For the information of our readers, Jack Lundee is our recommended Guest Author for this month.

Jack Lundee of Everything Left, supporter of all things green and progressive.

Without a vision, Martin Luther King would have never been a prophetic and influential leader in the civil rights movement. The same principle can be applied to individuals in the modern day business world.

Before any real corporate establishment or individual can progress forward, they must have a vision, along with a prepared list of written goals and objectives. It’s true that a mere 5% of the American population has a list of written objectives. And sadly enough, the business world is much different.

And these “lists” or goals should be updated consistently. For most business owners and entrepreneurs, this means quarterly, bi-annually or annually. Nonetheless, a prepared set of objectives is ultimately what helps us indentify constraints, set standards, and track progress. Likewise, it’ s a constant reminder and motivator for what we have to do and how we have to do it.

Visions are the driving force in any work environment, and eventually they help us outline goals and give clear direction as to where we want to be in 1, 5 or even 10 years. American poet Henry David Thoreau once talked about dreams and visions in his famous quote “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” As individuals, we can take company goals to the next level by pursuing our own dreams of wealth and success. This translated to establishing a relationship between where you stand now and where you want to go. If you’re satisfied with your work environment, but wish to see change in certain areas, perhaps it would be wise to assert yourself in the areas which you deem weak, whether you’re the cause of weakness or not.

To accompany this, it may be wise to practice things that typical leaders do. This would involve things like writing down daily, weekly, monthly or even yearly goals for yourself at the organization that you’re in. Having your goals in ink allows you to clarify your thought process. Likewise, it helps prepare and process obstacles, objectives, constraints and previous standards, all of which are essential variables in goal setting. Ultimately, writing down your goals will create self-inspiration, which vital to leadership and success.

Self-inspiration will eventually lead to confidence. Having the confidence to challenge the system by providing sound and reputable theory or evidence can better any establishment. But a leader must be more than confident; they must possess the knowledge and capacity to influence through their written agendas. If you’re prominent investment manager Daniel Zwirn and you’re looking to increase revenues by the end of the year, you may want to revert back to previous years to see exactly where you stood. And I use Zwirn as an example because he’s been through a great deal of adversity, which is also another great component of a leader. To fully understand what it means to be at the bottom, you’re definitely more capable and determined to be at the top.

Yet, all the personality traits and characteristics are direct or indirect result of personalized business goals. You’re bound to be successful if you constantly track and monitor your objectives. Be wary of things like time, money and seasonal constraints, but don’t ever lose sight of what it is that you’re trying to accomplish. Once you’ve hit the point to where no question can go unanswered, you’ve already become your own coach. Use your abilities to motivate, influence and inspire and make sure that when somebody asks you how you got to that point, show them your goal sheet.

More about Jack Lundee:

email: j.lundee@gmail.com

sites: http://everythingleft.wordpress.com and http://shadesofgreen.info

twitter: http://www.twitter.com/j_lundee

From the very beginning, life has been constantly changing to meet a never-ending series of challenges and opportunities.  The ability of life to transform itself gives us great hope, for we currently have face a time of radical transformation.  From any perspective, from any place on this planet, it becomes more obvious every day that we are now in an extra ordinary moment….  At the moment that is at least as important as the beginning of effective fault, that guy and when her know to be announced first began to use increased mental ability to contemplate the themselves and the world.  Future generations will look back and see that our time was one in which the humankind learned to see itself as a whole. The past is written, the future uncertain, but the present is ours.  The shape of the future will reflect the decisions and actions during this unique moment in history.

Taken from a document produced by the

©2002 Foundation for the Global Community