I'm a big believer in goal setting. I think having measurable targets is absolutely essential for keeping yourself focused and on track in your practice and in life.

But having a goal for monthly production is not a vision. Setting a goal for an additional week of vacation time next year is not a vision. A vision needs to be something much greater than that. It is a difference of perspective. When we set goals, we tend to look at the recent past as a starting point and build on that. However, in order to create an effective vision, you have to free yourself from your current reality and think in terms of possibilities.

Establishing a personal vision begins by asking yourself some simple, but profound questions:

• If I could have it any way I wanted it, what would my life look like?
• What kind of practice would I have?
• What kind of dentistry would I be doing?
• How would I spend my 365 days each year?
• What would my economic freedom plan require?
• What would it take to relieve my stresses and make me feel fulfilled?

Once you have the answers to these questions, you have your vision. I'm not talking about pie-in-the-sky dreams. For a vision to be meaningful and motivating it should come from taking a deep look at an ideal future, and then setting goals from that perspective.