When I tell you to think about your ideal life, what do you see? You probably see a certain type of car, home, family structure or career. Your mind will think in images of whatever your ideal future is because our minds think in images and not words.
I’m sure that you probably have your goals written down somewhere but when you think about achieving your goals, you do not think about the words that represent you hitting your goals, your natural tendency of your mind is to think in images of what accomplishing that goal will actually look like.
If I were to tell you to imagine yourself wearing a pink dress, you would not think about the actual word “p-i-n-k d-r-e-s-s,” you would create a mental image of yourself wearing a pink dress. Before we actually achieve something, we draw a mental picture of it in our brains and that mental picture stimulates us to realize that goal. Sometimes it may not even be a goal, perhaps you begin to imagine eating your favorite meal for lunch on Friday as a treat to yourself; you imagine how scrumptious the meal will be and you begin to look forward to Friday with great anticipation. The mental image has stimulated you enough.
Well, if a mental image of a meal can have that much effect on us, how much more do you think a tangible image attached to something that we want to achieve can also inspire us? Because our brains are wired to think in images, this is why it is necessary for our goals to have images attached to them. Life gets crazy sometimes and there are moments where we need to take a moment and do more than read our list of goals but see images that represent our goals being achieved.
I’ve told you that in 1990 (when he was a broke and struggling comedian) Jim Carrey, wrote himself a check for $10 million for Acting Services Rendered and he kept it with him every day and looked at it daily. This was way before he was the Jim Carrey that we know of today but back then all he had was a dream but he took it the next step and attached a physical image to his dream – one that he could touch, feel and grasp the idea of. Five years later, his asking price per film had reached a whopping $20 million! Even when he was penniless and destitute, he held onto his check and kept believing in himself and in what he saw.
Now, I want to ask you – do you have tangible images that represent your goals and your dreams. If you want to buy your dream home, do you have actual images of what you dream home looks like? If you want to pay off your student loan debt, do you have an image representing you doing so posted somewhere that you will see daily? Do you know the exact amount of what you owe? If you want to become a best-selling author, what images do you have to represent that? Perhaps you want to donate thousands to a beloved cause or charity – what does that look like to you?
It’s time to get your vision board in order. A vision board is an actual poster board (some people use cork boards) with cut-outs of images that represent your vision. It’s important to have not only our goals written down, but images to match those goals. These images will not only motivate you, they will also make your success attractive. These images can come from magazines, newspapers or print outs from the Internet and can also include words or phrases – the key here is that you want to start getting specific about your vision. Mine is pictured here: 
I’ve gone the next step and I want to share it with you. Along with my vision board and my goals posted on my wall, I have added checks that I want to receive and checks that I want to write out to other organizations. I also included images of products of Embrace Her Legacy merchandise to enhance our brand-awareness (which will launch soon) with the sales figures that I intend to hit this year. Not only that, I have statements of student loans debts with “PAID IN FULL” written across the statements. (Take a look at my video discussing my dream wall here). All of these images, along with my vision board and goals list are called my Dream Wall. I look at that wall when I wake up in the morning, before I go to bed and any other chance I can get. That wall is my dream actualized and I want you to start thinking about what images you need to start gathering in order to keep you focused on not what’s happening around you but pressing on towards what is ahead.
I want to encourage you to go take it to the next level and think bigger, better and specific about your dreams. Create an environment around yourself that motivates you to achieve those dreams and I want you to think so big that it scares you. Sometimes we think small because it’s safe, but I believe that with God all things are possible. In life, it’s not about what we see; it’s about what we believe.
Believe in your vision and every time you doubt, then take a look at those images. Meditate on what it will feel like to receive that check, take that vacation, buy that home, sign that record deal or give birth to that child.
Now when I ask you, what does your ideal future look like, what do you see?
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy
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