You hear me extol the benefits of having a Vision Board or Dream Board and I’m going to say it again. It works.

A friend and I wanted to go somewhere warm so we looked into different locations and different deals in the Dominican, Hawaii, Mexico etc… and finally ended up in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. During this wonderful trip we went out in a glass bottom boat to the famous “Arches” and while we were coming up on these magnificent Arches I realized that it was the exact picture from my Vision Board…… check….. accomplished another one without even knowing until I was there.

Ok so in the last 2 days we have done the creating and the visioning now we have to plan. Planning is the key piece. It’s time to take action. Take a look at what you want to create for yourself and the time frame you want them to be complete and then work your way backwards. For example, say I want to write a book and I would like to have it published in two years, think about where you would need to be in one year to be on track? Where would you like to be in 6 months and then 3 months? So what would you need to be doing this month to be one step further to your goal? That’s what you want to build on next.

It’s one thing to have a vision of what you want and another to watch the years go by and have them not be fulfilled. Make a plan and see how simple it is to support your vision. When you think about writing a book, it seems like a huge endeavour but when you realize that all you have to do this month is put together the outline of the book it doesn’t seem so unattainable.

One of my large personal goals is to help 20 people to replace their income over the next 5 years with a residual income. I believe that if people are not working their lives away, they would be living their lives and doing things that touch their heart and that will make a big difference to all of us, helping people in need, inventing something that will help the environment, just to name a few. I want to be a part of that. I have a plan in place. I know what I have to do today to find the people who will step up to my vision. I have made a monthly plan on how I will reach my goal and I have that vision in my head from the minute I wake up until the minute I go to sleep. It fells great and makes me smile as soon as I open my eyes.

Find a vision or a gaol that would make you smile whenever you think of it. Do it right now, what do you want to accomplish, make a plan, make of monthly calendar of what you have to do in order to get there and just do it and know that this time next year you will be a year closer to something you may have thought was not possible.

I support you in your dreams and I hope you step up and make them happen! In a year you will be so proud of yourself.

It’s that time of year again, the exciting time to create your new year in the form of pictures and words. Take what you did with yesterday’s blog, that picture in your mind of where you want to be this time next year and give it a visual reality. Here’s how it works.

January 2010, I made a dream board, I had a bulletin board (you can also use paper board) and I filled it with pictures and phrases from magazines, specifically ones I got from travel agencies on places I wanted to travel to or live. I filled this board with pictures that made me smile, tropical pictures that made me feel warm, pictures of Europe and other places that looked like wonderful places to explore. Fast forward to December of that year. I was renewing my board and that’s when I saw it. I realized I had 3 pictures of the Amalfi coast, as well as pictures of Rome, London and many places warm. In that year I not only ended up going to London and Rome but I also took a trip to the Amafi coast where we rented an apartment for a week that looked out over Positano. Our view of Positano from our apartment was exactly the scene from the pictures on my board. The following year I went on a Hawaiian cruise and another trip to Rome and the Italian Riviera. That’s the power of a dream board. It works, create one today, put it somewhere where you will see it often, smile at it and know for sure that those pictures, that reality will be created.

This year I have put many pictures of tropical places as well as the Greek Islands. I hope to see you on the beach or on one of the Greek Islands. May all your dreams come true!!

It’s the first day of the year, a time to set intentions for the New Year ahead. Here’s how I plan my year, at the end of the year I want to say. “Wow this has been the best year ever!!! I can’t believe how wonderful it has been and how many things were created in my life. This year……..” then fill in all the things you want for yourself this year.

Here is what I will be saying at the end of this year. “Wow what an amazing year this has been, I have a large group of amazing friends and business partners, it’s a community of people that puts a smile on my face. I get paid better now than my corporate job that took me 9 years to build and I get to do what I want. I get paid for helping others to create a life they want for themselves and it’s residual so I get paid whether I work or not. I am vibrantly healthy, my friends and family are also vibrantly happy and healthy. My daughter’s lives are exciting and fulfilling, they’re doing exactly what they love to do and are very good at it. We all have love in our lives and wake up every morning being grateful for everything we have and do. My life is grand, and I help others to create a grand life for themselves as well.”

