Last week I was able to support and attend my good friend and strategic partners' Vision Board Workshop. Sharon of the Bitchy Business Briefs is a fellow momma of dos and an inspiration for Latina entrepreneurs everywhere. She is not only a sassy pants but is also very genuine and creative. Her ideas are so unique and she has definitely pulled me out of creative ruts time and time again.
Her class was given at a local technical college. I asked Sharon the following questions and here are her replies-
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What did you personally gain from your vision Board workshop?
"Great question! There were quite a few important "nuggets" I personally gained from my Vison Board Workshop...I'll share two: In the beginning of the workshop, I noticed a young man who was not interested at all in what we were doing, in what I was sharing, etc.
As the class was getting busy with cutting out pictures of visuals to glue on their board, he made a remark that caught me by surprise: "This sucks, these magazines suck; there are no good pictures in any of them" ...when he said this, I was taken off guard...Being the quick sassy-pants thinker that I am, very nicely I told him, "You suck, there is the door you are invited to leave..you don't have to be here." Well, of course, you could hear crickets in the room! I asked the teacher to turn up Pandora Music! LOL!
The funny thing is, he went on to create probably one of the most impressive Vision Boards in the class. He showed me his board when he completed it. I told him, "Wow! you did an amazing job...you are so creative" I was impressed. He had created a Vision Board that represented the way he sees life...very authentic. He then opened up to me and said he had a great time and he was glad he stayed.
The second personal "nugget" I gained from my Vision Board Workshop was very personal...
Halfway through the class, I had 2 students ask me if they could talk to me outside in the hallway. The first student was a young girl, who told me she wants to be a motivational speaker like me. She said she saw me speak last year and then again today in the Vision Board Workshop. It was then at that moment, I realized that what I shared with these students did make an impact. I don't think of myself as a motivational speaker. I am just uber passionate about helping others realize their full potential and that they have bigger goals to reach.
The second student that asked me to talk with her outside of the classroom was an older lady (she recently returned to college to wrap up her degree) I was so touched when shared with me that after reading my book (last year) it gave her courage to make some serious changes and improvement in her life. She told her older son to move out and she told him that she was not responsible for raising his kids. She left a bad marriage. She returned to college and will be graduating in six months.
O.K. that blew me away...that was powerful and unexpected. I am sincerely thankful for the gift I am able to share: my writing. Sometimes we are so hard on ourselves and we don't think anyone is reading, watching, listenig...when really they are.
Hooray for the positive power of social media LOL!"
What's your advice to young attendees?
"Don't wait years and years to realize what genuine gifts and talents you have. Learn how to monetize from your talents. On our birthday, we were all born with "Factory-Installed" gift and talents. It seems that society grooms young people to be followers, not leaders.
Be your own leader.
Do not do things half-ass.
Never worry what others will think of you if you are trying to improve your life or make a change. Learn how to "learn"...use OPT & OPE (other people's time; other people's experience) - read books, podcast, etc. to learn from others who have become bad-ass in their craft. Never stop learning and growing. Give back...give back to your community whether it is your time volunteering, money, or information. Bring value whatever you do.
My favorite quote I wrote: "First, be helpful. Bring value. Then, become necessary."
And, what's a good quote about goals that you use?
"Awww! I have two great quotes (not just because I wrote them...LOL) 1.) It is never too late to re-invent yourself, your life, or your career2.) It is up to you to create the kind of success you want with the time you are given
. (meaning that whatever you believe is "success" it is up to you to create it ...with the time you have. We don't live forever- We're on borrowed time)"
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I attended her class and have created vision boards in the past, today I share with you what I feel are some top reasons to participate in this type of event.
A Vision Board allows you to:
1) Gain Perspective- Sometimes those things we want the most are hard to describe or maybe hard to express, even to ourselves sometimes. You at times have to step outside your comfort zone to gain some perspective. When you are placed in a fun or different environment than you are used to, and then asked to put together a vision of your future, dreams, and goals your perspective changes. You are in a sense given a creative zone for thinking.
2) Create Direction- If you create a well-planned out vision for yourself and what you want for your future, you will have a better sense of direction. Most plans fail because we don't have a clear direction of what we want to do or the steps to take to reach our goals. We need to write it down, give ourselves those specific goals to reach, as well as a time frame in which to reach those goals. Being able to visualize what we want will help us create that direction needed to obtain results.
3) Focus- When you think about your goals and write them down, it helps you create a focus on those ideas. It's not as easy to be distracted if you create that visual which you can refer to for guidance. The vision board will be the reference point for how far you have come and how much more you have to accomplish to reach those goals.
4) Visual to Reach your Goals- Sometimes making lists or writing those goals is not enough, we need a real "map" or "vision board" to help us see the whole picture. A clear and focused reminder of what we want to obtain in the year (or years) to come. I am very much a visual person. I like pictures and words that bring me good, happy thoughts. I know a lot of people are like this. Seeing a quick, pretty reference like a beautiful garden in front of a house can serve two purposes; give me a goal to create a garden at my home and/or inspire me with its beauty.
5) Finding like-minded individuals- Usually people who attend these events have a specific mindset and might have the same thoughts as you. Things like; I know what I want but how do I express it. Or, I have gained all this education, now what? You will find someone who you can relate to or identify with. This helps keep you motivated and serves as a great source of support.
6) Cause Glitter, Glue and Scissors are not just for toddlers- True, this type of event might make ou think you are going back in Kindergarten but honestly, it's relaxing. The idea of being able to create something for yourself helps create a positive sense of self and accomplishment. And, it's such a creative outlet. The best part is that like in Kinder no one can judge your glueing and cutting skills because there is no real format. You basically create a collage of those items that best create
your visual goals.
7) Becuase they work- There are studying that show, that vision boards really do work and help you accomplish your goals. I have now created 3 vision boards and combined I have reached more than 50% of what I placed on them. My goals were clear and I had a combination of words and pictures that helped place my ideas into the universe where I could see them daily and work towards reaching them.
8) To get rid of your extra magazines- I mean we all have that pile of magazines that we need to get rid of, why not recycle them! Surely they have a few words, quotes or pictures that you can use. Plus with the beginning of the year comes cleaning out clutter and getting rid of the old. This is a great way to "dispose" of those magazines and make good use of them!
9) Collaboration- As mentioned before the group is bound to be like-minded and clearing have a common purpose. To achieve new goals and create effective visual to help reach those goals. The workshops and group serve as a great way to think of new ideas, to help one another express our ideas and be supportive of our dreams. The collaborations begin to form and the networking is great.
10) Accountability- With your visual in hand you will have the perfect accountability tool. You should place your vision board in a place where you can see it every day. Some people suggested the bathroom! Whatever works for you. You want to be able to review your goals and take those steps needed, daily to reach your goals. Some goals and steps might work and fall into place and you might discover that some goals are more long term than others. Either way, you have created your own measuring tool of what, when and how.
Have you created your vision board for 2016? You should!
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