What is a Vision Board?

A vision board is a craft project – a collage that includes pictures and words that reflect your life goals. The board can address your life in general or one or more specific areas you choose.

A vision board shows what you’re seeking in life. It prompts you to consider what you want. Before starting your board, ask yourself what your goals are. What do you want your life to be like?

Preparing to Construct Your Vision Board

Follow these preparation steps:

1. Gather supplies. Use a large square or rectangle of poster board or foam core board as the base of your vision board.

• You’ll need colored ink markers, magazines with plenty of words in headlines and pictures, scissors, and glue.

2. Ponder what you’ll include in your board. Decide the life area(s) you wish to address: all aspects, such as prosperity, relationships, family, sports, health, school, jobs, and careers or just 1-2 of your most-sought-after goals.

• You’ll use pictures and words about the things you desire, the place(s) you want to live, and anything else representative of the lifestyle you seek.

3. Plan time to start work on your vision board. Schedule a day and time to make your board when you’ll be uninterrupted. Allow yourself 3-4 hours. You might not complete it in one sitting. That’s okay. It’ll take some time to browse through magazines and select images to clip and use.

Vision Board Day!

It’s time to get started.

1. Reflect on your most important goals. Set a timer for 20 minutes and clarify to yourself what you want in life.

• Right now, what’s important to you? What do you want to pursue? It’s okay if you’re not sure. But give yourself time to think about it. When you emotionally connect with your goals, you’re more likely to achieve them.

2. Find the pictures you want to use. Browse through magazines and clip images that reflect your goals and dreams. Then, without gluing, arrange and re-arrange the pictures on the poster board until you love how it looks.

• Leave a space somewhere on the poster board to place a favorite picture of you.
• Once you have a pleasing arrangement, affix your collage with glue.

3. Include words to express goals and desires. Write words that connect you with the pictures. Express your thoughts and emotions using markers. You might choose to clip words from magazines (larger print is best) and glue them on your vision board.

4. Glue on a picture of yourself that you like and voila, you’ve just created your vision board!
5. Recognize it’s a process. You might start out making your vision board about your career and discover you’re really more interested in deepening friendships or making money from a job you’ve never tried. That’s okay; switch gears on this board or even construct another board later.
6. Display your vision board. Hang it in your den, bedroom, or somewhere you’ll see it every day. Stop and look at it, touch it, and say out loud, “I’m working for that!” Let yourself get excited about the prospect of achieving your goals.

Making a vision board keeps you oriented toward your life desires. Construct a new board later as you reach current goals and add new ones. Motivate yourself to attain your goals and dreams through making your own vision board.

 photo credit: RON SOMBILON MEDIA, ART and PHOTOGRAPHY

photo credit: alancleaver_2000

Surely you’ve heard the saying that when you believe in yourself, you can do anything. It’s a piece of advice that gets passed around for a reason – because it’s 100% true! It especially applies to having a wealthy mindset. It doesn’t matter where you’re starting from; with the right steps, the sky really is the limit.

Believing In Yourself

The first step is to truly believe that you can accomplish anything when you set your mind to it. You can prove to yourself that you believe you can become wealthy by taking it seriously and making concrete plans.

Financially, where are you right now and where do you want to be? It doesn’t matter how far you need to travel, you just need to set out plans right now.

The next thing you need to work on is the “how” of it all. What actions will you take in order to achieve the wealth you desire?

When you write these plans down, you’ll be holding something concrete that you can believe. It’s a promise you’re making yourself for the future. You can refer to your plans often as you begin to use your wealthy mindset to take swift action.

Starting From Scratch

Having the correct mindset can be difficult if you feel that you’re starting from nothing. However, this is when a positive attitude is needed the most! Just think about all the other people that would have given up, and tell yourself that you’re not going to be one of them.

It may help you to look up inspiring stories. There are plenty of people in the world that started with next to nothing who built extremely profitable companies and other streams of income. The difference between them and the average person wasn’t a superhuman power; it was a simple will to achieve great things. They embraced a wealthy mindset and they didn’t take no for an answer.

