Life. An Adventure Worth Living!

I finished my Vision Map yesterday. (Some people call them Dreamboards. Visionboards. Treasure Maps.) As it was a stat holiday here in Canada I had the day to putter about and clean up left over jobs that were leaking energy all over the house. You know, those jobs that cause you to say, every time you look at them, "Oh, I must get to that."

Well, this weekend I got to it. There were several incomplete jobs lying around the house. My Vision Map being one of them. This morning, my Vision Map is posted on the wall beside my desk. It's a colourful and graphic display of 'my life' and my goals. Pictures. Words. Symbols. A timeline for when I intend on completing specific goals.

The top section puts my career in action. It's titled: A Bold Woman Who Dares. In the right hand corner, a woman sits on a Director's Chair holding a megaphone. There's a strip of celluloid and the words, You Can Do It!. She's surrounded by the words, Get Back To Being Yourself! The Sun Takes Centre Stage. Every moment has a Sweet Spot. Modern Identity. Creative. Commit. Be. Do. Have. Free. Brilliant. DreamWeaver. In the left hand corner, a woman strides confidently along a city street, her rolling luggage beside her. Some of the words that accompany her image are, Keynote. Book, Critics Choice. A Book-Club Favorite. Success Path. Be Informed. Assured. Career Lifts. Celebrate Success. Confidence. Leap. The colour of certainty. Your Year to Breakthrough. In with the New. and Making A Difference By Sharing. I even found a quote in a magazine that reads: I enjoy helping others dream again and appreciate life more!

These are all important words for me. They speak to my goal of writing and producing more documentaries, to being a Keynote speaker at conferences and to the Victor not Victim course I present. They speak to my goal of completing my next book.

There's a lot of power in creating a Vision Map. My monkey mind chatter was stilled as the images began to appear on the page. It took focus and energy. It was a commitment to me. A commitment to take the time to create a visual statement of what it is I am doing in my life, who I am, where I'm going. It represents my dreams materializing. My goals actualizing. It is my statement that says, "This is what I deserve. This is my life. This is who I am."

In the process of creating it, certain elements became very clear to me. In particular, the images that appeared focus on two specific environments. Water. Mountains. I wasn't drawn to city scapes nor to forests so much as to vast vistas, sweeping views, majestic landscapes. What awesome clarity -- there have been times in my life when I lived outside the city but, since my daughters were born, have always remained in town. My Vision Map has helped me clarify where it is I am going.

The other aspect of the Vision Map that I find amazing and inspiring is that there was a whole lot of serendipity going on while I was creating it. I have spent a few weeks cutting out pictures, words and symbols from magazines. At night I'd sit on my bed, leaf through magazines and tear out pages to keep. I'd sort them, cut out the parts I wanted and put them into big Manila envelopes. One for Places. Words. Career. Family and Friends.. Home. Spirituality. Travel. Education. As I cut out the images, I didn't think about the pictures they were creating, or even the message, I simply cut out images and words that appealed to me.

Yesterday, as I was putting it all together, I kept looking for an image of a butterfly. I didn't have one. After a couple of hours I needed a break and went and sat out on the patio with a couple of magazines I hadn't yet sorted through. The first page of one had a beautiful butterfly on it! On another page, I found three pictures of a woman's face, all the same, but in different colours and with a different smile. I cut them out to. Wasn't sure what I would do with them yet, but they appealed to me. Later as I was working on my Family and Friends I looked at the three photos of the woman and realized how important they are. They are Green. Orange and Blue. The three personality colours of my daughters and myself. I even found a phrase that expresses us perfectly: Every colour makes its own expression.

I had an awesome day yesterday spending time with my life in creation. As I completed my Vision Map I discovered one very powerful secret I had to reveal for myself. Above a picture of a man standing in a river, the glorious golds of autumn all around, I carefully placed the words: The Secret is Love.

Yesterday I loved myself enough to create a Vision Map. I loved myself enough to express on paper what it is I am doing in my life, what's important to me, and what makes the difference between having a dream, and focusing on creating the life of my dreams.

Love is the secret. Love of me. My life. And everyone in it. Love that is limitless. That never ends. That flows in constant harmony with the world around me. Love is. Love creates. Love expresses. Love expands. Love provides. Love fulfills. Love.

In one of my favourite movies, Love Actually, the Beatles hit, All You Need Is Love, plays as people greet each other at an airport. It is a beautiful scene of smiling faces, children running into grandparents outstretched arms, of sons and daughters returning home. Of lovers meeting. Families reuniting. And it's all based on Love.

Yesterday, I gave myself the opportunity to fall in love with my life. To fall in love with the act of creating my life. To fall in love with me in my life today, in this moment. Right now.

My Vision Map represents my direction, my goals, my dreams, my aspirations. It is a reminder that I am worth living for, worth creating the life of my dreams, worth getting excited about, celebrating and applauding. I am worth the life of my dreams.

As I state on my Vision Map, I have a passionate and optimistic state of mind in pursuit of adventure, excellence and inspiration.

Fill your day with passion. Be optimistic and pursue your life. It's an adventure worth living!