“You become what you think about.” – Napoleon Hill
I’m always surprised by the effects of focus and clarity in making things happen. Some call this the law of attraction and others call it karma. Either way, there is a powerful connection between clarity of a person’s vision, having it represented visually and reviewing it over time to keep them focused. I still remember my very first vision board, and although I haven’t laid eyes on it in years, I can picture it very clearly. I manifested what I created, including the ability to give back to community, taking a family vacation in a warm location, closing 24 transactions that year and buying a new car.
This workshop came out of a desire to connect with my son who was lost. Being a smart, intelligent person with lots of options made him overwhelmed. I asked him to sit down and really think about what he wanted in life, review what was important to him and then start to plan for his future.
We all know someone, including ourselves, who has started something like a weight loss plan or a new gym membership only to slowly get off task and give up altogether. The purpose of setting the vision board is to start by visualizing your and your team’s success and keep yourself and your team members on track.
Identifying Your ‘Why’
“Working hard for something you don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion.” – Simon Sinek
A vision board is a way to visualize your team’s success and keep you in the mindset to achieve it. Its purpose is to be displayed where your team members will look at it daily, so that you all internalize the vision and goals. It is very powerful, as it will remind you of your “why.”
Here is the 12-step process for clarifying your goals and developing your vision board. For the purposes of this exercise, we will use both personal and business goals:
- List successes in your life so far.
- Identify what you want to stop, start or continue.
- On a blank piece of paper, brainstorm thoughts, notes and priorities about your ideal life.
- Go through the list and start to circle the ones that resonate most strongly with you.
- Start to circle and get specific about the ones most important to you.
- Organize your goals into the categories below:
- Family – How much time do you want to spend with family? What are you going to do while you spend time with them? Can you incorporate your family into some work activities?
- Fun – Is there something you do just for the sake of doing it, that brings you joy? Have you ever wanted to travel? What are your non-work specific goals?
- Friends – Are there certain people you want to hang out more with? Are you going to surround yourself with people who lift you up? Where can you find these people? How will you know they can help you? Are there people you have lost touch with and want to connect with more?
- Fitness – Being successful in business means having a strong mind in a strong body. How will you give your body its best chance to support you? What sort of exercise do you want to stop, start or continue? How will you eat? What will you eat? Do you want to attain a certain fitness level? Are there competitions or specific performance goals you want to attain?
- Faith and/or Beliefs – What are activities that ground you? What will give you inner peace? Is there a way you can give back to society that represents you?
- Review your personal life and your business plan for the upcoming year. Use the S.M.A.R.T. Methodology; in other words, make your goals Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely.
Now comes the fun part…
- Use your vision sheets to guide your search for images that represent your vision (there are no rules on how this is done).
- Using magazines, Pinterest, Google or other sources, find visuals, graphics, words and quotes that represent your goals and visions.
- Cut out the images and put them on the board.
- Once you are happy with the format, glue them in place.
- Display your vision board above a work area or space that you all look at continuously. When you or team members are feeling a lack of guidance, disoriented or out of sorts, look to the board to re-orient and refocus yourselves.
Jane Johnston is a team leader and top-producing REALTOR® with the Briar Hill Group at RE/MAX Camosun in Victoria, British Columbia. She’s been in real estate since 2006 and moved to RE/MAX in 2013, where she quickly attained Platinum and Chairman’s Club Awards, as well as the RE/MAX Hall of Fame Award. She’s also an MLS Gold Medal Award Winner in her local real estate board. Johnston and her husband have two teenage kids and she can often be found rowing on the water or speed-skating.
For more information, please visit www.workmansuccesssystems.com.
