You’ve probably already received an invite to a vision board party and even though the idea of sipping cocktails, laughing with friends and gluing our wildest dreams on a cardboard sounds like fun, the hefty price tag of $50 for an event ticket will make you rethink attending (as you should).

If you’ve been living under a rock, a vision board (VB) is a collage of images, pictures, and affirmations of one’s dreams and desires, designed to serve as a source of inspiration and motivation (thanks Wikipedia). Visualization is a very powerful tool that constantly helps you to think about your ideas whether consciously or subconsciously, and eventually keeping you on track to achieve your dreams. I’ve always believed in the power of manifesting and even though I’m still perfecting the skill, there have been many situations that worked out in ways I couldn’t explain other than the fact that I put my complete trust in the Universe and God.

I’m not a fan of VB parties for many reasons, the main one being that these parties never create the environment and headspace I want to be in when I visualize the life I want. I think of this activity as a form of meditation, tuning into my inner most self to see and feel what I truly want, need and desire. And if there’s one thing meditation requires, it’s a focused mind. Noise can be distracting—add alcohol and in my opinion, the entire purpose of manifesting is defeated.

One thing I’ve learned is not to confuse a VB for a set of goals. Goals are more attainable steps that can be achieved short term. A VB is your ultimate achievement. A VB is the perfect life you want—the one that seems wild and impossible to achieve. First, you create a VB and with that in mind, you can create a list of goals to lead you to your wildest dreams.

My second issue with VB parties is the limitation of resources I need to create my board. The supplies are limited to a few magazines, of Cosmopolitan, Vogue and Essence, and what would have been a manifestation of what you want, turns out to be a collection of cut-outs of lipstick, a celebrity’s shoes and images that become unclear representations of what you should be focusing on.

When I look at my VB, I want to see exactly what I want. If it’s Forbes, I want to see Forbes, not some guy in a suit that is a symbolic representation of my success…feel me?

My last vision board was created seven years ago, and my young brain simply wanted to have a boyfriend, graduate Pharmacy school and have all the Sephora makeup in the world. A quick tour on this site and you’ll see that I have all those things. My board this time around was very different. I was extremely intentional about it because unlike my early twenties where I barely had my life planned out, my 30-year-old self is clear about what she wants her future to look like, mind, body and spirit.

My vision board is deeply personal, so I won’t be sharing it on here. I’ll tell you his though, It gives me mixed emotions—It gives me immense joy about the idea of wanting those things for myself, pride in how much I’ve grown and what I prioritize, and frankly, fear because of how wild I vision my life.

So, allow me to share a few tips to consider when creating your vision board.

1. Set the Mood

You want to be at your most peaceful self when you create an intentional plan for your life. Create a calming space, have beautiful music playing (I love to play Jhene Aiko), maybe some candles could add to the experience. All that matters is that you situate yourself in a space where your creative juices are going to flow, and you’ll have uninterrupted focus to visualize the life you truly want.

2. Skip the Magazines, Try This Free Method

Forget the magazines. For this project, you’ll need good ole’ Microsoft PowerPoint and an internet connection…that’s it! You’ll have access to the exact images you want, arrange and rearrange them in a way that suits you, and even be able to have the document saved, in case you want to make changes. Once you’re done, a quick visit to Office Depot will get you your print and a frame is no more than $20 at Walmart, Target or Amazon. For $30, you will have the exact vision board you want, with pictures you want—it doesn’t get any smarter than this.

3. Don’t Limit Yourself

When I was creating my board, I constantly stopped myself, wondering if really I could have the things I was putting on there. I constantly reassured myself with the all too common yet very valid phrases, “If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough,” and “You deserve and will have it all.” Imagine yourself in your wildest life. If it’s a car, which one would you drive if there was no limit to your finances—is it a Bugatti…put it on your vision board. Don’t worry how in the world you could own such a car. What matters is that it’s the one you envision in your wildest life, and that’s all you need to know.

4. Separate the Aspects Of Your Life

One unique thing about my VB this time is that I will be dividing it into three sections; career, life and miscellaneous. I want to look at my VB and know exactly where I’m focusing what dreams. Career dreams have to do with what I want professionally, life dreams are about the life I envision when I I’m home, my family, my children, what car I want to drive, the city and house where I want to live. For this section, I took time to find pictures of families I admire and added them to my board. Miscellaneous is where I put images of things that simply speak to me and give me joy. It’s also where I added spiritual goals and bucket-list items. I also added images of things that I couldn’t explain but they simply resonated with me. I have an image of Netflix on my VB. I don’t know why, but it kept coming to me, so I put it there.

5. Ask Yourself These Questions

Finding the right selection of images can be challenging, so I found some questions that will prompt you to think about what you want.

• Which people do you admire? Whether it’s professionally or socially.
• If you were to come back as anyone, whose life would you want?
• If you could live anywhere, where would you go?
• If you got $100 million dollars right now, what are the first 5 things you would buy?
• If life was going perfectly at your age right now, what would you have?
• In a perfect world, what’s your typical day like…where do you live, a penthouse or a beach house? Do you have a partner, children?
• If you never had to worry about money, what job would you be doing?
• What’s the one thing in life you’re really good at—something that comes so easily to you, like singing or poetry? What’s your passion?
• If you were to win an award for an achievement, what kind of award would it be? A Grammy, a Nobel Peace Prize?
• If you were to be on the cover of a magazine, what magazine would that be…Forbes, Time or Vogue?
• What’s the one thing (or two) that you really want but are too scared to say.
• If your ten-year old self was given a chance to peak into your life and be inspired, what would you want them to see you as?

When I asked myself these questions, my first answers were comfortable…attainable and then I reminded myself to dream wild, and that wild image is the one I put on my VB.

6. Be Very Specific

On my vision board, I found an image of a job I would like however, when I added the image to my board, I placed my face over the lady’s face and my name over hers. Seeing my face and name in that position, creates a more intentional manifestation of what I want. That’s how specific you should be. Again, if you want a Mercedes, find it in the color you want. Put the exact thing that you want on your board, so that every time you see it, the thought of owning it excites you.

7. Strategically Place Your Vision Board

Your VB is not effective if you can’t see it on a daily basis, so place it somewhere you’ll see it frequently. A few good spots are your office, the bedroom door or a bedroom wall. Put it somewhere you’ll see it and take time to reflect on it.

8. And Now for The Hardest Part

You’ve created your ultimate vision board. And as though it wasn’t hard enough to find all those images, you now have to believe them. A vision board is not effective if you don’t teach yourself how to manifest. The concept of manifesting is easier said than done. At the core, it’s in believing without doubt that you have already received the things you want in life, to live like you have all you want, to practice gratitude even on your hardest of days and most importantly, to have a positive outlook on life.

Manifesting and negativity do not mix well. This article on manifesting will give you more insight on the habit. Manifesting and positive thinking take work and practice. Even on my hardest of days, when I feel lost and hopeless, I like to remind myself of the little privileges I have, like having a home, family and friends—these little pockets of joy remind me that all is well, and that in itself is good enough to plant seeds of positivity, a frequency that attracts the things you want into your life.

Good luck with your vision boards, sending you love and light this new year!