The Power of Using Scrapbooks and Vision Boards to Help Manifest Your Dreams

I rarely watch TV these days. I think that generally TV can be seriously detrimental to your mental well being so I'm particularly selective with what I watch. One of my favourite programs is Grand Designs presented by Kevin McCloud. It is basically a real estate program where McCloud charts the journey of those creating their ideal home.

Some of these people are cash rich; others just have big ideas without a substantial financial backing but nonetheless they have the resolve to see their grand design become a reality. In that regard, they are all wealthy.

One of the things I've noticed about those featured in this program (usually couples) is that one or the other usually has a scrapbook of things that want to be included in their ideal home. Often the scrapbooks have several years of cuttings. It is a delight to watch many of those cutting becomes treasured three-dimensional objects in the new homes, appearing as if they have always been there.

What is clear is that these individuals visualised their dream homes and not just the outer shell. They imagined with great detail how their ideal home would be inside and out. Then they focused on these images, transforming them from concept to reality.

The scrapbooks worked in the same way as a vision board where you collate images that are representative of your dreams and goals. It doesn't have to be about one theme. In fact, it is best if the scrapbook or vision board is a balanced representation of all the key areas of your life - home, finance, relationships, health, personal development, spirituality, career, etc. A word of caution - be meticulous with the images you select or else you could end up manifesting or attracting things into your life that you don't want.

Scrapbooks and vision boards are very effective because they give your subconscious mind something "concrete" to work with. You wouldn't approach an architect and say build me a house. You would describe to the architect the type of house you wanted. You might show your architect pictures of the type of houses that you are attracted to. You would tell him the type of features you want to be included and then you would work together to refine the design until it was congruent with the concept in your mind. Only then will the architect be in a position to produce the detailed plans so that the various individuals who will, in essence, be attracted to your project can accurately execute their part in breathing life into your master plan.

Scrapbooks or vision boards are fun to create and are most effective when you refer to them on a regular basis. However, even if you create one and forget to consciously look at it for months or even years on end you'll be surprised at what you manifest in your life.

Sometime ago I was looking through one of my scrapbooks and there was a picture in it of the living room of an apartment that made me do a double-take. The picture was almost an exact replica of an apartment I had bought and decorated. I did not intentionally copy the style of this apartment. It just happened. In addition, I noticed another picture was very similar to the layout of my own home.

The act of creating a vision board helps to imprint the images of what you want on your sub-conscious mind and, in this way, helps your sub-conscious mind to work on manifesting what you want.

Allow yourself to get emotionally involved with the images in your scrapbooks or vision boards. This process helps you to manifest your goals more quickly. It's what you want, isn't it? Plus it feels great when you imagine you are living your dream.

Add a few sentences of text that describe your relationship to and interaction with the images you have selected. This also helps you to get emotionally involved in these symbols of your goals and dreams.

For instance, one of the images in my scrapbook is that of footprints in the sand with gentle waves rolling into shore. The sea is an amazing series of shades of blue. Next to it I've written "My footprints in the sand as I take one of my daily, meandering strolls." Now, I live in London - no beaches I'm afraid but I spent the summer in Barbados and one of the things I did almost every day was to take a stroll along the beach.

You don't have to restrict yourself to creating a scrapbook or vision board. The more references your sub-conscious mind has to work with the better. Plus having different versions of these tools will mean that you can have a visual reminder of your goals wherever you are and whatever you are doing. I keep images inside cupboards, inside the lids of storage boxes, in drawers, on doors even in my purse. You can even create digital vision boards for your computer and or iPod.

Success Coach, Jack Canfield once placed a $100,000 dollar bill over his bed when he set himself a goal of earning that amount of money in a year. Of course it wasn't a real one hundred thousand dollar bill but to his sub-conscious mind it represented one hundred thousand dollars and that was enough. Canfield would see that note first thing in the morning and visualise himself living the lifestyle of someone who earned that amount of money. What great way to start the day! Now bear in mind that, at the time, Canfield was a teacher earning just $8,000. That year he earned $92,327. Do you think he was complaining? His wife asked him if the strategy would work for one million dollars. What do you think?

