Listen, if you’re as wealthy as Elon Musk and your goal is to buy Twitter, bust a move with your bad self. It seems this purchase has been on his radar for a while. My guess is that Musk became slightly preoccupied with the idea of purchasing Twitter. Maybe, just maybe, Elon Musk had a Twitter vision board. (Stick with me here, people).
Until recently, I involuntarily rolled my eyes at anything that related to vision boards. Cutting out photos from newspapers is cool, I thought if you’re five. I really didn’t see the point of spending the time to create a compilation of inspirational images.
I assumed that grownups would be better served by actually doing something that would take them closer to their goals, not simply looking at pictures of them. Back then, I also couldn’t pick an excavator out of a construction site lineup.
Excavator education
When my son reached the age of three, he became obsessed with all things construction. This obsession was perpetuated by the fact that his school was next to a large active construction site. Every time we passed it, he would squeal and point to the big trucks and machines. Little by little, we began to collect books about cement mixers, bulldozers, something called a skid steer, and yes, excavators.
We learned together about what each machine did and I began to identify them as I drove — scraper, roller, backhoe loader. And, the more I identified each of these machines, the more of them I saw.
Suddenly, there was construction everywhere. Basket trucks lined the streets of Los Angeles, car transporters barreled down the interstates, and garbage trucks were around every corner.
Obviously, there weren’t suddenly more big vehicles on the road. The fact is, I just saw more of them. Before I learned about excavators and backhoe loaders, I didn’t notice them unless they were in my way or they were directly involved in some kind of activity in which I was participating. After I was aware of them, they were everywhere.
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How excavators relate to vision boards
I recently chatted with a friend who sheepishly admitted to creating a vision board. I nodded and smiled while thinking, Here we go with the useless self-help activities.
He shared that he understood most people viewed vision boards as silly, but he reasoned that if he looked at what he wanted to achieve every day, he could potentially recognize otherwise hidden opportunities that might get him a little closer to his goal.
Something clicked. Excavators. When I filled my brain with excavator information, I began to see them everywhere. If I filled my brain with images of my goals, I just might start to identify ways to achieve them just a little more quickly. And don’t think for a minute that Elon Musk’s ~ 17,500 tweets didn’t fill his brain with aspirations of one day owning the platform.
Our brains process an overwhelming amount of information. We see, taste, feel, hear, and smell tens of thousands of things every day. A fraction of this information, though, makes it through to the things we actively notice. For instance, we can pick a friend or loved one out of a mass of people, but if asked, we most likely wouldn’t be able to describe the rest of the folks in the crowd.
Our brains pick and choose what is important to notice. This is key in so many situations. If you choose to focus on negative things, your brain will most likely flag more negative things. Similarly, when you are looking for, say, a new car, you will probably begin seeing the car you plan to buy in more places. This, I realized, was the exact reason my friend made his vision board.
Vision boards give your brain something to focus on in the endless deluge of information. In spite of myself, my mind began sniffing out construction equipment. Surely, if I can inadvertently funnel my brain’s attention to something I don’t care that much about (excavators), I can also narrow my focus to pick up the things that will help me get to my personal goals.
What we focus on becomes…what we focus on. And if clipping pictures from newspapers and magazines help you keep your eye on the prize, bust a move, readers. My very smart friend and every other vision board assembler are on to something that, when paired with action, could be very impactful. It could even help you buy a social media platform someday.
As I drove home today, I peered out the window. Oh, look! Another excavator. I smiled. Maybe I’ll make a vision board after all.
Go beyond the printed magazine! Mine has contained everything from screen prints and photos to fortune cookie papers.
I may try this! Great post from EM to excavators and vision boards.