Thrive Lounge

July 25, 2018

Vision Boards

What Kind of Food Should You Have At Your Vision Board Party? List of Do's and Don'ts

Thrive Lounge

July 25, 2018

Vision Boards

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

My favorite thing about vision board parties is that you don't really need much to have a successful event. Once you get a bunch of people in a room and ask them to talk about their goals, the party pretty much hosts itself.

If you want people to be super comfy and ready to enjoy the endless inspiration around them, make sure they aren't hungry. (That pretty much works for any situation, right?)

For a vision board party, people are mainly there for the artsy craftsy creator time where they're fingering through magazines and building the boards so you should keep that in mind when selecting your food options.

Here's a short list of things you should consider while choosing the food for your vision board party.

Decide On Your Event Layout First

As the host, the layout of the event is totally up to you. You can invite speakers to talk about their life experience and inspire the group, you could also have different activities that people can do or conduct a workshop on how to build a vision board.

Think about where the food will come into the agenda because this will contribute to the overall flow of the event.

Eating Before The Creation

If you structure the event so that the good comes first, your attendees will have time to talk before creating the boards. This creates a networking or community oriented vibe to your event. People will start chatting and getting to know each other far before they start working on their vision boards.

Eating During Creation

At some events, people are encouraged to chat, eat, drink and be merry. If you plan on having people work on their vision boards while they eat, then you'll just want to make sure the foods aren't too messy.

Do's

AT least One Salad

I really don't do salads, but some people really like them. Make sure you're serving all of the people that are in attendance by having at least one salad option.

Have a Dessert

OK - this is totally my thing because I LOVE a good cake or pie, but I think it's totally necessary. Working on your goals for the new year is a big deal. Give people something for their sweet tooth at the end of all that networking, collaborating and creating. :)

Cover the prevalent food allergies

You don't have to hit every random food allergy in the world, but definitely make sure you hit the more frequent preferences: gluten, dairy, vegetarian and vegan. It could also be helpful to ask people what types of allergies they have when they RSVP that way you have a good idea of how much you need to supply at the event.

cater to the time of day

The time of day you're hosting your event should provide direction for what types of food to provide.

For a morning/early afternoon event, you should provide more breakfast-friendly foods like pastries, fruits, yogurts and granola. For a lunchtime event, you can easily provide finger sandwiches, cookies and chips. If you're hosting an evening vision board party, stick with foods that give a dinner party feel like wine and cheese or charcuterie plate and other light snacks with a more savory feel to them.

Don'ts

greasy/messy foods

At our first vision board potluck, one of the attendees brought barbecue chicken. As delicious as it was, we had a difficult time eating and building magazines at the same time. We were constantly cleaning our hands and then cleaning the napkins off the tables. It's a huge distraction from the reason you came to the party - creating your vision.

smelly foods

I'm a giant fan of all things fish, crabs, shrimp and mussels but the smell can really take up an entire space. Be conscious of the food you're serving at your event. Make sure that people don't leave with their clothes smelling like white wine and garlic shrimp.

Heavy Foods

We've all had that after Thanksgiving feeling where we finish eating grandma's sweet potato pie and mac-and-cheese and turkey with a side of ribs, stuffing and gravy. All you want to do is head to the bed and rest for the rest of the week.

While food is a necessity at an event, don't feed people so much that they start to feel drowsy. You won't get nearly as much conversation between guests who are full and tired.

Want To Start Planning Your Vision Board Party?

Download the FREE vision board party planning checklist.
Craft your inspiring vision board workshop talk with our FREE High Impact Storytelling Journal Prompts.
Plan, promote & host your first (or next) professional & profitable vision board workshop with our signature course, Sold Out Vision Board Parties.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cyrene is a fun and accomplished workshop facilitator, learning and development guru and Human Resources professional. Being at the helm of Thrive Lounge has been a long-time dream. Through vision board workshops she plans to accomplish two-way learning. Sharing her vast years of knowledge to motivate and encourage others; while simultaneously getting the reward of great energy, ideas and questions to ponder back from each group. A super win-win. Please join our Thrive Lounge community so you too can benefit!

Thrive Lounge

July 18, 2018

Goal Setting

4 Simple Ways To Stay On Track During An Unproductive Summer

Thrive Lounge

July 18, 2018

Goal Setting

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

The more I focus on my goals, talk about goals, write book about goals I realize that a lot of us are going through the exact same emotional roller coaster with our ambitions.

