Day Twenty Four and Twenty Five... Visualize Your Goals and Live the Dream Today

So, you've finally taken some time to yourself to actually sit down and think about what you want out of life. Personal goals, financial goals, professional goals, etc. But now what? How do you actually get closer to achieving your goals, TODAY!

In June 2008, Oprah ran a show called "The Law of Attraction: Real-Life Stories". It was based on experiences from people that applied some of the principles that they learned in the infamous book The Secret. I'm sure you've all heard of it. Some of you have probably even read it. But how can you apply the principles that you've learned into your life today to help you create your own real-life success story? Author and mother of the positive thinking, Louise Hay, said that "The law of attraction is that our thinking creates and brings to us whatever we think about. It's as though every time we think a thought, every time we think a thought, every time we speak a word, the universe is listening and responding to us."

Think about it. What thoughts are you instilling in your mind and projecting into your own life? Are they positive thoughts? Are they negative thoughts? Are they certain or indecisive? Do you speak affirmatively or with negative connotations? These are the questions you want to ask yourself now that you're becoming familiar with the goals you've set out for yourself.

Beyond speaking and thinking positively, you need to VISUALIZE your dreams. Many people think it's enough to say or think “I want (_____)." They believe if they say it, that it is going to happen. The reality is that, if you don’t learn to focus in on your goals and actually visualize yourself doing those things, you’ll find it very difficult to get the things you desire out of life. Create a clear, profound image of yourself acting out the things you want in your life. When you visualize your dreams, you should be able to see yourself living your dreams. Be SPECIFIC and CONSISTENT.

According to Rebecca Turner, founder of The World of Lucid Dreaming, "if you spend your time thinking rich and fulfilling thoughts about your future, it follows that your brain will begin to believe that you have already experienced these things - and arm you with the capabilities to succeed in real life." Is that not AMAZING?! It's not enough to visualise things once. It has to be a regular part of your life until you are LIVING the dream you've been visualizing.

Now, of course, you can go about this using the traditional method of visualizing through your mind. But I personally think that a vision board should follow soon. A vision board is a physical manifestation of your dreams. I believe it's an important part of the process because, even when you aren't actively trying to meditate and visualize the things you want, if you catch a glimpse of it, your mind will automatically start to think about what you're seeing, what your eyes are VISUALIZING.

Because I'm a huge proponent of the vision board, I want to give you a a couple of resources to consider when creating your vision board. I was doing research so that I can update my own vision board and position myself for more success and more happiness in the upcoming years when I stumbled across two websites that I thought would be great for helping myself and others create their vision board.

1. The Vision Board Site (http://www.visionboardsite.com/) offers the only online COMPLETE tool to create, track & share your Vision Board, so I'm a huge fan.
2. I know the name Oprah resonates with people all over and the new O Dream Board is a free web-based application available to all Oprah.com members. It serves as a daily reminder of your aspirations and what you want your life to be. (http://www.oprah.com/spirit/O-Dream-Board-Envision-Your-Best-LifeTM)

These are just a couple of the websites that I found to be most helpful. I hope all of this information is being soaked up because, part of loving yourself is continuously trying to be a better person. Being a DIVA means staying at the top of your game but, to stay on top, you have to get to the top and visualizing your goals can catapult your life into the right direction!