Harnessing Visualization to Ignite Your Dreams and Achieve Your Goals

We share the ups and the downs , the highs and the lows and all the lessons learned along the way . It doesn't matter what chapter you are on in your story Maybe you're just getting started or , heck , maybe you're halfway through . What I know is , where intention goes , energy flows .

It's my most sincere hope that you will hear something in one or maybe many of these episodes that resonates with you and reminds you that you are not in this alone . As we venture into year two , I hope that you find a sense of connection and community when you're here , because we all deserve a place where we belong .

My name is Sunny and I am so glad you're here . If you're new , there's a few things you want to know about me . I am a huge book nerd and a wee bit of a control enthusiast , with an obsession for motivational coffee cups . I believe that a rising tide raises all ships and I invite you along in this journey to evoke greatness .

Hey , hey , welcome back to another episode of Evoke Greatness . When is the last time that you made an effort to dream really , really big , like back when you were a kid and you could close your eyes and you could imagine ? You could feel something so strongly because your little heart was dreaming it ?

I think this whole adulting piece of life has made us too busy to dream . I've been thinking about this a lot lately . I was speaking with someone today , as a matter of fact , about goals and strategic plan for the business and what I want to do in 2024 . What I kept going back to was , though , these things are exciting .

I'm not doing or thinking about the things that set my soul on fire . I'm thinking about what makes sense . I'm thinking in a box . I am not someone who typically thinks in a box .

I'm like blow the top off , destroy it , do whatever we need to do , you know , and make sure we don't live inside of a box , and so it was really interesting to kind of have that Bit of an epiphany and some curious about you know when is the last time you did something or you made an effort to dream really big .

I find it fascinating that there are statistics on people who set these big goals and have these big dreams , that 92% of people who set goals don't achieve them . Right 8% follow through . Think about that . That failure rate is enough to dissuade people from even beginning .

As a matter of fact , in thinking about anticipating what challenges people are facing at work , I did a LinkedIn poll recently . I think it's still open for a couple more days , but thus far have had a good number of people make their selections in the poll and so far , the question was what are the biggest challenges people are facing at work ?

And so 25% said they're struggling with staffing shortages . Right , that's no surprise . That's what's going on in the world . Doesn't matter what industry are in . A lot of my network is in the health care industry and so , lord knows that's being hit really , really hard with staffing shortages .

25% are struggling with not hitting their goals or budget , 29% are dealing with internal politics , and 21% say that their career feels stalled out . So think about the heaviness of those things that we're facing day to day . Right , those are the biggest challenges people are facing at work . Now , one of those options was not layoffs right , that's another thing .

There are so many heavy challenges that we face out there that I think sometimes we get stuck . We get stuck in that place . And so , you know , in thinking about those dreams and those goals that you're setting for yourself , you know going back to like that childlike wonderment . Did you know that visualizing and imagining that your goals are ?

Did you know that visualizing and imagining your goals can make you twice as likely to achieve them ? Visualization is so incredibly powerful , and in one of my keynotes I talk about creating a vision board for your life . You know , close your eyes and imagine . What are those things that you used to dream about , what are those goals that you have ?

Where do you want to be personally , professionally , let's say you want a promotion . So close your eyes and what does it feel like ? How does your body feel when you've accepted that offer for your new job , for your new promotion ? Close your eyes . What are you wearing on your first day ? Head into the office . What are you wearing ?

Are you feeling like a million bucks in that outfit ? Right , that's what we imagine . That's what we close our eyes and imagine . What is your office look like ? Who's on your team when you close your eyes and you bring in all of your senses into that experience . You actually , like a cellular level , feel it .

If you've ever wanted to be a speaker , you know . Interesting , fun fact about that is public speaking is the number one fear people have , more so than dying , which blows my mind , but that is a real fear that people have . And so when I first started speaking I was like I'm going to die . I first started speaking , oh Lord , have mercy . I was a mess .

I think I probably came off a little better than certainly better than I felt , because people would say , oh , you did a good job . Could have totally been , you know , feeding me a line because I was a mess .

So I would always want , you know want to wear like a power dress when I spoke , except for the fact that I would sweat so profusely that the underarms of my dress would be saturated . I know TMI , but I would almost throw up prior to my heart . I mean I could .

