I’m sure you’re busy. Who isn’t? The question is, what are you so busy with? Too often, we get so caught up with the “busy-ness” of living that we don’t stop long enough to ask ourselves if the direction we are traveling is one that actually inspires us.

If you’ve ever set out on a road trip, you know the value of having a clear destination in mind. And a map, or GPS, to guide you. And yet I’m sure that you have met many people during your life journey who have no clear idea where they want to go. And some of those people have probably found themselves in places they’d never have consciously chosen. Perhaps you’ve landed in just such a place yourself.

Regardless of where you are right now, or how much (or little) you love where you are, I encourage you to take a moment to think about where you would like to go from here. I’m giving you a little push to create a vision for yourself and consciously choose the route for your life’s voyage.

Why do I encourage a vision? Because a vision can unleash enormous power. Not only does a vision act as a compass to guide your choices and allow you to see opportunities you might otherwise miss, but it brings greater meaning to your present circumstances, and it empowers you to deal more constructively with life’s challenges. When you have a vision that inspires you, it leaves you feeling purposeful and powerful in every aspect of your life.

Helen Keller once said, “The most pathetic person is one who has sight but no vision.” The fact is that in any aspect of your life where you have no vision, you have limited or little power. Power is something I define as your ability to affect change. Without a vision to work toward, you can end up being like a rudderless ship sailing aimlessly through life, moving in the direction of least resistance, and generally settling for less than you’d really like. Accordingly, people who have no vision often find themselves

• Spending years doing things they don’t truly enjoy
• Making choices that are driven by self-doubt and fear
• Saying yes to nearly every request, offer, or opportunity that comes along because they can’t think of any better way to fill their days
• Blaming their lack of success or happiness on external factors rather than taking responsibility for their experience of life
• Failing to fulfill their full potential and ultimately living a much smaller and less fulfilling life than they could have

Think of people who have achieved something truly great in the world—Oprah, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King. Note that what distinguishes them from others is not the size of the homes into which they were born, but, rather, the size of their vision. None of them were born extra-ordinary. Far from it. But in having the courage to dream big, they were compelled to powerful action and became extra-ordinary as a result.

Ultimately, a great vision brings out the greatness in she who holds it.

So, what vision do you have for your life? What could you do with your time, energy, and talents over the next five, 10 or 30-plus years that would leave you feeling a deep sense of fulfillment in the twilight of your life? The greater tragedy is not that you one day die, but that you arrive at that day not having fully lived your life.

No matter how great or small your life is right now, I challenge you to ask for more of it, and to give more to it, from now on. However much you have accomplished or failed to accomplish up until now, you are capable of much more than you think. We women, as brilliant and talented as we are, have a special talent for underestimating ourselves and second guessing our ability to achieve what we want. But we also have a vast reservoir of courage just waiting to be tapped. Courage to rise above the “who are you to do that?” doubts that drive you to play it safe. Courage to step through the “what if I fail?” fears that cause you to play safe and avoid risk.

Anais Nin once wrote, “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” The first act of courage is to take responsibility for your life experience and create a vision that honors the gifts and blessings as much as it does the heartaches and hurdles in your life so far. While I do not know what path you have walked so far, I do know this: Within you is all the courage you need to step boldly into action and to stay the course toward that which tugs on your heart and beckons you forward. After all, courage is not the absence of fear; it is action in the presence of fear.

Four Steps to Harnessing the Power of Vision

1. Write it down. On a clean sheet of paper, write the heading “(your name) Dreams Bigger!” Then choose the life areas in which you would like to harness the power of vision. For example: Career/Business, Relationships, Finances, Health/Well-being, Recreation/Social, Service. Under each heading, answer the following questions:

• What would constitute ideal circumstances in this area of your life five years from now?
• How would achieving these circumstances improve your feelings about this area of your life?
• What needs to change for this area of your life to be ideal?
• How will you feel about yourself one year from now if you take no action? Describe the personal cost to your sense of well-being, happiness, and peace of mind.

2. Create an action plan. List the first few actions you can take (however small) that will move you closer to your vision in each of area of your life. Then put a date next to each action indicating when you will complete it.

3. Design a supportive environment. Write down the various ways you will build a support network to ensure you stay on course. For example, you could share your vision with friends, find a mentor, hire a coach, join an association or group of like-minded individuals, attend a seminar, and read books to build your competence and confidence.

4. Step boldly into action. Don’t get overwhelmed with the size of the gap between where you are and where you want to be. All that matters today is that you take the first step. Then tomorrow, take a second step. Creating change is never easy, but by staying in action, even when the going gets tough, you will proudly reach your destination. Life rewards action! Get to it!

About the Author

Margie Warrell, best-selling author of Find Your Courage: 12 Acts for Becoming Fearless in Work & Life(McGraw-Hill Professional), is an executive life coach and keynote speaker who is passionate about empowering women to think bigger, expand their vision of what’s possible, and to live and lead more courageously. With her down to earth Australian humor and working mother-of-four pragmatism, Margie draws on her background in psychology and Fortune 500 business to show others how to leverage adversity and take their lives to new levels of success and fulfillment. The “Resident Coach” on Let’s Talk Live (Washington, D.C.’s daily talk show), Margie also shares her expertise regularly on national media including The TODAY Show, CNBC and Fox News. To get her free Live Boldly! newsletter or other great resources please visit www.margiewarrell.com