Big picture, life vision time!!

Let’s allow ourselves the opportunity to do some blue sky thinking.

Action: Lock in some Mozart time sessions over the next two weeks to think about and work through the questions I have listed below. Have your journal to hand and do all you can to avoid the possibility of distraction or interruption. Think about the life you want to live (without constraints):

• What would you be doing if time and money were no object?

• What do you love doing? How can you do more of ‘it’ and make it central to your life and business? Maybe even starting as a side hustle!

• What are you most passionate about in life and business?

• What are you really good at? As above, how can you use these superpowers more frequently and ideally at the centre of your life?

• From the above, what is your dream ‘job’ or business?

• Where would you be living? Would you live by the ocean, in the mountains or in a slick city apartment? (Or all of them!). Or something different?

• Who would you be with?

• Where would you travel? How would you travel? Would you head to the sun or the snow? Both?

• Who would you help, why and how? What difference would you want to make for your community or even the wider world?

• What hobbies would you start?

What other questions are important to you? Add them to your list.

Your responses can be as aspirational as you like. By returning to these questions frequently, you may add and change some to your initial responses. Some of your answers may excite you more than others. That is an indication of what matters most right now and what is worth striving for.

In your mind, can you picture yourself living this life?

Let’s use an example: If you want to live for 3 months every year in Portugal’s beautiful Algarve, can you see yourself sitting on the beach, swimming in the sea or enjoying lunch with a glass of wine in a marina cafe? Can you sense the warm sun on your skin? Who are you with, what are they saying, what are they doing and how does it feel?

Some people love this type of visualisation and it comes naturally. For others, their minds wander and they struggle to see such an image clearly and repeatedly, it can be a struggle for it to inspire any action.

If you are this type of person, I recommend you create a vision board and also have other visual reminders of this future life in many places across your home.

Your vision board is a visual collage of things you want to achieve and do in life. You can have pictures of your ideal home or new kitchen or bathroom, the places you want to go on holiday, you crossing the line of a marathon or attending the winter Olympics. You might be hiking in the Rockies, sailing in the Greek Islands, dining in Paris or on safari in Africa.

By way of an example, I have a pictures of everything from a stunning apartment overlooking the ocean (will become a 2025 reality), wild rhinos, famous cricket grounds, the Canadian Rockies (my 21 year old goes there to work in 2025), Japan (no1 on our travel list now) and my book in the front window of a bookstore (published and in online bookshops.)

Make your vision board fun, aspirational, colourful and eye-catching. It can be just for you or something you are proud to talk about with your friends and family.

ACTION:

• Once you have completed the blue sky thinking above, start to collect or download images that relate to this life, where you want to travel, your new hobbies, job or business and other interests

• Create a vision board

• If you have children and/or a significant other invite them to add their own pictures to it

• If preferred, create it on your laptop or iPad. Use it as a screensaver?

• Put your vision board somewhere you see it regularly.

• Then start adding other items and activities as I describe in the under noted example.

Take the example of living in Portugal for 3 months. Your vision board can be pictures you have downloaded, postcards, photos from a recent holiday in the region, Euro notes, your plane ticket, an image of the Portuguese flag. Use your imagination. For the supporting visuals and other activities, drink your tea/coffee from a mug you bought in the region, find a local Portuguese cafe or make Portuguese dishes at home. Put out some postcards or other visuals in places you will see them regularly. In this example, learn basic Portuguese to reinforce and create a further association with this desired future state. 'Divirta-se' or 'Have fun' in English. 😎

See visualisation and vision boards as complementary. You do not need to choose one or the other - do both Visualise it and create it.

Finally, what one step can you take towards this ideal future state today?

The only way to start is to START!