What is a vision board, and why should I make one?
A vision board is a great way to physically picture what you want your life to look like in one year, three years, five years, or even 10 years from now. The purpose of creating a vision board is to have a visual representation of your dream life to reflect on daily – business, work, personal, even leisure.
More importantly, the purpose of a vision board is to bring you back to the real reason behind all of the hard work you’re putting in day in and day out – to make sure your daily actions are in alignment with making your vision a reality.
Vision boards represent the “why” behind what you’re doing – whether i
t’s purchasing your dream home, paying off debt, sending your children to college, or booking a vacation, ev
eryone has a reason behind wanting to build a profitable business or career and create wealth and financial freedom.
As an entrepreneur, you’re creative, inspired and innovative by
nature. And while this is a good thing, it can also be a bad thing – because it means you probably have a tendency to chase “shiny objects,” and new trends in many different directions.
Unfortunately, more times than not, those things end up pulling your focus away from the important tasks, diluting your energy and actually distracting you from what you really want.
That’s the power of a vision board: when you have a tool to keep you crystal clear on exactly what you
’re working toward and the specific outcomes you want to accomplish, it’s much easier to stay focused.
Ultimately, vision board are useful because:
- They provide clarity around what you want, so that you can direct your energy toward making those things a reality.
- They keep you focused on your top priorities, so you aren’t constantly distracted, starting and stopping projects, or working on a million different things that slow down your progress.
- They create a sense of emotional attachment and connection to the things you want to achieve, live, and experience.
In the below article, we’re going to break down the step-by-step process to creating your very own vision board to accomplish your dreams.
Creating an Effective Vision Board: Step by Step
Understand the power of visualization and goal setting
Our human experience is visual and sensory by nature. You’ve heard the phrase: a picture’s worth a thousand words.
When you look at a visual representation of something you want to accomplish, whether it’s a photo, a video, or a real-life example, your brain develops an attachment to it – and it begins to seek that thing out constantly.
Example: imagine your dream car is a red Corvette. You don’t see it very often on the road, but as you begin working on growing your business you actively decide that the first big purchase you want to make when you finally hit your desired income.
Suddenly, you start seeing that red Corvette everywhere.
Have you ever had an experience like that in your life? As you begin to work toward something specific, it begins to pops up more and more often?
If it seems like everyone suddenly has the same idea you do, it’s because your brain has built an attachment to that thing and is now seeking out different opportunities to find and pursue it.
All that to be said, creating a vision board is a way to make your dreams tangible – once you get clear on what you want, and why you want to accomplish it, a vision board brings that to life and allows you to develop that attachment and keep that thing within close proximity.
Setting goals are all about defining specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound accomplishments that align with your vision and purpose – and, effective goal-setting involves breaking them down into smaller, actionable steps that can be achieved on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis (this is why I revisit and recreate my own vision board at the start of every year).
Visualization is a powerful tool that can help you achieve those goal, because you’re able to tap into your subconscious and create a clear picture in your mind of what it is you want to accomplish.
Decide what your goals and dreams are
Be sure to consider a mix of personal and professional: financial goals, health and wellness, relationships, and personal development.
It’s important to get clear on what you want to accomplish both in the short-term and long-term, and make sure they’re aligned with your values and purpose.
Start by thinking about your long-term personal and professional aspirations: where do you want to be in 5 years, 10 years, 15 years?
Do you want to be living somewhere across the country in a house by the beach, or own a vacation property overseas?
Do you want to retire from your business, and make money passively? Or, do you want to leave your full-time job
Whatever it is – take some time to reflect on what you want to accomplish and what you’re passionate about.
It’s normal to feel like those things are overwhelming or maybe even unattainable.
That’s why it’s important to break them down into smaller, achievable milestones that can move you one step closer each day.
If you dream of retiring from your business or sell it for a profit, are you putting systems in place now that are creating predictability and consistent profits?
A short-term win to support that might be hiring staff or scaling your revenue to consistent, 6-figure months.
The same goes for your personal life – if your endgame is a dream home on the coast, are you saving money, diversifying your wealth, and moving the needle with smaller milestones in place?
Whether it’s business or personal – write your goals down clearly and specifically, using language that’s positive and inspiring.
Research successful individuals who inspire you
Seek out individuals who align with your purpose, and whose success you aspire to emulate.
Consider your favorite authors or podcast hosts, mentors, or public figures in business, entertainment, sports, and philanthropy.
Take note of their mindset, habits, and the strategies that have helped them get to where they are. Make it a habit to consume content from individuals you want to be more like (and unfollow the people and accounts that are negative, draining, and/or fuel the comparisonitis).
Read their books, listen to their podcasts, and study the actions that they’ve taken to achieve the life you one day hope to achieve. If they have powerful and inspiring content, print it out and paste it on your vision board.
