One super useful way to arrive at your vision plans is to reverse engineer them. Start with the end in mind, and ask a series of questions to back your way into your next steps.

For example, if I had a vision to become a comedian, defined as performing a paid gig in NYC, my line of questioning might look something like this:

• In order to get paid, I’d probably need a solid 10 minutes of material.
• A joke takes 20 seconds on average, so that means I’d need 30 solid jokes.
• Most of the jokes I write will suck. Maybe 1 out of 20 will be good. So I’d probably need to create at least 600 jokes to find 30 good ones.
• I’d need to test those jokes out at open mic nights in order to see which ones are good and which ones suck.
• I probably need to do 50-100 open mic nights to practice and get good at performing.
• Maybe I should do some improv classes first to get comfortable on stage.
• To get an open mic night (much less a paid gig), I probably need to build relationships with other comedians and club owners.
• I bet I could use Twitter to practice joke writing once I understand the basic concepts.
• I probably should study what makes a joke good or bad so I know how to write them.

Given all of this, your vision plan might look something like this:

Vision: Become a comedian

What “done” looks like: Perform a paid stand up comedy gig in NYC.

Estimated time to complete: 5 years.

• Year one: study how to write good jokes.
  • Find 3-5 books.
  • Watch 20 comedy specials. Take notes on jokes I like. Deconstruct why.
  • Start attending my local comedy club at night. Meet comedians. Take notes during sets.
  • Ask 3-10 comedians who I like for coffee. Ask them how they approach joke writing. Keep in touch periodically.
• Year two: practice writing jokes.
  • Create a Twitter account (pseudonym is fine).
  • Run an automation to follow/unfollow people who follow comedians I like to build an audience.
  • Write 10 jokes a week. Post on Twitter. Track which ones perform well. Try to understand why.
  • Continue to build relationships at local comedy club with other comedians.
• Year three: get comfortable on stage.
  • Sign up for improv classes.
  • Continue to post jokes on Twitter.
  • Continue to build relationships at local comedy club.
  • Consider creating an email list - build an audience before I need it.
• Year four: start performing at open mic nights.
  • Sign up at local comedy club.
  • Write 20 new jokes each week, perform once a week.
  • Hone in on a solid 5-10 minutes.
  • Get my set recorded. Study how I communicate - look for opportunities to improve. Post clips on TikTok / IG / YT.
  • Continue to build relationships with local comedy club.
  • Continue to post jokes on twitter.
• Year five: transition to a paid gig.
  • Reach out to my comedian friends and ask how to get a paid gig. Ask for intros to other clubs if necessary.
  • Reach out to owner of local club and ask how to get a paid gig.
  • Perform.