Before the great explorers of old set out on their journeys they would always map what they knew about the territory they were about to enter: where was the water and the plentiful food? Where were the deserts and swamps, the helpful people and the dangerous ones? Even a sketch map was better than none.
These times of change have turned us all into explorers — nobody can predict what will happen tomorrow, let alone in a year’s time. So like those great explorers we will all succeed better if we have a map to guide us.
In our case, the map we need is not of the physical world but of our inner landscape: the sources of inspiration that will keep us motivated and enthusiastic, no matter what might happen around us.
The final chapter of Inner Leadership shows you how to draw this map uniquely for you, by pulling together the key features of all the territory you have explored in the book:
- What you are working to crete: your inspiring vision
- Why this matters to you — your purpose
- How you are going to make this journey — your values
- How this contribute to you living a worthwhile life — and what you will do each day, week, or month to achieve that
- Facts and quotes that inspire you and draw you forward
- People (stakeholders) who are essential to achieving your vision, and what they need from you
- The methods you will use to keep yourself centred, grounded, and connected with your priorities as you move forward
By mapping these key landmarks you will create something you can refer to whenever you get lost — a tool to quickly reorient and align you to whatever matters most to you.
Then you can continue your journey. And like the explorers of old, you can update your map and add more detail as you move forward.
Do you have a clear map of what most inspires you? What that is, why it matters, and what you are doing to increase it in your life? Would you like to have such a map?
Adapted from Inner Leadership: tools for building inspiration in times of change.
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Map image from the Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile, Captain JH Speke, 1863