Master Your Goals with Vision Boards: A Guide to Manifesting Success

CAMILLE WALKER [0:00]

A lot of times, I shake my head and just say, I don't even know. But I do know that you keep sending out good content and you keep doing what you're doing and working hard and create that visualization of what you want. What does success look like for you?

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So, you want to make an impact. You're thinking about starting a business sharing your voice? How do women do it that handle motherhood, family, and still chase after those dreams? We'll listen each week as we dive into the stories of women who know. This is Call Me CEO.

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Hello, everyone. And welcome to another episode of Call Me CEO. If you have not listened to this show before, welcome. My name is Camille Walker. And I share stories of mothers building businesses all over the world while still managing and maintaining a balance that they love with life and family.

It is so wonderful to have this podcast. I have been doing this now for about two and a half years. And I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. So, this is my invitation to continue listening. I release weekly episodes. And I'm even considering doing more.

So, if you're listening to this episode and you're thinking, you know someone or you, yourself, may be a good fit for this podcast, please reach out to me at callmeceopodcast@gmail.com. I would love to share your story.

So, welcome everyone to today's episode. I am speaking about how to create a vision board and how this can help you to accomplish your goals. One of my favorite things that I do as an entrepreneur is I coach women in business. And I've done all different types of businesses and women doing different things at different times in their lives, whether it's a course launch, a podcast launch, a program. I've helped people who have run warehouses, online boutiques, online apps, and other programs. And it is always so much fun to learn from everyone and also to share in that growth.

I feel like finding coaches for myself as well as coaching others is really what it's all about. One of the very first questions that I ask a person who I'm coaching or someone who I'm trying to help is I ask them where they want to end up?

What a vision board does is it gives you the opportunity to really visualize what your goal is. Where do you hope to go? If we don't know where we are heading, how will we know if we've gotten there? I know there's many different people who have said that quote in many different ways. That's not the most eloquent definitely.

However, it's the same concept. If you don't know what your measure of success is, how will you know if you've reached it? And I can tell you from interviewing now hundreds of different women, our measure of success and the measure of balance in life that we're searching for looks different. It doesn't mean that the elements of the balanced life don't exist. But it does mean that the way that we prioritize our time, what we give our most attention and love and thought to does look different from person to person.

And I think that that is the most interesting thing to discover about yourself is what is it that you're hoping to achieve? What do you want to be able to look back at your life and say that you've done? And what are some things that would really help you to feel excited and fun about what you're working on or what you're choosing to do in your life?

One thing that I've found very interesting, especially when considering stories of big people that we know that have done things that we all recognize, a lot of them have created vision boards. A few examples of those that I wanted to share with you, Jim Carrey before achieving fame and success, wrote himself a check for $10 million for acting services rendered and dated it for Thanksgiving 1995. He kept the check in his wallet and visualized his success. In 1994, he secured a role in the movie Dumb and Dumber, which earned him a paycheck close to the amount he had envisioned.

When I first heard this story about Jim Carrey, I actually was watching Oprah at the time. And I'm so sad that she's not on our daily TV screens anymore because I feel like I lived and learned huge life lessons from watching that show, even as a teenager because this is an example of something where someone saw something that they wanted and before even knowing if they would be successful, they believed that they could be successful. And I feel like that is such an integral part of knowing how we're going to get somewhere.

Oprah Winfrey herself famously used vision boards to manifest her dreams and goals. She created a vision board with a picture of the co-anchor chair on a new set. Years later, she ended up becoming the first African American woman to host a nationally syndicated talk show, fulfilling her vision and achieving extraordinary success.

Now, of course, we know that she has her own network now, has done massive amounts of work and help with children in Africa, especially the girls’ schools that she's opened there. And I know from watching her show as well that she shared that as a vision for her life and so cool to see her to achieve that.

Ellen DeGeneres shared her vision board story on her talk show. She had placed a picture on the cover of O, which is The Oprah Magazine. And what's really funny too is that later, Oprah Winfrey herself invited her to be an appear on the cover of the magazine. And this is what helped catapult Ellen's career to new heights.

What's really cool in all of these stories is that they are linked. These people were able to help each other achieve success. And I think that that's a big piece of success is surrounding yourself with people that will help you to find success. I think they say that you're the average of the five people you spend the most amount of time with. And I believe that this also goes into that mathematical equation of, all right, do you have a coach? Or do you have people or mentors or friends that you look up to that are helping you to bring you the success or the life balance or the attitude that you want in your life?

