49. Vision Building for the New Year

Connor: Welcome back to the Driven Leadership podcast, everybody. My name is Connor. I'm joined here by Eric and Mary. We're doing reintroductions all around because maybe we shouldn't draw attention to it. It's been a while since we've been in, in the studio, and I'm excited to be back. Um, how's everybody? How's everybody feeling? How's Thanksgiving? How's things around the house? Everybody's feeling good in the holiday. Holiday spirit.

Mary: Holiday spirit has definitely threw up in my house.

Eric: Yeah. She picks a weekend and then she just. I leave because, um, I help her carry the stuff down and then I leave because I'm just in the way.

Connor: And, um, and then that actually sounds like best case scenario. Like, you just have a Christmas elf, and that Christmas elf is Mary, who just. You're transported into the holidays.

Eric: Uh, because I'll sit around and go, why are we doing that? Why are we doing that? And then by the end of it, it looks amazing, but I don't.

Mary: There's nothing more awesome.

Eric: I can't see the vision. Do it.

Connor: You beat me to it. I was gonna do the transition.

Mary: No, but you gotta get up, be calm in the morning with the Christmas lights and the fireplace where no one's around. Then you can create the vision.

Eric: Just everyone is clear. The vision looks the same every year. I mean, it's the same. You're right. You moved the couch this year. I apologize. You moved the couch.

Connor: You're just. You're just really showing your lack of vision here in the whole Christmas room. But as everybody knows, if you're listening to this, uh, when it comes out, we're in December at the end of 2025, somehow. And so, uh, we are talking about vision again, which is really exciting. Last year, we actually did a whole webinar. It was one of our first, if I recall correctly.

Mary: It was our first.

Connor: Yeah. About doing a whole vision board, which is a routine or a, uh, tradition that you have every year with your kids, Mary. Um, and this year we're doing another one, but we also just want to talk about it on this format of vision for your personal life, for your business life. What does it look like? What. What is like? We will actually define what vision looks like for both areas. And then really the question that everybody asks is, how do I accomplish this vision? How does it just not die by Martin Luther King Jr. Day? Um, and it actually is a consistent thread that you see throughout the whole year. So that's on the docket today. I'm pretty Excited about. We have some things that we're going to chat through. So where do. Where should we start? I know we have the two big arenas here of vision in your personal life, vision in your, uh, business. Where are we going first? You think?

Mary: You know, I actually want to jump in here. I beat you to it this time at graph. Every time that we have done, because Eric and I have done vision boards together, uh, vision building for the year. And in all the years we've done this, we've always stopped before we start the vision and we celebrate the year because I believe you have to know what you did before we can ever get to where we want to go again.

Connor: Yeah. And I think feel like you're on a hamster wheel if you just always looking.

Mary: Well, I think a lot of times that's what happens with people is like, we have to do a vision. We have to strategize, but we forget what's working and when we can remember and remind ourselves with, well, what were all the amazing things and the buckets of professional, personal health, spiritual, family, like, whatever those things are. And we stop and pause. And whenever I do this with even myself or I teach other people, we have to get our calendars out, because human nature, we move so fast that we forget. We forget what we did, we forget the little things, we forget the celebrations. And actually where this even came from. When I was doing my journaling, I journaled. And every year there was a theme. This actually before I met Eric. And I realized every year I write the same thing, but I never looked back to what I accomplished or where I got stuck. So I truly believe before we can truly set a new year, we stop, we celebrate, we pause, we reflect, so we know what to continue work on and then look at where the gaps were and now settle into, okay, so where do we want to go? What does this year look like?

Eric: I actually fought this when she first brought it up, shockingly, um, because I was like, okay, cool. Because it was very much. I was like, hey, that was a year that was cool, good, bad. And I have a tendency to be critical and focus on what didn't work versus what did work. And so, uh, um, I capitulated. I. I said, okay, fine, I'll do it. And, um, like most things that happen this way between Mary and Mary, Mary's very focused on this, the mindset. So what happens when you focus on what went well for the year is it really sets you up in an incredible mindset for what will you do coming into this year? It Actually changes the whole kind of focus and energy of it. And surprisingly, it was a lot of fun. It really worked. And, uh, I hate to give her too much credit, but it was. It was a great exercise in going backwards.

