Let Your Vision Lead

Have you been part of an organization that clearly defines and lives by its mission, vision, and values? Have you been part of one that loves the buzzwords but doesn’t really act in alignment with them?

Whether they follow theirs or not, organizations recognize the importance of having mission, vision, and value statements that guide their decisions and illustrate what they stand for.

Do you?

Imagine if every decision you made and every step you took arose from clear, soul-aligned, actionable guiding principles that stem from who you really are.

What would your life look and feel like?

If living in that reality excites you, follow along for guidelines and tips to call in or refine a vision that leads you into your most aligned and powerful future.

I break vision into 3 categories: High-Level Vision, 5-Year Vision, and 10-Year Vision. Let's start with High-Level Vision.

High-Level Vision

This is a brief, inspiring sentiment that typically accompanies a mission statement.

What’s the difference, by the way?

There are many definitions of vision and mission, and sometimes it’s hard to tell which is which from the statements people use. My take on them is that vision is what drives you; it’s an aspirational state of you or state of the world that inspires you to work toward it even if it feels unachievable in this lifetime. Mission is more action-oriented, describing how you show up every day as you work toward the vision; it’s achievable today and inspiring for the future.

You can think of vision as a noun and mission as a verb, vision as a “what” and mission as a “how,” or vision as a way of being and mission as a way of doing. Together they create what I call your Glorious Purpose. (Yes, that’s a shoutout to Loki from The Avengers. 😊)

My Vision:

8+ billion humans loving themselves and owning how powerful, unique, and awesome they are

My Mission:

Shine My Light and Inspire You to Shine Yours

This Glorious Purpose doesn’t just describe my work. It’s a 24/7 way of being that permeates every moment of every day, even when I’m not consciously focusing on it.

Full transparency, my vision and mission did not spring up overnight. It took years of refining, aligning, and living into their energy for them to emerge in this form and stabilize into something that felt true and complete in every cell of my being. So don’t pressure yourself to come up with an end-all-be-all statement in the next five minutes! Let it be iterative. Let it take the time it takes.

Pause for a moment here and take a breath. Release any tension you may be holding in your belly, your shoulders, or anywhere else. It’s easy to feel pressure to get your vision and mission “right,” but this is not an exercise in perfectionism. It’s an exercise in deep self-awareness and soul connection that is ever-evolving.

Let’s refocus just on vision for the remainder of this post. Remember that your high-level vision is aspirational and inspires you to work toward it even if it feels unachievable in this lifetime. As you reflect on yours, ask yourself:

• What do I envision as the ideal state of my life?

• What do I envision as the ideal state of the world?

Try not to force an answer. Ask the questions and let insights come to you.

Trust that the truest vision will emerge from your soul when you create the conditions for it to flow.

That’s why you call in your vision rather than crafting it forcibly with your mind. Let your vision lead you instead of trying so hard to lead it.

Grounded in the energy of your high-level vision, no matter where it is in the process, reflect on your long-term visions.

5-Year Vision

This is a brief paragraph written in the present tense, as if your future self is writing you a letter describing their current reality and thanking you for what you built for them. It generally answers the following questions:

• Where do I see myself in 5 years?

• What do I feel like throughout my day?

• What does my life look, sound, feel, taste, and/or smell like?

• What am I doing, being, and creating?

• Who else is involved in my vision?

• What’s bringing me joy?

It focuses on feelings and sensations rather than a checklist of goals. If you include outcomes, keep them high-level and general vs. specific and prescriptive. What does that mean? Focus on what/why/who vs. how.

Here’s an example of what that looks like in my personal experience:

Everything I wrote in my 5-year vision in 2020 had come true by the end of 2025. Some things in straightforward ways, others in surprising ways I didn’t expect and could never have anticipated.

Most of my vision included “way of being” statements, but I had some high-level accomplishment statements as well. One was about my Air Force career.

In 2020, I was feeling like I’d plateaued in my part-time Air Force Reserve position. I was planning to retire in 2024 and knew I could continue with the status quo until then, but something in me wanted more. More impact, more contribution.

When I wrote a 5-year vision that year, one of the statements I included was, “My Air Force career has completed powerfully.” I didn’t know how that would happen, but I knew that one of the most magical aspects of visioning is to name the “what” and let the universe fulfill the “how.”

In 2023, one of my fellow reservists asked me to build a leadership development program for our reserve team. As we brainstormed what that would look like, the “how” started falling into place. I never could have foreseen going back to work full-time for the Air Force for almost two years and delaying my retirement by a year, but that’s what happened. My impact soared, my sense of purpose and fulfillment skyrocketed, and despite several accompanying challenges, it was exactly what my soul – and many other souls around me – needed. When I retired in 2025, I could truly say that my Air Force career had completed powerfully.

So don’t be too prescriptive in your visions. There are infinitely more amazing possibilities out there than you can imagine. Focus on what you want to feel, name the 100,000-foot view of what you want to accomplish, and let the details fall into place by taking one small step at a time.

10-Year Vision

The guidelines here are the same as for the 5-year vision, but on a longer timescale. It’s a brief paragraph written in the present tense, your future self is describing their current reality and thanking you for what you built for them, and it generally answers the following questions:

• Where do I see myself in 10 years?

• What do I feel like throughout my day?

• What does my life look, sound, feel, taste, and/or smell like?

• What am I doing, being, and creating?

• Who else is involved in my vision?

• What’s bringing me joy?

It may include themes similar to your 5-year vision, while also having space to bring in even bigger dreams and even more alignment.

You may be wondering at this point, “What happens as time progresses? Are my 5- and 10-year visions always 5 and 10 years away?!” I wondered that myself and realized that the key was assigning a year to the visions. My 5-year became my 2025 Vision and my 10-year became my 2030 Vision. The process is repeatable in 5-year increments, or in whatever frequency you find works best for you.

Speaking of what works best for you, these visions are of course open to revision as you learn and grow. Think of them as living, dynamic entities. They will let you know when it’s time to update or refine them. Maybe a word changes here and there, maybe a whole idea is added or removed. These guidelines are a starting point, not a rigid structure that must be followed at all costs.

Visioning Tips

• Dream Big, Start Small: We overestimate what we can do in one year and underestimate what we can do in 10 years

• Read your vision silently or aloud to yourself and notice what you feel

  • Does it inspire you? Does it bring you peace?

  • Does any part feel like a “should” or obligation? Examine why, and eliminate or transform any “should”s into true inspiration

• Connect with your vision regularly, daily if possible (if that feels stressful, start with as often as works for you)

Remember, even if you don't know "how" the vision will manifest in the world, let its energy lead you into making choices that take you closer to it.

When you're at a decision point or considering multiple options, take each one and ask yourself, "Is this in alignment with my vision?" or, "What choice would my future self make?"

Your vision can guide you in any situation. Ask yourself how the person in your vision would show up in that situation – then show up that way!

The more you make choices that are aligned with your vision, the more your vision becomes real in the world, and the more like your future self you become.

Your future self doesn't have to be in the future. Make the choices that person would make today, and you become that person today.

If you’d like deep, grounded support with calling in a vision that truly inspires you, that’s aligned with who you are, and that leads you into your most epic life, we work on this inside my 3-month 1:1 coaching intensive, Giant Leap. Click here to learn more!

In the meantime, relax and enjoy the discovery process!