Have you ever looked back at old school papers from grade school about what you wanted to be when you grow up? I don’t have a corner office on the 36th floor in a major metropolitan area, but I own a multimedia agency. I am happy that what I wanted as a child, for the most part, has come true. I stayed the course through thick and thin. I stayed the course even when I didn’t know where I was going and where I would end up. 

I was scanning hard copy family photos from the ’80s and ’90s. Some of them have become a snapshot of my future. I used to decorate my bedroom and tree fort walls with ads from the Wall Street Journal and Architectural Digest. I would also tear out ads or layouts from layouts and tape them onto the poster board. What I didn’t consciously realize I was doing was creating vision boards. 

What I posted on my walls was what I like or what I wanted to have. I still have a few of the clippings to this day of a rose gold Patek Phillipe watch ($43,000). If one day I can afford one, I don’t know if I can succumb to purchasing it. Just knowing how hard I had to work to get there and all the things/people I could help with that amount of money would make that purchase unlikely. I've settled for a rose gold Fossil watch that I bought on sale ($60.00), with a coupon I was gifted after donating clothes to Goodwill. 

I keep the clipping of the Patek Phillipe watch because it is a symbol to stay motivated. To this day, I clip quotes, statements, and images from magazines. They are my guide for who I want to morph into or what I want to accomplish. Having a vision for what you want to achieve is essential. The next step is to create a plan to achieve that vision. Plans are meant to change, but they keep you focused. Remember, “Hold the vision, trust the process.”