Connor: You, um, know, I want to. I want to keep a scoreboard going of the. Of the stories that you've told that always start with, I. I didn't want to do it, but Mary convinced me to do it. Then I did it, and it was life changing. It was the best thing I've ever done.

Eric: Any. Anything that goes into what the feels like. I just grew up where it wasn't about, you know, you don't get into, oh, uh, lesbian gratitude. I didn't grow up in that. It's like, let's execute. Let's make it happen. We're gonna win you, you know, and so, um, so, yes, execute. Win has a place, but, uh, where I always have to. And the reason I keep doing these things is because they work, you know? But yes, initially, I will push back. And I, And I say all that here because I know there's people like me and I know there's people that don't want to do or they're like, it's. It's like a woo woo thing. We're not, you know, inhaling crystals or anything. It's just. It is, uh. You guys joke. You guys know. I know somebody who does that. But it's like. So it's, um. But it really has an impact. It's positive.

Mary: Well. And it actually opens up the creative side of the brain. So you get into celebrations and success, then your brain wants more of it. And whatever we focus on, we grow. And so if we're really looking at the focus of what did we do well, and we get those that endorphin, the dopamine hit going, all right, this was amazing. How do we create more of that? And even in times of really, really crappy years, because there's times where we've had, uh, really shitty years. And I know that there's, you know, people go through divorce, bankruptcies, health things, and it's really hard to grab ahold of something positive. And they just want to get rid of the year. And I hear this so many times. Thank God 2025 is done. I just want to move on. But there's still good things there. If we stop and pause, there's still things that we can pull from before we ever move forward.

Connor: That's awesome. I imagine the process of looking ahead to 2026 and setting a vision Would be so much more depressing if you're coming at it, uh, of just like, oh, I didn't do anything this year, or not even pausing to think about and appreciate what you, you did and just be like, okay, what's, what's next? Let me just put, keep my head down and keep moving toward the next thing. Um, because you're right, Eric. I think there's a lot of people who, you know, scoff, roll their eyes, whatever you want to say. Just don't put any value on vision. Whether it's a vision board or setting goals for the new year. Um, so I think that's a huge piece that's not really talked about. A lot of that should be the first thing. You just look back and say what you actually did and that sets you up for success. You know, look to the next year.

Eric: But then, then I think it gets the whole purpose of vision. So to me, when we're talking about vision, we're talking about focus is what we're really talking about. So it's like when we're talking about if it's a 10 year vision, that's kind of a, like a, a, uh, spotlight way out in the distance or uh, you know, searchlight or whatever. Lighthouse. That's it. Lighthouse is the word. Lighthouse way out in the distance. And we see it there and it's this beacon we're shoot. So we know it's there and we're working towards it. But there's, there's a long road. We're talking one year. That's really an execution plan. When you talk about the vision, we're getting into clear goals, we're getting into how do I do it, we're getting into how is it measured, you know, especially within business. But like what are we looking to actually produce when we walk out of, and in this case walk out of 26, where do we want to be, what have we accomplished and what has to go into creating it? I, I think, um, so vision is about, okay, I'm going here. And it also on the flip is I'm not going here. So vision is where am I going? But by selecting this is where I'm going, I'm also saying I'm not going to these other places. And I do think there's also a lot. At least when we go into companies, um, companies seem to do that pretty well. Generally speaking. You know, smaller companies, uh, more family owned, may have more trouble sometimes. But uh, you get into bigger companies, I mean they're dead on. We're going here we're creating this. They're measuring it, they're marketing, marking it. The, um, personal, though, it seems like it's like, oh, it's more of a, you know, an intent, a hope, a dream kind of.

Connor: I think a hope or dream is definitely the. More like. And nobody really says it like that. They're not. Nobody comes out be like, I hope that I go to the gym in January. They're going to be like, oh, um, I'm going. But it's always said, and there's always the undertow of like, yeah, but we'll see, you know, or even people call it out, like, yeah, well, we'll see where you're at in February. You know, and that's the thing that people talk about the most is like, how many resolutions are dropped by mid January.

Mary: End of January. Yeah, mid January. Over 50%.

Connor: Yeah.

Eric: Is it 50% drop in January?

Mary: Yep.

Eric: Okay. Uh, yeah, I can at least make it a February.

Connor: So I guess let's. Let's start there. When we're talking about vision building, and I think this is more personal, but how do you overcome that piece of it, Overcome that. Either a stigma or personal belief or people in your own life saying, oh, yeah, cool, go write your whatever, and we'll see how you're going on, you know, in February.

