Have you ever closed your eyes and visualized something you wanted clearly? You take time to see yourself "there" enjoying your success, your vacation, your partner or your thriving business. You start to feel a number of emotions.



You may feel proud of your accomplishment. You may feel a sense of peace from achieving financial freedom. You may feel love and belonging. All of these positive emotions stem from visualizing and really experiencing your accomplishment in your mind. And the mind starts to accept what you are picturing. That's the power of visualization and it will move you to your goals.

But how many of us really take the time to do these visualizations daily? The dog needs to be walked, the kids are late for school, we've got to finish the project that's due at work today. Life is busy and we could use some help in focusing on our goals.

That's where Treasure Mapping can help. A Treasure Map is a constant reminder and reinforcement of where we want to go, what we want to accomplish and who we want to become. So how do you create a Treasure Map? There is not just one right way to create a Treasure Map, but here are some ideas.

1. Use one large poster board or you can take a poster board and divide it into several sections to represent different areas of your goals, i.e., spiritual, financial, relationships, personal growth, etc.

2. At the center of the board, place something that represents your center or the core of your being. It could be something that represents God, love, peace, or joy. This keeps your Treasure Map centered in something higher than material things.

3. Then add phrases of the type of person you want to be or the qualities you want to have. Happy, peaceful, kind, helpful, giving and wise are some examples. If you find pictures that represent these qualities to you, add those, but words or phrases work well too. These phrases can be added right around the center picture on your board. Or they can be scattered around your board - whatever feels best to you.

4. Start dreaming big! We tend to limit ourselves or feel we are not worthy of good things. In creating your Treasure Map include what your heart wants, not what you think you can have.

5. Once you have the center of your board and the phrases of who want to become, then move on to material items you want in your life. Sort through magazines to find colorful pictures of the vehicle, the home, the piece of jewelry or furniture that you want. Find pictures of the vacation spot you want to visit. Add these pictures to your board surrounding your center picture.

6. Fill your board. Don't leave any blank space. You want to create a full and exciting life and your Treasure Map should represent that.

7. At the bottom of your Treasure Map always include the phrase "Thank you for this or something better." Always be grateful for what you have and what you will be receiving. This phrase also acknowledges that there may be even bigger and better things waiting for us.

8. Place your Treasure Map in a place that you see it several times a day. And at least once a day take some time to use your Treasure Map to connect with your centering picture or word. Then expand that out to the qualities and material items that you have on your Map. Take time to feel the joy, the excitement and the pride of accomplishing and having everything on your Treasure Map.

Positive emotions are powerful and they can pull you forward to your goals. Use your Treasure Map as a daily reminder of your goals and what you will achieve. Make this year your best ever!