In January, we feel rejuvenated after spending time with family over the holidays and are overly inspired by the idea of a new year and an opportunity to create a brand new you.

In Feb - May, we pursue our goals. Somedays with passion and others with reluctance. But... we try.

Come June-July we realize the sun is out and in full effect and we can finally emerge from our winter slumber... mostly to look really good in a bathing suit on a beach somewhere. Or go to brunch. Or finally start dating again. (Just me?)

Even though I literally wrote the book on goal setting I'll be the first to admit that ever summer I struggle to stick to my routines with the constant allure of brunch + happy hour + looking-really-good-in-a-sundress.

Instead of writing, I'm scheduling drinks with friends.

Instead of creating a companion course for my book, I literally went on an impromptu 10-day couch surfing trek through my hometown spending time with every friend I haven't seen in a while - provided they had an empty couch.

Instead of planning out my next speaking gigs, I've been going out on dates like I'm a contestant on the bachelorette.

Yes, #TheStruggleIsReal.

How Can We Continue To Crush Our Goals Through The Summer?

The answer to this question is obvious, but not intuitive.

Choose the one goal that you want to accomplish... then slack off EVERYWHERE ELSE.

Seriously, you're not required to be an all-around life badass all the time. It's the summer, the sun is shining bright - and there are far too many rooftop bars in New York to sit in the house worried about every possible goal.

How I'm Applying This Philosophy

It's obvious I've lost track of my routines and have been trending away from Superwomen towards super-slacker, but my primary goal for 2018 was to get out of student loan debt.

After paying off 10K in 2017, I started off 2018 with $32K remaining in student loan debt and one goal - to pay it all off. In the first seven months of the year, I paid of $10,647 in student loans!

Through the summer, I've continued to make the same large payments on my student loan debt to continue working towards my big goals.

So even though I haven't been productive, I haven't started my next book or course, I've been eating like crap and not exercising, I've been drinking entirely too much wine (Yes, that's possible)....

I have continued to pay off my debt.

That's all that matters.

Related: How This 28-year-old Increased Her Net Worth By $20,984 in 13 months

How Can You Win The Summer?

If you're looking at your summer and wondering what happened to your ambition, you're not alone. Here's a couple of ideas for what you can do to get your goal-getting life back on track:

Lean Back

Make a firm decision that this is not a goal-getting year for you.

Sometimes we just need a break from life all together. If you firmly decide to take some time for inner reflection, you can stop feeling guilty for not pursuing a goal and enjoy your moment of intentional slowing down.

Course Correct

There is always time to get back on track.

If you have a clear goal for where you want to go, figure out where you are in progress towards it. Next, make a list of all the steps you need to take to get you there. Finally, take out a calendar and plan out when you're going to do each of these steps.

Once you do that, get started!

Start From Scratch

It's mid way through the year and you really haven't done anything towards your goals.

That's perfectly fine! The best time to get started is always today. If you don't have a goal yet, but you're really feeling like a couch potato start with figuring out what change you want to make in your life and why you want to make that change.

Related: How To Set The ONE Goal That Will Change Your Entire Life

Once you have your goal, you can start taking steps to reach it.

Stick To The Plan

This is for the folks that are well on their way, but might be getting a little bored with their goal. (Trust my I'm super tired of my budget! Sometimes I want to go out and order a glass of wine without thinking about my student loans, but these days that just doesn't happen!)

Focus on the reason you're pursuing this goal. Remind yourself what your life will look like at the end of the journey. That vision will keep you going. If you created a vision board, take a look at your dream goals - and if you didn't create one maybe you should. :)

The beautiful weather, endless events and opportunities to see friends and family do make it very difficult to put all of your goals first. Don't feel guilty about taking this time to yourself. Instead, find a way to enjoy this moment by intentionally choosing what you're going to focus on ... and what you will ignore.

Want To Start Planning Your Vision Board Party?

Download the FREE vision board party planning checklist.
Craft your inspiring vision board workshop talk with our FREE High Impact Storytelling Journal Prompts.
Plan, promote & host your first (or next) professional & profitable vision board workshop with our signature course, Sold Out Vision Board Parties.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ready To Make Your Dream Goal A Reality?

Map out your dream goals and create your action plan with this FREE one-page dream goal planning worksheet.