Mary: So I believe first that people need to have a starting point, and they have to be able to have hope, because if we don't have hope, we can't have a vision. If we're in survival mode, people are just like, they don't even know where they're going. They're just waking up every day figuring out how they're going to pay their bills or how they're going to

Connor: get,

Mary: um, to, you know, have their job or make payroll or whatever that is. So vision creates clarity. And I love. It's actually a scripture, but it's a saying. And I saw it when Kellen, we call him Boss Baby, was wrestling, and it was in this wrestling booth, and it said, know the vision. Write it down so that you can run with it. And it just. That's a saying that has just stuck with me over the years, that if we don't know a vision, if we don't have hope and we don't have a vision, then where the heck are we going to go with it? But when we're so clear on who we are, what we want, understanding what's working, where our gaps are, and we take a focus, and I love, you know, the. The one thing. So, uh, I Have um, a, there's a, uh, exercise I do with people. There's like 10 different categories where it's different mappings of where are we right now? On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you in your personal life? How satisfied are you in your health, your career, your finances? Spiritual. All these different things. And so looking at that, then what's the biggest area that you know that when you work on this, all these other areas will start to move from it. So it gives people a starting point. Uh, and I always start with somewhere because if some, if people don't know how to create a vision, how to create clarity, then they're going to be the one on the hamster wheel that says, well, you know, I'm m going to lose 10 pounds. And they eat that piece of cake or they have that glass of wine and then by Martin Luther King's day they're like, you know, uh, I just failed here, so ought to sight out of mind. But when you know it and it's aligned with who you are, why you're doing it, then it's and, and that's where you write it, you put it up, you see it. There's accountability, there's something that you are so committed that it becomes a non negotiable. That's where people create the stickiness. And is it easy? No, it's not. It's hard. You know, it's easy. When you first started, it's like, let's go. Because you got all this momentum and this, you got the vision, it's clear. But things happen and it gets muddy.

Eric: Well also you're talking like something like working out where it's um, that's, that's one piece of this. But let's say it's, I'm gonna make this much money this year or I'm gonna go. You know, things that start to get out of our control. We control to a degree the input that goes into it. What a lot of times people will do is they'll set goals that they don't really. They're more wish. Like we're saying they're more wish list. It's more like I'm going to, I don't know, I'm going to meet a wonderful person this year. Okay.

Connor: Yeah, yeah.

Eric: Cool. I mean that's a focus and you're focusing on doing it. But what. So it's, these are the outcomes we're working on, uh, towards those are the goals. But really what we want to get into when we're starting to do this are the controllables. So what am I doing to move that? Well, I'm going to meet somebody this year, if that's the goal. Okay, you're single. You want to meet someone. Well, that might mean you're not in your house every weekend for the rest of your life. You know, it. That's. That's the behavioral side of changing. You can't control. Did you meet that one person or the right person, but you can control. Are you putting yourself in position to be able to. And create the opportunity.

Mary: Well, and the right person. This is. Get. Get clear clarity. Yeah, it is. What kind of person, what behaviors? What values? Um, who are they? I. I did this. I actually called Eric into my life, not realizing it. Sometimes I'm like, oh, my gosh. I actually asked for you, but I made an entire list of. Of who I wanted for someone in my life. Shut up. My grand. But, like, what are the non negotiables? I call them the green light, yellow light, red light. The green are absolute must. They're the values that I stand on. Um, this is the type of person. This is what I need them to be. Um, and it's being a good human. But what does that mean? But I literally laid it out, and then the red light was the non negotiables. Uh, on the other side, I will not tolerate this type of behavior. So I got really, really clear on who I wanted in my life as a person. And then Eric popped up, you know, but I've done that with everything. He popped up. So, I mean, there's so much more to vision. And I really believe, whether it's business or personal, because these go hand in hand.

Connor: I was gonna say. Yeah, I mean, it sounds like all the same. Same process.

Mary: You have to. You have to take time. You have to. It's not a one and done where you sit down, you're like, oh, uh, I'm gonna map it out in 10 minutes. It doesn't work that way. You have to give yourself space to think, to really put yourself. What do you really want? Why does this matter? What does it look like?

