A very popular and effective tool is creating your own dream board ( also referred to as a vision board). This is the PERFECT time to create yours and I’ve provided some easy tips to help you to get started.

Making your own vision/dream board is very effective tool to use to get out of your “head” about your goals, and to visually represent your goals in a way that inspires and motivates you. What makes this technique so powerful is that using visual imagery allows us to bypass our intellect and suspend our disbelief about our ability to achieve our goals. Seeing our ‘dreams” as symbols and images, it is easy to accept and integrate into our subconscious mind. Many people faithfully use this process to help facilitate speedy realization of their goals and dreams. ( Myself included!)

Here are 6 quick tips to get you started on your own success board today. Remember the old saying; a picture is worth a thousand words!

1.Gather your Materials- Poster board, scissors, glue sticks, magazines

2.Write down a list of your goals & determine your theme for your board- Common goal categories are financial, relationships,community,career, spirituality,adventure,fun and creativity. ( tip: you can create more than one board. Some people have boards for their business, their personal life, and some create one board that represents all of their goals.

3.Light a candle, have a latté- Turn on music you love and enjoy this process. Fully express your creativity. ( tip; this is a very fun group project)

4.Rules for Vision Boarding- Gotcha, there are no rules! Allow your subconscious mind to connect to what truly resonates for you. Let the images you are attracted to as you flip through the pages of the magazine “speak” to you. This is actually a way for your logical mind to take a rest and let your subconscious ideas to come forward.

5.Visual Imagery- Find visual representations of your goals: clip all art, images, quotes, and keywords that describe or show your important goals. Assemble and glue your images in a way that is pleasing to you. ( Tip: Cut and paste a few pictures of you and place them onto your board)

6.Display Your Board- Proudly showcase your board, you are actually “feeding” your subconscious mind these powerful images, bypassing your inner critic’s message that you can’t have what you want. Let your vision board, with pictures of your goals and dreams serve to remind, inspire and motivate you towards your personal achievements. Vision/Dream Boards have worked for thousands of people. It can work for you,too.

Got overwhelm?

Join the club. ( There’s are a lot of members!)

Try this experiment today: Ask everybody you meet today: “how are you?”

The probability is extremely high that you will hear:

“Ok…., but  I am really swamped.”

“I can’t seem to get “it”( fill in the blank) all done.”

“I just don’t have enough time. “

We are all swimming, some of us drowning in the sea of “too much”  Too much to do, too much to process, too many people to respond to, too many things to read, do, execute, etc etc etc.

Wouldn’t you rather have less stress? Fewer problems? More ease?

I thought so!

Join me at “No Problem Bridge” .

Seriously, No Problem Bridge really exists. ( I snapped this photo this  in Aspen,Colorado near John Denver’s memorial park)

The best practice to reduce the stress in your life and in your business is to Simplify.

Author Bill Jenson writes in Simplicity, the New Competitive  Advantage, that simplicity is about power.

Simplicity is the power to do less ( of what doesn’t matter)

Simplicity is the power to do more ( of what does matter)

Big difference.

Imagine that you have clarity, focus and are in flow with all of your projects. Your creativity is in high gear. You’ve got the resources. The right people show up at just the right time to help you accomplish your outcome. Your energy level is high. You feel great. Things get done. Life is good.

Each of us can have this experience.

The key is to simplify. Do an honest inventory and  let go of what no longer is a fit for you in your business  or your life.

Coaching challenge for you this week?

Streamline your life. Simplify. Downsize. Clear the Clutter.

Your end result?

Radically fewer problems. Less drama. Less stress.

Life on purpose, without all the “fillers’

Brilliant!

I love to explore what’s new to me — change my routine, and learn and see new things. Traveling enriches my life. What I have come to learn is that those things which enrich me also enrich my business. There’s a direct link between levels of happiness to positive outcomes such as higher levels of productivity and prosperity. What I know to be true is that when I am at my personal best  and living my  passions,  it translates into direct benefits for my business. Enthusiasm is contagious

A while back, on the “Where Will Our Daughter Go to College-The USA Tour”, we visited the Seattle area. One of the coolest hotels I’ve been to in a long time is  the Hotel Murano in Tacoma, Washington. The hotel is quite distinctive carrying a very modern theme throughout the hotel including lots of  gorgeous  glass art, including Dale Chilhuy. Every floor features a celebrated artist and choice pieces of glass art.  If you are in near the Seattle area, it’s worth a side trip to Tacoma’s Murano Hotel.

There was more to enjoy. I loved stepping  into our beautifully appointed room. As I checked out all the special amenities and  noticed three small signs by the phone. One  placard  entitled  The Spiritual Menu, which listed  various spiritual resources including the Bhagavad Vita, the Torah, and the Bible among other choices. To enjoy our own spiritual book, we simply need call, request the book of our choice and have it delivered to our room. In addition to the Spiritual Menu, there was a Pillow Menu, (don’t you love it) and a Room Service Menu. (The room also sported an iPod docking station, which was promptly confiscated by our daughter.)
Having options is a beautiful thing isn’t it?

