By Karyn Greenstreet
When my husband and I were thinking about buying a new house 10 years ago, we began brainstorming what we’d want in a dream home. We weren’t ready to make the move immediately but wanted to create a vision for our future life and home. We brainstormed ideas, cut photos out of real estate sites and magazines, and pasted them all on a vision board of possibilities.
Then, we paused our idea about buying a house for about five years and put the vision board in the back of the closet.
Five years later, when we started to look for houses, look at the drawing we cut out five years earlier (top photo), and the amazing house we saw in a real estate ad five years later (bottom photo) — an almost identical to the house we put on the vision board!
THAT is the power of Vision Boards!
One of the best exercises you can do with your mastermind groups is to have them create Vision Boards. Even Ellen DeGeneres created a vision board about her goal to get on the cover of Oprah Magazine — and it worked!
When your members create a Vision Board and share their finished pieces with the other members, it clarifies and communicates each person’s vision. Then members can keep this in mind as they go through meetings, holding each other accountable for working towards those goals.
A Vision Board is a collage of things you want in life, experiences you desire, and people, situations, and feelings you want to manifest. Sometimes it’s called a treasure map.
The way to achieve your goals in life is to have a clear picture of what you actually want. Brian Tracy says, “An average person with average talent, ambition and education, can outstrip the most brilliant genius in our society if that person has clear, focused goals.”
The more you focus on the things you want and the more time you spend paying attention to your purpose, then the more you draw your desired items and experiences into your life. So surrounding yourself with visual representations of what you desire helps to elevate your energy in the direction of those things.
Note: If your mastermind group is a virtual one, have them do this exercise on their own, then take digital photos of their completed Vision Board to show to the group.
While it helps to review your goals and dreams in advance, I find that just diving into the magazines and cutting out any words or images that appeal to me is the best way to collect ideas.
Don’t let your mastermind group members judge or critique what they’re cutting out yet. Tell them, “Just cut out any image or word that attracts you, as these are subconscious messages from your brain, heart and soul.”
Soften your focus and allow your thoughts, feelings and intuition to guide you to the most important images and words.
This helps you to group the items in a pleasing manner and eliminate those items that don’t work for you. Don’t forget that you can write your own words and draw your own sketches for the Vision Board, too.
You can find inexpensive frames in any discount department store or art supply store. A frame will keep the board flat and dust-free, and will allow you to hang it on your wall where you can see it every day.
Take a moment each day to focus on a portion of the Vision Board that calls to you.
When you create your Vision Board, take photos of it, and post it on your blog or Facebook, so we can all share in the manifesting of your dreams! (Post your Vision Board photos to my Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/MastermindGroup
I can’t wait to see what you create!
Want to learn how to start a mastermind group? Click here to get my free video tutorial on how to create a mastermind group of your own.
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I like the idea of creating a big picture vision board. One thing I have trouble with in working with people meant to “hold you accountable” for creating your own dreams:
It’s easy to get caught up in tasks, but as I look back, completing a long string of tasks for the sake of being “accountable” has led me to “success” in areas that weren’t my true calling. That means that in the shadows, I keep longing to be in a completely different role or environment. As a creative person, I’ve found that the environment I desire is a mashup of disciplines that are traditionally separate: journalism, business and fine art. So, whenever I want to focus on one, I have to give up the other two. (For instance, if I wanted to pursue a graduate degree.)
So, how does a person work with others in a group who are meant to “hold them accountable” when perhaps the most meaningful thing to me would be to create something that doesn’t exist?
(It took me 20 years to realize I might have to create it myself.)
Thanks,
Amy
Hi, Amy,
It sounds like that tasks you chose to be held accountable for didn’t lead you to the goal you want. Perhaps, instead, ask your mastermind group to hold you accountable for getting clarity about what, exactly, you want your personal and professional life to look like? Then you can choose tasks that will help you create the lifestyle/dream you want…your true calling. It’s difficult when you have many things you enjoy and that you’re talented in. But if you want mastery in one, you have to give up some of the others at least temporarily while you pursue mastery. If you don’t want mastery, then you can pursue all of them simultaneously.
Very interesting Karyn. We are using a vision board activity as part of our creative visualization retreat. I’ve used them in workshops before. As a child my mom was always creating vision boards, so I’ve always done them myself. Also interesting is that I am just about to write an article about them as well. You know what they say about great minds. 🙂
I love vision boards, Sadiqah. It’s a great focusing tool. (And lots of fun!)