Because listen, success in your life does not mean that you have a certain number of zeros at the end of each paycheck. It doesn't mean that you have to be in the fanciest car or live in the biggest house. For me, success is having a life that you're excited to wake up and live the next day. And if you can surround yourself with people who are living the values that help you to find that happiness, that is true success.

Another example of a visualization is the founder of Spanx, Sara Blakely, attributes most of her success to the power of visualization. She used a vision board to envision her product being sold in major department stores. And today, Spanx is sold globally in numerous retail locations, fulfilling her vision.

John Assaraf is an entrepreneur and dream development expert. He shared his story of using a vision board to manifest his dream house. He placed a picture of his desired house on his vision board and focused on it daily. Eventually, he unknowingly purchased the exact house he had placed on his board, realizing the power of visualization.

Okay. So, all of these stories tell you potential impact of vision boards and that it can turn your dreams into reality. And by consistently visualizing your goals and taking inspired action, you too can reach remarkable success. Remember, everyone's journey is unique. The vision boards can serve as powerful tools to clarify your goals, enhance motivation, and manifest desired outcomes.

So, let's talk about what a vision board could look like. Because I think for some of us, we're not so artsy and craftsy. We don't have magazines to cut apart or different things where we may not know what that looks like. So, I've heard a lot of different ways of doing this.

And I think it's interesting to dive into, first of all, what is a vision board? And what are the purpose or benefits of creating this vision board? And how can we do that? So, a vision board is a physical representation of goals you hope to achieve. So, this could be done with pictures. It could be done with a digital file or some people even like to use Pinterest. And that's one of my favorites is that you can actually create a Pinterest board to put all of your hopes and dreams onto the board as well.

So, what does this look like? I know some people can get together colors that really represent who they are or you could think of places you want to visit, places you want to go. It could be to have a family. It could be showing someone who is having balance of their lives with exercise and meditation, healthy eating. It could be a certain amount of peace that you want to have.

If you wanted to get really craftsy, I have seen people who every morning, they go to a place where they're working out in their home or they're starting their daily meditation or their daily practice. And they put a vision board where they will see it every day. This could be in front of a treadmill. This could be in a special corner of your home. This could be on your phone screen. This could be on a mirror in your home.

I have heard it suggested before that it's a good idea to make your spaces new. So, if you do create a physical vision board like this, that perhaps you could put it somewhere that you'll see it and it's new every day. But I know and you know that if something is in the same place day after day, year after year, sometimes you tune it out. So, it can be a good idea to have a vision board, but maybe change the location of where you will see it every day because there are themes in our day and places that we always are. So, you always want to keep it fresh.

If you want to go the old-fashioned way, you would start with a poster board or a cork board, a sturdy base for your vision board. Number two, you would get magazines or newspapers or even printing out images that resonate with your goals. You would probably want to have scissors or glue or tape, markers or pens, stickers, washi tape, decorative elements. This is your very old-fashioned. Think like collage, poster board, idea.

If you go to digital like using Canva or Pinterest or Trello or Adobe Spark, you can define your theme or goals and determine the focus and intention for your digital vision boards, collected digital images and quotes, and search for images online or use royalty-free image websites. You can create a digital collage and arrange images, words, and affirmations on your chosen platform and print them out or put them onto your computer screen or onto your phone.

There are a lot of different ways that you can do this. But what's most important is that you create a weekly routine to engage with your vision board. Find a dedicated space and choose a location where you can easily see your vision board every single day. This could be your bedroom, office, common area in your home. Make sure it's a space where you can comfortably spend a few moments focusing on your goals.

You could also create a ritual around this. This is something I talked about just a moment ago. Whether it's a morning or evening ritual incorporating your vision board into your daily routine. You can choose to engage with it in the morning to set a positive intention for the day or as a reflection space where you can process and visualize your goals before you go to bed. Find the time that works best for you and be consistent. If you miss sometimes, that's okay, just pick up and keep going.

Visualization exercises can help with this process as well. What does that even mean? You can spend a few minutes each day visualizing your life and living the life that you're depicting on the board. That would mean that you are closing your eyes, taking deep breaths, and immersing yourself in feelings and emotions associated with the goals and imagine yourself already achieving them.

Hey, there. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. If you were enjoying this episode and thinking that you would like to grow your business without the stress, let me be a team member with you and help you create more space and time to help you reach a better balance in your life.

Part of that may include hiring a virtual assistant and I am an expert in that field. I have students who have taken my program and are ready to start with you as well as helping you to create goals for more success and more time to just be.

If you're looking for coaching, I would love to help you. We can schedule a free discovery call with the link below and figure out what you need to move the needle forward of growing your business without growing the stress. Let me help you get there.

