Very successful and satisfied people can also be called creative visionaries. They are able to picture specific outcomes in their minds and then have developed the ability to transform these mental blueprints into realities. They have learned - by trial, error, and forgiveness - to nurture, sustain, and recreate the vision, regardless of the barriers that might materialize.

Visionaries do not let outer circumstances (such as setbacks, tragedies, or injuries), nor internal conditions (such as doubts, lethargy, and terror) permanently weaken their commitment to their vision.

They are able to keep their blueprint safe and sound, (like a small and protected pilot light), regardless of disappointments, detours, dead ends, and debilitating emotions or circumstances.

Visionaries also have the ability to express themselves in positive and successful verbal pictures. They are comfortable speaking in terms of “when” and not “if.” Rather than being obsessed with avoiding everything, or annihilating anything “negative,” they spend more of their time looking for “openings” and possibilities.

They also take full responsibility for producing their own destinies. Graham Nash, of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young shares his visionary process this way, “I dreamed about being a rock star at eleven, twelve, and thirteen.

Then, I pulled myself toward my dream.” In addition, visionaries have a healthy relationship with disappointment and derailment.

After hitting a wall and losing momentum, they have the courage to feel loss, to grieve, and express all of their feelings and fears while still having the courage to forgive, regroup, climb back on their “visionary horse”and take the next step forward.

Visionaries are also able to enjoy the journey. They value both the payoff as well as the path. They live life as though they are traveling on a cruise ship. While there is a specific destination, a visionary knows that the most important part of the trip and what they are paying for is the experience during the ride - the view, the food, the pampering, the people, sunrises, and sunsets. Not allowing our senses to partake in the pleasures and amenities of the journey and being obsessed with making great time arriving at the next port, would be an insane and “expensive” way to experience the trip. In addition, visionaries know that suffering and excessive stress come from fretting, straddling, and procrastination and not from doing the actual work. They live more in the moment (by engaging the very thing that is calling to them the loudest or whimpering the softest) and dwell less on past failures or future fears.

Although there might be storms all around them, visionaries live in the eye of the hurricane, where life is a little bit calmer. This “calm core” help them to sustain their trust and creativity so that they can build their vision - “brick by brick.”

Visionaries also have more faith and less hope. They act as if they have peeked at the last page of a suspense novel and know how well things will ultimately turn out. Because of this “insider information,” they don’t struggle or panic when unfavorable and unexpected circumstances appear and reappear.

Conclusion When creating your visionary blueprint, attempt to use as many of your senses as possible. The more specific and vibrant the pictures, colors, odors, sounds, tastes, and textures the more powerful your visionary process will become, especially when things are falling apart all around you. What we are also talking about here is the visionary’s ability to regroup by feeling, including, accepting, and forgiving. This skill will enable us to refocus and recommit during doubtful and devastating times.

The challenge, during rough times, is to be willing to revitalize and refocus our visions. This daring and vital skill will help us to take additional mini-actions.

Mini-actions create momentum which, in turn, feed our feelings of possibility. Ultimately, feelings of possibility fuel and support us - as we mold our vision into a reality.