Imperfect Marketing

Episode 70: Getting Started with Vision Boards

February 09, 2023 Kendra Corman
Imperfect Marketing
Episode 70: Getting Started with Vision Boards
Show Notes Transcript

How are your goals progressing? If it feels like a struggle, it might be time to try a different technique. Have you thought about creating a vision board to help you achieve them?

I know I have!

And I have my vision board hanging to the right of my desk with my goals all spelled out so that I see it each and every day.

That's why I spoke with Dawn Hattison. She is a life coach and vision board expert. She loves vision boards and has several around the house.

Her advice on vision boards? Just get started!

Think about everything you want in your life or your business, and get started creating. You could create your vision boards with magazine clippings and posterboard, or be like me and use a PowerPoint slide.

It's up to you!

So, grab some images that resonate with you and start saving them for your vision board.

Have you created a vision board before? Did it help you achieve your goals? Let me know at support@kendracorman.com!

Want to get in touch with Dawn?

Resources and related links:



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Kendra Corman: 

Hello and welcome back to Imperfect Marketing. I am super excited today because we have Dawn Hattison. She is a life coach and vision board expert. 

As most of you have heard, my word of the year is no. I also have a vision board. So I think those things are really key to, you know, really moving us forward and picturing where we wanna go.

So welcome Dawn. Thanks so much for joining me. 

Dawn Hattison: 

Thank you so much, Kendra, for having me. I'm so excited to be here and to talk about vision boards. 

Kendra Corman: 

So go ahead, jump in and tell me how did you get started with vision boards?

Dawn Hattison: 

I'll kind of keep, try to keep it short, but a long time ago I was at network marketing and they start talking about setting your vision for what you want in your business.

And so I started doing vision boards at that time. And so when I found out that they were so valuable is when I put some stuff on a vision board, what would happened to be a car. So months later I had to go buy a new car and I was so determined. This was my first experience with the car dealer and I was going to not let them handle me. I was going to go in there, these are my demands, and not let them talk me into something I didn't need.

So he was like, "okay, yes ma'am, I got it. That's your budget." 

We're not doing that. So then as soon as we walk out the door to look at cars, I saw this car and I said, that's it. I wanna drive that one.

He said, "that's not in your budget. You said you wanted to stick to this budget." And he was trying to help me. 

I was like, no. How much more is that one? 

So, we kept going back and forth. I said, Nope, let's drive it. And so, I drove it. I bought it, and probably a couple of weeks later, I happened to be in my office at home and I went and looked at my vision board.

The car that I bought was on the vision board. 

I had embedded that vision in my subconscious, so when I saw it, I was jumping at it. It was only a $30 difference in the payment that I told 'em I wanted to make, but I had it, it had the sunroof, it was the color, it was the car. 

Kendra Corman: 

That's so cool. I've heard so many people share those types of stories about their vision boards.

I was in a vision board workshop not too long ago up here in Michigan, and the woman had said that one of her clients made a vision board and she didn't wanna put this purse in the vision board because it felt like it was a little bit too materialistic. She ends up putting, she's like, no, it's a symbol.

And they put the purse on the vision board, and I think it was like within six months she was complimenting someone else on this purse. And this was the same purse on the vision board. 

And the woman said, "oh yeah, I feel bad. Like I just bought another one. So here, why don't you have this one." 

And gave her the purse on her vision board. 

Dawn Hattison: 

Love it.

Kendra Corman: 

Is that like crazy? Like it's crazy. 

Vision boards truly work because they're feeding our subconscious. Right? And you didn't even make a conscious connection between what was on your vision board and the car that you were purchasing at the dealership, right? 

Dawn Hattison: 

Right. 

Kendra Corman: 

Until later. 

Dawn Hattison: 

I just saw it and in my soul, I said, that is it.

I don't care how much it costs, that is it. And I got it. 

Kendra Corman: 

That's awesome. So if somebody wanted to get started with a vision board, what advice or direction would you give them? 

Dawn Hattison: 

First off, I would say just have fun with it and think big. Sometimes we think it's cheesy to do a vision board. I don't wanna get glue and scissors and do all those things, but you don't really have to.

