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What an Airforce Pilot Can Teach You About Discovering Your Brand

Contrary to popular belief, pilots do not all have 20/20 vision and even if they did having 20/20 vision does not actually mean you have perfect eyesight. 

When I used to work in the contact lens industry one of my clients was the United States Airforce bases in the UK. Some of the products we sold were very high water content which was ideal for pilots flying in dry altitude environments. 

One day I was visiting an airforce Captain who was an optometrist and he shared with me the USAF eye exam. 

He asked me to sit in the patient chair and look at the eye chart that I am sure you are familiar with. Then he walked over to the door of the room, reached for the light switch and asked: “Which one is better?”  He then proceeded to turn the lights off and then back on again! 

Of course with the lights off, I could not see a thing!

Having a clear vision for where you want your business to be is one of the critical elements when it comes to Discovering your brand. When you look at the large brands of companies and then wonder how you can emulate them,  it can appear either daunting or irrelevant.

But it does not have to be like that. 

When you look at the classic eye test, there are a number of other elements to the makeup of good eyesight. This formula can provide you with steps to follow in developing a vision for your real estate investing business.  

Clarity – having a good vision means you can see something clearly at a distance. A good vision needs to provide clarity about what you want to be further ahead – usually, 12-36 months is a good timeframe. Much more than that can seem blurry. Often the finding of suitable properties or investors can take some time anyway so thinking in months or even quarters can be realistic. 

Peripheral Awareness – what other factors might come into play to disrupt your vision? We do not want to get caught up in trying to consider all eventualities, but it helps to have some awareness of factors that could have an effect. For example, if interest rates were to rise how would that impact you? 

Eye Co-ordination – having a clear vision can help you maximize the resources you have to be sure you are using them on the activities that will get you closer to that vision. 

Depth Perception – if you can clearly communicate a vision others see a brand that has meaning and confidence that leaves people more likely to want to be associated with you and what you are doing. 

Focusing Ability – we all have the same amount of time every day and for most of us, it is limited. Better that you maximize the time you do have pursuing opportunities that align with where you see yourself or where you want to see yourself. 

Colour Vision – not everything is black and white and the mixture of the two creates grey. If alternative opportunities present themselves you can make much better decisions through the filter of your vision. Also for your own brand having an inspiring vision can bring more colour to your life and who you are as well as help you stand out from others who seem grey or are purely transactional focused. 

Here are some questions to ask yourself to help get a clearer vision for your business; 

Why Do You Want Your Vision?

If you could wave a realistic magic wand and look forward 3 years, what would have to have happened for you to be happy with the progress that you have made in the past year?

What exactly did you accomplish? 

What goals did you set and achieve? 

How do you feel about achieving these goals? 

Follow up on the 5 W’s – Who, What, Where, When and Why.  Forget HOW! 

Set Realistic Expectation or Action

What Values will your Vision be based upon?

What Feelings do you want to feel or create as a result of fulfilling your Vision and living your Values?

Think of and include the areas most important to you; 

  • Family 
  • Intellectual 
  • Physical 
  • Social 
  • Spiritual 
  • Travel 
  • Personal 
  • Environment; 
  • Auto, Clothing, 
  • Home, 
  • Technology, 
  • Toys
  • Business/Career 
  • Financial

A great exercise to do is The Painted Picture from the Backpocket COO, Cameron Herold’s book.  Download the chapter here https://paulcopcutt.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Double-Double-Cameron-Herold-chpt1.pdf

3 thoughts on “What an Airforce Pilot Can Teach You About Discovering Your Brand”

  1. Pingback: How on Target is Your Barista? – PC Unlimited – Personal Brand Consulting and Training

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