.

Here is an example mission statement: “By providing quality education, we empower individuals to become caring, competent, responsible citizens who value education as a lifelong process.”

Finally and example of all three statements

The Canadian Cancer Society

Values

These serve as guidelines for our conduct and behaviour as we work towards our vision.

• Quality – our focus is on the people we serve (cancer patients, their families, donors, and the public) and we will strive for excellence through evaluation and continuous improvement.
• Caring – we are committed to serving with empathy and compassion.
• Integrity – we are committed to act in an ethical, honest manner.
• Respect – we believe that all people should be treated with consideration and dignity. We cherish diversity.
• Responsiveness – we strive to be accessible, flexible, transparent, and to demonstrate a sense of urgency in our resolve and decision-making.
• Accountability – we are committed to measuring, achieving and reporting results, and to using donor dollars wisely.
• Teamwork – we are committed to effective partnerships between volunteers and staff, and we seek opportunities to form alliances with others.

Vision

Creating a world where no Canadian fears cancer.

Mission

The Canadian Cancer Society is a national, community-based organization of volunteers whose mission is the eradication of cancer and the enhancement of the quality of life of people living with cancer.

Finally:

This is part one of my process which is defining the parameters and guidelines that I will use to create these tools for my self. As stated above it is important to agree on terminology and definitions so that they can be guides and not hindrances. I will post each piece of the process as I go through it and share any thoughts or revelations which I encounter. I encourage you to do the same and would be interested in hearing from you around any parts of this that you wish to share.

Walk in peace,

Warrior Jevon: In-Service

Sources:

Much of the material here has been ‘mined’ from other sources and I have included the websites used in this documents creation. There are many resources on this topic in the form of websites, books, tapes, CD’s, Workshops and I find that I pick and chose from each source the pieces that fit my current process. Thanks to all those who have done this work before me and are helping to guide me.

Creating a Vision – http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/cav.html

CharityVillage.com – http://www.charityvillage.com/cv/research/rstrat34.html

How to Write a Personal Mission Statement – http://busybeemama.com/2007/08/02/how-to-write-a-personal-mission-statement/