In 2012, I was in New York when Hurricane Sandy landed in the state. Hurricane Sandy was one the deadliest, strongest, and most damaging hurricanes in the region that year. When all was said and done, more than 50 people died in New York alone because of the hurricane.

I was visiting the city for a conference and had flown there from my home, which was about 1,100 miles away. Once we learned how serious Hurricane Sandy would be, the conference ended early. I panicked, because I was staying in a hotel and had heard that flights would be canceled for several days and that MTA was shutting down train service.

Thankfully, I successfully evacuated to a relative’s house in northern New Jersey on the last train out of the area. Ultimately, I had an extended visit with family and multiple flight cancellations, but nothing worse.

Two things were on my mind that entire time. Of course, the hurricane was top of mind. Secondly, however, was my first-ever Vision, which I had written as part of a conference exercise.

On the first day of the conference, several speakers had talked about planning for the life you want to have. At some point, attendees received a homework assignment to write a “painted picture” of the lives we wanted five years into the future. I believe this exercise came from the book Double Double by Cameron Herald.

I thought the homework was a little silly, but I had pledged to keep an open mind. So, less than 48 hours before Hurricane Sandy hit, I sat in my hotel room and wrote my painted picture.

This exercise got me excited. I allowed myself to dream, unhindered by money, preparation, or anything else. It was literally my opportunity to say, in a perfect world, what would I be doing with myself? I got to create a vision for myself, and it felt amazing.

On that train ride to New Jersey, my written Vision was the only thing that kept me calm. I read it over and over again until I got to my relative’s house.

And, I continued to read it regularly over the next five years. Before I accepted any new opportunity, I’d consult with my written Vision to make sure things aligned. When things got rough, I read my Vision to remind myself that better was coming. And, I used my Vision to decide which projects to pursue and decline.

Interestingly enough, all but one of the things I wrote about happened within the next five years.

Writing that Vision was one of the most important things I’ve ever done in my life. And, I’ve done the exercise every few years since 2012. It has transformed the way I show up in the world and served me well.

Because of this, I want to share the Vision exercise with you. I’ve since tweaked it to focus not just on my life, but specifically on my personal brand and business.

In this week’s episode of the Shontavia Show, I break down my Vision exercise and provide some tools and strategies on how you can create your own. If you’d like to see the current Vision I’ve written for my own business, you can check it out by clicking here.

---

Question & Action: Create a Vision

After you’ve had a chance to watch the video and starting writing your own vision, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section! Please answer these questions for me:

• What was the hardest part about writing your own Vision?
• As you create a Vision, are you allowing yourself to dream? Did you feel doubt creeping in?

Please give as much information as you can in response to these questions. I’d be happy to share more tools and resources that help you get what you want. And, I know the other folks reading this can learn from your experiences! We are all in this together.

If you’d like even more strategies to create a vision for your brand and business, please take my Vision Challenge! It is a one-month support session where I walk you step-by-step through the process.

Finally, I always say that I’m on a mission to help people build the brands, businesses and lives that they love. We can learn from each other on this journey, particularly when we have accountability partners. This is why I am building a whole nation of side-hustlers, creatives and business owners who keep each other-and me–accountable.

You can join my support network online and via app. Check us out at programs.shontavia.com or via the Mighty Networks App.

First, download the Mighty Network app by clicking here. Second, once it downloads, click “Find a Mighty Network” and search for Shontavia Johnson. You’ll find content there that I may not share elsewhere.

Thank you so much for joining me on this roller coaster of an experience.

I am eternally grateful that I get to do this work with wonderful people like you each day.

Let’s make it happen,

---

Show Notes

// Show Notes
Take the 28-day #VisionChallenge: https://shontavia.com/vision/

Find a copy of Shontavia’s vision: https://shontavia.com/create-a-vision-for-your-brand-and-business/

Michael E. Gerber: The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It: https://amzn.to/2N6bWj9

Oprah Surprises Tererai Trent: https://youtu.be/nqwaBHF45QI

Marie Forleo, Why You’ll Never Find Your Passion: https://www.marieforleo.com/2014/04/find-your-passion/

This Is the Way You Need to Write Down Your Goals for Faster Success: https://www.inc.com/peter-economy/this-is-way-you-need-to-write-down-your-goals-for-faster-success.html