Scrap books and visualisation are powerful ways to help focus your sub-conscious mind on the things you desire in life. Through giving your sub-conscious mind a tangible reference to focus on it speeds up the process of attraction and manifestation in your life.

Click the banner below for details for a program for creating a digital vision board. It is a highly versatile program and one that you even customise so check it out. Create your scrap books and vision boards and have fun while you manifest your goals and dreams.







scrapbook vision board goal dream visualise attraction

To Achieve Success Keep Your Focus on Your Goals

At the start of Grand Prix at Sinopec, China , James Allen, one of the commentators for ITV, said:

"To finish first you first have to finish."

It proved to be a rather ominous warning for rookie Formula One driver Lewis Hamiliton (McLaren) who this weekend had the 2007 world championship in his sights.

He had the perfect setup for the race. He had clinched pole position and was leading for most of the race. However, Hamilton was on intermediates and his tyres were becoming increasingly worn. McLaren delayed bringing Hamilton in for new tyres, the weather was somewhat changeable and they didn't want him to be on the wrong tyres. But better the wrong tyres than no tyres at all because as the race progressed his tyres became so degraded that his loss of grip was costing him valuable seconds and allowing second-placed Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) to ease closer and closer.

Raikkonen overtook Hamilton on lap 29 and Hamilton immediately started to fall behind with his control of his car diminishing. He finally made for the pits on lap 32 but, as he rounded the ninety degree left-hand corner in the entry lane, he slid off and ended up in the gravel. His race was over and his quest to win the world championship stretched further into the distance.

Raikkonen won convincingly with Hamilton's team-mate Fernando Alonso in second and Felipe Massa (Ferrari) in third. Although Hamilton gained no points from this race, Raikkonen's win was both a blessing and a curse as it means that he still had a four point lead over his nearest rival Alonso.

Hamilton's fate reminded me of the number goals that we set ourselves and never achieve simply because we do not finish them. Though this is not the case of Hamilton, who with disappointment etched upon his normally smiling face said, "I’m sorry for the team, but I can still do it," we often give up when the going gets tough. We also lose focus of our goals as we allow distractions to get the better of us.

We may start to convince ourselves that the goal was not important or even not achievable in the first place. We start to rack up a series of incomplete goals and this starts to nibble away at our self-confidence so that each successive goal we set becomes harder and harder to achieve.

When we find ourselves confronted with obstacles or distractions this is a key time when we need to maintain our focus. We need to remind ourselves of what is at stake and by staying focussed on our goal we will be able to surmount any obstacle that comes our way. We need to remember that what we learn as we strive to achieve our goals is as important as achieving the goal itself. The obstacles you encounter are actually gifts placed in your path to strengthen you and help you to grow rather than to frustrate you.

"In every adversity there lies the seed of an equivalent advantage. In every defeat is a lesson showing you how to win the victory next time."
Robert Collier

Hamilton made a mistake going into the pits that arguably he would not have made if he were on better tyres. Still, as Henry Ford said:

"Even a mistake may turn out to be the one thing necessary to a worthwhile achievement."

Hamilton can achieve his dream but his rivals will fight him to the very last lap at the last race in Brazil. He needs to place second or third to be assured of the title. It will not be an easy challenge. It will require him to use the best of his driving skills. The Brazilian track will again be unknown territory but Hamilton has raced and won on unfamiliar tracks during this season. He will need to draw upon all his experience and that of his team. He will need to be in the zone where there is no separation between man and machine.

The two weeks separating the Shanghai race and that of the one in Brazil could have been two of the happiest weeks in Hamilton's life. Instead, they will probably feel like two of the longest. He will have to use his maximum powers of concentration to keep his focus on success and on his goal of becoming world champion. It will be ultimate test of focus.

Racing driver Mario Andretti would perhaps repeat these words of wisdom to Hamilton:

"Circumstances may cause interruptions and delays, but never lose sight of your goal. Prepare yourself in every way you can by increasing your knowledge and adding to your experience, so that you can make the most of opportunity when it occurs."


The Power of Concentration

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Lewis Hamilton Formula One Grand Prix goal achieve world championship