Taking Yourself To A Higher Level Of Achievements.

A church asked me to facilitate a series of discussions on how to transform its organisation. It was prepared to destroy the current state and rebuild the church to make the greatest impact for God.

Throughout the sessions, I used different frameworks and ideas to pray and brainstorm with the leaders. There was a tool that I used that was so deceptively simple and yet, it was a great resource to help us think through the vision for the future.

Academicians called it the gap analysis. It has even been used to help students fine-tune their research for a doctorate degree.

This is how it works.

First, ask yourself, what’s my dream for the future? What do I really want to achieve by a specific date?

Crafting your dream is like using a compass. It will help you chart your direction to your destination in life.

Secondly, where are you right now?

If you don’t know where you are, you cannot make a meaningful start. You will not reach your destination because you can’teven plan for the journey.

Thirdly, what do you have to do to achieve your dream?

If you dream and you don’t know how to turn your dream into a reality, you’re living in your own mind. Like diapers, it may give you some comfort but it is definitely not a permanent solution.

Without knowing what to do, you can’t fulfil your dream.

Fourthly, what causes the gap between your dream and achievement of the dream? What are the primary causes of the gap?

You need to know the sources of the problems so that you can resolve them. By dealing with the symptoms, your problems will either continue or they will return back to you.

You need to count the cost to fulfil your dream. You need to pay the price and make the necessary sacrifices.

Hard work is definitely a necessary part of the journey.

Fifthly, how can you resolve the issues to close the gap?

You need to have a plan. Like they say, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. You need to map out the strategies and tactics to reach your dream.

It includes a detailed list of actionable steps. In addition, you need to craft different alternatives in case the route that you had selected did not work.

You need to deploy your resources effectively and efficiently so as to make your dream come true.

Sixthly, how can you implement the plan?

The key difference between dreaming and achieving the dream is just one word – execution. It is the capacity, ability and tenacity to act on your dream.

If you have a dream and you don’t take action, you’re building castles in the air. On the other hand, if you take action but you don’t have a dream, you are merely running around the same castles.

It is not enough to be a dreamer, you need to be a doer too. You need to go beyond execution and learn how to excel in your action.

Execution is about improving your action constantly so as to bring your dream closer to reality.

Last but not least, how can you measure and improve your progress in achieving your dream?

If you cannot measure, you cannot keep track of where you are and how you’re going to reach your destination. Through measurement, you can find out if you are moving in the right direction and find ways to improve your journey.

Even if you’re happy with the current state, you can research and find out if there is a better position that you should be in. Look for gaps that are holding you back from serving a higher calling and for a worthier cause.

Then, follow the above 7 steps to take yourself and team there.

In the army, we are trained to bridge a gap through obstacles. We will then lead our troops through the gap to reach our objective or a better ground.

There are times when we need to send a signal to our soldiers. We do that by shouting, “Gap! Gap! Gap!”

Enjoy yourself as you breach one gap after another to take yourself to a higher level of achievement.