Affirmation and mantras can be a big piece of this. This is something that I've tried to do better with recently. But one thing that you can do with the vision board in particular is stand in front of your vision board and recite affirmations or mantras that align with your goals. Use positive statements in present tense such as "I am successful," "I am abundant," or "I am competent." And repeat these affirmations with conviction and belief.

My favorite way to do this is to reflect in a journal. Take a few minutes each day at the end of the week to reflect on your progress. Write in a journal about insights, breakthroughs, or actions you've taken that align with your vision and use this time to assess your goals. Make any necessary adjustments and celebrate your achievements.

One of my favorite things to do with a vision board is to be very specific about the goals that you want to take and breaking them into smaller actionable steps. One thing that I did as it's a very common tradition or I guess way of writing a vision board isn't necessarily with images and photos. But my husband and I, every single year, even a couple of times a year, we'll write goals for ourselves individually and as a couple. One of the goals that I wrote for myself individually years ago was that I wanted to work with Disney.

Now, what's really interesting about this goal is that at the time I was blogging and I had been blogging for probably five or six years. And I had heard rumor that there was a program called Disney Moms. And I thought, that sounds like the ultimate dream. If I'm blogging and I'm doing this stuff from home, it's really fun that I'm working with brands and I'm bringing in money and I'm able to be at home with my kids. But man, if I could work with Disney, that would make this all worth it. That was the pinnacle for me. And I wrote this down, having no idea how it would happen or the steps you could take to get there.

And one day, I received an email inviting me to go to California to go to a Disney Moms' weekend. It was like a day event. And I thought, is this really Disney? Honestly, you guys, I thought it probably wasn't. I didn't know. But I wrote back a very short email. And I said, "Will you be covering travel for this opportunity?" Because at the time, I couldn't even afford to hop on a plane, let alone the stress of finding daycare for my kids and figuring out how to make this all happen.

But I thought, I'm just going to respond back and see what the temperature is here. Is this a spam email that goes out to everyone? Or is this something that could be really a possibility for me? Now, of course, I had been blogging with the intention of helping other people. I blogged with the intention of helping parents with parenting and travel and kids and recipes and all these different things. My blog was not Disney-specific. I didn't even know what the requirements were to be invited to a Disney experience.

So, I had asked around a little bit about what this was all about. And all I heard from my friends and cohorts and other bloggers was Disney does not have an application program. You have to be invited. And so, I thought, okay, so there's nothing I can do. You just have to keep going and hope they notice you. And yeah, that's basically how it works. Even to this day, you cannot apply to work with Disney. It doesn't work that way. And when I say work with Disney, I mean, be invited to enjoy new park openings, their food and wine conference, go to a Disney cruise or any of those things that they'll invite creators and bloggers to do that.

So, going back to my story, I wrote back an email saying, "Are you covering travel costs for this? Thinking probably not. Probably not in a million years will they say yes. And they wrote back and they said, "Actually, yes, we can cover travel for you to come to this experience. And instead of just the one-day event, we wanted to invite you to come to a weekend experience with you and a couple members of your family."

And I was absolutely floored, absolutely floored. How it turned out was I was invited to be a group of maybe six. So, the day event hosted I would guess around 300 bloggers to be a part of this day event, which was so magical. It was essentially like a one-day training for creatives on the new practices of Facebook and Instagram. And they had an artist there from the Disney movies, which was amazing.

And the part that I was invited to was actually to experience Disney beyond that. The thing is I don't know if I was originally invited to go to that exclusive experience. But it was when I responded back with, "Is travel going to be covered?" that I think maybe they took a second look at me. I don't know.

But I'll tell you what happened next. I was able to go to this Disney event and be in a room of creative, amazing women that were doing the same thing that I was, sharing stories and recipes and family and fashion and Disney content. And we were able to network with each other, which is where I met some really dear friends that I'm so close with to this day as well as the Disney marketing staff.

And I was also able to be part of a really exclusive event of going on a Disney cruise with fireworks where we got to see fireworks from the ocean, which was just amazing. And we're able to also go to this exclusive dining area that's only open to the chefs of Disney. It was beyond my wildest dreams, you guys.

And what was really interesting too is I got to a place where it was an early morning meeting that we had with the Disney team. And I asked in all sincerity of heart, "Thank you so much for having me and for inviting me." And I said, "I've got to know. How did you choose me? Why am I here? I'm just so pretty flabbergasted." Even as I'm speaking now, it's hard for me to come to words with how I felt. I just felt so honored and so grateful. And they said, "We love who you are. We love the content you're putting out into the world. We love what you represent. And we really wanted you to be here."

