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I asked him what would happen if he shifted his hours to be in the salon from five or six in the morning until two o’clock in the afternoon. If he was able to do that, would he still have enough time, energy, and stamina to do his art?

“Tom, I can’t cut hair at five o’clock in the morning!” Daniel protested.

I immediately reassured him that I would be his first client if he changed his hours. I was certain that all of the busy executives he worked with would appreciate the shift in schedule so they no longer had to take valuable working hours from their day to get a haircut.

In that one moment, we shifted Daniel’s entire business. Several months later, he said that our conversation changed his life because he realized he was getting stuck in the “how” instead of zeroing in on the target. That was the day that he and I coined the word “phucow!”

By being open to the “how” (changing his schedule) and asking his clients if they would meet him earlier, he no longer had an excuse to not be doing the art he was so passionate about. Daniel was able to generate over six figures in sales from his art in eighteen months while continuing to maintain his existing business as a stylist. To this day, I am his steady once-a-month 6 a.m. appointment.

Focus on what you want, create your vision, and allow the “how” to show up. After twenty years of living By Design, I know I am not the first to say that if you can find a model or a mentor, someone who has already successfully done what you are desiring, this will allow you to leapfrog past unnecessary obstacles or struggles. When I set forth my intention to write this book and inspire a million people to live and work By Design, I had already written a book on my own, but it was industry driven and self-published and used as a calling card to help build my business in the early days. I knew that if I wanted to achieve my vision, I would have to seek out and learn from people who had already done what I intended to do.

So, how did I accomplish this?

I picked up the phone and reached out to two people who I knew had achieved what I wanted. The first was T. Harv Eker, author of Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. After numerous calls and a fierce game of phone tag, we connected. Within an hour, he revealed so many insights, ahas, do’s and don’ts, pitfalls to avoid, and specific marketing strategies that my vision became even more real. I am forever indebted to Harv for paying it forward by sharing his insights so openly.

My second call was to someone I have been blessed to know for close to two decades, the incredible Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and several other bestselling books. Once again, I was learning from someone who had been down this path numerous times. He shed light where there was none. His insights and experience were invaluable and helped me become present with significant milestones that were in alignment with my achieving my vision. Coming from a guy whose combined book sales are over 700 million copies, I can still see the smile on his face when he said, “Only a million copies, Tom? You’re thinking too small!” (You see? Sometimes we all need a coach!)

After spending time with these two guys, I was able to map out the steps that would naturally and automatically lead me to accomplish a goal that, prior to those two phone calls, I was clueless about achieving. With their knowledge and guidance, I sat down and began creating my vision board.

I once read a statistic that at least 65 percent of all people are considered “visual,” meaning that they best respond to visual stimulation. One way to see your vision come to life is by creating a vision board, a visual example of what you want your life to look like. A vision board is a map of your plan and the significant milestones on the way toward accomplishing your goal. It taps into the neuropsychology of self-discipline that says if you have a visual representation