How to Make a Vision Board That Truly Works

Hi artists and artrepreneurs, and welcome to 2025! Today we're talking about the #1 thing that can change your art business forever. 

The beginning of the year is THE time to focus and plan, and I'm not talking about regular New Year's resolutions that get forgotten halfway through January. Today I'm going to walk you through a goal setting process that truly works.

Creating career and life goals as an artist can feel tricky, and it's possible that you've created a vision board that didn't work for you in the past. But don't fear, I'm going to teach you the secrets of making your vision board into a powerful tool that guides you throughout the year.

1. Reflect on your life

The starting point in goal setting is always reflection. Seeing what is and isn't working for you is the first step to discovering your vision for the future.

One of the best books out there about goal-setting is called “High Performance Habits” by Brendon Burchard. According to Brendon, there are 10 key areas we should regularly reflect on: family, friends, health, relationships, mission, finances, adventure, hobbies, spirituality, and emotion. Through Brendon's research, he discovered that people who assess these areas of their lives on a weekly basis are likely to experience a double-digit increase.

Reflection isn't a one-time practice, it needs to be ongoing to truly make a difference. I recommend setting up a weekly reminder in your calendar to reflect on each of the 10 categories from "High Performance Habits."

2. Set specific goals and visualize them coming to life

Creating a vision board is the best way for artists to truly internalize their goals. A high-quality vision board keeps you motivated, helps you not be distracted by fleeting ideas, encourages you when you feel discouraged, allows you to mark off your goals as you achieve them, changes as your dreams grow and shift, reminds you to celebrate your wins, and forces you to get creative and make decisions that will bring you closer to achieving your goals.

3. 5 steps to create a vision board

There are five things you need to do in order to make the best vision board for yourself and your art business.

The first is to categorize your goals. My categories, for example, are personal/health, relationships, financial, business, home improvement, and travel. Then, you need to brainstorm goals in each category. Here are some examples: journal every day, meditate every day, go on 12 dates this year, call my friends each week, pay off mortgage within 10 years, earn 50k next year, upgrade my iPad, work with Anthropologie, remodel the bathroom, get windows fixed, visit a new country, and take a family trip this summer.

For every goal you set, look inward and ask yourself, why do I want this? The "why" is the most important part of your goals, because it's what will motivate you to achieve them. Next, you'll find visual representations of your goals, and finally, you'll put it all together. 

4. Finding visual representations

There are multiple ways you can find visual representations of your goals. If you want to do it the classic way, you can gather a stack of magazines and a glue stick and cut images and words out of them. If you’d like to find more vision board ideas, feel free to search on Google, Pinterest, Instagram, stock image sites, or wherever you like to find representations for each goal.

Gather your images together on a big poster board, on a Word document, in a collage, or find your own way to show them together in one place. If you like, you can also include a word of the year that represents your "why" for the year.

5. Display your vision board

Whether you choose to create a digital or physical vision board, put it somewhere you can see it every day. Keeping your goals and your “why” at the front of your mind can prevent you from getting distracted and losing focus. 

Set aside some quiet time each week to look at your vision board and reflect on the 10 categories from "High Performance Habits." You could even journal about your progress in each category each week, or once a month, to track your progress and find ways to grow over time.

Successful vision boards aren't about wishful thinking, they're about consistently keeping your goals in mind and taking steps to make them happen. Keep believing in your bright future, keep a positive mindset, and watch your dreams come to life through small, daily steps.