Example: I run a multiple 8-figure online business that services clients in dozens of countries – but it started out as a side hustle that I worked on before and after work, and in my free time.
I built my business from scratch, with no debt, investors or outside funding and now I help online business owners learn how to do the same.
A full-time corporate professional who aspires to one day run a multi-million dollar global online business may get value from following our content, reading my books and studying how I was able to build my side business to $1 million while working full time, and eventually become a full-time entrepreneur.
The important thing to remember is that education without implementation will never move the needle – none of these things will directly impact your own personal outcomes without a clear strategy for implementing what you learn.
Make it a habit to time block your calendar and give yourself time to put what you’re learning into place.
Find inspiring quotes to help motivate you on your journey
Much like consuming content from your favorite successful individuals, it’s just as powerful to find quotes that align with your vision.
Consider quotes from successful people, philosophers, spiritual leaders, and other figures that inspire you.
Write down your favorite quotes and keep them on your vision board, where you can see them regularly.
Some of our favorite inspirational quotes are:
“Every adversity, every failure, every heartbreak, carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” –Napoleon Hill.
“Get comfortable being uncomfortable. That’s how you break the plateau and reach that next level.” -Chalene Johnson.
“99% of what we deal with every day in business doesn’t matter. If you religiously follow the few core business philosophies that mean the most to you, everything else will naturally fall into place.” –Gary Vaynerchuk.
Type them up, print them out and paste them on your board!
Choose a central theme for your vision board
Choosing a central themed can help make your vision board feel more cohesive.
Consider what you want your vision board to represent and choose a theme that aligns with your values and purpose.
Your theme could be based on a specific outcome you want to accomplish, such as financial freedom or traveling somewhere that’s been on your bucket list for ages.
Alternatively, your theme could be based on a feeling or emotion you want to cultivate, such as joy, gratitude, or abundance.
Maybe it consists of specific dreams you have for your business or career, such as receiving a promotion, expanding your global reach, or speaking on stages.
Maybe it has more to do with your health; getting physically healthy, developing a meditation practices that reduces stress and anxiety, or eating foods that fuel your mind, body and soul.
Whether personal or professional, creating a vision board with a theme can help you stay consistent instead of trying to accomplish too many things at once – thus accomplishing nothing.
Gather materials such as magazines, glue, paper etc.
Once you have a clear idea of what you want to include on your vision board, it’s time to gather the materials you’ll need to create it.
Some common materials for creating a vision board include magazines, newspapers, art supplies, glue, scissors, and poster board – but you can also print or develop photos to use.
You may also want to include personal items such as photographs or mementos that hold special meaning for you – such as a place you’ve always loved traveling and want to one day own property there.
Once you have enough materials to create a comprehensive and inspiring vision board, you can get to work bringing your vision to life!
How to effectively use your vision board and maximize results:
Repetition of the small, powerful actions that add up over a period of weeks, months and years is the key to moving forward.
So, make it a habit to look at your vision board every single day to refocus your energy, remind yourself of what you’re working toward. Reigniting the passion for what you’re working toward is critical.
Once you’ve put time into creating a visual representation of your dream life, it’s time to put it somewhere where you can see it every day – I recommend hanging it up in your office, workstation or above your desk.
Make sure to spend a couple minutes every single day acknowledging your vision board, and imagining what your life will feel like once you finally achieve those big personal, professional, lifestyle, financial goals and dreams.
Create some new mantras or affirmations to repeat and remind yourself that you are talented, capable, and deserving of everything that matters most to you in business and life.
Some of the mantras we use inside our Inevitable Millionaire personal development and wealth creation mentorship program are:
- I am capable, worthy and in the process of welcoming into my life the wealth and freedom I desire on every level.
- I release ALL resentment, self pity and victimhood and I claim my position as the hero of my own journey. I am making my dreams come true now.
- I am READY now to welcome more love, prosperity, fulfillment and happiness into my life because I am deeply content and grateful for all that I already possess and am already experiencing.
Remember: it’s equally important to have an understanding of what the pathway to actually get there looks like. What are you going to commit to doing in order to accomplish them? What’s your role in making it happen? What does your roadmap look like?
Get equally familiar with the process that’s going to link your daily actions to your ultimate vision for your business and life.
Bringing your vision to life:
One of the biggest challenges preventing people from sticking out the plan and actually accomplishing the things on their vision board is staying accountable.
Having a coach or mentor to support you on the journey can accelerate the process even faster, because you have someone in your corner reminding you of the daily actions required, and holding you accountable for accomplishing them on a daily and weekly basis.
We designed our business coaching program to support individuals in staying on track, with bi-monthly 1:1 calls with a strategist from our team who is fully acquainted with their business and desired outcomes.
If you’re someone who needs accountability when it comes to staying consistent and making progress, book a call with our team and let’s chat about how we can help you achieve your next business breakthrough.
