Before the great explorers set out on their journeys they would always create a map of what they knew about the territory they were about to enter: where was the food and the drinkable water? Where were the deserts and the swamps, the helpful people and the dangerous ones? Even a sketch map was better than no map at all.
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 of old, we will all succeed better if we have a map to carry with us.
In our case, the map we need is not a map of the physical world but rather a map of our own inner world: the sources of inspiration that will keep us grounded, motivated, and enthusiastic, no matter what goes on around us.
The final chapter of Inner Leadership shows you how to draw this map uniquely for yourself, by pulling together all the key features you have explored in the book:
- What you are working to create: your inspiring vision
- Why this matters to you — your purpose
- How you are going to make this journey — your values
- How this contributes to your living a worthwhile life — and what you will do each day, week, or month to achieve that
- Facts and quotes that inspire you and pull you forward
- People (stakeholders) who are essential to achieving your vision, and what they need to stay motivated
- 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 that will quickly reorient and realign 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 go.
Do you have a clear map of what most grounds and inspires you? Would you like to create one?
Adapted from Inner Leadership: a framework and 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 J.H. Speke, 1863