I don’t want to make it seem like I think finding success is as easy as getting off the couch and walking out the door. It’s not. Let’s face it: we don’t live in a Cinderella World where serendipity serves us a life of fortune on a silver platter. We have to be practical and accept that the path to individual success and happiness is an incremental and systematic progression. In order to start down that path, we need a strategy. I call it the “MVP process”—you set a Mission, flesh it into a Vision, and then set your Plan. Mission, Vision, Plan: it’s your guide to becoming your own MVP.
In the mission-setting stage, we begin to treat our dreams not as dreams, but as realities that are simply yet to happen. We begin to put the pieces in place, establishing a foundational groundwork from where we will ascend. It may take days or weeks to refine your exact mission. It will need to stand the test of time, and it should never be wholly changed, just amended. It is truly reflective of who and what you are!
With your mission in place, we move on to the “V” of the MVP process: Vision. This is where we fully flesh out the details of where our mission is taking us. Our vision takes on a more realistic and practical hue than the bold proclamation of a life mission, but this is still a mental exercise. We’re still allowing ourselves to dream big. Dream of your ideal situation, but in a realistic framework. Don’t set yourself up for disappointment with grand, unattainable fantasies, but don’t sell yourself short, either.
In sports and in life, you need a strategy, a game plan. In order to create a successful game plan—the “P” of MVP—you must prepare for and anticipate the range of possibilities that await you. Look at the challenges, the meetings, the ways that you manage, and the jobs that you apply for from every angle. Anticipate the good and the bad, and think of questions or possible problems that could arise.
With these three stages of strategizing laid out, you become the MVP of your own life. With a mission, you can envision, and with a vision, you can plan. Once you have your plan fully fleshed out, the rest should be gravy. You'll have the inner passion to persist, the mental stability to merge hope with practicality, and the context to properly frame and guide you to being victorious and finding your win within. It is this flame that burns within you that honors past sacrifices, highlights present successes, and illuminates the path to future glories.
What's your MVP process? Feel free to share in the comments section!