You can do digital vision boards. You can just take pictures on your phone and set up a folder that says vision boards. But really think through what is it that you want in your life? It doesn't have to be all of the things, whether it's health, finances, relationships. 

You can just pick one topic that you really wanna work on, and then when you find pictures that just give you that chill or you say, that's it, I really want this. Don't worry about the how. 

People start worrying about the how is it gonna happen. Or think it, like you said with the handbag, maybe it’s just too much and maybe someone else will see it. And this is your dream. It's not anyone else's dream. 

So go for it. Grab the scissors and the magazines. I am a paper person. I love thinking back to my childhood with scissors and glue and a poster. So, I'll start cutting out images out of magazines and just, just start and do it. 

If you really want to move forward in your life, I think it's a good way to just have some fun. And I do it with my nieces and they love creating vision boards too. Because in life, we just stop dreaming and we just go from our day to day and we're just stuck.

We go to work, we go home, and we just start this vicious cycle all over again. But if you start using vision boards, look at them every single day. Then like the car, when you see it, you don't know why, you're just drawn to it. And you just accept it and you just go for it.

Not knowing how it's gonna come about. It just happens and it's right there in front of you. You have to be receptive to receiving it when you do see it.

Kendra Corman: 

And it's just, again, it's so powerful. Like you don't have to worry about that "how?" Right?

Dawn Hattison: 

Right. 

Kendra Corman: 

Because your subconscious is sort of laying that groundwork for you. It's just, I don't know. I think they're so powerful and so many stories I've heard over the years are just amazing.

So, okay, so sit down with your glue and your scissors and a pile of old magazines. You know, great start on it. 

Any advice that you have if somebody is looking, I mean, how far out are you thinking? Is it one year? Is it five years? Is it 10 years? Is it whatever you feel like?

Dawn Hattison: 

It really depends. I have one vision board, and because I'm a vision board nut, so I have one vision board that talks about the next decade of my life. I literally put the next decade of all the things that I want. 

And then I have one in my closet, my walk-in closet that I look at every day because my immediate goal, this. is to buy a home. So every time I find pictures and things I want in my home, I put it on that vision board and I look at it every day when I go in my closet to get dressed.

So it really depends on what do you wanna focus on? Sometimes people throwing everything on there about all the things becomes too much and overwhelming, and then you don't wanna do it anymore. You think it's stupid. 

You have to find whatever it is you're looking for, whether it's your health, your finances, your relationship, spiritual, personal development, whatever it is, focus on that.

And if you want to, you can do a hodgepodge of all the things. And I'll always say, if you see a photo that speaks to you, Cut it out, save it, set it aside. All year long I keep a basket underneath, my dining room table has shelves, and every time I run into a magazine. Even if I flipped through the magazine, had great words and phrases that would be good for a vision board or images, I just throw it in the basket.

And a vision board doesn't have to be the same thing all year long. If you're looking at a vision board and you go, this does not resonate with me anymore. I'm just not feeling it. Just take that lovely little picture off and put something else on there. 

It's ever evolving, and just because you put it on there and you have it on there for the year, don't get upset or bothered by the fact that it doesn't happen in that year. The goal is to move closer to the vision you have for yourself. It may not happen when you want it, but you're moving closer if you just keep taking those steps to get there. 

Kendra Corman: 

I think that that's very powerful. So yes, you can't set the timeline for when this is going to happen, right? You just have to keep visioning that it's going to happen.

All right. So how many vision boards do you have? 

Dawn Hattison: 

Oh,

Kendra Corman: 

right now?

Dawn Hattison: 

I have one, two, maybe three. I have one in my office here, which is the next decade of my life. It encompasses my life coaching business. I do have a nine to five. So my life coaching business is what I really wanna build and grow. So, it has that information on there. 

The one in my closet is more one year focus. I really wanna buy a house and I want all the things, so it's right there. 

But I also have two planners. One planner is called Commit 30. I'm not endorsing it or an affiliate or any of those things, but there's a blank page on the front of each month, and you can put your vision there for that month. 

