my job and start my own business
•Quit my job and pursue a new career
•Earn a living doing something I love
•Turn my hobby into a business
•Finish the projects I start and get them out into the world
•Have a life outside of work
•Run a marathon
•Go back to school
•Earn my doctorate
•Have my skills and talents be recognized
•Share my story so others can learn from my experience
•Live without financial stress
•Own a home
•Take vacations twice a year
•Become healthy
•Stay healthy
•Find happiness
Remember, your goals will evolve as the things in your life change. However, for the purpose of this process, the GoalTopia you choose should reflect what matters to you most right now.
Visual Representation
Now that you know where you want to go, let’s have a little fun. Figure out what your GoalTopia looks like. Create something visual: a drawing, a collage, or a mock-up on the computer. You will use this as a visual cue to remind you of what you are working toward.
Are you artistic? Draw a picture.
Want to go old-school? Make a collage. Cut out pics from a magazine or newspaper and mock them up.
Are you, like me, not artistically inclined? Go the electronic route. Find photos online and use an image-creation program. Online graphics tools, like Canva, enable you to easily upload and combine photos.
Visual Representation Hack: Alternative Visual Cues
Not one for arts and crafts? Pick an item that represents what you are trying to achieve and keep it on your desk or somewhere else in your line of sight.
•Is financial stability the goal? Write yourself a check for a million dollars
•Looking to advance in your career? Print out an “Employee of the Year” card to keep in your wallet
•For work-life balance, a postcard of the beach should do the trick
•If you want to visualize a physical move, get a pen, shirt, or coffee mug from that ideal location
Whatever the object, it doesn’t need to make sense to passersby. That’s kind of the point. It needs to only be meaningful to you.
As far as what you can create, the options are endless. Here are some examples:
Do you want your name to be associated with those who are highly respected in your industry? Find a newspaper or magazine (online or in print) that has a “Top Ten” list of people in your field. Add your name and photo to it.
Is your GoalTopia to create a must-have product? Make a mock-up of a photo of your product being sold in stores. Bonus points if you add a celebrity endorsement.
Want to launch a successful business? Create an image of what your website would look like. Add an award or stamp of approval for good measure.
Do you aim to speak in front of large groups? Place a photo of yourself on a stage giving a keynote speech to a packed audience.
Want to be on top of the New York Times Bestseller list? Take the current list and write your name and book title right at the top.
Is your GoalTopia to be financially stable and happy? Decide what that looks like. Are you relaxing on vacation? Having fun with your family and friends? Opening the door to your new home?
Your visualization is just that—yours. It can be anything you want it to be.
Road Trip Exercise 1B: Visual Representation
Create your visual representation. Once you finish it:
On Paper
Place the original in your notebook on the page after your GoalTopia exercise.
Or
Take a photo, upload it, and insert it into your dedicated computer document.
On Computer
Save the image.
Insert it into your dedicated computer document.
Or
Print out two copies. One for your notebook. The other for your Trip Map.
Trip Map
Take your original visual representation or printed copy—along with your statement of Ultimate GoalTopia—and frame it, laminate it, or otherwise protect it, and add it to your Trip Map.
Your Trip Map is where you will compile—and look at—the visual cues you create relating to your goal trip. As your Trip Map grows, take pictures of it to store on your phone and keep on hand.
You are probably thinking you need to get a large whiteboard or corkboard, or an actual map, and put it up over a big chunk of your office. While those are viable options, your Trip Map does not need to be huge. It doesn’t even have to be a map, though it can be. And it only needs to be visible to you.
I keep my Trip Map on the back of a two-foot by three-foot canvas frame in my office. It is located right behind my computer and visible to me at all times, but I can easily turn it around if someone is coming by and I want to keep it private. If you have limited space or your office is mobile, get a letter-sized portfolio folder which has a solid cover and clear pocket pages.
This map will serve as a hub of visual reminders of what you are working toward. It’s an extremely powerful part of your road trip planning.
Write Your Current Biography
You are a combination of your personal and professional histories.
Embrace what makes you unique and use it to propel yourself forward.
Before heading off on any trip, you need to take an inventory of where you are: your location, current work situation, and lifestyle. You also want to look at your resources. For a road trip, that means looking at your car (will it get you where you want to go?), your budget (where can you afford to stay during your travels?), and how much time you can take. For a goal trip, you need to look at your skills and specialties in order to see what translates into something you can pack to take with you.
Let’s say you want to
