Your Vision: It Oughta Be in Pictures…

Posted by chriskuhn on Jul 22, 2012 in Blog, Essays, Goal-setting, Inspiration Corner, Kuhnspirations, Uncategorized | 0 comments

I wish that I could say that I did find the time this weekend to build a brand new vision board. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. You see, I am supposed to be on vacation starting, well, this weekend, but at this point, it looks like I’ll be officially beginning tomorrow. Sorta.

I have some edits to make on an executive resume for a client, and possibly edits for another project, an advertorial. Then there is the blog and microblog content I need to upload for someone else, and about four or five invoices to get off my desk this next week. Hmm. It’s beginning to sound less and less like vacation, isn’t it?

Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. Oh well, I won’t start any new work assignments at least. For me, that’s something.

So this week’s encouraging challenge was if you haven’t done one before or in a long long while, build yourself a vision board and tell me…

What words and pictures make up your vision for the future as of right now and WHY did you choose them?

Did you get a chance to contemplate or even build your own vision board this week or weekend? It really is a fun project to do, and if my mind wasn’t so wrapped up in meeting work deadlines and finishing assignments this weekend, I really would love to dive in to create a new one. Maybe I can take it on next weekend if I am truly planning to give myself a break from client work as I say. (I’ll believe it when I see it, of course.)

As I stare at the vision board I created earlier last year posted on my own office wall, I still see a lot of the same concepts I would feature on a new board if I created one today. Maybe some of the images would change slightly on my board, but the general thoughts would be the same and these are:

• Books — I want to write ’em.
• Successful authors (namely, Stephanie Meyer beaming proudly on my vision board) — I want to be one.
• England — I want to go back and take the hubby with me this time.
• A cruise — I really want to go on more of these.
• Magazines/publications — I want to do more work in this realm, maybe even launch my own one day.
• Microphones — I want to do a radio show or podcast in the future. I just feel making a connection via audio is in my bones.
• Dogs — I want more of them. Right now, I’m a poochie mama of one and it will stay that way for good with little Dexie. But when years and years from now (I hope) that I’m looking to give my love to another rescue pup again, I’m doling it out in double doses next time around.
• Races — okay, no, I don’t actually want to run…AT ALL and never plan to do this. But WALKING in a race event, that I would like to do. And eventually, I see myself in my vision doing many more. But gotta tackle that first one. Maybe this fall?
• Money — well, um, yeah, I’d like some of that, too. Who doesn’t? More than anything, my vision is that as I’m embarking on these activities that make me happy and satisfy these dreams of mine, the money will flow freely, too <feel free to sing along in Evita fashion here…and the money kept rolling in…for Peron…>

So while I might adjust the imagery a little, the concepts behind my vision board remain the same – I might add a few more concepts to the board… a villa overlooking a golf course (what I certainly wouldn’t mind is our next home)…or maybe a beach getaway or cabin in the woods, whether on a regular basis or a semi-annual basis to escape from it all or to write…

Half of the fun of putting together a vision map or board is daring yourself to dream a little bit. It’s okay. No one is going to smack your hand and tell you that you can’t have that or that you’re just plain crazy. I promise. Don’t let other people’s past advice of what’s realistic, practical or feasible enter the picture. Allow yourself to open your mind and let your imagination take over.

So if you didn’t get a chance to do this exercise this week, don’t write it off as an “oh well, that’s too bad.” If you’ve never done one of these vision boards before, spend a couple hours some Sunday afternoon very soon- hey, what about right now? – and either sift through magazines to find photos, words and illustrations that paint the story of these goals, dreams and objects of your vision. Or you can do what I do – look online instead and using search engines, find those pictures and “borrow” them- after all, it’s only for your personal use. You’re not using someone else’s photos to market anything or profit. I take those pictures and blend them together on a PowerPoint slide and create my board virtually, printing it out only at the end when I’m content with the final results. If someone else’s image has the power to inspire you every day, then I say Google away and find those sources of inspiration for plotting your dreams.

Cheers to finding that daily spark in your life!

Chris