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.

As this year comes to completion, it is the perfect time to take “stock” of what worked well for you this year AND what didn’t.

Just the other day, one of my newer clients, whom I will call Julie as to protect her identity, shared with me that her life and business are running at peak capacity. From the outside looking in, her life looks very,very good. The catch? She feels like something is missing. She create a big and busy life, but truth be told, she said,”it feels like my life is running me”.

After listening deeply, together we identified all the various projects, commitments, and demands she was currently facing. After getting everything on the table, it became pretty obvious. She had created her own “monster” and it was time to pare down to the absolute essentials. She began to see why she was exhausted and unfulfilled.

In what I like to call the “Aha moment”, she said to me in a hushed tone, “Is this where I was really going?”

“I don’t think so!”

It’s easy to get caught up in the “Millionaire Mindset Bootcamp” bandwagon and follow a model that promises you rock star status in your industry, full of glitter and gold. If this is what you truly want and it gives you great joy to achieve it ,then it is clear. Go for it!

Alot of business owners I’ve met share that they feel like they’re on a treadmill of working,working and working. To what end? Often money goals are created out of group-think. Hey isn’t this what everyone wants and is working for? These goals are usually driven to have more..such as ” I want to break 7 figures in my business. The illusion is that when they make their million dollars, then life will be sweeter and they’ll be happy,finally! So the money goal is set and they put their heads down and work like a dog to try to make that happen. Often they succeed,but at what cost?

With Julie, she was able to get the clarity about what was truly a priority for her and what was no longer truly profitable and/or energizing for her. She had the true clarity about what the important values where for her and this clarity allowed her to redesign her life and business in ways that were much more in alignment for her.

Her question transformed from, “Is this where I was really going?” to clarity. She declared”Now I know what I want & where I am going AND I’m committed to enjoy ALL my life.

What a powerful place to be in. To know what you truly value and desire for your business and your life IS THE WAY to having it all!

Here are a few powerful questions that can help keep you on YOUR path ( not someone else’s)

1.What do I really want? ( Be specific about what you really,really want.)

2.What activities/projects give you joy & fulfillment? ( integrate more of these into your life)

3.What activities/projects/clients take you OUT of your joy? ( let go of old committments that no longer fit or might even be toxic to your happiness)

The bottom line is that it can be easy to get pulled into over-committing, over-doing and over-achieving. The good news,though, is that you DO have choice and these simple questions can help to align your business and life plans so that they are an absolute 100% match to your unique-ness!

The Zen of Social Media by Shama Kabani – Shama helps to clarify and help you to handle the “beast” of social media. She gives some really great step by step instruction and strategy as well as highlighting some case studies. Highly recommended.

Flip the Funnel- Joseph Jaffe-This book is not a book about how to aggressively go out & “get more customers” rather the “flip of the funnel” concept that Joseph teaches is to pay more attention to the customers you already have. His key points? Provide beyond excellent customer service and nurture the relationship with them. He addresses the web 2.0 and provides strategies to fully utilize it to serve the customer.

ProBlogger- by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett- A super, primer for all bloggers. Lear what you need to know about everything blog related from technology to content to building your own community.

The Matrix Energetics Experience- Richard Bartlett- I am a huge fan of Sounds True, Tami Simon’s company which provides audio programs from the best of the best in personal and spiritual development. I purchased this program from them. This progam by Dr Bartlett is really fantastic. I have attended Dr Bartlett’s live training, and while I enjoyed his teachings I actually like this recorded program better! It’s packaged beautifully and has a set of 6 audio trainings, 1 DVD training, cards and a manual. It’s really interesting and mind expanding . It’s way out of the box!

Ann Boleyn and The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory- My daughter recommended this book to me and I was completely drawn into the time of England’s KIng Henry the 8th. Around the same time, we discovered the excellent Showtime series, The Tudors. It’s fabulous. Rich with content, visually beautiful, excellent casting of the characters. Just plain great!

On This Journey, We Call Our Life: Living the Questions by James Hollis- I’ve been processing my dreams for almost 2 years now with a Jungian dream analyst. It’s been a most fascinating process. This book is written by a jungian dream expert and the questions he poses and the wisdom he shares is deep and will stir your own transformation.

Women Run with the Wolves by Clarissa P Estes- Also from the genre of jungian influence. Dr Estes is a remarkable story teller. Using her incredible stories to help the reader to connect and identify with that which is hidden in our unconscious. You’ll find yourself relating to the characters and the escapades they have with what you are creating or wanting to stop creating(!) in your own life.

One of my own personal values is a commitment to continuous life-long learning. I believe that a commitment to personal and professional development is a crucial factor to designing and executing a business that is profitable and on “purpose”.

What key players in any industry know is that there’s always more to learn. It makes good common sense to learn from the “Masters” in your field or related industries. By being the best in your field, being privy to the most current information and being a “progressive” business person, you and your business will stand out from the crowd!

Are you taking the initiative to learn and grow? Is it in your business budget? If not, it needs to be! Attending live events should definitely be a part of your marketing strategy. I advance my “business skill set” with a minimum investment of well over $15,000 a year by attending a wide variety of business, marketing and advanced success strategy seminars, as well as my participation in a Mastermind group.

This practice of investing in my personal and professional development has paid me HUGE dividends. By attending live events, I have the opportunity to network with like-minded individuals and make valuable connections that help me to achieve my business goals. I also advance my knowledge base and skill set, which allows me to stand out in a field where there is a lot of “competition”.

I’m curious to hear from you. How has investing in yourself, both personally and professionally helped you to be more successful?

Diana