In the very beginning of it, you can set the vision for the year. And again, I'll put the home photos right there. On the very, in the very beginning of that planner. And then each month I may not use the vision board page or I may use it. It just depends on how I'm feeling that month. 

So I try to keep things in front of me at all times because I used to be kind of a negative person and went through a lot in my life, and, but I realized that we're their own, we're our own person. And we're responsible for our own lives. You can't depend on anyone else, make anything happen for you. 

So, I got really focused on personal development and growth, and that is what I do. And I will put post-it notes for daily habits in my bathroom, just do squats. Just do squats while you're brushing your teeth, you know, stack those habits and create them.

So I'm constantly putting things all over for habits and vision boards and growth around me. 

Kendra Corman: 

I think that that's fantastic. How do you? 

And I will not put like squats on my, are on my mirror because I have no interest in doing them. All I was doing is envisioning you doing squats while you were brushing your teeth going, "that sucks." 

Okay. Sorry. That's all I, that's all I had with that one. Okay. 

But so, while you're working on your life coach business, how do you work vision boards into that, into your coaching program?

Dawn Hattison: 

Just like you. I know you do a great job with helping people to market their business, and I know you've talked about setting goals for your business, so it's pretty much the same thing.

Where do I wanna go? How many customers do I want to work and help? How do I wanna market my business? Do I have a money budget in mind on growing that business? And what are all of my tiers of the business? 

So just like you with your talking about your vision planning and mapping for all your business and goal setting, it's pretty much the same thing.

And for me, with my day job, well, some things have happened in my day job. It's kind of taking a lot of my time. I'm stepping back and reassessing how fast I want to grow now, and maybe it's baby steps and not as fast as I want it to be. So it's just in tune with what's next for me and where I wanna go.

Kendra Corman: 

That's great. It doesn't necessarily have to change the vision, it just changes when you're gonna achieve it. Right? 

Dawn Hattison: 

Right. 

Kendra Corman: 

It's all it, that's all it is. 

Dawn Hattison: 

As I say, slow and steady wins the race. 

Kendra Corman: 

Yes. No, I think that that's so powerful. 

So, do you recommend or suggest that people work on vision boards in groups and like little groups and do their own off to the side? Or do you find people do better when they're building vision boards on their own?

Dawn Hattison: 

I think it really depends on the person, because some of us are social butterflies and some of us are not. So I do vision boards with my sister and nieces on New Year's Day. We get together. I have the boards, I have the magazines, and we have some fun. 

But there are some vision boards that I may have. Sometimes you don't wanna tell everyone your dreams or you don't want them to see them. Kind of like the lady with the handbag. It's like, oh, it's kind of pricey. I don't want people to know I really want one of those, and I, it's because they're gonna, they're gonna Google it and see how much it costs.

So, it really just depends on the person. I think as a group, it will really help you if you've never done them, is to get in a group, have a leader of that group telling you and guiding you through some exercises of meditation and envisioning what you want to do. Some quiet music to kind of get you pumped and everyone sharing their vision and thoughts together.

Sometimes that helps people. Some people are intimidated by it, but you shouldn't be. It's just whatever you think is best for you. But I think if you've never done them, grab your girlfriends and grab a glass of wine and y'all just have some fun. 

Kendra Corman: 

I think, I think that there's a lot in that. I love how you said know yourself and what you're gonna do with. Because if you're gonna be embarrassed about what you want in your life, then yeah, you probably want, cuz you don't wanna create a vision board that's not going to reflect where you really wanna go.

Right, because you're gonna start to embed that into your, into your subconscious, and you don't want that there. 

Dawn Hattison: 

And a lot of times people focus on what other people believe they should have and then they never get anywhere and they wonder why they haven't achieved whatever goals they set for themselves. It's because they really hadn't thought about what they want. 

They keep thinking about what others want, whether it's their parents, I want you to go to college, get that job and do this. 

And they want to want them to become a doctor because that's what their culture may go through and think about and go, "this is stable. I want you to do this." 

But then they're really thinking about starting a podcast, but they don't wanna tell their parents. And so, then they go to medical school, rack up all the debt, and then only three years into it they go, "you know, I really don't wanna do it." 