Thrive Lounge

July 11, 2018

Vision Boards

How To Snag A Top Speaker For Your Vision Board Party

Thrive Lounge

July 11, 2018

Vision Boards

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

You can honestly host a vision board party anyway you like. You could invite your friends over for some wine and have a small party or you could host a large-scale event with speakers and sponsors - the whole nine.

If you're looking to host speakers at your vision board party, it's going to take a lot more effort than calling up your besties but the reward can be huge.

Why Have A Speaker At Your Vision Board Party?

Your attendees want to spend time thinking about their goals for the new year and feel inspired to take the next steps in their journey. As the host, it's your job to help them get there.

A speaker can add a element of inspiration through experience and mentorship. They can talk about the challenges they've been through and how they got through them. Encourage people to continue pursuing their goals. Speakers can also answer burning questions that the audience may have.

Consider your target audience

There are a million speakers out there that can speak on a billion different topics, but you want your speaker's message to resonate with your audience. You have to know who your target audience is to be able to get a speaker that will will be able to connect with them.

First, know what their goals are.

If you have an audience of small business owners, an influencer talking about breastfeeding and healthy eating for new mothers may not resonate perfectly with their goals. However if you have an audience full of pregnant women, they will be highly receptive to that message.

Focus to the audience you are catering to to find a speaker that has a message for that person.

Who would your target audience be interested in seeing?

There are often some speakers that get people super excited, and then there are other speakers who people aren't as excited to see. Try to balance that line of popularity with a very strong message. If you have a larger audience you can simply ask them who are they interested in seeing tell you.

Who can help them Reach their goals?

Sometimes the person your audience wants to see is super popular but their message couldn't really help them reach their goals.

For example, you could invite Cardi B to your vision board party and a lot of people would show up to see her but they may not get the message that you hoped for at the end of the day.

Your speaker cannot be selected based on popularity alone, they have to have a message that your audience can take away to reach their goals.

Panel versus single speaker

Speakers can appear alongside four to five others and answer questions from the host. On the other hand, you can have a single speaker doing a workshop or keynote talk. Both options are really great options based on how you set up your event and how you want your event to flow.

If you have a host to ask questions or you want to ask questions yourself, then a panel might be a great route to take. Panels are great because you get several different viewpoints on one question and opportunity for people to be able to see themselves in different panelists.

A single speaker can be equally as effective if the audience and the speaker are both very targeted so you know that speaker's message is going to totally land with the theme of the event and with the audience is hoping to see.

Getting in contact

Getting in contact with influencers and popular speakers is easier than you might think. Once you decide on the speaker, simply go to their website and go to the contact page. Most speakers will have their email or contact forms available on their site.

Your first email

When you send your potential speaker an email, give them information that helps them understand who you are and who you're catering to.

Here are a few examples:

where the event is and what kind of event it is.
who the target demographic is so they can assess whether it's a good fit for their brand.
show that you know a bit about them and have specifically chosen them based on their credentials (show that you’re not picking a name out of a hat).
the next step in the process and gives them a link to learn more about the event.

following up

When you hear back from the potential speaker about your event, make sure that you follow up with them in a timely manner. Offer a few times to hop on the phone with them so that you can hash out the details and they can ask you any questions they might have.

Paid versus Unpaid

When you start to contact speakers, you will find that many speakers have a speakers fee available on their website or will quote a speakers fee when you contact them.

If you do not have a budget for your speaker, that's okay. Some people are happy to speak at your event without a fee however you may want to give him a few things to make your event worth their time and effort.

Here are a few examples of things you can offer instead of a speaker's fee:

Emails to your list
Advertising on social media channels
A table to sell products at your event
Complimentary tickets to event for friends and family
Access to the full event video

Once you secure a call with the speaker, this is where you talk about all of the offerings you have.

Make working with you easy

From the moment someone agrees to be a speaker at your event, make it super easy for them to do what they do best: speak.

Be Available

Whenever they send you an e-mail always respond within 24 to 48 hours. That will give them the confidence that you are professional and put them at ease with working with you.

Provide a social media promotion kit

We would all like for speakers to be excited about creating fun posts on social media for our event, however speakers are very busy so that doesn't always happen.

If you want a higher chance at getting a speaker to promote your event, make it incredibly easy for them by providing a social media promotional kit.

Your promotional kit will have cut-and-paste social media templates that they can easily post to their channels and provides all of the images that you've already created to promote the event.

