Jim Rohn once said that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with, and I think it’s a really valid concept because the people we surround ourselves with and spend the most time with affect our moods, our perspectives and our attitudes. Attitudes are contagious, and they will start to rub off on you. If you want your attitude to be one of optimism and positivity, one of the tricks you can use to keep yourself surrounded with inspiring, positive, people all the time is to confer frequently with an Awesomeness Advisory Board.
What’s an Awesomeness Advisory Board?
An Awesomeness Advisory Board is your personal network of dream-building experts whom you can call on at any time of day or night to give you pep talks when you need them, make you laugh when you’re frustrated, and give you those much-needed kicks-in-the-pants when you start letting your fears call the shots on your dreams.
Basically, your advisory board members are your personal mindset maintenance squad, and they’re dedicated to keeping you aligned with actually achieving all those things that you want in life. And the best thing about your Awesomeness Advisory Board is that they are virtual – they’re imaginary – which means you have 24/7 access to them 365 days a year!
How to build your Advisory Board
Once you’ve put some thought to your advisory board, they will always be there inside your mind where you can confer with them whenever and wherever you want to. But I like to take it a step further and turn my board into something a little more concrete by creating a kind of hard-copy vision board with them. Here’s an easy four-step process to help you create your own board:
Step 1: Decide what expertise/qualities you most want to learn.
Think about any areas that you know you need to work on in order to build your dream, and make sure your board members can help you with it. So, what kind of personal characteristics are you going to need in order to do what you most want to in life? A sense of humor? Unshakeable self-confidence and a kick-ass attitude? Brilliant intellect? Wit, charm and fun? Uncompromising dedication and perseverance? What kind of traits do you wish you had? Make a list.
Step 2: Find people who already have that expertise.
If Jim Rohn is right, which 5 people would you choose to be an average of? Think about the people you know, or know about, who already display the traits you identified in step 1. These can be people you know personally, celebrities you may never meet, historical figures long since passed, or completely fictional characters that never even existed. The key factor is that they are people you admire, and who already possess the traits that you most wish you had or that you think you’ll need.
Step 3: Pick some inspiring phrases to motivate yourself.
Now think of some short catchphrases – inspirational quotes, mantras, or power words that really get to the core of who and what you want to become. Also pick one or two words for each board member that describe what each of them is specifically there to help you with.
Step 4: Bring it all to life!
This is the really fun part: print out your catchphrases and key words, and then go hit Google and find images of the people you identified in step 2 that you can print out and use to build yourself a poster showcasing your Awesomeness Advisors.
An example of an Awesomeness Advisory Board
Self-confidence is one of the key areas that I’ve struggled with a lot in my own journey, so on my advisory board I have five people who help me with that:
- Oprah Winfrey. Because she’s a brilliant business woman who is still very much soul-centred. She reminds me to return to my centre when I’m feeling scattered and that staying true to who I am is the best way to build my dreams.
- River Song (from the Doctor Who series). Because she’s brilliant, sassy, super-confident, and incredibly capable. When River wants something, she goes out and makes it happen, but she also knows when to hold back and let things unfold. When I start getting frustrated about things not happening as fast as I want to, and want to know “when” things are going to manifest, I imaging River winking and saying “Spoilers!” which makes me laugh and reminds me to be patient because things will unfold in their own best time and fashion.
- Susan Boyle. Because she didn’t launch her big career until she was almost 50. She reminds me that being brave and trying something new, even when you’re terrified, can lead to everything you’ve ever wanted. And she reminds me that it’s never too late to make a dream come true.
- Betty White. Because I admire her unfailingly positive attitude, and the fact that she’s still doing what she loves. Betty reminds me to keep going and stay focused on creating the kind of life I don’t need to escape from and the kind of job that I never want to retire from. (How many people can you think of who are still working full time and loving it at 93?)
- Sherlock Holmes. Because he’s brilliant, he can always figure things out, and he’s dead confident in his own abilities. Sherlock reminds me that while criticism is going to happen, I should not take things personally. He reminds me to shift my perspective on the critics in my life and to think before reacting to anything.
The point of your Awesomeness Advisory Board is that, even though they are imaginary, they are a great tool to help you foster the kind of positive mindset that helps you to turn your dreams into reality. Whenever you start to feel down about your dreams or start to feel like they’re just not going to happen, then consult with your board members; what advice do you imagine them giving you?
Personal request: Please leave a comment below and let me know who’s on your board and why – better yet, tweet me a picture of your completed board with hashtag #AwesomeBoard! I know there are a lot of people out there who totally rock with the smash books and scrapbooking stuff (I fully admit that I am not one of those people… see picture of my board above!), and I would LOVE to feature some of your fab Awesomeness Advisory Board masterpieces on my Facebook page, so please do send them in to me!
photo credit:(c) Can Stock Photo
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I’m sorry I’m late in reading and commenting on this post. Wish I’d read it sooner! I have read something a bit similar to this before, but your ideas sound like a lot of fun and encourage me to try it. I’ve come up with Richard Branson and Betty White so far. Gonna have to give some thought to the others. What I particularly like about this idea, and what I think will make it successful for the people who try it, is thinking of a particular person whom you’d like on your advisory board, imagining them in character, imagining then what they might be more apt to say about your situation or any advice they’d give. I think people would be happily surprised at what they come up with, and how much it will give them a boost in ideas, in perspective, and also in positive action steps toward their goals. Cheers, Nathalie!
Brilliant! I find Richard Branson so inspiring — one of my first experiences with really intense inspired action happened after I read his autobiography, Losing My Virginity.
And, absolutely, you want to ask your board members for their advice about your situation! You want to have conversations with them and discuss things with them — that’s what they are there for, and really, it’s the whole point of the exercise. In effect, the choices you make about who is on your advisory team are a reflection of what’s already within you. These people and characters represent aspects of your own personality and abilities, and they’re a way for you to tap into all of that and bring it out into the open so that you can actually use all those talents and make them stronger.
Also to note, your board members can change as you do — as you develop new strengths, you may not need that aspect on your board any more. Feel free to replace your board members (or add — it doesn’t have to be just five people, for instance). Create a panel that feels right to you and gets you excited about your dreams and goals. 🙂