And so, then it's just too late. You've kind of wasted all that time going through that and now you have a lot of money that you have to pay back now.

Kendra Corman: 

Yeah. And I think, again, don't do, and don't fill out your vision board in a way that would make other people happy. You don't want to put anything, you don't wanna reflect, I think what, what other people are trying to project onto you. 

You really want what you want, and it should be yours. 

And I love how you talked about that, how you can change it over time. You know, once you achieve one of the goals, pull off that picture and put on another one. I created mine in PowerPoint, my vision board. It's got my picture of me in the middle so I, that my subconscious knows it's all about me. 

And then I have, you know, places that I wanna work remotely and things that I wanna do because I want more flexibility to be able to move around.

And so, I reflect that on there. I have the goals for KendraCorman.com. I have all of that on there. And for some things I've got symbols, like I don't necessarily have a new house on it, but I do have a lady vacuuming. 

Dawn Hattison: 

There you go. 

Kendra Corman: 

It's not me, but it's somebody else and my house is gonna be clean. That is my symbol.

Dawn Hattison: 

And vision boards don't have to be this grand theme that's like major. It could be something so simple as. Maybe I want the new iPhone. I'm gonna save up. I'm gonna get the new iPhone. 

Maybe you, like you, I just want a housekeeper to come in maybe once a week. That would be ideal. 

And then you can start doing your smart goals and being very specific and measurable, achievable.

And just go, how much is it gonna cost? And do, is that in the budget? Let's start putting that in the budget. Let's start putting that in the savings account. And then you start dwindling down to setting those goals and timelines around it. Just based off that simple vision.

Kendra Corman: 

I think that that's great.

So, you see people taking action off their vision boards. It's not necessarily just something in the background. You sort of have to do things along the way to be, to accept it and make it happen. It's, it's not always magic. 

It's not, you know, you necessarily going into a meeting and someone handing you the, the purse of your dreams cuz it was on your vision board, right?

Dawn Hattison: 

Right. 

Kendra Corman: 

So, what do you, 

Dawn Hattison: 

You have to be totally open and present to everything because don't say, I'm not gonna be able to do that, or I'll never have. 

You're just blocking all the blessings that could come your way if you are totally open and present to it. Like the lady with the handbag, she just gave a simple compliment and she said, "oh, you want it, you can have it."

And then she's like, "oh my, this works. What is happening?" 

But she was, she wasn't expecting it. She was just being present in the moment and she just said, I love your handbag. And there it was. Universe spoke. 

Kendra Corman: 

Yeah, I mean, you coming out of the dealership with your salesman and just looking off to the side and going, yep, nope, that's it.

That's what I want. That's perfect. 

Right? So, 

Dawn Hattison: 

yeah. 

Kendra Corman: 

Okay. So, if somebody's having difficulty, being present or being open because they think this is a little fu fui. What do you recommend? 

I mean, if they're, if they want to be more open to it and they're just struggling with it, cuz we're not gonna change people that don't wanna be open to it.

If you don't wanna do a vision board, that's fine. You can go ahead and listen to another episode, but if you want, but if you wanna be more open to it, you wanna be more accepting. 

What do you recommend people do to try and open themselves up a little bit more? 

Dawn Hattison: 

That's kind of a complicated question, only because sometimes it's your story you're telling yourself. If you were brought up a certain way, when it comes to like money blocks. You were brought up to say money does not grow on trees. We don't do that. You will never have that. 

That's kind of embedded in you. And so when you're trying to break free from that, you have to go through some exercises of those money blocks and figure out and really think about what do I want? Why do I want it? 

And you're gonna have to, I hate to say burn sage, but write down all those things that someone told you. When you grow, money does not grow on trees, we cannot afford it. You're just gonna have to take this and do whatever you need to do. But no, you can't have that. 

And then write it on the piece of paper. Write all your thoughts and feelings about it, and then just take a match and burn it. Just burn it. And you're gonna have to meditate on that and really understand that was my parents' thoughts or my grandparents' thoughts and beliefs. It's not my beliefs. 

And then you start to grow and hang around more positive people. Don't hang around the negative people. Sometimes you have to let your family go, love 'em, but you don't have to hang around them all the time. 

