Last Saturday I attended my very first Vision Party. Hosted by Clarissa Joi (Memphis-based business coach, motivational speaker + vision strategist), her #2018VisionParty was an opportunity for people to come together for empowering conversations and to create a vision board to help motivate you to reach your goals for the new year.

I’m familiar with the concept of vision casting (creating a board with images, words/phrases, and sometimes affirmations related to your life), but had never created a board before. It’s beyond mood boarding; you’re essentially creating a board that reflects things that you would like to actually manifest in your life. Some people are more practical and usually just write out lists when it comes to goal planning, but for others, creating a board using images can be a powerful tool that will serve as a daily reminder to work on your chosen goals until they come into fruition.

To start things off, we had a continental breakfast, and then Clarissa got the crowd amped up by having us speak out affirmations about the day, and the event. She’s motivating without being hokey, so it helped to put a fun buzz in the air while we chatted with each other and listened to the speakers she had line up for the event.

Each speaker gave us inspiring antidotes in addition to a few tips and tricks to help us stay motivated anytime we feel like we aren’t where we should be. A few key things to remember when trying to set yourself up for success:

• be cognizant of how/where you spend your time
• develop a few daily habits to help you kick your day off right (drink water, read something OTHER than social media posts, and create a plan/to do list to map out your day)
• fear is normal and designed to keep us safe (survival mode), but be open to pushing yourself beyond what is comfortable so that you can reach your goals

Alexandra Matlock, CEO of Contigo Creative LLC and Lisa Moore, CEO of Girls, Inc. of Memphis

Sherill R. Davis, MSHSA, MBA, Blogger + Success Coach

Over the last year I personally learned how much power we have with our thoughts and what we put out into the universe, but being that I’m quite practical, I always just used lists. Actually finding imagery to reflect what I want for my life related to my career, love and relationships and even my health + wellness was a challenge, but a FUN challenge. The cool thing about vision casting is that there isn’t one way to do it: some people create boards with images only, while others use a mixture of images, phrases and their own affirmations under each one. I chose to do images and phrases.

Finding imagery that fits YOU is quite the hunt, but getting your thoughts out of your head and onto something that’s tangible and that you can look at every day helps you to prioritize what’s really important to you. For myself, blogging and photography are HUGE components of my life, and my goal is to grow each one exponentially into full-fledged businesses this year. I’ve been very strategic with how I worked in the past (only working with photography clients + brands that fit within my chosen niche, evolving from just posting about “stuff” to more storytelling, and getting in front of the camera more to connect better with my community) and I’ve seen growth with it, but now it’s time to elevate it.

I also want better balance, so spending more time with family + friends, traveling, having a happy + healthy romantic relationship and being more health conscious are top priorities as well. These are all doable things, but creating a board that actually reflects what I want these things to look like helps me keep it at the top of my mind every time I go into my office.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and encourage anyone that has ever want to create one to try it. It doesn’t take a lot of time to do (all you need are magazines, scissors, glue and a poster board), and you’ll actually be surprised how attainable your vision for yourself is once you have your board completed. I’ve already experienced a few things shifting since making mine, so I’m on the right track!

Thanks so much to Clarissa for having me out to experience the event. To learn more about her and the work she’s doing, visit www.clarissajoi.com.

Have you ever gone to a vision party? What’s been your experience? Comment below!

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