Vision Boards for Personal Branding: How to Make Them Work
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Description
Vision boards can be so much more than just a collage of pretty pictures and inspirational words—they can be a game-changer for designing your life, if you use them intentionally. Every year, I kick off with an intention and goal-setting session, and vision boards are one of my favorite tools to turn big dreams into real plans.
In this episode of The Branding Room Only podcast, I’m sharing how to make vision boards work for you. We’ll talk about why vision boards are worth your time, how to create one that helps you achieve your goals, and how this simple tool connects to your personal brand.
Chapters
1:01 - Why vision boards are so impactful and why intention is their secret sauce
2:56 - Main options for creating your vision board and what you can include on it
5:15 - How vision boarding connects with personal branding and the final puzzle piece to making it work
Mentioned In Vision Boards for Personal Branding: How to Make Them Work
2025 Intention and Goal Setting Webinar
Personal Branding Strategy Sessions
Subscribe to The Branding Room Only on YouTube
Sponsor for this episode
This episode is brought to you by PGE Consulting Group LLC.
PGE Consulting Group LLC is dedicated to providing a practical hybrid of professional development training and diversity solutions. From speaking to consulting to programming and more, all services and resources are carefully tailored for each partner. Paula Edgar’s distinct expertise helps engage attendees and create lasting change for her clients.
To learn more about Paula and her services, go to www.paulaedgar.com or contact her at info@paulaedgar.com, and follow Paula Edgar and the PGE Consulting Group LLC on LinkedIn.
Transcript
Welcome to The Branding Room Only Podcast where we share career stories, strategies, and lessons learned on how industry leaders and influencers have built their personal brands. Now, let's get started with the show.
Hi all, it's Paula Edgar, your host of Branding Room Only. I am so excited to dive into the topic for today, which is the power of vision boards. If you've been following me for a while, you know that I am a huge believer in the power of goal setting and intention setting. That's why I do an annual Vision and Intention Setting Session and I've been doing this for over a decade.
Today, we're going to explore why vision boards are so impactful, how you can create one, and how they can help you design the life, career, and vision that you want. So grab a cup of coffee, tea, wine, or bourbon, depending on your vibe, and let's jump in.
First, let's start with the question, why even bother with a vision board? You can write down your goals, you can think about them. The reason why a vision board is important to me is because at its core, it is more than a collage of just pretty pictures and words, it's essentially a visual representation of your goals and your dreams. It's either a physical or digital reminder of what you're working towards.
It's not just a poster board or something on Pinterest, it's science. Science backs us up. Studies have shown that visualization helps us to stay focused, motivated, and intentional. When you look at your vision board regularly, it primes your brain to recognize opportunities and solutions that align with your intentions and your goals.
Now, despite the way I'm talking about it, here's the thing, vision boards aren't magic. They're a tool to help you clarify your goals and intentions and to create momentum towards achieving them. That being said, let's talk about the role of intention. I always say that intention is the secret sauce of any vision board because it's not just about sticking images on a board, it's about setting a theme or focus for your year.
That's why when I'm doing my vision board and encouraging people to do it as well, I encourage them to choose a theme word or phrase that is the anchor for their vision board. For this year, my theme word of the year was joy, and everything that I put on my board connected back to that idea. What brings me joy? How will I achieve joy? Will the work that I do, the people I interact with, the goals that I have all be joy-filled? That was a daily reminder to me to prioritize what brings me joy and to make decisions that align with that intention.
If you're creating a vision board, and I hope that you will after this, ask yourself, what is my intention? What's the overarching theme or feeling that I want to cultivate in my life? Then we get to the practical piece. How do you actually create a vision board?
There are two main options: you can get a physical vision board, and this is what I like to do every year. There's something for me about actually cutting up phrases and pictures from a magazine and gathering scissors and glue and poster board and having those words and images that resonate with my goals and arranging them how I want to around my core anchor word for me is what is powerful.