My husband, daughter & I had choices about what we liked and which made for a very happy little family during that hotel stay. We reveled in the choices available to us. There’s a freedom we all enjoy when we have the power of choice and we have options to choose from.

It’s easy to get stuck in our routines both personally and in our work.

In business this could show up like this:  We continue to offer the same “tired” product/service to the marketplace and then scratch our heads & get frustrated by lack of interest and declining sales.

In our personal life, it could show up like this: We get into a “comfortable” routine with our partner, start to take them for granted and the relationship starts to feel stagnant.

While some our daily routines are a very good thing and help us to be our best( eg oral hygiene, nutritious meals & exercise) and  certain best practices  in business help us to run our businesses smoothly and smartly ( eg accounting& contact management systems). I say don’t ditch those beneficial routines.

However… do look at what you could do to expand your own choices and breathe more creativity and life into your personal world and your business dealings. Life gets  a whole lot better  and more interesting this way!

I am very partial to coaching.

I believe everyone should have a coach!

The world would be a much better place.

Here’s why:

Coaching works incredibly well. Various research studies reveal the positive impact that coaching can have for people. There are significant, distinct and measurable results. It’s no secret that major corporations have integrated the use of coaching into their companies. It’s not just for high-powered executives anymore.Coaching is widely gaining appeal and is a postive trend that is here to stay. I recently learned that Nationwide Insurance is utilizing professional coaches to train key personnel to learn coaching skill sets, so that the entire culture has a new way of being at work. The results include elavated morale, improved communication, increased productivity and much more.

So you might be saying to yourself, “well,that’s nice, but what does that have to do with me?” Before I answer that, I’d like to share something with you that might make some of my readers gasp. As a firm believer in the power of coaching, I as a coach, have a my own coach to whom I happily pay 1,000.00 a month.

Now it wasn’t that way when I wrote that first check to my coach. I literally was “teetering” in my high heels ( and had to drink an extra cup of “calming” tea to quiet my jangled nerves)

Here’s something else interesting…

My income doubled within 1 month of working with my new coach. Is my coach good? You bet! But there’s more to it. By stretching myself, and because I hired a really great coach who know’s her value, I set myself up to “win”. I invested in myself and my personal and professional dreams. Because I have vested interest in this coaching relationship, you better believe I am being accountable to achieving my goals.

I am amazed at the number of people that I know who have big dreams but don’t have a coach! I know, I know, I am partial to coaching but…

Coaching works.

Plain and simple.

It is the Fast Track to greater life satisfaction, fulfillment and success ( success as defined by you!)

Is it time for you to invest in the power of you? I hope so! I believe the world becomes a better place every time that someone dedicates themselves to living their dreams!

Diana Long, The Results Coach, is the founder of The Life Design Institute, LLC. — a compay which provides coaching, consulting, and programs for busy professionals, small business owners, and entrepreneurs. Co-creator of the Business Breakthrough Series, Diana’s innovation and exceptional insight are highly sought after. For more information: www.DianaLong.com.

I learned of this workshop through one of my coaching communities and felt excited and ready to expand my own concepts of what is possible. The weekend was a bit like Woodstock! ( but without the drugs), with lots of mind blowing quantum physics theory mixed in with some very interesting on stage interractions with Dr Barlett and participants from the crowd. I came home feeling even more inspired and enthused about the tremendous potential that each of us has within us.

I am fascinated with quantum physics and enjoy teaching these concepts ( in my own unique approach) to my clients as a way to create a foundation of understanding for the now mainstream idea,called ” the Law of Attraction” This ancient concept was repackaged in a movie called ,The Secret which Oprah, featured (not just once, but twice).The Law of Attraction works for everything, business goals, money goals, finding Mr. Right ( or Ms. Right)

The secret to getting more of the results you want is to practice “seeing, feeling and being” your Vision. Do it every day and you’ll be amazed at how quickly you start seeing results. It’s really amazing and pretty darn simple once you get the hang of it!

The single most important concept I love to teach and am becoming more of a master of in my own life, is becoming an “intentional human.” What I mean by this is to become so single-minded in your focus that you literally “see it, feel it, and experience it” even if it isn’t here yet! In my study of Positive Psychology research , I came upon a perfect study that illustrates the “Act as If” principle to a “T”. In a controlled study, a group of older gentleman were asked to “go back in time” in their minds and act as if they were living in the 1950′s. Long story short, these men truly began to believe so much in their new “version ” of life so much so that they actually began to feel,act and look younger. Physical testing revealed positive trends and reversing of old complaints! Wow.

If these fellows can reverse time by believing it, then we can too!… “I act as if, until I am” is my newest mantra. I challenge all of us to become “intentional humans” and consciously decide what it is that we really want for ourselves, for our work, and for our families and communities. It really does begin with us! So,tell me, what are you intending for your life and your business?

Diana Long, The Results Coach, is the founder of The Life Design Institute, LLC. — a compay which provides coaching, consulting, and programs for busy professionals, small business owners, and entrepreneurs. Co-creator of the Business Breakthrough Series, Diana’s innovation and exceptional insight are highly sought after. For more information: www.DianaLong.com.