Connor: Yeah, Yeah. I think that's a huge piece that m. That is missed for a lot of people, even whether it's a partner. Uh, I, uh, even heard people, like, I'm gonna find my dream house this year. Or like you said, Eric, like, I'm gonna make a certain amount of money or do this, this and this. Like, if there's no specifics to it, like, of course, course it's gonna. Or. Or I Guess I don't want to say, of course, but the propensity for it to die just is. Is increased so much because there's nothing tangible to actually hold on to and, like, actually be able to say, I'm. I'm moving in this direction. And these are the milestones. And by March, I'll be here instead of by December, I'm in January, but by December I'll be in a new house. It's like, that's just. It's so large and looming. It's like it. And that's in my personal life. Like, that's where it's all. It's gotten to be, like, unattainable. Like, I want to sit down and do vision boarding and building, but. But I don't want to. It's like, I don't want to put that stress and pressure on me to accomplish these huge things. But. But if they're broken up and taken apart and laid out like that, it just becomes way more manageable.

Mary: We can start calling them rocks.

Eric: That don't know she's connecting eos. So it's really, uh. Are you hoping to make the. This vision happen or is it happening? Is it hope or is it happening? And if it's happening, that means that there is a plan that helps outline it. That doesn't mean you can't hope and wish and dream. Those are great, have those. But we're talking about vision for this year. We want to get what is happening. What are you creating? And if you don't know all the answers as to how it's happening, let's say it's increase money. And you're going, man, I don't. I don't know how I'm doing it. But this is the. This is the hope. Okay, so to move it from hope into happening, I gotta have a road plan and say, here's how I'm executing. That doesn't mean it can't potentially happen. By having the hope, you could win the lottery. It could happen. That's true. But if I was destined to win the lottery, I would be buying lottery tickets. That would be the happening part. You know, there's a lot of people go, man, I really want a million dollars, and there's no way I'm going to make it in my current job. So therefore, I hope. And we. We don't have a plan.

Mary: Yeah. Uh, so it's knowing it and having the vision. So being so clear on what that is, why it's important, and now for what we do is we work it Backwards. Because a lot of times people get so overwhelmed with how the heck are we going to ever create and make this happen? But you chunk it down so you know the vision. Now work it backwards. So what actions am I doing today that I can control that will move the needle to get to this vision? It, you know, if, if you're working out. And, uh, I saw a picture yesterday, and it showed one guy showed an arm lifting a weight for today. And then it showed it, you know, like three months, and then it showed it in a year. And it was a complete different look. And we get so caught up in, well, we got to do this. How are we going to do this? And we spiral. But it's the little things. It's the 1%. So if you want to make money and this is your goal, and so what are you going to do? What actions can you take day in and day out? Uh, in your control that when you know it's consistent, it will create the outcome. So if I need to make $10,000 this month, what actions are you doing today that will create the yeses?

Eric: Well, and it's huge. Flip it. Flipping it over to. So just. Just simplifying this down because we're talking. I feel like it's kind of a little over the place. So the, the, uh. And actually that's the word that is in my head. Make this simple. Okay. So you can. When Mary does a dream board, okay, that's. This is for personal she's doing. She's putting down all these. It's a dream. It's dreams she's putting down. They have common themes, things like that. But if you. If she puts 40 things on her dream board, your brain can't latch on to them. You can't go after all of them. It's good to have those dreams, put them down, be excited about them, have the house and the car and all the things that you want on there. But then let's get very specific as to what are we going to make happen. And so what are the things in there that we feel like we have some control over, we can move towards. We get. We have kind of a vision for how we're going to get there, a strategy to start moving toward. Personally, uh, I recommend less than three big ones. You know, three or less. You know, because there's actually studies out there. If you start going above 3, we start hitting less In a lot of cases, and I think somewhere around above 7, you hit none because you're. You're so scattered. It's real Hard to hit, um, them. So when you're three or less gets a lot easier. So get it simple and go, I'm going to make these happen. And then we're building a strategy behind and why this, uh, this also connects to business. So uh, we'll go into businesses, man. And I'm like, so what are the goals? And they go, oh, that's this 40 page spreadsheet, you know, of uh, things that we're going after. And it's like, yeah, no, we need.

Connor: And it's like five years in the future or.

