Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9 pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with @motivationmama. Denise J. Hart, the Revenue Reinvention Strategist, is the CEO of the Momentum Institute for Women. However, this wasn’t always the case. She used to be a quitter.  She was unfocused, bitter, afraid and clueless. A “C” average high school student, she dropped out of college the first time she went and she didn’t return until she was 24 years old. She finally graduated from undergrad when she was 32 and she once considered suicide. 

But, thank God her story doesn’t end there.  She shifted from a welfare identity to a Worth and Wealth reality. She runs two successful heart-centered businesses. She thrives on helping women entrepreneurs create winning revenue strategies for more impact, more clients and a lot more money. She holds a Master’s Degree from Sarah Lawrence College and she’s a tenured professor at Howard University. Denise is thrilled to be living her life with purpose, passion and unlimited possibility!  Her greatest joy is to serve others with the highest level of value as they transform their life and business. For more info, visit www.reinventionissexy.com

SmallBizLady: What is a vision board?

Denise J. Hart:  Basically, a vision board is a collage like project filled with images, words & statements that reflect the energy, growth & development you want to manifest in your life.  Everyone is visioning things in their daily lives. When you use a vision board, you’re simply creating something tangible that reinforces the positive thoughts and advancing ideas in your mind and inviting more of that energy into your environment.

SmallBizLady: What are 3 benefits of a vision board?

Denise J. Hart: 

1. Transform your thinking.
2. A visual reflection of your goals.
3. It helps you clarify, focus on and achieve your goals.

SmallBizLady: How do Vision boards work?

Denise J. Hart:  A vision board works in conjunction with the principles of the law of attraction. The reason why a vision board can work is because the board is a reflection of the thoughts we hold around something we desire to come into fruition in our lives.  The board becomes a visual reminder resonating the energy of what we desire.

SmallBizLady: What is the law of attraction?

Denise J. Hart:  You are always your point of attraction. Meaning, where you are vibrationally in your thoughts reflects what you are able to attract and receive. Your job is to get into alignment with what you desire. You have to find a way to think the thoughts that will give you the connection you desire before you can attract what you want to manifest. This is the core principle of the Law of Attraction.

SmallBizLady: Is there a good time to do a vision board?

Denise J. Hart:  The end or beginning of the year or at your birthday are all excellent times to create a vision board. Typically during these times, we’re in a natural reflective mindset and more open to assessment and creating new plans for the direction of our life. Also, these naturally reflective times support our desire to commit to creating what we want for our lives.

SmallBizLady: Is there pre-work before you create a vision board?

Denise J. Hart:  Yes. Using the 7 key goal setting areas assess what you’ve desired & manifested in the past 12 months. The 7 key goal setting areas for your business are: Branding, Sales & Revenue, Public Speaking, Marketing, CEO Mindset, Systems, Product Creation. Next, set new goals and intentions in the areas you want to experience growth and change in before you create your board.

SmallBizLady: Can you have more than one vision board?

Denise J. Hart:  Yes you can have more than one vision board. I currently have 2 boards and in the past, I’ve had 3 at one time. Having more than one board is not a requirement. You should have more than one if you feel that you want to focus the energy and intention for a particular area of your business or life. For example, I have a separate vision board for my next home purchase.  I hung the board next to my front door so that when people ask me about it, I can speak powerfully to what it represents and what I’m going to manifest.

SmallBizLady: How many kinds of vision boards are there?

Denise J. Hart:  There are 4 kinds of vision boards:

1) Crystal Clear – This board is used when you have a very clear vision of what you want for your future.  You’ll be looking for exact images and sets of words.  For example: you envision yourself going to Paris within one year.  You’ll look for a specific image that reflects Paris (Maybe an image of the Eiffel Tower) and maybe the word or number 1, etc.

2) in Flux – This board is used when you aren’t sure what you want or you’re not sure where you should go or what you should be doing.  You’ll be looking for images and words that speak to you in terms of fine tuning your direction.  This kind of board goes through much more editing than the Crystal Clear board.

3) Themed – Use this style of board if you’re working on a single area of your life or maybe it’s for your birthday or some other event.  You may want to manifest something specific by your birthday. You could include the age you’ll be and words that reflect what you want to achieve by your birthday or what you want for the event to be a success.

4) Categories – You should give careful consideration to several areas of your life that you may want your vision board to reflect either singularly or as a whole: Purpose or Mission, Service, Finances, Spirit/Faith, Health, Relationship, Career, Business, etc.  You can design your board to include all or several of the selected categories.

SmallBizLady: Do vision boards work?

Denise J. Hart:  Yes. They work in conjunction with a mindset shift and being in intentional action. When you believe you deserve what you desire, you are more likely to achieve your goals and manifest your dreams. The vision board supports the mindset shift. The physical action of creating the board is a tangible reinforcement of how you want to continue thinking and/or how you want to increase the power of your thoughts.

SmallBizLady: Where do you put a vision board once it’s complete?

Denise J. Hart:  Hang your vision board in a location where you’ll see it every day. Great spots are:  bedroom wall or back of bedroom door, in your home office, family room, etc. You’ll love seeing your board reflecting your goals and dreams back to you. It becomes a valuable visual reminder much like a piece of artwork that hangs in your home.

SmallBizLady: How do you create a Vision Board?

Denise J. Hart:  Five steps:

Evaluate – examine what you wanted to manifest in the previous year and determine if you still desire those things that haven’t manifested yet and determine what else you desire.

Brainstorm – Gather a whole bunch of old magazines and photos of yourself, family and friends that you may want to use on your board (all of this depends upon what you identified for the areas you want to include on your board).

Go through the magazines and tear or cut out all the images and words that ‘speak’ to you or resonate to you.  Maybe you’re drawn to a certain word or image and you don’t know exactly why.  That’s okay, cut out the word or picture anyway. These images and words should fit the categories you’ve decided to focus on and should feel in alignment with your goals and dreams.

Gather a large pile so you have a lot to pick from once you start the process of finalizing your selections.

Organize – Start to arrange the images and words on the board in a way that feels good to you.  Play around with things, moving them around until the layout feels right.  Have fun creating the energy that will reflect the vision for your life.

Apply – Now you’re going to glue or tape the images to your board.  I encourage you to not stress over this part.  Allow yourself to be fluid in how you place the images on your board.

You can trust your instinct and put words near each other that feel like they have a relationship or relevancy.  Once you are finished you’re going to be amazed at how your board is flowing and how the images are working together effortlessly.

Hang it Up & Engage – Hang it somewhere visible and reflect on what you desire to create and manifest by standing in agreement with what you’ve declared on your vision board.

SmallBizLady: What are 4 things that can get in the way of creating an effective vision board?

Denise J. Hart: 1.  Your beliefs are in conflict with your goals. Saying you desire something but not believing you actually deserve it.

2.  Practicing fake it until you make it and when you don’t make it all, you’re left with is faking it. Be who you are and where you are with honesty and authenticity every step of your journey.  You want genuine authentic connections and if you are faking something what do you think you will eventually attract?

3.  Not seeing results quickly enough and giving up on your dreams.

4.  Not really caring about what you say you want or putting more interest in what others want for you instead of what you desire for yourself.

“Idea And Creative Concept” courtesy of MR LIGHTMAN/ www.freedigitalphotos.net

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9 pm ET; follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/1hZeIlz

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