I hope this inspires you to think about all the things you want to create for yourselves this year, there are no limits and you don’t have to have any idea how it will be created just that you see and and feel yourself with the life you want for you. Feel the excitement and know for sure it will be created. It’s a great exercise and it will put a smile on your face. Keep that smile and think about what you are creating every day as soon as you wake up. If any thoughts come in your head that question your goals then just smile and know that what you want is coming to you no matter what. It’s a powerful process that has worked for me over and over. Where my life is now is light years better than where it was 2 years ago and it just keeps getting better. I smile a lot, I wish this for you as well. All the set for you and your families in the New Year. It’s going to be a great year!!!

Thank you to all those fathers who strive to be their best, show who they really are and who love and respect their kids. The world is so lucky to have fathers like you.

To all those single moms who play the father role as well, honour yourselves today too, it is your day to appreciate the “dad” energy you carry.

Families of divorce, remember your child is made up of half their father, always see the best in them rather than the faults, so your child can see the best in themselves.

Fathers this is the day to appreciate yourselves, to honour that role you play in the world that has such an impact on everyone you come in contact with. You carry the “dad” energy,  be your best so we can all experience your greatness.

Finally a big thank you to my ex-husband and good friend. Thank you for being a GREAT dad and wonderful ex-husband. I really appreciate you in my life.

Happy Father’s Day

Here is another great way to create your new reality, the future you want for yourself. Write a letter to the people you want in your life. Write a letter to the mate and talk about the gratitude you have for them and who they are. For example, “I am so grateful to have you as a mate, I love how you are with me and with the people you meet in the world, your kindness, your caring, how you make me laugh, the great fun we have as we travel the world”. In the letter be so grateful for this person who is about to come into your life.

Write a letter to your new business partner, again being grateful for what they bring to your life. ” I so appreciate you as a business partner, your integrity, your perseverance, your willingness to make a difference”

Write a letter to your child and be grateful for who they are to you and what they bring to your life.

Then turn that around, write a letter to yourself from these different people. Have your mate write to you in gratitude for what you bring to their life, and how you are with your business partner, or a letter from your child. This makes you stand up and be the person you want to be for them. For example, from your child you might write, “Mom, I am so grateful to have you as a mom, I love how patient and loving you are with me, I love that you respect who I am for me and not try to make me into something else. I love how you help me to keep my promises, when I say I’m going to do something you very lovingly and respectfully remind me of the importance of keeping my word. I love how you always build up my self esteem. I am the person I am today, a successful, self confident person who is making a positive difference in the world because of the love and respect you have for me. Thank you mom.”

These letters help you create your future, they bring the people you want into your life. If you know what you’re looking for then you will recognize them when they are right in front of you. They help you to be the person you want to be, the person you can be proud of. They will help make your life a positive and meaningful experience.

Dear Reader, thank you for being you and being open to creating the life you want for yourself.

Marilyn

Thank you Christopher Reeves for such a profound statement. Many times we don’t want to dream because we don’t want it to fail. If it doesn’t come true it might mean we don’t have control over our own lives. If we don’t try, we won’t get let down and we then we can stay in this place of mediocrity or what is called “normal”.

What if you really took a chance and dreamed of what you wanted, created the vision of what you would like your life to look like and truly believed that it will come true? What if you let go of anything that may get in the way of that? That would be not only powerful but very fun.

Remember my list I had on my fridge in my last blog? A list that I thought was outrageous but put it out there anyway and lo and behold it actually happened. I took my two daughters to Europe, I never thought I could do that but I wanted it to happen so I put it on my list and I held that it was possible. THis means not looking for ways that it will not be possible and creating that, it means really knowing it will come true.

Trust me and so many others that do this, it really works.

Let’s follow Christopher Reeves’s direction here, make a list or a vision board of what you would like, especially what you would like that seems impossible, when you see those things everyday, when you look at your board or list, it changes to improbable but not impossible, then as things start to shift and you start to make decisions with those dreams in mind and take action towards those dreams they move to inevitable.