Eric: Yeah, yeah. You know, E less gives you the option each quarter to dive into seven, which is still a lot. And they even say it's a lot when you're in the. In the means. They're like, you really don't want to be at 7. You want to be 3 or less if you can do it and just have clarity and go after it. So, so, yes, so. So the process is look backwards, be in gratitude, be excited about what, what went on, look forward, start at the end in mind, what do I want to accomplish? What do I want to walk out of here with? What would be success at the end of this year and important to me then dream. Not just this is where I'm going to be at, uh, but what are all the other things that would be nice to have? And that's a dream board. If you want to do that, that's in the boardroom that's throwing up. What else could we do? And just kind of idsing or digging into identify, uh, discuss and solve what it, what would really work? Brainstorm around it, get a bunch of ideas, trim it down and then get focused and go, what are the things we will accomplish this year that'll set us up? And if you're in business, you're doing like five year plans or 10 year plans that are connected into it and you start building a strategy behind these key components. So this applies to everything. So let's say I want to get in shape, okay. And we want to go there. Well, what does shape look like? Get specific. Define it. Uh, what does it look like at the end of the year? Great. Now I'm gonna build a strategy for doing that. What do I need to eat and what do I need to do exercise wise to make that happen? Now we got an actual plan now. Now it's coming down to discipline, accountability, follow through. So how are you going to create that in your life? And there's many ways to do it. Go with a buddy, um, uh, tell everybody what you're doing, actually, um, just follow through on your own. You know, there's lots of different.

Mary: I love our L10 meetings because it's like, oh, no, I committed to that, and I'm not gonna let my. I'm not. I'm not gonna let me down in front of my team.

Eric: Group accountability is amazing.

Mary: Yes. Even have a little whiteboard in my bathroom, and it says 1%. And everyone. I do write on that one. Morath, you failed.

Eric: Thank you. Yes, I have. Recently. I appreciate that. The, um.

Connor: I think we should dive more into that. We'll kind of. We'll go down this rabbit.

Mary: Okay.

Eric: She had a great idea. Wait, wait, wait. We got. We got these. You know, our bathroom has, uh, two sinks and two mirrors. And I got mine, she's got hers. Right. And there's a space in between the two, which is like this, you know, demilitarized zone where she's not allowed to put DMZ zone. Yeah. No. So she's North Korea. I'm just saying. But, um, so she's got her hair products and, I mean, machines. This thing does something to her hair. That one does another. Okay. There's this whole thing going on.

Mary: Hey, this is natural.

Eric: Mine too. And so then the demilitary zone in the middle has a few nice, ornate things from trips that we've been on. And then there's my area. That is absolutely not, uh, bad. Uh, so it's.

Connor: Of course.

Mary: Okay, so we put a whiteboard in the middle. One of those little whiteboards, dry erase boards. And it says 1%. And it says Mary and Eric.

Eric: Yeah. And then it's basically, what are we going to do today, this week? Whatever that is.

Mary: Non negotiable. That's. And it is a one person. So that goes back into the vision. So I sidetracked us.

Eric: It was a way to get us. Yeah. But I was given the description of the sidetracked.

Mary: But

Eric: we're saying. I think we're saying the same thing is these little things that help connect it all and create accountability.

Mary: So you know what it is. So to your point. I do. Whether you call it a vision board, a dream board, and I really am big at that because it allows people space to open their mind. What do you really want? I've had things on my. My vision board, my dream board that has showed up years later, but I still put it up there because it just swirls and it gives me these ideas, and then I chunk it down to my word for the year. And I keep asking myself, how am I living this word and it connects to the vision for my life. And then now I chunk it to what Eric said, make it simple. It's the 1%. What are the non negotiables? What are the little tiny things that uh, man, have I said I'm going to get up and I'm going to work out and I don't feel good today. What is an ant? What's a little thing that I can still move my body and still follow through where I'm not sending myself into? Get more sick. Maybe it's just stretching, right? But it's my 1%. So wherever our vision is and we. You look at Eos with our rocks. Okay, I can pick up the phone, I can reach out to two people. Today I said it was going to do this. I know I can move the needle here, but it's a little tiny. It's the consistent actions that will help move the M needle. Things get tough and when we don't have clarity of vision and then all of a sudden a nice bright shiny object comes over and we want to move our attention and focus. When you're clearing the vision, whatever we say yes to, we say no to something else. So if that bright shiny object, we're like, then we just said no to our vision. If that bright shiny object is, can it's aligning uh, with the vision, then maybe.

