Vision Board Workshop

Posted on February 11, 2021 by Louise Gallagher

I want to say it’s ‘back by popular demand’ but the fact is, I’ve never advertised the Vision Board Workshops I’ve been holding on Zoom, so it’s not ‘back’… but it is here because a couple of people asked if I’d do another.

So I am.

The beauty of a Zoom Vision Board session is you still get the energy that comes with being in a circle of people focussed on creating a visual map of their possibilities for the next year (and beyond) as well as guidance on how to find the elements/landmarks on your map and the process of putting it onto the page. The difference is, you’re in the comfort of your own home. Own space. And… given the weather here right now (like sub-arctic cold) you don’t have to weather the weather to attend! Bonus!

On Monday, I shared with a group of 7 women my love of creating a Vision Board. When a friend heard about, she said, “I want to play too!”

And thus… this workshop came into being.

If you’ve ever wondered, “Why a Vision Board?” or thought… “I’d like to but I don’t know how.” Or, wanted to create one but love the energy of creating it with others well…. read on!

Saturday, February 20th I’ll be hosting an online Vision Board workshop.

No creative ‘talent’ necessary. No special tools. No special place.

Just you. Some old magazines. A large piece of paper. Pair of scissors and glue — those are the bare necessities. Of course, you can get all fancy and I will provide a supplies list with loads of ideas, but seriously — all a Vision Board requires is for you to turn up, spend some time divining ‘what do I want more of in my life’ and then a willingness to explore what that map could look like!

I keep the group small (max 7 attendees). It helps create an intimate environment that is both safe and courageous.

What:    Vision Board Workshop
WHERE:   Online via Zoom
WHEN:    Saturday, February 20th
         10am - 1pm
COST:    $50.00

Space is limited so if you’re interested, sign up now! Upon receipt of your e-transfer (I can also do Paypal) I’ll send you a confirmation and a full supplies list.

I hope to see you there!

The one thing I can promise… If you’re like others who’ve attended in the past, the workshop will be full of surprises, revelations and a lot of fun!

Vision Board 2021

Posted on January 8, 2021 by Louise Gallagher

I spent the morning gaining clarity on my path for 2021.

I hosted a session on Zoom on creating a Vision Board with two friends.

As we created, we laughed and chatted and shared stories and sipped our coffees and got glue on our fingers and on everything else too!

And like women gathering at the wekk, we found ourselves in that sacred space that opens up when women come together in community.

A Vision Board is a visual tool that is both metaphorical and literal. With the use of images and words, it helps focus your intention, your desires, your wishes for your life – or one particular area of your life.

For me today, my vision board focused on my ‘creative expressions’. What I want to consider, conceive, and create this year.

Perhaps the most powerful morsel of clarity (which takes a huge bite out of my self-doubt and sometimes confusing thoughts on what I want to do next) is the answer that appeared to the statement – The unifying link between my work and my love for [life is]… Visual Storytelling & Words.

Wow!

I didn’t know when we began at 9 this morning that I would find that response.

And that’s the beauty of spending three hours individually and collectively focussing on ‘self’ and creating a visual storyboard of ‘what I want more of in my life’ and ‘where will I place my focus?’ this year.

If you haven’t created a Vision Board for 2021 (or ever before) it’s Easy. Fun. Enlightening.

I’ll be creating a ‘cheat sheet’ on how to do it and will post it on my website. Stay tuned! I’ll add the link here when I’m done!

(And that comes from the clarity I gained this morning! How exciting is that!)

Thank you JD and SV for spending the time with me and for inspiring me to focus my attention on the ‘what’ of this year.

What are you waiting for? 5 things you can do today to live the life of your dreams.

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Louise Gallagher

Courage Mixed media on card stock 5″ x 5″ Louise Gallagher

No matter where I’m at, it feels at times as though I have spent my life waiting.

Waiting for the hands of time to turn. For the clock to strike midnight. For the dawn to come. For dusk to fall.

Waiting. For the rain to stop. The sun to come out.

Waiting for tomorrow. Next week. Holidays.

Waiting for it, whatever it is, to be over. For it, whatever it is, to begin.

Waiting for the right moment. The perfect time. The special instant when the stars align, the planets revolve, the earth moves.

Do you know what I mean? Are you waiting too?

For Prince Charming to ride in. Sweep you off your feet. Perhaps even, depending upon where your thoughts take you, dump you in the ditch.

Are you waiting for the right one to come and make your dreams come true? To give you Love. Happiness. Joy.

Are you waiting to feel better. Get over it. Through it. Out of it.

Waiting.

It’s not a game for cowards.

But then, neither is life.