But you have to go, "okay, this was great. Now I'm gonna go hang out with some positive people." 

Like you and I, we've all been in all kinds of positive groups. We find those partners and people in masterminds that are going in the direction we wanna go. And when you start hanging around people who are positive, and doing the things you want to do, you will amaze yourself of how much you've changed. 

But you still have this in the background. The parents, the family, they still exist. So you're gonna have to work on yourself to "in one ear and out the other." And understand that's not you. That's them. That's their belief, that's their thought. 

And so, I think going back to connecting to what you really want and believe that you can achieve those things. Now, I'm not saying put a million dollars on a vision board and go, "yep, I'm gonna get a million dollars!" 

No, that's just not how it works.

You really have to think through, what is it I want in my life? And like you said, start small. If you just want one of those Roombas to do your floor, start small and nope. And take action. How much does that lovely Roomba cost? What do I need to do? How does it work? What's the best model? 

And when you start researching whatever it is that you want, for whatever reason, those things, as you know, come in your marketing feeds on social and you're going, I just looked once, why is this? Why am I getting an email on this? 

And those things just start to happen, but you have to accept it and know, but you have to get rid of the old money beliefs, the old thoughts that you have, the old story, the old identity you have for yourself, and create a brand new one. 

Kendra Corman: 

I think that that's great. I think that there's a lot of power in that. 

I remember when I was in high school, I was at church and we did a, I think it was before Easter. And we were doing confession and we did it very differently where you wrote something that you were sorry for on a piece of paper. And you went up to the priest and he forgave you and told you to say some Hail Mary's or whatever. 

And then we ripped them up and put them in a basket. Later on that week or the next week, I can't remember which point it was. But the youth minister at the time actually made all of the scraps of paper into like this paper mâché heart. 

And it really, really transformed and I remember talking to some of my friends and how powerful it was to see stuff that they wanted to let go of and give away, and to see it transform. Like it really helped them. 

I know it helped me, like, drama queen from, you know, high school. But still, you know, it was just, it was so, it was so powerful to see that transition. 

And I think make it yourself. You don't have to be in a group for, let it all go. I think there's so much there and there's so much holding, I think that holds us back. 

I've got behind me that you guys can't see cause this is audio only. I have a sign that I got when I went to a presentation. And it was a poster that they had at a Facebook developer's conference that said, "what would you do if you weren't afraid?" 

Fear in different things and beliefs that you can't do something, hold us back often, and I decided to start my own business. And I have been doing that now for nine years, almost 10. I'm in my, headed in my 10th year in business, which is crazy, right? 

And it was something I never thought I could do. And I was a little afraid to do it because it wasn't what I knew. It wasn't what anybody I had known had done. And giving that up was really hard and I didn't even do a vision board for it, but I just decided to go for it. 

But again, I think whatever's gonna work for you is what's important here. And figuring out what that is. 

Dawn Hattison: 

Yeah, I have when I started that network marketing business about 20 years ago, one of the exercises, and I think it's such a great exercise, because I still do that in certain mastermind groups that I'm in, and it's just amazing what people say.

And back then, what we did was whoever was sitting to the right of you, you had to write some words on a piece of paper of what you thought of that person. So this person was sitting next to me, and I still have that. I framed it, I don't know. 

Oh, I framed it and I, it just rang so true to me that it just. We think so little of ourselves, but people see us so differently and I still know her name. And I actually framed it. And she said that I was strong-willed, determined, sharp dresser, confident, bold, funny, intelligent, and professional. 

And I keep this with me on all of my desks. I made a lot of copies in her handwriting and I framed it because it's a reminder. When someone believes something in you, you have those things in you. You just have to believe them for yourself. 

And so, it's a constant reminder. And still, when I do certain things, people say I'm funny, and sometimes I go, "Emma, I didn't think I was funny." 

But people say you're funny. You always seem so confident. I just tried to exude that just by looking at this piece of paper that tells me I am that. Someone else spoke those words about me. So I believe it more than me believing it myself.