Connor: I've actually talked about this a couple times with several different people over the past couple weeks. But and without sounding too like out there, I really think it is indicative of like the instant gratification of I hear so many more people saying now like I'm an all or nothing person. Like if I, I, I either get it all now or it's not going to happen. And I wait or I say, you know, not now, but if it's now, then I want it and I'll go after it. But that whole, that 1% or even there's another um, uh, another company that I've heard that they even, they just say 10%. So whether it's 10% or 1%, whatever the percentage is going at any goal or any vision with that mindset breaks up that cultural like instant gratification mindset. And it's like, okay, I can, not that I'm planning on it, but I can fail on Saturday and Sunday. I can have a drink when I said I wasn't going to, or eat chocolate when I said I wasn't going to. And those days are just, they're 0% and I'm owning up to that I can do it. But on Monday the train is still there and I can still go 1% on Monday again because that's always that uh, what. Where people fall off the wagon is because they say, oh, Sunday and Saturday didn't happen. I guess it's done. I'm never going to the gym again. Or it's two months later and it's like boom, I'm going to the gym every day of the week. Now I'm getting it. And then it's three days in and they don't go on the fourth day and it's like it's gone again. So. So I think that's a way to really disrupt the pattern.

Eric: I want, I want to talk to that a little bit. Is um. So. So if a few years ago I read uh, Atomic Habits with James Clear and just a great book if you haven't read it and it introduces a concept of uh. Because. Because what, what you are describing is I believe how I've done goals most of my life and really struggled with them. So because, because I get into them and if I, I'm like executing, I'm killing it. And then something happens, you know, I get sick or shiny object or whatever goes on and then wait, pull it back. And then I'm like oh, it's done. And then I'm like oh, you know, and, and let it go. Just like you described it. And James Clear talks about in his book the He's. So for example, we use getting in shape. It was like it's how we see ourselves, which is actually the battle, it's not the goal. So we set this goal and I'm going to hit it every day and I'm going to do 90 hard or whatever. Whatever I'm doing.

Connor: Yeah.

Eric: And we screw up. It was about the routine, it was about the goal, it was about all these things. Got it. But what he's saying is so like for working out, what a lot of people see themselves as, for example, would be a person who is out of shape, who is hoping or working towards getting in shape. That's how they see themselves. And what he suggests is instead see yourself as an athlete.

Connor: Mhm.

Eric: You are an athlete or you are someone who does this or whatever it is your goal is what is the outcome?

Connor: You're a reader or you are an artist or whatever.

Eric: Right. But you, you, you see yourself as the product you want to create. There I am in my example, I am an athlete is how I'm looking. And then what happens is when you're Off. If you see yourself as an athlete, you're not off. You weren't off of hitting a goal. You were like. You had a few days where you were sick and out, and you. You were an athlete. You were sick and out, and they took time off. So now you're getting back into it because this is who you are. So when we see ourselves as the output of the goal, we no longer stop when the. When something goes sideways and then interruptions don't hit us differently. And I remember reading that book, and I remember somewhere around there, the dude that's like, make your bed was kind of at the same time for me, and it really worked for me because what I did, I didn't just get up and go, I'm gonna make the bed every morning. If you don't know, make the bed. Make the bed was about just accomplishing something. Right out of the gate, I was like, I'm somebody who finishes and accomplishes things. Because I always. I start a million product projects, never would finish them. And so I'm like, I'm somebody that goes in and finishes them. So every morning, that was me affirming, seeing myself in that space as being somebody that accomplishes. I still make the bed. It's the craziest thing. I make beds in hotels. I don't. I never in my life.

Connor: And they're not even your beds. You just find them.

Mary: He even yelled at me when I made the bed. He yelled at me. He goes, no, this is my. I'm like, uh, I was gonna make the bed.

Eric: He yelled a bit much, but yes, he didn't yell.

Mary: Yeah. I was like, whoa, what just happened?

