Playing with a Dynamic Vision Board

Not too long ago, as you may remember, I had the good fortune to meet Bill Ganz, author “Belonging Networks,” and marketing consultant. We had a great visit in my office where he observed the vision board that dominates my space. He made one comment that really resonated with me. In fact, I wrote about it at the time. “I see your process, but suggest that you turn it around and show your clients’ experience when they go through you content.” What he was seeing was a milestone map of all the steps that I needed to do in order to achieve my goals. What he was not seeing was my relationship to my clients or the value that my work was providing them.

Then and there, I decided to change the focus of the board to show that value. Value is an important marketing concept. When presented in business courses, it is usually mentioned as part of the discussion about knowing your target market or niche audience. We are asked to describe who and what people make up that special group we want to attract, their demographics and psychographics. I’ve gone through these exercises myself, and frankly, they did not ring true to me. I found myself making up who I thought would want what I had to offer and why they should. Surely after all this training, I knew what they needed, even if they didn’t. As it turns out, that can be a challenging point of view from which to market because people may not buy what they need; they buy what they want.

Actually changing the board’s focus required me to stop thinking so much about my activities and what I would be doing. It required me to really see where people are when they begin exploring my material, the ways they move through my content as well as the inner changes that occur to keep them moving toward their goals.

Expressing this for the vision board did not happen overnight. I had to go through the creative thought process I had learned from Asmit Goswami. The steps are simple.

1. Gather all the idea and resources related to a question that you can.
2. Turn the question over to your subconscious mind and quietly “sit for ideas” or go do something else. Let go.
3. “Wait for it.” It may take some time to get results so keep holding the idea in mind, fueling a response with your desire and visualization of what might be.
4. Then, whoosh, a “downward” energy begins to flow and you are filled with ideas that answer your question. You record them and translate them into a useable form that helps you execute them.
5. Take action.

In my case, I had to dismantle the existing board, removing all the items that were about my journey, my map and my process. What remained was a very small core grouping of feelings in a very large, empty space.

Next, I “sat for ideas” about the client journey within the context of my book’s message: You can accomplish anything when you change what you are telling yourself. Fortunately, my podcast Rebuilding Your Life: Moving from Disaster to Prosperity provides me with a sense of that progression.

For weeks, I held the image Bill Ganz had given me to look up the sales funnel from the inside along with one of Maslow’s pyramid of needs. I have learned that people do not necessarily want a process to achieve their dreams. They may feel poorly and want to feel better. They may feel stuck and want to see forward motion. The process I teach is a journey to help them move from where they are to where they want to be. Other people experience this through their feelings.

When the creative down flow began, I was inspired with a structure to contain the ideas in some form of logical progression. Up it went on the board. I began to type words to cut up and place around the structure and pulled images from the previous version of the board that still worked in this new iteration. Happily, my products and services found their way onto the board as well, embedded as part of an individual’s overall experience. Within a few days, the new version was captured on the board in its new value oriented form and the few who have noticed it are calling it inspirational.

What effect the new board will have remains to be discovered, although I can say that it inspires me too for it is as much my journey as anyone else’s. Already, a stream of content has been flowing to me about creative visualization. I’ve begun to connect with Helen Sherry, one of the authors included in Christine Kloser’s Pebbles in the Pond, Wave Four in which Dr. Sherry writes about living vision boards. Lisa Nichols’ Creative Visualization program is resurfacing in my consciousness. Mind Movies are knocking at the door.

We can all learn to use these steps and perspectives to achieve joy and well-being in our lives. Schedule a time to play with your own vision board, as they can be dynamic, creative expressions of your dreams. Happy Boarding!

To Your Success,

Susan