But I have also created a digital vision board. You could use tools like Pinterest or PowerPoint to curate images and words on an online platform. This is great if you want to have a portable version that you can access on your phone or laptop. But either way, you should have it someplace accessible. I have a photo of my vision board and I also have the actual, obviously, vision board.
But what I want you to remember is, don't overthink it. Your vision board does not have to be perfect. It doesn't have to be Pinterest perfect, but it just has to feel authentic to you. Now, sometimes people get caught up in like, “This is not cut perfectly or the shape is not right.” Don't worry about that. For you, it has to resonate. It doesn't have to resonate for anybody else.
Here are some of the things that I want you to think about, including on the vision board that you have. You want to think, professional goals. What do you want to achieve in your career or in your business? Personal goals. That should include relationships, self-care, hobbies, and your financial goals. What do you want to make and save? Are you going to think about investing or earning more? Of course, no matter what my word of the year is, it is always “fun goals”.
Things that bring you joy, such as travel, experiences, and indulgences that you like, those should be included. Then stretch goals. Those are the big audacious, ambitious dreams that you have. You should at least have one of those on your vision board always.
As I mentioned before, you want to keep your vision board somewhere you'll see it often so that it could be your office or your bedroom. I have it both in my office so I can see it when I'm at my desk and also as my phone background as well. You may be thinking, “Paula, this is a podcast on personal branding. What does vision boarding have to do with personal branding?”
The answer for me is everything because your vision board is a reflection of your goals, your values, your aspirations, and all the things that make up your personal brand. When you create a vision board, you're essentially designing the next chapter of your life, your career, and your brand.
For example, if your vision board includes the phrase “thought leader”, you might want to start looking for opportunities to speak on panels or write articles in the areas of expertise. If it says “financial freedom,” you might want to commit to learning more about investing or budgeting.
Again, as I mentioned, I have joy in mind. I think about what will bring me joy. Some opportunities that I may not have gone for, I think, “Okay, this is a joy space.” On my calendar, it says “joy story.” Your vision board becomes a guidepost for how you show up in the world and how you align your actions with your goals.
I also think it aligns with opportunities. There's a magic that happens when you set a vision. Speaking of that magic, the final piece of the puzzle when it comes to your vision board is reflection and recommitment. A vision board is not something you create once and forget about. It is a living and breathing tool.
If you really want to use it for what it's worth, you want to visit and revisit it regularly. I look at mine daily. You may want to look at yours weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Put it in your calendar, “Look at my vision board.” There is such a power that comes from when you see that there are some things that have already happened, but then you can also ask yourself, “Am I staying in line with my goals? Do I need to make any adjustments?”
If you haven't started creating a vision board yet, you do not have to wait till January. There's no rule that says you can't start whenever you hear this podcast. But if you're hearing this before January, I welcome you to join my annual Intention and Goal-setting Session which is free for anyone who wants to participate on the internet.
It is a live two-hour interactive webinar where I'm the only one on camera. It allows you to go through some exercises where you can pick your word, think about some of the things you might want, and have people who have listened to it while they were doing their vision boards.
It really is a collective space of magic. Again, I welcome you to participate. If you're hearing this afterward, you can go and watch the recap of the session on YouTube. There is never a late time for intention and goal setting and having a vision board to align with that.
Friends, we have covered a lot for today, but I want to recap this for you. Vision boards are powerful tools for clarifying your intentions and your goals. You should be choosing a theme word or phrase that will anchor your vision board.
In the vision board, you want to include a mix of professional, personal, and of course, fun goals. In order to make it work its magic, you have to revisit your vision board regularly to stay aligned and to stay inspired.
My friends, I hope this episode inspires you to create your own vision board and start designing the life and career that you want. When you do, tag me. I want to see it. Tag me on LinkedIn, tag me on Instagram. I want to see what you create. Send me a DM.
Before we wrap up, don't forget, if you're not subscribed already, tell a friend, subscribe, download, or share this episode with somebody who could use a little inspiration or solidify their intentions and goals in a vision board. Remember, until next time, stand by your brand. You've got this. Bye, y’all.