Expanding Your Wealth

If you’re looking to expand your wealth, a proper mindset can also help you do so. Refer back to your plans to see how far away you are from your ultimate goals.

When it comes to wealth expansion, you may feel like, since you have some money, you can take some risks. However, it’s important to be careful and make sure you have back up plans and back up revenue just in case one of your risks don’t pan out.

Wealthy Affirmations

Nothing gets you in the right mindset like a good affirmation. You can obtain a book on affirmations that pertain to wealth or you can write your own. Writing your own affirmations is a good idea because you can incorporate your personal life goals into them.

Tell yourself: “I am achieving my goals for wealth” or “I am making money,” and you’ll continue to do so.

Keep an Eye on the Future

In order to protect your financial future, you always have to be forward thinking. Developing a positive mindset now will help to ensure that you have a prosperous future. These strategies can help you develop and maintain a wealthy mindset and literally transform your life.

You may think that you already have a success-mindset, and perhaps you do. However, you can always benefit from strengthening that attitude and therefore increasing your chances for the success you deserve.

Follow these strategies for improving your attitude for success:

Find your inspiration. Discover what inspires you the most and use it to jumpstart your motivation whenever you go. Feeling inspired enables you to maintain the drive necessary to find success. Do anything you can within your power to find inspiration.

• Make a list of your ultimate dreams, and then ask yourself if you’re on the right path. If you are, you’ll know that everything you’re doing will be rewarded.
• If you don’t feel like you’re on the right path, perhaps it’s time for a change. Maybe there’s a deeper reason why you’ve felt a lack of motivation. Reflect on what this reason might be, and then decide on how you can renew your drive. When you’re on the right journey, you’ll feel inspired!

Surround yourself with positive people. When you’re around positive and inspiring people, you’re more likely to adopt those traits into your own personality and go for your goals with enthusiasm. Negative people, on the other hand, tend to make you negative also.

• If you must be around people that continually bring you down, do your best to avoid taking what they say to heart. You know that they don’t speak the truth. Keep the peace as best as you can to get through these situations and then move on.

Take a leap. The best way to improve your attitude might be to just jump right into life. Don’t be afraid to take initiative and plunge forward towards your goals. People who take action find success. If you take action and start to see the results of your efforts, your attitude will only improve.

• The increased drive and motivation you get from your actions can be the difference between success and failure.

Strengthen your focus. Your focus can also play a role in your attitude. When you maintain driven toward success, it’s easier to have an optimistic attitude. If you have a lack of focus and don’t know where you’re going, it leads to being unmotivated and uncaring.

Allow for mistakes. You’re only human and you will make mistakes from time to time. Be careful to avoid judging yourself harshly when this happens, as it negatively affects your self-confidence. If you work on more of a “go with the flow” attitude, you’ll find that you’re able to pick yourself back up and continue moving forward when you do make a mistake.

The main things to keep in mind are that the combo of inspiration, positive thoughts, and proper motivation can lead you to a healthy and positive attitude. Follow these strategies daily and you’ll notice a boost in your spirits!

It may take some more time on your part, but when you write out detailed instructions for yourself instead of vague ideas, you have a much better chance at success. Not only do you know exactly what you need to do, but such plans also tend to invigorate you with more enthusiasm.

Follow these tips in order to clarify your goals:

1. Figure out your ultimate goal. What, exactly, do you want?

* Instead of a goal like “I want to be successful,” get down to specifics, such as “I want to own my own business which brings in at least $10,000 per month.”

2. Don’t be afraid of detail. You make the ultimate decision on what you want. Just don’t be afraid to set the details. Avoid goals like “I want to be rich” because there is no detail.

* How much money do you want to make?
* Why? What will this money provide for you that you desire?
* What lifestyle do you want? Cars, homes, ability to travel the world, philanthropy?
* How do you want to earn this money?
* When do you want this to happen?
* How can you prepare for this?

3. Break up your goals. When you stare at the ultimate goal, it may seem intimidating and unattainable. It’s important to break up your main goal into smaller goals. Write out detailed plans about how you’ll reach each of the smaller goals.