Kendra Corman: 

Yes. I remember my mom used to always say that, well, "why don't you believe it when I say it?" 

Because you have to. When other peoples would say stuff at it resonated more. Right? So I think that's how it goes with our inner voices too. So, very much so.

Okay, so I have loved this conversation. I think that there's so much to take away from it. Start collecting those magazines or the images that you see that are resonating with you. If you don't like cutting and pasting and don't wanna get out the foam board cuz I use foam board for lots of things in the world of advertising. Or poster board or whatever it happens to be.

That's okay. 

Pull out a blank PowerPoint slide. Put yourself in the center of it and then create the vision you want for yourself, your business, your home, your family, your finances. Whatever it is that you want. Just keep in mind that nothing is limiting on this vision board, this is the vision you have for where you wanna go.

And I think if more of us did this, we would, more of us would be opening ourselves up and channeling and creating these opportunities for ourself. Again, it's not, you know, put it on a vision board, stick it in the back of the closet, and don't do anything to help you achieve that stuff. 

Work is still involved. But I think that having your, giving your subconscious a request through a vision board adds so much more power to it.

Dawn Hattison: 

Yes. 

Kendra Corman: 

Is there anything else that you would have any other advice or guidance that you would wanna provide to anybody that is looking to create a vision board, or is a vision board addict a little bit like you? 

Dawn Hattison: 

I would say, be open and receptive to it. Don't start trying to put together a vision board and think it's stupid. You can't think it's stupid, and start putting together a vision board. You have to really believe in what you're doing. And if you don't, then just don't do it. 

But keep it simple, whether it's taking photos on your phone, screen capture, but if you screen capture it, just make sure you look at it every single day because we know we have hundreds of photos on our phone.

But create whatever works for you. Whether it's a PowerPoint, a Canva template, it could be a piece of paper. It could be just an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper that you pulled out, and maybe you just doodle some notes on it, some phrases on it. Start line item listing those things that you want in your life.

And then when you get around to it and you help happen to find the photo about it, then you have a photo to start collecting to build an actual poster on it. I've created vision boards out of a file folder. I just opened the file folder up and stuck pictures inside the file folder. 

And you keep that handy on your desk at work or whatever. And when you wanna see it, you just open that file folder up. Nobody has to know. It's just your vision. Just put it there. Be receptive and be ready and open to all the goodness that can come your way. 

Kendra Corman: 

Oh, I love that. I love that. 

And again, it's about being open to it, keeping it in front of you, and then working to achieve your vision. There's just so much there. 

Okay, before I let you go, there's a question that I ask every one of my guests. This show is called Imperfect Marketing, and while this wasn't a ton about marketing, I do think it is cuz we talk about marketing to grow your business. And if you've got a vision for your business, a vision board is a great place to start.

What's been your biggest marketing lesson learned? 

Dawn Hattison: 

My biggest marketing lesson learned is just to be authentic. I think in this day and age, we watch so many people on social and we want to be that person. But you really have to be yourself no matter how kooky and crazy you think you are, whether you think you're funny or not, and people go, "no, you're so funny! You should really do that more." 

And so, but you keep trying to pull yourself back from it because you think it's not what everyone else is doing. Just be authentic, a hundred percent authentic in what you wanna do, because whatever your personality is, all of those different channels of marketing will present itself to you.

Kendra Corman: 

Yeah. You just gotta be open to it. 

But yes, being authentic is such a key to everything because people have a bologna filter in their mind. And if they know you and they put it through the bologna filter, they're not gonna believe it if you're trying to be something else that you're not, right. 

So you definitely wanna be yourself, be authentic, showcase yourself and work hard to achieve your vision.

So I'd love to know if anybody creates their vision board. And if you're looking to get in touch with Dawn, we'll have some information in the show notes for you. So definitely check those out. She is an expert on vision boards and inspired me to create mine when I met her. 

So, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. 

And for any of those listening, if you learned something today, it would really help me out if you would rate and subscribe. I do actually have my podcast on my vision board. So rate and subscribe so that I am increasing those downloads and am achieving my vision. 

All right, so thank you. Have a great rest of your day, and I'll see you on another episode of Imperfect Marketing!