Did they know that I had Disney on my vision board? Absolutely not. But what they did know is that I was showing up and representing the kind of content and the kind of people that they were hoping to continue sharing Disney's message.

And so, it was a testimony to me that if you show up as the person you want to be in that you're hoping to be, that magic really does happen. Visualization is not about perfect action. It's about showing up as the person you are hoping to become with the action steps that help you to get there. And that's what I was doing. And I can stand back and I'm still in awe that those things happened to me. And I'm so grateful.

And I have been asked many times by many of my cohorts, blog friends, creators, influencers, "How did you do that? How did that happen?" And a lot of times, I shake my head and just say, "I don't even know." But I do know that you keep sending out good content and you keep doing what you're doing and working hard and create that visualization of what you want. What does success look like for you?

Now, that's a small example of something in my life that I've seen brought to fruition that I couldn't have even imagined happening. Really when I wrote that down, I thought, this is insane. But this is what I want. And during that conference, as I was talking about before, there was an email that came around to us. And they asked us a few questions.

And one of them was, "Who is your favorite Disney princess?" And I wrote Cinderella, because I love that she is such a kind and giving person, but she works her butt off. And you know that despite hard things that she's going through, she will show up and continue to sing and be kind and work hard. And a mantra that's always meant a lot to me is people that are kind and do good things, good things will happen to them.

So, we were sitting in this conference and it was full of women. And an artist came out that was an official Disney artist. And she was talking about the process that she goes through when she's creating characters for Disney. And she asked for a volunteer. Of course, every arm went up in that room. And a lucky person was brought to the stage and was asked that same question. Who is your favorite princess?

I can't remember who it was that she chose. But as she chose that character, the person drawing was talking about the characteristics of that person as she drew this favorite character for this woman who had been brought to stage. And she said, "As I'm drawing these characters, I'm thinking about who they are and what they represent. And that they're able to share these incredible stories on screen."

And after she was done, she signed it and she gave the poster to this woman. And I remember just being like, oh my gosh, she's the luckiest person here. I was also really lucky that I was there. But at the very end of that conference that day, they said, "We have a surprise for you. Do you remember when we asked you who your favorite princess was? We have a surprise for all of you."

And it turns out that that artist had taken the time to draw, she and maybe some others, I think it was the same person though, drew 300 different princesses and signed it underneath that. And so, I went to the back of the room and inside of a tube was this gorgeous picture of Cinderella. And above it, it said, "Camille, a dream is a wish your heart makes." And it was signed with her name. And I was almost brought to tears. I'm a Disney nerd. There's no denying that.

But the fact that I got my own picture, something that represented so much to me and Cinderella being someone that worked so hard and is so kind, it was such a beautiful moment for me that I still to this day have it framed and it's in my home. And I see it very, very often.

And that picture to me, even though it's not a collage of a bunch of different things, it is a representation of working hard, showing up, and going for your dreams and that I was able to experience that and visualize that and see that and be reminded that there are a ton of ups and downs. And I have gone through many challenges and things that have totally flopped or haven't quite worked out. But that doesn't mean that I stopped showing up.

And I want to share that message with you too, that whatever kind of visualization that you create for yourself or whether it's daily mantras or visualizations, that you keep showing up. It doesn't have to be perfect to be progress. I hope you're all having a wonderful day and that you'll continue to tune in.

If you're listening to this episode and wondering if there are ways that you could reach your goals, I am here to help you reach them. I actually am now helping busy entrepreneurs with one-on-one coaching where I'm helping them to identify their goals and break them down into actionable steps, which also includes helping you to bring on virtual assistants to help you free up your time and create that balance that you need and that you love.

On the flip side of that, if you're just starting out or know people who are looking for a stay-at-home freelance position, I have my 60 Days to VA program, which helps you to learn how to be a virtual assistant and work from anywhere you have Wi-Fi.

Now, let me just tell you that bringing these women together on both sides of busy entrepreneurs who are looking for space for growth as well as people who are just starting out and needing help with finding amazing people to work with, it is full circle for me and I love it so very much. You can reach out to me at www.camillewalker.co or email me directly at callmeceopodcast@gmail.com.

And if you know someone who could benefit from this visualization or the idea of creating success and surrounding yourself with mantras and steps to help you get there, please share this episode and subscribe above wherever you are listening to this podcast. Thank you so much for listening to this episode and I hope to see you next week.

Hey, CEOs. Thank you so much for spending your time with me. If you found this episode inspiring or helpful, please let me know in a comment in a 5-star review. You could have the chance of being a featured review on an upcoming episode. Continue the conversation on Instagram @callmeceopodcast. And remember, you are the boss.

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