I thought people who are listening to me speak right now they've got to be able to hear my heart beating in my chest . I mean , I got so in my head about it and so when I really like , wholeheartedly wanted to start speaking , start public speaking . I would Write all of our mirrors in my house . One of the things .

I would get tripped up on my words and so I thought , okay , what do I need to do ? I need to be a clear and compelling speaker . So I would write on all the mirrors in my house . I am a clear and compelling speaker .

Every mirror , bathroom , anywhere , I could go with a mirror that was written on it , written on sticky notes , everywhere because I needed it going in my eye gates on a regular basis so I could start building that confidence up .

Just did a tiny little level every single time I saw it and I would you know again , like that visualization piece , I would close my eyes when I really wanted to start doing keynote speaking . It would close my eyes and I would Imagine what it felt like to walk out on that stage .

What would it feel like To fill the heat from the lights on you from the stage . What were you wearing ? You know , I'd imagine what outfit I was wearing . I would imagine the audience leaning in because what I was saying was so relevant , was so Resonated so deeply with him . It was so compelling that they were nodding and it's so funny .

I think now to where I am , where I Thoroughly enjoy speaking . I Like to go in ahead of time . I like to kind of imagine the room and the audience and just really almost like set the be the Thermostat instead of the thermometer for the room , for the energy .

And so I go in where people would normally set ahead of time and I kind of have this practice where I'm like alright , I'm gonna set the vibe , I'm gonna set the temperature in here , and then people are gonna come into this and I'm able to walk on stage with a level of comfort Because it's like oh no , I already set that thermostat .

Nope , we're good to go . And so those things that you want to do that maybe you're too scared to do that , maybe you've been in your own box . What are those things that you've been so busy doing that you've lost sight of ? Go back and revisit that childlike state . What sets your heart on fire ? I Am doing my own couple of little practices . I am .

I used to do a vision board . I Remember when I got about a couple years before I got my car , car that I have

now . It's not a Lamborghini by any stretch , but there were a couple things I loved about this car , and one of them One of the big ones was that I was going to Go in and pay all cash for this car . That was number one . It was the first time I would have ever been in in a position to do that .

I always had car made car payments prior to that , and one of the things about being a good steward of my resources is Okay , if I'm progressing in my career , then I'm gonna be , you know , really conscientious about this and I'm gonna be putting money aside because the next car I get it's gonna be a used car , because , sorry , but if you're foolish enough to

buy a brand new car , you're losing value right as you drive off the lot . But that's another conversation . And so I always buy used cars and I wanted to number one pay all cash for it . So I had a number in my head Okay , when I get to this place , I'm gonna go in and I'm going to do this on my own .

I could have my husband come with me , and there's probably statistics that show a man going with you . They're able to talk better , they're able to negotiate better , and I was like , oh hail , no , I'm going and I'm doing this Because this is my experience . And so I had this car In infinity QX 70 .

I had it up on my vision board for probably two and a half years and I just saved and saved , and saved , and saved , and saved and saved .

And then , oddly enough , I would try Everywhere to find this vehicle , the specific interior and exterior that I wanted , and it almost took like probably another six months or so to find one here , local , and the feeling of wanting that so bad for several years and envisioning yourself in it and , you know , feeling the feel of yourself against the seats .

But then it also set an example . My husband I can't tell you how many times was like if you want the car , let's just go out and get the car . I'm like , nope , not getting it . That way I could go out and take a loan right now , sure , but I'm gonna do it my way .

And so even my kids saw this example of what it's like to wait , what it's like to be patient in the process and want something really bad . Have it up on your vision board , talk about it , but not have to go get it until the process is right , till you're ready , because you've put all these elements in place .

So I set an example , for my kids to say , hey look , if you just put off what you could go take a loan out for and you put away for it , then guess what ? I'm driving in a paid-off car . I got to go to the dealership , had my own conversation , said here's my number , took a little bit of negotiation and I don't know .

An hour later I was walking out with my car and I still have that car today and I absolutely love it . I still walk up to it like , oh , you are so pretty , because I appreciate it and that much more because I waited , but I dreamed about it . And so what are those things ? If you have not yet create a vision board , what are the things ?