Day of show list with to do's and contacts

A lot of moving pieces can be distracting on the day of the event. As the host, you don't want to be running around trying to take care of everything last minute. (At that point, your main concern should be looking fabulous and having a good time.)

To ensure everyone knows exactly what to do (and minimize how many people are asking you questions) provide them a "day of show" itinerary. This is basically a list of what to do and expect when you get to the venue.

Creating this list is a little bit more work up front, but will come in handy when you are able to welcome your guests without having speakers and advertisers asking a million questions.

Having a great speaker for your vision board party can enhance the day of the event. You'll have a professional there for people to ask questions and get more clarity in their goals for the year.

Want To Start Planning Your Vision Board Party?

Download the FREE vision board party planning checklist.
Craft your inspiring vision board workshop talk with our FREE High Impact Storytelling Journal Prompts.
Plan, promote & host your first (or next) professional & profitable vision board workshop with our signature course, Sold Out Vision Board Parties.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Thrive Lounge

July 6, 2018

Vision Boards

What Is A Vision Board Party? (And Why You Must Attend One)

Thrive Lounge

July 6, 2018

Vision Boards

At the end of every year, people jump into a frenzy deciding what they want to accomplish in the next new set of 365 days. This is a great time to reflect on what you've already done so far, and look forward to what you will accomplish and become next.

Since you're thinking about your goals and New Year's resolutions anyway, you may want to consider attending a Vision Board Party or hosting one of your own to help you flesh out your ideas in a more creative (and social) way.

What is a vision board party?

A vision board party is a goal-setting event where you create a visualization of your goals.

Usually people will bring their own poster boards and magazines and then they'll spend an hour or two flipping through the magazines to find images and quotes that embody the future that you desire for yourself.

Then you'll create a board with images all of your goals and dreams that will inspire you throughout the year.

What different types of vision board parties are there?

Your Besties and Family

A vision board party doesn't have to be very large, you can have one with just your close friends and family. No need to get fancy, just get a small group together to talk and create.

Potluck

You don't have to supply everything that people need. You can make it a potluck and have everyone bring their own dish or a bottle of wine. Encourage people to bring their own poster boards and some magazines.

I really enjoy hosting Vision Board potlucks because you don't have to supply everything which lowers your cost significantly.

Related Content: What Kind of Food Should You Have at Your Vision Board Party?

A Community Event

Your Vision Board party also doesn't have to be limited to just close friends and family, it really depends on your preference. You can host a party for members of your community. Groups who will typically have a Vision Board party are:

Women’s empowerment groups
Women's ministries
Goal setting accountability groups
Entrepreneurship and leadership community groups
Nonprofits serving the community
Culture Clubs

The use for a Vision Board is unlimited so feel free to introduce this idea within your favorite local meetup.

An Activity within an event

You could also create a larger event and have Vision Boards as one of the activities. These types of events may be something like leadership seminars, bible study groups, entrepreneurship groups, or inspirational retreats.

What's the real benefit of hosting a vision board party?

I know it all sounds fine and dandy (and possibly fun), but what's in it for you besides a potential meal and wine?

Time to focus on your goals

Throughout the year many things come up at times that get in the way of focusing on your goals:

Demanding careers
Family and friends
Relationship/Marriage
Personal emotions (because depression, loneliness or plain ol' exhaustion can get the best of any of us)

A Vision Board party can help you set aside time to focus on your goals without distraction.

sharing your ideas with other people

This is my favorite result you'll gain from any Vision Board Party.

When you're focused on your goals at an event with other like-minded people, you will notice that you start to have conversations on how to develop your goals faster. You'll get unique opportunities for networking with others in your industry. You could meet a new mentor that could guide you towards your goals faster. You may learn different ways to tackle your goal that you didn't know about before.

mentally prepare yourself for a productive year

Because Vision Board parties are typically hosted at the end of the year in December or at the beginning of a New Year in January, it is a great way to prepare yourself for what you're going to do in the upcoming year.

You will leave with unlimited inspiration and feeling energized to focus on your goals and to continue to build upon them as the year progresses. You’ll make some new friends and build a new community of cheerleaders to celebrate your wins with you as you grow.

Cheers to dreams coming true!

Want To Start Planning Your Vision Board Party?

Download the FREE vision board party planning checklist.
Craft your inspiring vision board workshop talk with our FREE High Impact Storytelling Journal Prompts.
Plan, promote & host your first (or next) professional & profitable vision board workshop with our signature course, Sold Out Vision Board Parties.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.