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January 14, 2015

Action with Vision is what achieves goals

Three quotes from leaders in success or successful leaders:

“Do it and then you will feel motivated to do it.” Zig Ziglar
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” Mark Twain
“I never worry about action, but only about inaction.” Winston Churchill

The question comes to mind, If you had 10 individuals in a competition, lets say a 5K, and all of them spent time visualizing winning the race, what would be the results? They all had a vision of winning, they could SEE it – crossing the finish line, others close behind. They could SENSE it – they feel the muscles, sweat and joy of crossing the line first. They could hear the crowd cheering for them. They repeatedly SAY to themselves – I am a winner!, I am fast!, I am ready. They BELIEVE they will will the race. The question is if all 10 of them did this visioning – which one will ACHIEVE there goal?

The answer is not just about visualizing – the answer is ACTION. The one who will win the race is the one who prepared with ACTION the best – they will be the winner. While the positive mental attitude was important, in the words of Joel Barker:

“Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with Vision is making a positive difference.”

January 5, 2015

Vision – imagining your goals as real

It is the end of one year and the beginning of a new year. It is this time of year that most of us look at what we have done in the past and what we would like to do in the future. Then we make resolutions “New Year Resolutions”, that many times last about a week or 2 or 3 and soon are forgotten. So, is it bad then to even make a resolution at all? Is there another way of reaching goals that we would like to reach?

One of the best parts of making a resolution is we do stop and think about what we are doing, have done or would like to do. We are becoming more mindful at that moment. Most of us can fill in the blank, “I would like to ________ this year.” This month we are talking to our students about using our ability to envision themselves reaching their goals. This is another way of helping us to reach our goals.

A writer once said that, “Vision is the promise of what you will one day be.” Even our youngest students are able to take this step. It may be they have a vision of being able to ride a bike, tie their shoes, swim, or master another skill or task. No matter what it is that you want to be able to do, it is important to be able to see yourself doing it. It is also important to write it down and talk about it to others.

We have other senses to that come into play. So no matter your goal, imagine in your mind accomplishing your goal. See it, feel, smell, hear what it would be like to accomplish your goal. What will all of your friends and relatives feel and see when you reach your goal? Make it real in your vision and mind and you are able to accomplish it.

“See it. Sense it. Say it. Believe it. Achieve it.”

What is one thing that you would like to achieve this year? Tell us what you are resolved to do this year.

January 1, 2015

Life Skills: Vision – The Definition

Each month we will discuss a life skill with all of our students. This month the word is Vision. This word will be defined in the following ways for our students.

Young students: Vision means: I can see what I want to be (in my imagination)

Older students: Vision means: To clearly imagine my goals as if I’ve already achieved them.

Each age group has a worksheet that parents can use to continue the discussion at home with their children, and one for adults to allow them to think more deeply about the skill and how it applies to them. Would you like to receive the worksheet? Stop by our studio at 133 Gibralter Avenue in Annapolis, MD and tell us the age of your child. We will give you a worksheet and invite you to watch Mr. Joe discuss the word with the students in class. You can also follow our discussions here on this website.

If you would like to become a member of Balanced Life Skills, come TRY CLASSES FOR FREE. We are not your typical after school activity, in fact we are an education center, working with our students on physical skills along with empowering families with compassion, awareness and respect – creating a culture of peace – through the arts. We believe in every child and build their self – confidence. Balanced Life Skills takes part in community service and encourages each student to do the same.

January 28, 2011

Creating a Vision for our Family

Throughout history in the business world we have seen some great partnerships. Many times one partner was the visionary and the other one was the nuts and bolts person / investor – who knew how to get things done and make things happen. Nonetheless as you look at this list we can be sure of one thing – together they had a vision that they agreed on and they could all see exactly what they wanted to accomplish.

Thomas Edison & J.P. Morgan & Vanderbilts (commercial power companies)
Wright Brothers (air plane)
Sam, Jack, Albert, and Harry Warner (Warner Bro. entertainment)
Coco Chanel and Pierre Wertheimer (Perfume and more)
Bill Hewlett and David Packard (computers)
Richard and Maurice McDonald (McDonalds)
Bill Gates and Paul Allen (Microsoft)
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (Apple computers)
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield (ice cream)
Amnon Amir, Sefi Vigiser, Arik Vardi, Yair Goldfinger, and Yossi Vardi (instant messaging)
Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google)

What a list of history making visionaries and accomplishments! As parents we Continue reading “Creating a Vision for our Family”

January 24, 2011

Vision: One month into goals – where are you?

During the month of January we have been talking to our students about setting goals and how to achieve them. This is a process that many of us parents have gone through for many years. Unfortunately for many, here in the third and fourth week of January we have already gotten off track from the goal that we pictured in our mind early in the month. So why did that happen?

Goal setting and vision need to go hand in hand. Setting a goal without really being able to see it and imagine what the goal would look like and feel like as if it already has happened, most times results in our goal only being a dream that quickly fades as the day to day happenings start to take place.

If we want our children to be able to set a goal, plan for it, examine how it is working and adjust as required to stay on track for achieving their goal, we must model that for them. As a parent we can do that by talking about our goals with the family. Talk about what the family goals are, when and how you work on them, even about the roadblocks that you are working through.

The more you show the importance of goals personally and for the family, the more likely it is that our children will set their own goals and envision them too. Here is a slogan I heard that is great for encouraging us to stick to our goals, “Each day should start fast, finish strong”.

January 16, 2011

Vision: What if our vision needs to be changed?

We have been talking to all of our students about using vision, visualization, or imagination to see themselves accomplishing a goal that they have set for themselves. Using all of our senses to make it as real as we can in our head. Most of us have played a game or sport that we pictured in our mind that we were up to bat in the 9th inning with 2 out and the bases were loaded, or a scenario in basketball, football, tennis, swimming or other activity. We can create the feeling of the pressure as we make the shot or swim the length of the pool. It becomes very real. That is vision.

What should we do though if the vision we have is filled with thoughts of fear and doubt. If we only see ourselves failing, falling down or not achieving? This would have a negative impact on our success, and we would likely not do as well as we wished. So what can we do?

We need to change the vision. Yes we need to go back and remake the movie in our mind. If we are having difficulty in seeing a better result, it is within us. We may not be seeing beyond the ‘limit circle’ that we have created around ourselves. If we will permit ourselves to push beyond the limits we have set for ourselves, to visualize larger opportunities and possibilities and achieving them, the more power we will find in ourselves to accomplish our desired outcome.