Picture Your Life – Create a Vision Board

By Michelle Seyfarth, Ph.D.

Through my networking efforts I meet a lot of people: business owners, employees, executives, volunteers, etc. No matter what you do or who you define yourself to be, you have a vision for something! Maybe it’s a vision of where you want your business to be in the next 3-5 years, maybe it’s a vision of things you want to focus your life on, or what you want to be when you grow up, or where you want to live, or maybe you have a vision to overcome an illness. Whatever your vision is, think about creating a vision board to help direct and focus you on the path to making that vision a reality.

What is a Vision Board?

A vision board is simply a visual representation of what you want to have, what you want to be, and/or what you want to do in your life. The most common version of a vision board is a poster-board filled with a collage of pictures, images and words from magazines all related to your vision.

At a recent networking meeting, we worked on individual vision boards. One of the participants made a small vision board for her business. It was on 8.5 x 11 poster-board and she filled the board with photos and words related to actions she must take in order to be successful in her business. For example, among many images, she had a large eye representing the idea of keeping her eye on the goal.

Many years ago a struggling comedian named Jim Carrey was booed off the stage in a Los Angeles comedy club. That night, sitting on a hill overlooking the city, he decided it was time to either make it as an actor and comedian or hang-it up. He really wanted to be an actor and comedian, so to help him visualize his goal, he wrote himself a $10 million check for ‘acting services rendered.’ The story goes that he carried the check with him everywhere he went and just a short time later he was earning $20 million per film.

My friend Max is a fabulous artist and instead of a traditional vision board, he has created a vision journal. He was going through a lot of change and found that trying to keep his poster board up-to-date was too much of a hassle. So he created a vision journal which is a sketch book he uses to depict the vision he has for each area of his life.

An acquaintance who was diagnosed with lung cancer a few years ago decided that she was going to create an “I Win” board. Her board is filled with quotes and pictures of healthy living that motivate her to eat healthy and keep fighting against cancer.

As you can see from the examples above, there are a lot of different types of boards you can create. The key factor in creating a vision board is that it should motivate you and it should mean something to YOU!

If you know what you want in life and you’re clear on what your vision is, you probably want to create a board representing those things you want and what you need to change in order to achieve and live your vision. If you’re unclear on exactly what your vision is, think about putting things on your board that resonate with you – they make you smile or make you feel good. If you have a significant event coming up, perhaps a theme styled vision board is a good option. The only limitation is your own imagination!

How do I get started?

If you’ve never done a vision board before, getting started is really simple! Begin by collecting images, pictures, words and/or phrases from magazines, newspapers, or even from your own collection. Once you’ve collected a bunch of items, get yourself a poster-board and start laying out your items like a storyboard. Once you have an idea of what the board will look like, start gluing items to your board and don’t forget you can write or paint on there too! The beauty of the vision board is that it only needs to make sense to you!

How Do I use a Vision Board?

The idea behind the vision board is to engage the law of attraction, so you’ll want to place your board in a location where you will see it every single day. By keeping it forefront and present in your mind, you’ll keep your eye on the goal, you’ll make decisions to help achieve your vision, and you can start realizing and living your vision today!

Coaches Challenge

Start creating your vision board today! Begin collecting images, photos, phrases and words that represent the vision you have for your life; your business, your organization, your non-profit, your family, etc… in the next 30 days, you should have plenty of items to complete your vision board!

What’s stopping you from achieving all that you can? Seyfarth Diversified Strategies was found on the belief that every individual has the ability, and can become empowered to be all he/she is capable of becoming. A day, a life, a company, can be changed by understanding and affecting the attitudes, thoughts, and beliefs that drive goals and lead you to success