What are the trips you want to take ? Maybe they're a couple years off , even what's the car you'd like to drive one day ? Maybe it is a Lamborghini for you , maybe it's a . You know , it's something else for somebody else . It doesn't have to be whatever flashy thing that other people have . It's why it's your vision board .

What are those things that you'd like to do ? What's a skill set that you don't have that you'd like to attain ? I have been talking about wanting to learn guitar for a handful of years . Something I was thinking about was I really want to learn to play guitar ?

Not because I'm a singer-songwriter , because no something about music for me stirs my soul and I've always I've been able to picture myself playing guitar and like just feeling it in my soul , and so that's one of the things that I'm going to go back to this year , and I'm going to take the time and I'm going to get the lessons and I'm going to be , you

know , horrible at it at first , but I'm willing to suck at it so that I can get better at it , which is all the things . We're all novices until we start getting experience and practice under our belt and then we come a little bit better each time .

But this is my , my little PSA for the week for you is if you have not been dreaming big , do yourself a favor . Create a vision board . Do the practice with your spouse or your partner or your kids or your best friend or maybe it's just you , and that's okay too . What are those big dreams that you'd like to see come true ?

So many of the world's most famous people , who weren't famous 20 years ago , who seem like overnight successes today , busted their tails for years without having the things that they have today , and had the houses or the cars or the boat or the jet on these vision boards , on these very vision boards , and they imagined themselves in it and they could visualize ,

they could close our eyes , they could feel at a cellular level what it felt like to be in those things , to be experiencing those things , to be doing them in real life . So what are those things for you ? What are those dreams that you tucked away into the back of your closet and you haven't thought about in a long time ? I would love to hear about them .

I would love to know . You can always leave a voice message on my website at evokegreatnesscom . It's the contact me tab , big ol' orange button . You don't have to leave your name , but I would love to hear what are the things that you're dreaming about that maybe you forgot about , maybe they have a little dust on them .

So , sister , brother , pull the duster out , clean that thing off , shine it up a little bit and get to work . I know that life is hard sometimes and it's heavy sometimes and it can feel like who has time to dream , sunny ? Who has time ? I don't . I've got staffing shortages and not hitting my goals or budget . I'm dealing with internal politics .

I feel like I'm stuck in my career . Well , guess what ? Guess what just may help , guess what may sprinkle a little bit of curiosity and wonderment and joy into your life Dreaming . So I challenge you to think about what you may have been putting off . Think about some of those things that you used to get .

They used to give your soul that little nudge of excitement you haven't thought about in a long time . Maybe it's not even those things that you thought about 10 , 20 years ago . Maybe it's something new today . Each season of our life kind of brings a different version of us . For me , I'm gonna do this .

I'm gonna get the guitar lessons , I'm gonna learn to do this . Maybe I'll get on here and put you all through the misery of hearing my first lesson or something . But don't lose heart . Don't lose sight of those things . I encourage you . You are worth it .

Start your vision board , whether it's on Pinterest or cutting things out and sticking them on a board on your wall . Put them where you can see them . Maybe it's an electronic something or other . I know there's all kinds of things where you can pin articles and pin pictures and images to it .

Whatever it is , whatever works for you , just start dreaming a little bit . I hope to hear from some of you on what it is that it sparked a fire in you , and I wish you amazing luck in making those dreams become a reality . Thank you so much for listening and for being here on this journey with me . I hope you'll stick around If you liked

this episode . It would mean the world for me if you would rate and review the podcast or share it with someone you know Many need to hear this message . I love to hear from you all and want you to know that you can leave me a voicemail directly .

If you go to my website , evokegreatnesscom and go to the contact me tab , you'll just hit the big old orange button and record your message . I love the feedback and comments that I've been getting , so please keep them coming . I'll leave you with the wise words of author Robin Sharma Greatness comes by doing a few small and smart things each and every day .

It comes from taking little steps consistently . It comes from making a few small chips against everything in your professional and personal life that is ordinary , so that a day eventually arrives when all that's left is the extraordinary Music , any areas of view you want to focus on .