The irrepressible Kerry Parsons and I spoke of waiting yesterday over a late lunch.

We’d not seen eachother for awhile. It was that waiting thing. We’d been waiting for the right time to get together and finally just had to make it happen.

Because that’s the thing about waiting.

All the waiting in the world won’t change what’s happening, or not happening, in your life.

Only you can do that.

President Barack Obama is credited with saying that, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

Think about what’s going on in your life today. Is it full. Do you feel complete. Centrered. Balanced.

What are you waiting for?

There is no magical time in the future when completeness, centeredness, balance will appear.

They are as present today as they will be tomorrow.

They’re just waiting for you to turn up.

Just like your dreams. Are waiting for you (me) to turn up.

What are your dreams?

Have you been holding back from putting them to paper, thinking about them, describing them, filling them in? Have you been holding out on yourself by not giving your dreams substance?

Think about it.

What’s holding you back? What are you waiting for?

Yesterday, I told Kerry one of my dreams.

“I realized I have always been holding back from breathing life into my dreams because I’ve always been waiting for someone else to do what they want to do in their life first.”

I’m tired of waiting I told her.

I’m tired of playing small in the field of limited possibility.

I want to play large in limitless possibilities. To create the life of my dreams without fearing I’ll bump up against someone else’s dreams coming true and be frightened by the brilliance of their light shining brightly.

It’s time for me to shine bright.

For you to shine bright.

For all of us to shine bright so that the world becomes a bright shiny place where everyone, no matter where they are, can live with their hearts full of all this big beautiful world has to offer, when we quit waiting for someone else to stop the war, end the fight, ask for forgiveness, give us the right to live fearlessly in the now.

What are you waiting for?

There are lots of books and videos on how to map out your dreams, create a vision board, plan your future.

The question isn’t, what are your dreams. The question is: What is holding your back from turning your dreams into reality?

Here’s 5 things you can do to create substance of your dreams.

Write it down. Take a blank sheet of paper and write down all the things you fear about dreams and dreaming. Now, take that piece of paper, crumple it up and throw it behind you. For the next 15 minutes your fears do not exist. There are no limitations to your thinking, no ‘I can’t’s, I don’t dare, I mustn’t’. There’s only possibility.
Now, on another blank sheet of paper, write the answer to this statement: When I am living my ideal life, I am ___________________________. Describe what you are doing in detail. This isn’t about ‘feeling’. It’s about what you’re doing – so keep to the ‘facts’. If you are living on a beach, writing the next bestselling thriller, or leading a team of scientists to discover a cure for some rare disease, write it down. Be specific.
On the same piece of paper, if there’s room (it all depends on how specific you got with describing your ideal life) write an agenda for your typical day.
1. 7:00am I wake up and here the sounds of the ocean waves crashing against the rocks below my open window. I hear seagulls cawing and smell the aroma of coffee brewing. I roll over and kiss my beloved on the shoulder and slip out of bed. I stretch and let the last tendrils of sleep roll off my shoulders as I walk into the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee. Good morning world!
2. 8:00am I am in my home office overlooking the rocks and ocean. In the distance I see a fishing boat bobbing on the waves. I open my laptop and hear the familiar whir of it warming up. I put my fingers to the keyboard and begin…
3. 11:00am I’ve had a great writing session and stop for a coffee and a scramble down to the beach below.
4. noon I share a delicious lunch of quinoa salad and fresh tomatoes from the market with my beloved. He shares his plans for the afternoon and after an hour together, I go back to my office.
5. 1:00pm This is my ‘get the details done to keep my life organized’ time. I answer emails. Respond to queries. Call my agent. Set a meeting with the producer and team who is working on turning my last book into a movie.
6. 2:30pm Writing time
7. 5:30pm Walk on the beach with my beloved to enjoy the sunset. We sit on the rocks and talk about our days. I share snippets of my new characters, the challenges I’m having. He shares parts of his day too.
8. 6:30pm I spend an hour reviewing the work I’ve completed today. I’m pleased with my progress.
9. 7:30pm My beloved and I prepare dinner and spend the evening together.
Stop. Breathe. Listen. Listen to the chatter in your brain. What is it saying to you? How are you feeling about writing out the agenda for your ideal life? Are your thoughts predominantly positive or negative? Do you feel foolish? Inspired? Hopeful? Write it down. All of it. Everything. Write it down.
Write down five things you can do today to move you closer to your goal or write down the five things you’re not doing today that will move you closer to your goal. Whichever you choose, make sure you are being honest with yourself. No one else has to see this (but it is helpful to share it with another). What are you doing today to create the life you want to live? What aren’t you doing today that will make it happen.