About asking yourself the big questions and visualizing what you want and neeeed!
IN THIS BLOG:
- Asking yourself the big questions
- Visualizing (The law of attraction!)
- Where visualization got me – the results of manifesting my own career
So there I was, in my living room at this table I had built for myself, baby sound asleep. Now what? I had no idea what I was going to do exactly, no idea what that dream job (or business?) would be like, so I started by asking myself the question: What do YOU want from a job?
I had spent my career doing what other people told me to do. Even when I had my first label, I did what I thought was expected from a fashion designer. I worked my ass off dressing amazing women, but I didn’t make a financial plan. I didn’t dare to ask for the right prices, I felt uncomfortable communicating my vision, and I never dared to truly ‘forget the system,’ and make my own rules. I also invested a lot, including money that I didn’t have.
If I was going to be an entrepreneur, I was going to have to make the rules this time, and I was going to make a business that fit me and my life. I’m a true believer in the concept that passion is contagious. If I could find a way to make my passion into a business, I would be able to create a job that would last!
A little hobby of mine is visualizing the things I want. Some call it the law of attraction or manifesting. All I know is that it’s something I’ve done my whole life and that it works for me. Let me elaborate. If I want something (it doesn’t have to be materialistic), I really envision how it would be if I actually had it already. It’s very different from wishing for something. I’ll give you an example using Bobbinhood. We wanted to find a bigger place because we were outgrowing the place we were currently in and a lot of things had become impractical. We had too many things going on in our small space which resulted in us often having to move everything around to get things done, and losing a lot of time in the process. I didn’t just wish for a new place, I envisioned it. I saw a photo studio we could keep in place, a shop people could stop by that was separate from the studio. And I also thought I would love a place big enough to practise some skate tricks (I know that doesn’t have anything to do with Bobbinhood, but hey I am the boss, right? :)). Every time I biked home, I envisioned that studio. Not just what it looked like, but also what I would feel when I went inside. How it would feel to close it after a day of work. I visualized all of this, and guess what… IT WORKED! As I write this, we are in the middle of packing boxes to move to a new studio with a small shop front, a big studio (where I can practise my skateboard tricks before everybody comes in in the morning), and a separate photo studio. It really helps to envision the things you want. Don’t just wish for it, feel it, live it! Some people say that the universe will make it happen for you. I’m not sure. I don’t think it’s magic. I just think that by setting your mind to it, you will unconsciously work towards it. You know, like sometimes you discuss something with a friend and the friend says something like ‘Have you seen all the green and yellow birds around the city this year?’ And you’re like, ‘No? Not really.’ But then after that conversation you start to see green and yellow birds everywhere. It’s not that they weren’t there before, you just hadn’t noticed them until they became something you gave designated thought to.
By envisioning something, you will put your energy and attention towards that thing you want, and I think that really helps :).
So when I decided to try the entrepreneuring gig again, I started envisioning the business I wanted to have. I asked myself questions like: What would my business look like? How much would I work? Would I work every (week) day, or part time? Would I be alone or have colleagues? Where would it be: countryside, city? Was it in my home? If not, did I bike there or walk there? And so on. In the beginning it scared the hell out of me because I hadn’t even properly started yet. Here I was in my living room, sitting behind the brand new table I built, envisioning an actual business! To get myself started, I began by thinking really practically and modestly, because I felt that unless I played it safe and thought about it in small goals, it would ultimately fail long-term. But then I realized that if I didn’t dare to envision what I really wanted, I would never have the job of my dreams!
So slowly I eased myself into being bold about it, into owning it! I’m not sure what I envisioned exactly, but it was something like this: I wanted to own a company where I could openly and freely express all of my wild ideas, a place where they could come to life. Not just by myself, but with employees (I call them accomplices now <3), in a bright studio that would feel like our second home. Somewhere where my kids would feel at home too, my very own creative playground. I have to admit, it felt strange to picture all this when I didn’t really have anything to show for it yet. But I sure am glad I did decide to find out what I wanted for myself.
Sooooooo guess what this week’s ‘tip of the week’ will be? (You get three tries…) 😉
Tip of the Week: Visualize your perfect (work) day
I was going to be my own boss, right? So I might as well envision that boss I wanted to be and the business that this boss would have.
The tip of this week (or should I say assignment ;)), is extremely helpful. My husband and I try to do this every year, or whenever we need to make a big decision. This doesn’t come as naturally to my husband as it does to me. What really helps him is to think about what his day would look like. While you can use envisioning for anything, let’s use it now to envision your dream job. Here are the questions I ask him to help get him get going:
– You wake up, what time?
– Tell me about your waking up ritual.
– Where do you go for work? (Up the stairs to the attic, to a studio, a shop, etc.).
– How do you get there? (Walk, bike, subway, car).
– How far is it?
– What does it look like?
– Who is there?
– What do you do? (Doesn’t have to be specific, it can be like ‘work behind the computer,’ ‘make pictures,’ ‘write,’ ‘draw,’ ‘sculpt,’ etc.).
– How do you feel at work?
– What are you having for lunch?
– Are you alone at the lunch table? If not, who are you with?
– At what time do you go home?
– How/What do you feel when you close the door?
…and so on.
What you envision doesn’t have to make any sense right now. For example, I asked my husband to envision his dream job. When I asked him how he would get there, he said, ‘Well, by train because it is in Amsterdam.’ I asked if that was his dream, to go by train to his job. It wasn’t. In his dream he wanted to bike there, but we live in Rotterdam, so if he actually had that job he would have to go there by train. Now I understood his reasoning, but the cool thing about envisioning is that there doesn’t have to be logic. Free your mind and the rest will follow, right? It doesn’t have to be possible at that moment. If you keep envisioning it, you will find a way. It’s a way to set your brain and body towards what YOU want. Fast forward… He now has his dream job (not overnight of course, all good things take time!). He goes there a couple of days a week by train, and the rest of the week he bikes with me to the Bobbinhood studio where he has his own desk. You could say his envisioning didn’t entirely work, but hey, he has his dream job now, so who cares? And who knows, maybe one day he will find another dream job in the city we live in. What I’m trying to say is, you don’t need to get it right – there is no right or wrong. Nobody can tell you what your dream is, only you can do that. And you know what? If things change along the way, that’s all good. I don’t really remember if what I envisioned five years ago is the business I have now, but that doesn’t matter does it? You can always alter and change what you need. The phases of your life change, so too will your idea of what fits you, and that is totally ok.
So have a go, do it by yourself or tell somebody if you feel comfortable with that. Anything is possible, follow your heart! Just don’t forget to dream big and aim high!
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