Creating the life of your dreams: visualize it, plan it, do it
Want to create the life of your dreams?
What is it that your heart desires?
I'm sure you have heard about the Law of Attraction at some point and if you've ever practised it, you know it can be truly life changing. This article takes a look at some of the visualisation steps involved in a business context, to start on the journey towards the life of your dreams.
So before you get into the nitty-gritty of starting your own business and ordering business cards, it's so important to take the time to envision exactly what you want to get out of the journey that is entrepreneurship. It's important not to just look at what you want to sell or how much money you'd like to earn each year, but what you want your new life to look like.
This is because the whole point of starting your own business is usually to get out of a job or other situation you're not happy with and to take control of your time, your finances, and your life. To create a business that fits perfectly with the lifestyle you want to achieve, you first need to know exactly what your ideal life looks like.
Sounds simple, right?
It actually takes a whole lot of thinking and soul-searching.
Step 1: Visualize Your Perfect Life
Take your time with this step! It can be hugely rewarding and also really fun. It does mean you need to be honest with yourself, though: It won't do you any good to answer the way you think your mum would want your to, or the way you imagine the perfect business woman would. Your life is your journey, and you only get one crack at it, so be true to yourself! Consider your personal answers to these questions:
- What do you love to do? This could be hobbies, work, or any activity that makes you feel good about yourself.
- What kind of work would you choose to do each day even if you weren't getting paid?
- What does your ideal day look like? How is it structured — or is it wide open? Do you have a schedule?
- Where do you want to live?
- Do you want to travel?
- What do you envision your family looking like in the next five years? What about a decade from now?
- What makes you feel good about yourself?
Once you've gathered your thoughts about these questions, it should be a little easier to come up with a vision for what you want your life to look like. If you could choose to live any way you wanted, what would your weekdays look like? How about the weekends? How would you spend your free time, and where would you live? How does the rhythm of the seasons affect your life and work?
It can help to pretend you're writing a "year in review" letter for a close friend or for your holiday greeting cards to flesh this out and make it seem more real as you brainstorm. Write the letter as if all the things you want have already happened — it's a really powerful way to make your life of your dreams seem more real. If you're artistic, make a collage or a vision board depicting all the things you want, and hang it somewhere prominent. When you make your life of your dreams more concrete, you concentrate your focus and make it easier to act.
Step 2: Set Your Goals and Plan to Reach Them
Now that you have a clear idea of the life you want to live, it's time to make it happen. To focus your energies on success, you need to set goals to help you get there. Think of the vision you want to achieve, and make a list of the steps you would need to take to get there. It's not enough to have a big, vague goal like "I want to start my own business." Instead, make a list of all the little benchmarks and goals you would need to reach along the road to get that business up and running.
As you list out the steps you need to take, assign a deadline for each one. For example, "Get my website online by July 1" or "Set up a home office in the spare bedroom this Saturday." Now you have a road map of many small goals as well as due dates to keep you on track. It's overwhelming to think of goals in a big-picture way, but you can definitely tackle one small step at a time.
If you need help figuring out how to break down you big goal into small, actionable steps, I can help! This is where many aspiring businesswomen stumble, but a having a business coach and mentor can make a huge difference to help you see what your next steps should be.
Step 3: Get to Work and Make It Happen
Once you have a plan laid out, it's going to take a whole lot of hustle to get it done! There's no real secret to that part — just pick out the next goal on your list, note the deadline, and then start working to make it happen. If it takes longer than you expected, or if you hit obstacles along the way, don't give up. The road to success never did run smooth, but the only solution is to stick to it. When you start making things happen, your momentum snowballs, and pretty soon nothing can stand in your way because you just keep on rolling!
So what are your big goals for your fabulous new life? Share them in the comments! I'd love to hear what you're planning, and making your goals public goes a long way to sealing your commitment to achieve them, so start typing and tell us all about yourself!
Want some more information and resources on the Law of Attraction and the life of your dreams? Here are some helpful links:
