Just today I was looking at a list of goals I made 15 years ago about all the stuff I wanted, and all the experiences I wanted to have. Many more came true than I would have guessed then, but many did not.
And I got to thinking about it: there isn’t a thing on there about work. About a job. To be sure, I had goals, but my mental focus was not there. The process and the outcome were not emotionally connected.
They tell you do dream big, but here is the core truth, as I now realize: the way you get all the stuff, and all the experiences, is that you figure out how to LOVE the most basic tasks of your chosen field, and learn to love the process of learning to do them even better. You have to fall in love with your craft. And if you do that, then success is inevitable over some time horizon.
You have to start with the beginning, in the present moment, and the next task. And they have to matter to you, and bring you some comfort and satisfaction when done well and consistently. Everything else will take care of itself.
I feel stupid for not seeing this before. To be sure, what I do for a living aligns well with my talents only to the extent that I have lots of free time to do the things I am good at, but if you are going to do a thing, why not extend the hand of friendship and affection to it, and bring it into your confidence and family?
Every excellence is a reward. Mark that a bon mot.
Edit: the logical corollary to this is that the visualization that matters is visualizing work well done, and with pleasure. Do this, and everything else happens, provided a very simple plan.