The power of visualizing your dream should never be underestimated.  Whatever your dream, put it somewhere you can see every single day.  It does not have to be an elaborate production, or pretty.  It has to be at the forefront of your thoughts and it will come to fruition.

You may think this is nonsense…  and I only believed it in halfheartedly until on the very last day of the year, my last item on my vision board came true.  I compete in dog events, and each year I list the achievements I want my dogs to accomplish onto my vision board.  I listed a Best in Field, and printed out a red-white-blue rosette ribbon beside it.  This particular dog did not yet have a Best in Field, and I wanted him to accomplish it.  On December 31, 2011, I glanced at my vision board and thought “today is the day – one more item to go,” meaning every single item but the Best in Field had manifested.  And, sure enough – it happened!  

I make sure to complete my vision board by the end of January; giving myself time to rest during the first month of the year.  My Decembers are usually hectic, filled with lots of travel, dog events, holidays, and work – so I need that time in January to reflect on the past year, and plan for the coming year.  

ProTip: Keep a list (I use the Notes app on my iPhone) of things you want to add to your vision board for the coming year.  This way you have some ideas when it comes time to plan it out.

The sky is the limit!  If you want to accomplish something at work, put it on there.  If you want to commit to losing 20 pounds or paying off a credit card – put it on there and make it measurable and specific.  If you want to strengthen your relationship – add it.  I am not a huge proponent of putting material things on the board for myself, however, it is YOUR board.  If you want to redecorate your bedroom, buy a nice suit, a new car – whatever – add it.  Literally, whatever you want – put it on there.  

ProTip: Less is more.  I used to fill my board with anything and everything, but it makes it difficult to focus. It is far better to focus your efforts on one goal versus 100 goals.  

My recipe for a vision board:

•  Canvas – any size will do (I prefer 16×20)
•  Craft Paint – I like to paint my canvas with a color I love
•  Magazines (for inspiration)
•  Your List
•  Scrapbooking type items (numbers, letters, anything inspiring)
•  Glue, tape, etc. – I prefer a hot glue gun

Then, plan a night with your friends to swap magazines, cut out things (or print out things from your list.)  Usually, my group of girlfriends takes 2 nights to accomplish this.  The first night we do a lot of magazine perusing and swapping; and paint our canvases.  Then, we break – think about it more.  I tend to print out things from my laptop and grab pictures of things of interest.  If I can’t find the words from a magazine, I type them into a word doc, use a fun font, and print it.  When we reconvene, we assemble the vision boards and then share them.  Yikes, right?  It is difficult to be vulnerable with your friends, especially about the hard stuff.  It helps to build your friendships and to keep you accountable.  

P.S. >>  Yes!  That is my actual vision board from 2013.  It’s a hodge podge of random things, a lot of cliche phrases, and a bit of a mess.   I love the copper-colored background, and the hectic spirit it emulates.  However, it is overwhelming and not specific or measurable, aside from the QQ (that’s a double-qualifying score in agility – a dog event) – which, BTW, we did achieve!  2014 and 2015 vision boards are much more organized, less items, and more specific.