I talked about a visioning process in my last post. I’m gonna spill the beans on that now. If you’re up for a creative experiment, you may want to play too.

This is a process. An experiment. A game. It’s play, but it’s real. It’s about how to be the creator/author/maker of your life – deliberately and purposefully – without sacrificing the present moment. How to hold a vision of the future while living happily and effectively in the here and now.

First, I want to give credit to Mark Forster for teaching this process in his book, How to Make Your Dreams Come True. These ideas are his. I believe he is still offering How to Make Your Dreams Come True for free on his website: Get Everything Done. You can grab a copy here.

This practice isn’t about willpower, or S.M.A.R.T. goals, or fluffy bunny affirmations, or Law-of-attraction-without-action-miracle-wishing. This process is designed to help you:

• develop the frame of mind and the power of mind that will pull your goals towards you,
• keep you compassionately accountable to yourself,
• maintain natural (not forced) motivation and,
• help you enjoy the process of taking action in the here and now.

Before we go on, I also want to give credit to Eric Maisel. In the Creativity Coaching class I took with him in the fall, he pointed repeatedly to the benefits of developing a self-coaching practice. I read Forster’s book after taking Dr. Maisel’s class and the self-coaching process Mark demonstrates in his book found me in the right place and frame of mind at the right time. And it all clicked. I heard a little voice in my head say, “This is for you.”

Here we go.

Write a vision as if you are living it in the present. This is nothing new. You will encounter this exercise in almost every book you pick up on goal setting and life planning. It’s what you do with the vision after you have it written that matters.

Here’s an example:

My office is full of sunlight this morning. I have a full cup of coffee warming my hands while I look out the back window and watch the dog chase squirrels and bark at the birds. I’m thinking about my day and smiling.

There’s some work on my art table that I’m looking forward to getting back to this afternoon. Ideas and solutions were percolating in my brain while I slept and I woke up knowing what’s next for this piece. Which is nice because when I left the work yesterday, I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I’ve learned to trust the process and the benefit of working with fresh eyes and a fresh mind.

First thing on the agenda: writing and painting. The first two hours of the day are mine every day to do my creative work.

Next: two client calls. My favorite clients. Yay! Of course, I say that about everyone I work with. One is developing a one-woman show and we need to discuss the pros and cons of the venues she’s been scouting. And the other is working on setting up her website to promote her writing. Fun stuff. I love working with energized, visionary, creative people.

I have two actors coming over at 1:30 for some private coaching on their scene for class. These actors are taking no prisoners, let me tell you. They come full of ideas, they’re creative with their choices – they truly enjoy the creative process of telling the truth on stage. I love working with them.

Then – more writing. Some fiddling with Photoshop. Maybe a photography jaunt. Yeah, a photography jaunt sounds good. Oh, I also need to do a little prep for this week’s workshop.

And – then a quiet evening with husband and child. I think Warehouse 13 is on tonight. It’s our favorite show.

That’s it. I just made that up. I like it too. Notice what isn’t there.

No dates. I didn’t write, “It’s January 10, 2013 and here I am in my office thinking about my clients and students.”

No ‘shoulds’ or grandiosity. I didn’t write my acceptance speech for an Oscar. It’s a normal day. It’s brief. It’s simple.

No fear or justification. No battle. “I’ve worked hard for this moment and I deserve the success I have.”

The voice is peaceful. Enjoying a simple moment with a cup of coffee thinking about her day and watching the dog run around in the backyard. None of that, “Ha! Ha! I am victorious! I have conquered the world and made it my b…h!”

Keep it simple and write with a voice who is experiencing the feelings you want to feel in your life. I want peace, love, comfort, inspiration, collaboration, quiet – a natural creative flow to my work and my life.

Okay? Okay.

Next up – what to do with the vision. Which is the super important part.

But, that will have to be another post later this week. Sorry. I got drawn into my vision much more than I thought I would. I wasn’t thinking I would write my complete vision when I started this post, but there it is. I think it’s a keeper.

If you write yours, please share! You can leave it in the comments below – or send me an email.

Happy day to you! Stay tuned for Part Deux later in the week.