===> INTRODUCTION

What would happen if you and I could create our future from a blank canvas and if nothing stopped us from inserting our wildest dreams? Our dreams wouldn't resemble those dreams we allow ourselves in today's world would they? They would be without boundaries and they wouldn't include the limits we've inherited over time.

In this issue titled The Blank Canvas, I ask you to step out of your comfort zone a little. I invite you to stretch your horizons a little and to operate from outside the box, to shift the way you look at things. I invite you to NOT be normal and to do this exercise differently such that your future may be altered permanently. I can make no guarantees here other than: If you change nothing, nothing will change!

Trust the result and bring intentionality to this exercise. Follow it to the letter and you will find that, in the very least, you will come out of it with an action plan that will leave you stimulated and inspired. You'll come out of this one with an action plan that is pure vintage YOU, created by you, from your visit into the future. You will be called to act with a sense of freedom from past circumstances.

In our great Network Marketing Industry, leaders always share with us that one of the most important success ingredients is to have a precise action plan. However, rare are the times that I have received extensive coaching on that very subject.

I recently attended a Masternind training evening in Dallas, where the highly acclaimed Motivated Mike Lemire shared some of his ideas and concepts on the subject of planning. I was so impressed with this young dynamic coach professional that I decided to buy one of his CD's entitled Goal Setting.

I don't have to tell you that any time spent on planning is time well spent. This kind of exercise yield higher returns that the cost of NOT doing so. In listening this CD and deciding to go ahead to do the exercises he suggests, I thought to myself what a great theme to choose for my next month's MMGVision Ezine.

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Everyone has dreams. However, dreams are just that, dreams! I am convinced that one of the major missings that we find with people who rarely reach their goals and aspirations in Life is an absence of serious planning. Most people never really pause, relax a bit, and take the time to identify and map out what they really want to accomplish in their business as well as their Life in general.

Don't forget, as Mike Lemire points out in his coaching, the tremendous secondary advantages to doing such an exercise:

1) Reduced stress and anxiety
2) Increased productivity
3) Increased self-esteem

Furthermore, these returns are almost immediate when we dive into this kind of exercise. Preparing a good action plan is easy, says Mike, but NOT DOING IT is just as easy... Hmmm !

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===> YOUR WORD IS GOLD

One of the most (if not the most) important things to accomplish in the Network Marketing industry is to find and sponsor new partners, reps or associates and to help them succeed, grow and reach their goals. It is said that duplication is inevitable in our industry. Perhaps it would be wise to lead by example by planning our own future!

How many new reps have you personally sponsored in the last 12 months? How much money have you earned during these same 12 month? Do these results reflect last year's planning time OR the absence of proper planning? I assert that the results you have today and the way you feel about them are a direct result of your plans a year ago.

Good planning could be said to be a series of promises we make to ourselves. You and I know too well how easy it is to allow life circumstances cause us to lose focus, to deviate from our plans and goals. It's all too easy to put our goals aside, to not honor them, to not keep our promises to ourselves. Our planning, or the absence of planning of a year ago, has undoubtedly colored the results we wind up with today.

===> YOUR LIFE CATEGORIES

The order of the categories is not important at this point but I suggest you download the exercise worksheet (link below) and prioritize the list of your Life Categories. Understand that your top priorities today may change in the future and that's ok! Don't feel guilty while listing your present priorities.

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To Download the exercise worksheet, point your browser to:http://www.MissionMarketingGlobal.com/mmgvision/english/blank_canvas.pdf
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Here is the list of categories. By downloading and printing this document, complete this exercise now. Identify the categories in order of importance for you.

Please note one or two things that you would like to improve in each of these categories.

Categories

My categories in order of importance

1. Attitude
2. Money
3. Family
4. Career
5. Pleasure
6. Physique
7. Social
8. Education
9. Service public
10. Spiritual

===> YOUR LONG-TERM VISION

Here you must first establish how many years long-term represents. (As an example, if you are 50 years old, then long term might mean 10 years). However, if you're 20, long term might mean 20 or 30 years.

That being said, what you need to do now is to map your long-term vision. Don't take this exercise lightly. Identify your biggest dreams. What kind of life-experiences would be possible with a 6 figure monthly income?

