For years my vision board was kept on a cork board with thumbtacks or foam board with glue. Honestly, I still use a cork board in my office and I have two foam vision boards in my storage room that I can’t seem to throw away. Years ago, every December, I gave vision board workshops for two reasons. I loved hearing the creative laughter of the participants and the unique dreams that were born.

A vision board is a personalized work of art. Decoupage design typically represents a random mix of images put together to represent what you want to attract into your life. It is a story that can represent multiple segments of life or even focus on a single area. The designer has the choice of what materials to build their narrative on. Three common options are cork board for its easy maneuverability with thumbtacks, poster paper for its low cost, or foam board for its sturdy support capabilities.

It is not about any of these options at this time. Instead, let’s talk about using the computer and creating a vision board. Just like the other options, using a computer has its own set of creative options.

Last December, while in a creative mood, I started playing around with my new Microsoft OneNote software to design a new vision board. If it worked, it would save time and material costs, as well as create a better representation of what he really wanted to attract. I was definitely excited. OneNote’s clip feature could capture anything you wanted from the Internet. Now, you had an unlimited amount of art, images, words, and fonts to choose from, whereas before you were limited to what you could cut out of magazines. It was exciting to be able to better match the exact images of what was going around in my mind.

The first creations I completed in OneNote were too enthusiastic and too large to print on a standard size sheet of paper. It was difficult to figure out the bottom of a standard page since OneNote doesn’t show where it is.

Out of curiosity I tried to create a vision board in MS Word. Word was clunky and too difficult to organize images and layout. I was limited in what images I could capture on clip art or images I already had on my computer.

So next I tried using Microsoft’s Publisher. Publisher handled everything well; allowing for easy layering, grouping and image angle. It let me know the size of the printable page and the margins. Then I put two of them together. I created the vision map with Publisher and used OneNote’s clip feature to grab images from the internet and then cut and paste them into Publisher.

After this I realized that the vision board name no longer fit. Instead, I now call them vision maps.

My creativity continued to blossom with new ideas over the following months. Soon, I found myself drawing vision maps of an area of ​​my life. Health first. Another for what I wanted to attract in my business. Then, where would you want to travel to if you had unlimited funds and other personal goals and visions.

After this, I started creating maps from experiences…like a previous vacation and the last Tony Robbins event I attended. It was like making a scrapbook but without the material costs and limitations of what was sold in the art store.

Another single purpose map was about the RV he wanted to own and travel in. This map included pictures of the interior and exterior of the RV and some of the little details she wanted it to have, like a writing desk. Another vision map showed the route I wanted to travel and the places I wanted to stay. Another about the lightweight car that I needed to tow with it.

I printed the maps when I was done on my color printer. To keep the maps organized, I put them in a three-ring binder with themed tabs. I designed a cover insert for the folder with a beachfront sunrise in the background and a trailer home in the foreground.

As he progressed through this process, an even greater reward came. It was a real surprise and gift.

This is what happened…

It was when I desperately needed a break after working long hours every day, every day of the week, for months. Starbucks came to mind. As I started to walk towards the door, I turned around thinking I was forgetting something. I saw the vision folder on the table. I grabbed it without knowing why and left.

Frappuccino in hand, on a cushy chair at Starbucks, I opened the folder. I was amazed. It was as if someone else had created these beautiful stories and was seeing them for the first time. With my eyes closed, I stayed to my right on the first map. My arms got hot and goosebumps appeared. Then a cold sensation ran down my back and down my legs to the ground. The contrast of hot and cold kept me still and enjoying the sensation for some time. This was a true vibratory moment.

Now, my portfolio travels with me frequently, to waiting rooms, beaches, airplanes, meetings, and seminars, for extra vibratory moments. I never worry about losing the folder because each map is only one print away; however, inside the cover I added this note: “Thank you for finding this folder, I appreciate it. It is important to me because it represents my wishes in life. If you return the folder, I will provide you with instructions on how to create your own and my story about how my life has changed.

Recently, I added a blank piece of paper to the back of the folder. I use the pages to doodle ideas for future maps.