Eric: No, there's just. It is. It's an amazing thing. So, like, we're going after these goals and we're setting things, and people want the self discipline. Self discipline is about the ability to do things when they're hard and we don't want to and push through. And we need that. We absolutely need it. But what helps with self discipline is the perception that we are this person and someone. So when we don't, it gives us the ability. Meaning. I don't know. I mean, uh, use me. Yesterday, sick as a dog, felt terrible. Supposed to work out. I did not. I didn't get up and go, well, I broke all my routines. I'm out. Which is what I would have done. This is a real life thing. And so today, back in it. I haven't worked out yet, but it's coming. I'm coming. It's coming today. But the, um. But the point being, if we can picture the outcome we want, if we can embody, if we can step into it, we really have. And that's why specificity in the vision. Who are we? What are we? What does it feel like? You know, you drive in a business, we're going to double our sales this year in the business. And you got a plan, you got all these things, you're going to do great. What type of leader do you have to be for that to work? How do you have to engage with your team to make that happen? How, how accountable are your meetings and how motivated and how much ownership are they taking in what's going on? How empowering are you? Like you're putting yourself in that spot because if you're not that human, then you're not going to get that outcome. So it just, um, makes it a lot easier if we can put ourselves in the shoes of what we want to create.

Mary: Yeah, well, and too, in relation to knowing your vision, why it's so important. When I say it gets hard, usually we see people, they'll quit right on the verge of breakthrough, like right on the verge of breakthrough. And it gets. Human nature is to go to the path of least resistance when you know that vision. And no matter where you're at. I love the story. Three feet from gold, you know, ah, it is. Get back up. One more rep, one more, one more call. Uh, that instead of hitting another snooze, get up, put your feet on the, on the floor, the 1%. And you keep doing that, you keep doing that, you keep doing that. Take a before, middle, after picture. I still, when I say I had that burned in my brain watching this lady or this guy lifting a weight, and then three months later and a year later, it's just like, gosh, we don't see that we want the easy fix. We want the vision. We want to see the results right away. And then when it's when things get sidetracked, when someone gets sick, when the. You lose your best clients, get back up, do it again.

Connor: It's huge. I, I really like where we've gone with this because, uh, and even if this is just me, but when we talk about vision building and stuff for, for a new year, uh, whether it's business or in personal life, it's always this, like, daunting. Yeah, we're gonna set a vision for the, for the next year. But like when we break it up into the steps that we've talked about of, uh, like start with gratitude, then you set your goals Then you dream about what else there is to do, and then you adjust your mindset. It makes it to where there's actually, like, there's actually a plan here. And when you do all of those, then that those steps in and of themselves produce a vision that you can look for. It's not just like, oh, yeah, I'm gonna go build a vision. Like, that's like saying, I'm gonna go build a house. Okay, cool. But what's the first step like? And all the other steps in between? Um, so. So I. I really hope this has helped people break it down and understand what's really possible, uh, and what vision building really looks like, um, as you go into. Because, I mean, when do you marry? Whenever y' all do the vision board stuff. When do you start that process or even, like, looking ahead to the next year? Year. Is it in December, January? When. When does that normally land for you?

Mary: So I already have my word. I start really thinking about my word of the year by the end of November 1st of December. So this year, my word was transform in 2025. And I'm so freaking proud because it's all of this, what we're talking about, the personal mastery, breaking through self sabotage. You talk about being a student in that and teaching it and living it over and over and over. I mean, just the little things, the reminders. I. When I say I'm freaking proud, I'm like, I freaking lived my word. This next year. It is consistency, because I know that to continue whatever path I want, I have to be consistent. So now my brain and my thoughts, I'm already thinking, well, what does consistency look like? What am I committed to? What does it look like for our business? What does it look like for my health? What does it look like for my family? And I start in my mind, I'm already planning, then by the end of the year. So usually it is December 31st, January 1st. I am, um, now have my vision board, my dream board out, and it already has the theme, and then I put it up on my wall, and now I work it. So every month I'm picking up, you know, this is what I'm going after. But it's my 1% because I already have it out there.

