My 2018 Vision Board

Last year I started freelancing for real. In December I was thrilled, and a little shocked, to see that 2017 was more successful than I thought it would be. I wanted the good juju to continue into 2108 so when I received an invite to Ripley Strategy’s 2018 Vision Board party to kick off the new year I had to go. Plus when fun calls you have to answer, especially when it comes to work stuff.

I met Kim and Sharon, the minds behind Ripley, through Kim’s Ladies Who Strategize Slack Channel and Sharon’s Remote Strategist Club on Facebook. They’d previously taken the freelance plunge and teamed up to form Ripley last year. Their violet-hued, Prince-themed Vision Board Party invitation was a smart, creative breath of fresh air so I knew their event would be fun and get my brain going in new directions.

It did! I joined about twenty other people and after a short intro by Kim and Sharon, started plotting out my year via themes and images. If you’ve never created a vision or mood board it’s easy: you go through bunches of images, pick out the ones that appeal to you, and arrange them on a larger space by themes. It’s a crafty way to reflect on any project at hand, and once you get going it’s a little eerie at how accurately the themes play out.

Ripley’s 2018 Vision Board Party was an old school, low-fi affair: we had stacks and stacks of magazines, scissors, and glue to make our boards. I’m not widely known for my visual artistry, but I had loads of zany fun putting my board together. Here’s how my board ended up – I love it!

Say hello to my little vision board

You may not realize it’s centered on my freelance business because you’re no doubt mesmerized by the sheer fabulousness of seeing Serena Williams, Marlon Brando, Grace Jones, and Al Pacino on one poster board. So was I after it was all done – that’s the power of having some free, unstructured time to unwind and see what connections you can make.

Last year I was lucky enough to work with Cody McBurnett of Loki Loki Brand Identity Design on my own branding (and yes, we used a mood board to plot and plan it all out). I am still knocked out by the brand identity she created for me so of course I used all the goodies she cooked up to set up my vision board. Once I glued my business cards to the top center of each panel all the pieces fell into place. The cards outline the three pillars of my business and though the supporting images may not make sense at first glance, each one represents something I want to reflect in my work.

Serena’s there for her strength, beauty, and grace under pressure. Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone brings a quiet, methodical leadership style. Grace Jones is forever fabulous and always marching to her own beat (and I have always loved this picture of her). Stacks of books and a keyboard keep me focused on personal writing projects while a few elements from the ‘60s keep things light and groovy. I see the Statue of Liberty every day on my way to work in New York City, and if I’m lucky enough to take a vacation this year, it will be near some Italian hills. Finally, I could not resist pasting Al Pacino’s iconic turn as Tony Montana in Scarface not for its violence, but because I read Pacino once said this movie was the most fun he’d ever had on set. Work should be fun no matter where it takes you.

Before we got going Sharon mentioned that these vision board sessions have a strong success rate. She said sometimes things happen for people the day after, and certainly throughout the year. Count me in as one of the people who experienced some serious 2018 Vision Board magic—the day after no less. The glue on my board was barely dry when I received an email about a content strategy gig at an agency downtown. A couple of phone calls later I had the gig and started two days later. Thank you Ripley for the fun start to 2018, let’s see when that trip to Italy happens!