2. Make a list. If your goal feels too far away and out of reach, make a list of the steps you need to take to get to it.

• Write down everything you want to do — be messy, scribble on a sheet in margins, use different colored markers, write down the craziest of ideas without editing yourself one bit.
• Now step back. Take a breath. Maybe take a day or two before looking at it again.
• When you come back to it, see your goals and big hairy dreams with fresh eyes. Now rework it in a more organized manner, but without judgment. If the thought: “Geez, that’s crazy — I can’t do that” pops into your mind, notice it, and let it go. Just start jotting down your ideas in a list that makes sense — with the big goal at the end, and what you think you need to do to get there, one step at a time.
• Ready to go even deeper? Grab a sheet of poster board, colorful markers, and maybe some magazines to build your vision board. This takes your list into the stratosphere because now you are really letting your imagination fly. Again, put the big goal on the right and work backward if you’d like to create timeline and path for how you might make your dream come to life. Other options are to flip through the magazines and find images that call to you. Set them down on the pasteboard collage-style and see what comes out. And, honestly, don’t be surprised if those dreams start coming to life in the coming weeks and months.
• The reason this works is because a vision board provides a subliminal visual message the create awareness when an opportunity that is aligned to your goals presents itself!

3. Find a mentor and/or become a mentor. Who out there among all the people you know is doing what you are dreaming of or just seems to always have great advice or insight? Who out there in the whole wide world might be an even better fit? Set your sights on finding that one person who will act as your mentor. Be clear, though. Make a list (clearly, we love these lists):

• What are your expectations of the relationship?
• Why do you want to tap their expert advice?
• Why do you feel you need them to be involved in your journey?
• It goes without saying: Be sure to let that person know that you will not only be grateful for them to be involved, thank them for sharing their expertise, knowledge, insight, and wisdom.
• Know this: When you teach you learn! Therefore becoming a mentor can help you uncover answers to your own questions and enlighten you on the path you wish to pursue!

4. Create your own advisory board. Now that you have some clarity around what you really, really want — write a book, start a business, redecorate your house, learn to play an instrument, to name a few — who would you like to help advise you? Who has been there, done that? This can be a group of your peers or other experts who admire and would like to replicate their success. Now bring that dream to life by crafting a letter inviting those folks to join you in your journey. Send it via email and invite them to Zoom with you. Start by inviting one advisor at a time until all of your questions are answered. In time, you might have the whole group come together for the next step: a mastermind group.

5. Pick members for a mastermind group and choose some topics you want to discuss. As you pivot in your life or career, begin thinking about how you’d like to set up a group that will come together to help each other work on one issue at time that you all have as a common challenge.

• Rules of the game: This is a no-competition zone. So there are members from the same industry, make sure that you are working to improve both of your businesses. Or, create a group that has only one member from each industry (as is done at BNI groups around the world).
• The goal: As it is with your advisory board, the mission of this group is to help you achieve your goals through accountability and collaboration.
• For example: If you want to write a book — find other people who want to do, too, so you can share processes, advice and knowledge that will be encouraging and keep you accountable. In fact, Inkandescent Publishing is launching a mastermind group this fall to accomplish just that. Click here to send us a note if you’d like to join us.

6. Read a couple of really helpful books. The next thing I like to do is stop and read a book — on self-improvement, business, a memoire, and fantasy … anything that will inspire you to think in new ways. Of course, Glennon’s Untamed is on our summer reading list. Another favorite by one of our featured Inkandescent Women is Shakti Leadership, by Nilima Bhat. There are countless others that we recommend by authors we’ve had the privilege of writing about. Not only are their stories impactful and educational, but research shows that reading for only six minutes can reduce your stress level, according to Dr. David Lewis, a neuropsychologist at Mindlab International in England. He explains: “It really doesn’t matter what book you read, by losing yourself in a thoroughly engrossing book you can escape from the worries of the everyday world and spend a while exploring the domain of the author’s imagination. This is more than merely a distraction but an active engaging of the imagination as the words on the printed page stimulate your creativity and cause you to enter what is essentially an altered state of consciousness.” So pick up a book!

7. Take a walk. Another great way to get your creative juices flowing and relieve some of the worry and stress you may be carrying, is to take a walk every day. It engages both sides of your brain — a fabulous way to stimulate thoughts and ideas. Research shows taking a regular walk improves self-perception and self-esteem, mood and sleep quality, and it reduces anxiety and fatigue. What’s more: Physically active people have up to a 30% reduced risk of becoming depressed and staying active helps those who are depressed recover. We both walk daily to keep our minds clear and walk together whenever we can — especially when we’re having brainstorming sessions.

8. Meditate. As you begin to make your move toward your incredible new life, they key is to stay grounded. Given that we are in the midst of a pandemic, that alone would be reason to find healthy way to keep calm in the chaos. One of the things Cynthia does daily is to meditate on everything she is grateful for — thinking about the people she loves and cares about, their remarkable presence in her life, and they gift each one brings to her no matter how big or small. Hope, a Kundalini and Yin-yoga teacher, practices daily using the power of the breath to find calm in any storm that shows up. This deep connection to the self is what we believe helps us find peace, no matter what is happening around us.

Power Up: We hope our 8 Tips help guide you as you find your place in the brave new world that stands before us. None of us knows what is coming in the days, weeks, months and years ahead — and the truth is that we never really did. The reality is simply more present now. Know that we are truly all in this together. Our partnership — Hope’s Inkandescent Women magazine and Cynthia’s Success in the City — is an exciting, positive development that has come from us putting our heads and hearts together with the goal of helping many women raise their voice and use it to help others find and raise theirs. We invite you to join our movement in whatever way feels good to you.

We welcome your thoughts, ideas and suggestions. Click on our names to shoot us an email: Hope and Cynthia. We look forward to speaking to you soon! Be well, be safe, and Be Inkandescent.