Goals suck unless you do this first.

It all starts with a crystal clear VISION so vivid you can’t unsee.

A vision your imagination can truly SEE orients your brain, goals, desires, to that vision. It is present when you make decisions, set goals, hit a bump in the road.

Let me give you an example.

When I owned my former business, Portland Garment Factory, my husband and I were ready to start a family. And I had a super vivid vision of being barefoot on the grass nursing our baby on a Tuesday. And that represented being a grounded mama, with spacious time around parenting, being present.

And when I tried to picture my then business fitting into that lifestyle (I was working a ton, had 15 employees, working 12 hour days, traveling for work, always next to my phone) it just did NOT compute.

Once I felt that, there was no turning back. After a series of excruciatingly hard decisions, I sold my half of the company, had my sweet little son. I got to hold him for his naps, spend time with family visitors, and get on the slow train of mama life.

I am no longer nursing my babies, but this "barefoot in the grass" north star has oriented me towards the life I want ever since.

I have had many amazing opportunities to start/buy/work with incredible businesses since that. But my decision making always comes down to, "But will I be able to be barefoot in the grass with this opportunity?"

And if the answer is no, it makes it pretty easy.

And this won't be my vision forever, of course. This time in my life is precious and I am happy to say that I am making lemonade out of every damn drop of juice I can.

And by staying oriented to this vision, my business has made more money than I ever have this year, working part time, AND I take summers off to be with my kids.

That is the power of Vision first.