* For example, if you want to start your own business, a small goal would be to research your local and federal business laws and register a name.

4. Give yourself deadlines. It’s vital to give yourself deadlines so you know you’re making progress towards your goals. Each of your small goals should have an attainable deadline.

* In the business example above, maybe you’d give yourself a week’s time in order to research different business structures and laws.

5. Keep track. Make detailed notes about what you have done so far. Keeping track of your progress will help you stay organized and on top of your goals.

6. Make alternate plans. Sometimes you won’t be able to make the deadline you have set out for yourself, or maybe you’ll be unable to follow through with a current plan entirely. It’s important to think of alternatives in case certain situations don’t work out in your favor. If you already have back up plans in place, you’ll save time if you run into snags on the way to your goals.

Get Organized

Organization can mean keeping all of your detailed plans and journals in a binder with tabs for easy access to your various sets of notes. Alternatively, you may opt to keep your materials organized by using project management software on your computer. Just remember to make backups of your digital information so that you don’t lose it.

No matter what method you’ve chosen, determine the details, set small attainable goals that lead toward your ultimate goals, be flexible so you can conquer challenges, and keep track of your progress. Doing these things will bring you ultimate clarity and success.

Even when change is forced upon me and brings challenges, it opens new doors of opportunity. I now realize that a change that seems devastating can actually propel me into a better life!

Where would I be today if I had not lost that job, causing me to seek a better, more fulfilling path in life? How could I have the husband I enjoy now if I had not left my old boyfriend behind?

Change is one of the blessings that come with the power of choice. I can choose to leave things the way they are, or change them to something better.

I can choose to waste my life fighting inevitable changes or take advantage of them and enjoy life. When life hands me lemons, I choose to make lemonade!

Change allows me to learn and grow. As I strive to achieve my goals, I embrace the changes in my life that bring me ever closer to success. With each change, I become more knowledgeable, stronger, and more confident that I can handle whatever life may bring.

I know that today brings its share of changes. I choose to welcome them all and allow myself to enjoy all opportunities that come my way.

Self-Reflection Questions:

1. What changes am I resisting in my life right now?
2. How can I embrace these changes and use them to improve my life?
3. Is there something I can change to move me closer to my goals?

When I awake in the morning, I give thanks for the new day. The good feelings I generate start my day in a perfect way, and I find that one good thing leads to another. This positive boost helps me fly through my daily tasks with energy and momentum.

I thank my spouse for the things he does for me. This makes him feel loved and appreciated and he goes out of his way to do even more good things for me. It’s a never-ending cycle of love!

I find things to thank my children for every day. When they do a good job on anything, I thank them for their effort, motivating them to continue. My happiness is even greater when I see them, too, discovering the joys of gratitude and telling others, “Thank you.”

As my day goes on, I thank my co-workers for their efforts and my clients for their business. In return, I receive their loyalty and friendship.

I thank my friends for being there for me. They’re always there to lend a helping hand and cheer me on.

I realize that even the challenges of my day arise for good reason and I’m grateful for the lessons I learn from these obstacles. Invariably, my challenges bring me closer to my goals, in one way or another, as I seek solutions.

Today, I strive to feel gratitude, enjoy it, and let it show in how I treat others.

Self-Reflection Questions:

1. Do I let myself feel and enjoy gratitude and its benefits?
2. How has showing someone my gratitude brought me something good in return?
3. How can I show my gratitude more often?

I am also confident that I can overcome every challenge. Rather than bemoan an issue, I seek solutions and take decisive action to continue moving forward toward my goals.

To ensure my success in any endeavor, I divide my goal into attainable steps and then take action immediately to build momentum.

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As I complete each step, I reward myself. I feel good about it and proud of myself for accomplishing a necessary task that puts me closer and closer to my goal.

It doesn’t matter if the task was small or if it only took a few minutes to complete it. A success is a success no matter how you look at it! So I feel good about my achievements and I let it bring me the confidence to move forward.

When an obstacle raises its head, I tackle it immediately. Perhaps there is a way I can simply sidestep this challenge and move on. Perhaps it is really bringing me the opportunity to find a better way to get to my goal.