After they start to all come into reality you become more and more confident in dreaming even bigger and people around you are watching and see the possibilities and they start to dream. Before we know it people are feeling good about their lives and when people feel good about their lives they start to make a real positive impact on the rest of the world.

All it takes is for you to dream big and be open to what happens when you ask for those dreams and watch them become inevitable.

Vision Boards, a powerful tool for creating what you want in your life. I started a quasi vision board many years ago. I am a fan of making lists for everything, groceries, things I have to do etc.. I thought I would make a list of what I would like to accomplish. I was a single mom at the time and had some big plans and not a lot of money or time but what the heck I thought. I put that list on the fridge where I could see it everyday. On that list was ridiculous ideas, take my kids to Disneyland, take my kids to Europe and pay off my mortgage. Well I have accomplished them all except pay off my mortgage….. give me time. We even went to EuroDisney in France, not something I would have imagined but there you go.

After that I decided to go seriously at the visioning idea and started making vision boards every year. A vision board is large board (bulletin board or on bristol board) fill with pictures and words relating what you would like for your life. My vision for last year was mostly about travel and where I would like to live so I went to a travel agency and got all kinds of magazines on the places I would like to visit and possibly to live.

I have my vision board on my office desk where I can see it everyday. I look at it and all those great feelings come forward again and it makes me smile. That’s a great way to start everyday and that is great energy to surround yourself with while you create that in your life.

Jump ahead to September of this year, 9 months after creating my board and I look at it only to find I have accomplished half of it. I noticed there are 2 pictures of Positano Italy with the exact view from our apartment we rented for a week in Italy in September. I have done more travelling this year than any other time in my life. I have now added pictures on top of the ones I have accomplished for my future creations.

Now is the time to create YOUR vision board for the year. Gather magazines, you can buy them new or go to second hand bookstores, travel agencies and even some libraries sell old magazines. Look for images that bring forth great feelings, that make you happy. Perhaps a home you would like, a new car or places you would like to travel to. If you would like to lose weight look for a picture of someone who looks like you who is in really great shape. Some people like to add great phrases they find that inspire them.

Remember, no limits, don’t think logically in this exercise, how these things come about are none of your business so don’t limit yourself thinking they can’t happen. If you love gardens but don’t want the work remember you could manifest a gardener or a mate who loves to garden. Put those lovely pictures of gardens on your board.  Looking for a new career? Don’t put pictures of jobs on your board, I’m sure if you had a choice you wouldn’t want a job, put pictures on of activities you would love to do and see what happens. Remember how it comes about is none of your business.

Trust the process and watch it happen before your eyes.

7 Tips for Being the Best Parent You Can Be

I hope you enjoy listening to my recording of 7 TIps For Being The Being The Best Parent You Can Be!! and that it inspires you to always reach your highest and best.

Sometimes you need to step away from a situation to see that you’re fighting a battle that doesn’t even need to be fought. Laugh it off and let it go.

We can get so caught up in a situation that being right or winning an argument becomes more important than your relationship with your child. Sometimes it just takes stepping away from an argument to see that it is about something that is petty or unimportant. When we are more focused on the argument we are usually right back being a child ourselves. Then you have two kids arguing rather than a parent and a child.

Step back from the situation, say “You know I think we need to come back and discuss this later on when we’re both feeling better, let’s talk about it later okay?” That teaches your child to step away from an argument until they have a clear head and it gives you time to figure out what is important in the situation. What are you trying to achieve? Are you teaching your child something, is your child teaching you something? What will you accomplish?

The relationship you have with your child is the most important thing. Think about that when you decide what to say and how to react in an argument. Is the argument worth it? What will come of it? If your relationship with your child is still strong at the end of it, if you have come to a mutually agreed upon conclusion, if you have respected both sides of the conversation then everyone leaves the discussion with their self esteem in tact. A child with high self esteem is a child that will build a life for themselves that is successful and powerful.

Do yourself a favour, when a “discussion” get “heated” with your child, step back from it. Make sure you are being the adult and take a look at the situation from a distance. When you’re clear, go back and go at it from a clean and clear way. Look at how it really needs to be handled that is empowering to both you and your child and life will be good.