Live Your Dream Life with Passion and Purpose

Over the weekend, we held a vision board extravaganza. Doreen Fisher and her kids, Mila and Stone, came over to get jiggy with some vision boards. We cut, we clipped, we chatted, we taped (Mila did), we pasted (I did) and had a fun time talking about all the things we plan to create. Doreen and I are holding an artists’ retreat this November, and she will also be with me at the Snap Out of It Conference.

The next day, I went out to the ‘studio,’ a.k.a. my 80s garage, equipped with mirrored wall unit (Mark said this was my tribute to Miami Vice), a CD player, a table made from shutters and a piece of glass I retrieved from the garbage one morning while I was out running, and loads of magazines and art supplies. I decided to pull out some old vision boards from classes I’ve taught in the past and what I saw amazed me. I was astounded to see SO CLEARLY what I could not see then. I literally burst out laughing. No WONDER nothing was happening back then – it was obvious I wasn’t ready for anything to happen – everything was shove out into the future. I took some time to think about where I was back then – emotionally leveled, financially ruined, mentally numb – I was at ground zero for my crisis-opportunity.

I laughed at how blatantly the vision board reflected back my hollowness. A flurry of words, a grasping at straws to bring me back. Now, four years later, I find it fascinating how the few things that actually made it on that board … the few images that made their way through my tornado of words … actually were achieved. The desk at the bottom – a gift from a friend who had it delivered. The same desk I still use today. The getaways that have come in many ways, and the invitations we received from many during this time to come and stay for free (some we said yes to…some we didn’t) – Puerto Rico, Canada, Hawaii, Disney World, the Grand Canyon, Chicago, California, the beach, the beach, the beach – all were on that lowly vision board from my crisis days. Even fearlessness made its way there…and finally made its way here, too.

As I looked at the board, I reflected on how much I’ve learned from working with clients – teaching them how powerfully they are created to create. How they are born creators and how it can be easy. I began to write another book in my head – this one about vision boarding…guidelines from the real world. I have seen how powerful this tool is and how we really want to be sure we ‘see’ what we are saying and envisioning for ourselves. How this is an internal and external tool and it is not one that we control – even when we think we do.

As I wrote this post, my mother-in-law came out and announced that she has had a picture of a man on a horse on her ‘vision’ wall for TWO YEARS (a representation of her guy). I laughed and said, “Yes, and do you remember we had this conversation TWO YEARS AGO?” At the time, she had two prominent pictures in her bedroom. One had a woman by herself sitting at a desk writing, and the other had a dog by itself in a bed (the famous Andrew Wyeth painting). The two pictures held meaning for me because the dog on the bed by itself belonged to Mark and the other one belonged to me. Mark gave me the painting I wanted desperately when I saw it in Z Gallery – I asked for it when Chance was five. I wanted desperately to spend time alone and to write by myself. As soon as I started taking steps to give that to myself, I immediately knew I didn’t want to see that image again and again of me by myself. I put that painting in my writing ‘studio’ … the room that is now my mother-in-law’s room. Mark decided long ago, he was ‘done’ being alone. He said he had seen a picture of me when he was a little boy and when we met, he knew he had finally found me. He said all he’s ever wanted is to be a dad and a father. So long lone dog picture.

Today, as I mentioned the vision board book (I told her all about it for some reason yesterday), and said, “See, this is why I want to share these ideas…” She spontaneously said with exasperation, “I’ve got a woman alone, a dog alone and a man alone!” And I added, “So what do you want?” She didn’t answer, but she came back with both paintings and asked where she should put them, “In the garage?” She took them downstairs and all I could think was, ‘Only if I don’t look at them while I’m in my studio!’