Try a vision board instead when your plans to launch a business fail

When your plans look good on paper but don’t work in practice try a vision board instead.

I try a vision board

Once upon a time, when my business was a few months old, my plan didn’t work and I decided to try a vision board instead. Overwhelmed by the myriad tasks still to do that I didn’t have the skills for, I thought I’d enquire of the vision board what to do instead.

Smack bang in the middle of it was the large head of a Buddleja, otherwise known as the ‘butterfly plant’. You can guess why; it’s a magnet to butterflies. Alongside I’d pasted the words:  “create a buzz”.

I had no rational reason for choosing a Buddleja. On the other hand it was no surprise either because this is what the Intuitive Vision Board is all about. To give the intuition a voice. But first I need to purposefully set out to distract my left-brain in order to have a conversation with my right-brain. This required me to let go of what I thought I should be doing by choosing pictures to represent this and allow the images to choose me. I wanted to open the windows and let some fresh air in.

The next day when I viewed my vision board, I chuckled to see the Buddleja and the first thing I thought of was a hand-held microphone.   Little did I know …

Serendipity

Within seven months of creating this Intuitive Vision Board, here’s what transpired – absolutely none of which I’d included in the plans I tried to execute beforehand.  Yet all of these, as far as I could tell, had some association with the ‘hand-held microphone’ and finding my public voice. For instance:

• writing newsletters and blogs regularly never having written one before
• appeared on TV for the first time talking about intuitive vision boards
• three separate interviews on the radio
• *began writing my book about Intuitive Vision Boards
• sang my first-ever solo on stage in front of 150 people
• made three commercial videos

At the same time I was intrigued to discover I actually had a large Buddleja growing at the entrance to my property, which I’d not noticed before because I’d moved house in the depths of winter.

During the summer, while I was in full swing with the book writing, 30 large blooms formed a protective arch for me to pass under – a constant reminder of my current focus to create a buzz.

Risk

From a psychotherapy point of view the Buddleja on my intuitive vision board was a transformational symbol. At the same time it was directing me towards the most effective route to develop my business.  I had not previously considered any of those “microphone activities” yet as they came into my awareness, I tried them on – even when it was a stretch, involved a small risk, and an element of fear.

What had my logical left-brain (LL) planned for me to be doing before my remarkable right-brain (RR) stepped in and redirected the course of history via the Intuitive Vision Board?  

It sinks my spirits just to recall the massive ‘to do list’ I faced every day, systematically addressing tasks I found tedious – like mastering each social media platform in turn and writing a business plan. My progress was slow and I was very frustrated. If I’d made a vision board in the traditional way to reflect the intentions I’d set for myself, it would have looked very different from the one I created.

Logic serves Intution

I’m not suggesting the logical left-brain is now redundant or the tasks on my “to do list” are not valid, ever. It’s simply these decisions were being taken too early by LL when it’s strength is not to propose solutions that provide a quantum leap forward. LL needs to be at the service of RR otherwise the outcome will always be limited.

It’s not LL’s fault; it can’t help itself. It only works with data that is known already, which has been speculated accounts for a mere 5-8% of our available intelligence.

RR on the other hand has access to that vast, awesome sea of possibility and a rich treasure trove of ideas and inspiration, which is the other 92% of our available intelligence.  Therefore by engaging RR in making my intuitive vision board, I entertained ideas that had never entered my conscious awareness before. And these RR nudges added momentum to my business life more effectively than all my LL thinking put together.

The Intuitive Vision Board is not a panacea but it certainly provided me with the best guidance I needed at this time. There is so much I could share with you about this particular intuitive vision board but I’ll settle for one final image, which also changed the face of my business.

Manifesting Woman-Friday

Until then I had not considered employing anyone in the foreseeable future.  Like many micro business owners, I didn’t think I could afford to.  But acting on this RR nudge, I posted an advertisement on-line.  It said:  “Wanted. Part-time Man-Friday to provide computer and social media expertise to a struggling creative.”

I had three replies within a day.  The first came from a man who looked like the image on my board and helped me over some initial hurdles. The second reply came from a woman who lived three minutes walk away. She offered to be my Woman-Friday and has been working for me every since.

Am I grateful for Deborah?  Yes!   Could I afford her? No, my LL still proclaims!  But I went ahead and defiantly afforded her anyway. Her presence has allowed me to progress much faster than my scrabbling around trying to do everything myself.  The third reply was from another talented candidate, by the way.

Do you see how this works?

I didn’t make the vision board to reflect previously conceived ideas of what I thought I should be doing. If I had this exercise would be little more than goal-setting using pictures. There’s nothing wrong with the latter and it is more common but, it has limitations which you now understand.

Neither am I saying this style of vision board can’t work; it can.  But when the linear intelligence of LL alone decides what images should be on your board, it can’t take into account the biggest picture. Consequently you could potentially be focusing on the wrong things.

And, if you’ve decided in advance of making your board what your goals and aspirations are, you’ll need to rely on your will-power alone to pummel them into existence.  The alternative is to align with super-consciousness via your intuitive vision board. When you do so you align with universal intelligence and its will-power is limitless.

May the force be with you

My recommendation is to get out of your own way.  Open up to your innate intuitive intelligence and allow your imagination free-range when it comes to making your intuitive vision board. Be excited and curious about the images that appear.

And then make sure you stay alert to the gentle promptings to action you’ll receive in the subsequent months ahead.  Don’t ignore them just because they seem inconvenient to LL who will try to convince you to wait for a more opportune moment.  Do it anyway.   At least be curious enough to do something with the guidance you receive, otherwise it’s like uncovering hidden treasure and then throwing it away.

Don’t expect an overnight result from this creative process either.  It took me seven months in this example for the vision to complete its form. There is a perfect moment when it comes to manifesting a vision when providence moves with you too – but in its own time and on its own terms.  In the interim, it pays to cultivate patience, which is something I had to learn but now I’ve come to trust.

Try a vision board at my workshop

To make an intuitive vision board with me there are two options. The content is the same for both and the workshop duration is four hours. If you’re leaning towards privacy and facilitation dedicated to your needs then the private option is recommended.

Private workshop.  In-person or online the fee is £350.  Please drop me an email with your preferred dates/times.  Or call me on 0782 7017188 to discuss.

Group workshop.  Visit here for the current dates.  Read more about the workshop here and then reserve your place or put your name down for a future workshop.

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About me

Founder of the Intuitive Vision Board.  Let me show you how to create your own big picture and become your best authority by relying more on intuition and less on logic.  I should know this works!  Once upon a time a metaphorical hurricane whipped through my life and flattened the lot.  Faced with a crisis of magnitude and blindsided by it, I created a new vision board.  It proved to be my lifesaver, providing me solutions in a way I’d not previously thought possible.

Author of ‘Awaken Your Intuitive Vision – unlocking possibilities you never knew existed AVAILABLE ON AMAZON .  Or available to order from your local book store.