Whatever the challenge, I seek a solution of action steps that keep me moving forward, even if there is a detour along the way.

Today, I choose to complete at least one action step toward an important goal and celebrate my success so I can look forward to doing the same again tomorrow.

Self-Reflection Questions:

1. Do I feel like the success I know I am?
2. What successes, large or small, can I celebrate today?
3. What action steps can I take to overcome a current challenge?

I am a success! Each day I allow myself the luxury of enjoying the good feelings that come with my achievements.

I am also confident that I can overcome every challenge. Rather than bemoan an issue, I seek solutions and take decisive action to continue moving forward toward my goals.

To ensure my success in any endeavor, I divide my goal into attainable steps and then take action immediately to build momentum.

As I complete each step, I reward myself. I feel good about it and proud of myself for accomplishing a necessary task that puts me closer and closer to my goal.

It doesn’t matter if the task was small or if it only took a few minutes to complete it. A success is a success no matter how you look at it! So I feel good about my achievements and I let it bring me the confidence to move forward.

When an obstacle raises its head, I tackle it immediately. Perhaps there is a way I can simply sidestep this challenge and move on. Perhaps it is really bringing me the opportunity to find a better way to get to my goal.

Whatever the challenge, I seek a solution of action steps that keep me moving forward, even if there is a detour along the way.

Today, I choose to complete at least one action step toward an important goal and celebrate my success so I can look forward to doing the same again tomorrow.

Self-Reflection Questions:

1. Do I feel like the success I know I am?
2. What successes, large or small, can I celebrate today?
3. What action steps can I take to overcome a current challenge?

I have many tools in my toolbox that I can use to keep myself heading toward my goals. The ones I use most often are my action plan success strategy, affirmations, self-reflection, and time management.

My action plan success strategy sets me up for victory. I take the time to divide my goals into small steps that I know will get me to my destination. In my plan, each task that I complete brings me one step closer toward the achievement of my goals.

Part of my strategy that keeps me motivated is that I celebrate every success, no matter how small. Every time I complete a task in my action plan, I reward myself. I allow myself to feel good about it and I look forward to completing the next task to continue my success.

Positive affirmations help keep me focused on my goals and banish thoughts of self-doubt. I repeat affirmations to myself at least twice each day and again each time I need a boost to my confidence.

Self-reflection also helps me move forward. When I reflect, I visualize living my dreams as if it’s happening in the present. I experience it with all my senses and feel the wonderful emotions of being there. It motivates me to make my dreams a priority.

Lastly, my time management skills bring everything together. I consciously put time in my schedule for making my action plan, working on my tasks every day, and reflecting about myself. Everything works together seamlessly with good time management!

Today, I plan to use my time effectively to keep myself moving forward toward my goal, allowing time for goal planning, completing action steps, and self-reflection.

Self-Reflection Questions:

1. Have I taken the time to create my plan of action steps?

2. Do I do something to work toward my goals every day?

3. What motivates me to do what is necessary to achieve my dreams?

When I incorporate new changes into my life, I get that same feeling as when I wear a new outfit. The changes only enhance who I am! Even though it is still the same me, part of me is fresh and new, like wearing new clothes.

My new image shows courage to tackle new things. As humans, we tend to resist change. It takes courage and strength of character to be willing to embrace change to meet our goals or accept it when it is forced upon us by circumstance.

My new image displays creativity. I can think “outside the box” in order to accomplish what I desire. If I need to change my planned path from time to time to solve a problem or overcome a challenge, I gladly go shopping for the changes that will enhance me.

My new image reveals my passion for life. Change is an exciting part of life and it allows me to become the person I want to be. If I do not change and grow, I get as stale as old clothes. And who wants that? Not me! I welcome the freshness of change!

Today, I choose to embrace the changes that will allow the new me to sparkle. I can learn something new, adopt a positive habit that brings me joy, or solve a challenge.

Self-Reflection Questions:

1. Do I resist change, even when it can improve my life?

2. Am I comfortable with changing my path in order to achieve my goals?

3. How have changes in my life enhanced me?