THE LEADERSHIP CONVERSATION
Personal Vision: Steering Your Life Before Steering the Business
Most business owners spend years pushing the back wheel of the bicycle — the business vision, the numbers, the targets, the deadlines, the hiring, the fires, the grind. They pedal so hard that they forget the front wheel is even there.
If your business suddenly disappeared tomorrow, where would you be heading?
“Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.” — Jim Rohn
Mindset. Why Personal Vision Comes First
I asked a business owner “what do you want?” after her answer I had to repeat my question, with a wry smile and gently emphasising “you”.
Because this happens every time I ask the question. We default to answering what we want for “my business”.
We’re so focused on it we forget about why we got involved with it. And lose track of ourselves.
The front wheel matters more than we realise. Your Personal Vision determines the direction of your life long before the business starts moving. It defines what kind of person you want to become, why you want to build the business you’re building, and whether the road you’re on is still the road you actually want.
Jim Rohn’s “Be – Do – Have” is the simplest framework for this shift.
Start with the person you want to become. Then decide what that kind of person needs to do.
Only then look at what you’d like to have in your life and whether those things genuinely matter, or whether they’re just shiny distractions.
Most of us, especially in the chaos of running a business, chase the “Have” and hope the rest will sort itself out.
But clarity doesn’t appear by accident.
Personal Vision is the antidote to drifting.
It brings your life and identity back into the driver’s seat. And when the front wheel is steady, the back wheel finally stops wobbling.
Skill Set
Developing a personal vision is not a mystical talent reserved for people who go on retreats in the Drakensberg. It’s a skill — and like any skill, it improves with practice and the right questions.
One of those skills is learning to separate wants from needs.
Wants are tempting and often loud.
Needs are quieter but more important.
Many business owners run their whole lives on wants – revenue targets, new ideas, more growth… without stopping to ask whether these things fit into the life they’re trying to build.
Another skill is self-interrogation: asking questions that reach deeper than “What’s the business plan?” or “What’s our target for next year?” It’s questions like:
- Who am I becoming?
- What is more important to me now, than five years ago?
- What does success look like for me. For everyone that is different. Don’t base it on others, find your definition.
The best definition I’ve heard “Success is the lifelong pursuit of worthy goals”
Perhaps the most overlooked skill: Connecting your personal vision with your company vision.
Your business is a vehicle.
It’s powerful, sometimes fast, and often demanding.
But you are the one steering it. When those two visions don’t align, the business pushes you off course, and that’s when burnout, resentment, or “I’m tired of my own company” starts creeping in.
When they do align, decision-making becomes clearer and far less emotional. You prioritise better. You say “no” more confidently. And the business stops feeling like it’s dragging you behind it.
Activity
Now for the practical part, where your metaphorical bicycle tire finally hits the tar.
Your personal vision is the front wheel.
Your business vision is the back wheel.
The back wheel creates power, but the front wheel determines direction.
Yet almost every business owner I coach spends 90% of their time trying to push the back wheel faster without ever checking whether the front wheel is pointing at something meaningful.
Here are the activities that turn a personal vision from an idea into a compass:
- Create a short, simple Personal Vision statement every year.
One page is more than enough. Outline who you’re becoming, what you need to do to become that person, and what you want to have in your life as a result. - Review your calendar through the lens of your vision.
Your calendar never lies. If it doesn’t reflect your personal priorities like family time, health, learning, relationships, rest, strategic thinking … then adjust the calendar, not your vision. - Talk it through with someone you trust.
Saying your vision out loud sharpens it. Sharing it creates commitment. Hiding it keeps it optional. - Use your personal vision as the filter for major business decisions.
Don’t commit the business to a direction your life cannot sustain. That’s not strategy; that’s slow-motion self-sabotage. - Check in monthly. Adjust lightly. Keep it alive.
Your personal vision will shift as you grow. That’s normal. What matters is that the front wheel always points somewhere on purpose.
When your personal vision leads, the business vision finally has meaning
… because it’s taking you somewhere you actually want to go.
Take Away
A clear personal vision changes the way you lead, work, decide, and live.
It gives your business purpose, your priorities structure, and your energy focus. The more intentional you are about where you want to go, the easier it becomes to guide the business in that same direction. The front wheel matters — and when it’s steady, everything else becomes easier.
- Personal Vision is the front wheel that determines direction; business vision is the back wheel that creates power.
- Jim Rohn’s Be–Do–Have helps align who you want to be with what you do and what you aim to have.
- Clarity between wants and needs ensures your calendar, decisions, and business strategy support the life you actually want.
Jim Rohn – “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s.”
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If you want to learn more about hosting a workshop on this topic or simply have a conversation over coffee about it, feel free to send me a message.
You can send me @colin Carmody a DM, contact me via ccarmody@thealternativeboard.za.com or call +27 78-804-2347
Coach Colin at the Alternative Board
I guide Overwhelmed and Frustrated Business Owners and their Management Team from Chaos to Clarity & Control using the Business Builders Blueprint™ to Improve their Business & Change their Lives.
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