Eric: And for those that may be different, um, I will know my word probably somewhere in January. And, um, sometimes it comes earlier, I don't know. But, uh, my brain just doesn't work as organized as hers does. And so when, uh, it hits me, it'll hit me. It's a good one. But, uh, but just letting you know if you're not as organized or systematized or make it all work as Mary does, it's okay. Just have people like her in your life. That's all I suggest. Hey, I want to hit last thing. We're. I know we're closing this out, but, um, Mary talked about it earlier and I really heard it as you guys were just talking is that I feel like there's some people out there that really struggle with even getting their head wrapped around where they want to go, what they want to do. They're kind of in that space. And Mary said it earlier, is that there's. And this is part of looking backwards in the gratitude and dreaming and all those. But hope. So when people are in a space of, uh, fear and they're like, you know, it's been. Either it's been a rough year or they've, uh, a rough life. And they're like, I want this year to be different. But they're all focused on. They've got so much fear in them. You know, they're like, I want a dream, but I'll never get it. Like, that's their self talk because that's what they've taught themselves. That's the place to start with this is you've got to get yourself into a space of. It doesn't have to be excitement, but it does have to be a space of positivity around what is possible. And that's hope. You know, you got to believe that, truly believe it can get better. And I can influence it. Because when we sit around and we're just scared and we're living in fear, all we do is we have tons of anxiety. And I see it so much, especially you go younger, younger generation. It's a lot of anxiety. It's a lot of, well, what if I mess this up and what if I do that and it's funny. I, I really see it. And there's all these joke memes out there about the generational gaps and all that, but I'm Gen X to, to my core is I'm just like, screw it. I mean, we burn the house down. We'll figure it out. You know, that's kind of where you live at. You go, you go fall into it and figure it out and get it about the figuring it out and that you're equipped enough to handle it versus the fear that I'm not going to handle it. There's going to be retribution and there's all these negative things where people can go because there's no vision in that. Uh, you're in fight, fight, or freeze. And so.

Mary: And I want to add to what you're saying, because there are. People literally have no hope right now, and they might be listening. It's like, well, that's nice. I. I'm not a positive. I'm not in a positive space right now. So this is where I say, pick one thing that you can control, whether it is looking at motivational podcasts in the morning. Um, whatever. Whatever you do to ground you. Taking a walk, doing a moment of gratitude outside. Just go, man, I have breath in my lungs. I do have people who love me. Um, I have a roof over my head. You know, whatever you can do to get in a moment to just center you. Because once you center, once you figure out what one thing that you can do that you can control. And our mindset is the catalyst of everything. So if you start small, start there something, and then you start to move from there. When you get success in one little area, then you can get success in another little area. But it's baby steps.

Eric: Yeah.

Connor: Choosing. Making the choice to hope is really powerful, and it could be the start of new. New things. So.

Eric: Yeah. Well. And then the other side, the people that have 8 million dreams, and you're all over the place. Get your ass focused. That's what you need. Trim it down.

Connor: Um, honestly, do the same thing. Pick one.

Mary: Right. I was telling someone I was doing a coaching call the other day, and they said whatever you say yes to, you're saying no to something else. And so you have this vision, and you keep going, squirrel, squirrel, squirrel. So guess what? The thing that you just said yes to, the big vision that you wrote down, is now a no. So whenever you feel that, set a timer, I notice that I'm thinking, I want to go over here, do one thing to work on that vision, breathe, and then come back. Is it still a good idea?

Connor: Yeah. I mean, you talk about the power of rocks in Eos. Like, how many times I've had to do that just in the. Like, oh, that's a really good idea. I want to do that.

Eric: Yep.

Connor: It. It's a rock for next quarter. It's a rock for next quarter. Score. And it. But it has allowed me to finish things, which, you know, is always the.

Eric: The trap of life, which connects with his shirt because we got merch starting to happen.

Mary: That's right. That has been. You talk about a dream and a vision. Connor's bringing that sucker to life.

Connor: It's coming for you.

Mary: All will be known in due time.

Connor: My favorite. It's literally since I went through class the first time two years ago, I was like, man, I want that as either a bumper sticker or a T shirt.

Eric: Forehead tattoo. That's what you need. Forehead tattoo.

Connor: Oh, man. Well, thanks, everybody, for, ah, thanks for tuning in, uh, as they don't ever say for podcasts, but, uh, hopefully this brought some clarity for you. Uh, if you're interested, we do have the web webinar coming up in a couple weeks. We don't have a solid date, but it'll at least be the. The week of the 22nd. So keep an eye on our socials and all those things. We'll put that out here pretty soon.

Eric: December.

Connor: Other than that, Eric and Mary. Oh, I said December.

Eric: I don't know when they're watching this. They might. They might be seeing this in March and it's already passed, so that's all I say.

Connor: Well, if you don't know when you're watching it, look at the date. Open up your phone.

Eric: Notice

Mary: we have a lot of love in this company.

Connor: Thank you.

Eric: Editing.

Connor: Oh, my gosh. Well, thanks for joining us, guys, and, uh, we'll see you in the next episode.

Mary: Bye.