I realize that I'm asking you to push the envelope here and YES, to write all those projects and dreams you've put aside for so long. You'll see later why we're starting with long-term goals. Please find a quiet spot where you can invest the required time to complete this exercise and be sure to spend more time in this section than elsewhere in the exercise.

===> YOUR MID-TERM VISION

Calculate and identify what will have to be accomplished at the mid-term portion of your career plan. As an example, when you write down your long-term vision, if you've listed several luxury cars, your boats(110 footers… hmm !) your planes, your 4 properties (10,000 square feet no less) situated in the four corners of the earth, it goes without saying that, by mid-term, you will be earning a lot of money and you will have reached the top echelons within your networking project.

Visualize yourself now half way down the road to your long-term vision and career. Where do you see yourself with respect to your plan? What has become reality? Describe the picture you have created in as much detail as possible. These descriptions must be different than your long-term vision yet they must demonstrate signs of being in line with your long-term objectives.

At the end of this segment, you should be beginning to feel butterflies in your stomach, a sense of excitement. If this is not the case, I recommend you stop here and start over because you've probably aimed too low in the previous section.

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Let's say that one of your 2 year objectives were to be the purchase of your new BMW of the year. I recommend that you go shopping soon for this new car, sit in it, smell it and even test drive it if you can (make sure that you let the sales person know that you will buy from him or her). For sure, you need to pick up a beautiful color picture or brochure of this vehicle. Knowing full well that your intention is to get this car in 24 months, you should now cut up your picture in 24 pieces (one piece of the car for every month) creating your pieces of the puzzle.

From that moment on, every month that you honor your word to yourself (in other words, each month that you do exactly what you said you would do) you will take a piece of the puzzle and post it on your objective board in your home. From month to month you will have a deeper appreciation of what it means to honor your word to yourself and to keep your promises. Furthermore, you will see your dream take shape, from month to month. You will slowly see your dream come true as you bring life to your goal's picture. Your dream will become reality bit by bit, month by month, at the same time as your picture will take shape.

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===> YOUR 1 YEAR PLAN

Here you will concentrate, among other, on such projects as family holidays. What kind of vacations will you chose, where will you go, how often and what kind of activities will you do during your holidays? Continue now to build your 1 year objectives.

A few examples:

1) Leaders developed within your organization
2) Promotions earned
3) House renovations
4) New furniture
5) New dog
6) Purchase of a bigger home
7) My career level achieved
8) Etc.

Start by identifying the projects and accomplishments you want to see happen by this 1 year landmark date. Remember that these projects must be YOUR OWN, not somebody else's dreams. One year only represents a small piece of the pie when we think in terms of 50 years. Even if your long-term is only 10 years, one year is only 10%. But at the same time, it means that 90% of the timeline would be in the past.

My Categories My Accomplishments

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===> YOUR 1 MONTH PLAN

At this point, you should know exactly what has to happen every single month to successfully reach your 1 year objectives. Concretely, what do you plan to make happen every single month, like no kidding? How much money will you earn per month? What rewards will you give yourself for getting these things done?

A few examples to consider:

1) Reading motivational and inspirational books.
2) Use of specialized building tools
3) Contact x amount of people every month, per week, per day.
4) 1 on 1 presentations per week
5) Public Meetings per month, per week
6) Advertizing
7) Participation in special events and trainings
8) etc.

My Activities My Accomplishments

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===> YOUR WEEKLY ACTION PLAN

Now that you have traveled on this road, from your possible future back to present day, I hope that this dream building exercise, combined with a basic yet powerful way to plan your future, will stimulate you to establish a workable lasting weekly action plan. May this plan propel you toward this new possible future, an action plan that is pure vintage YOU, created and designed by you alone.

Yes, the cost may be high but the returns reach out toward the unimaginable and the yet impossible. Only you can prevent this future from delivering on your promise of realizing your wildest dreams. Others have done it. Why not you too?

You already know what you have to do now. Amid this exercise, you have already seen those actions that were missing before. All there is left to do is: Just do it!

Let's call these actions The promises you make to yourself!

===> CONCLUSION

Congratulations on completing the exercise!

This is perhaps the first time you have mapped out your future in such detail. Know this! Every entrepreneur that has achieved success has been down this road. There is no such thing as winging success. Once their action plan was created, all they had to do was honor their word and keep the promises they had made to themselves.

VISION + ACTION = RESULT

The ball's in your court!