098. Thinking Back 20 Years and How to Create a Vivid Future Vision

Welcome. I am marketing expert and business coach Melissa Kellogg Lueck. And this is the Doing Business Like a Woman podcast where we are exploring and teaching you how women are reinventing the way business is done and money is made to help you create greater impact and financial freedom one business at a time. Well, hello. Hello ladies. How's it going? I hope you're doing well this fine day. Welcome to the holiday season. The craziness is in full swing and the fun. I love this time of year. It really is my favorite time of year. Although I miss the warm weather here in Colorado, I do love the holiday season. I think it's super fun. And we're going to go tonight to our town's tree lighting and I guess they have Santa and live reindeer. It's going to be amazing and get us all in the holiday spirit. So that'll be fun. But what I wanted to talk with you about today is along our theme of planning and goal setting for 2024 and thinking about the future and what we want the future to look like. And I've been thinking a lot about this and studying and reading. And on Thanksgiving I participated in ran. I should participate. Sounds very official and weird. I ran, or we did our family, we ran the Fort Collins Thanksgiving Day four mile run together and it was our 20th year of doing that. And my, one of my siblings, I think it was my sister in law found an old picture of us 20 years ago before the race. And it was so funny to see that and just be transported back 20 years and thinking about, I can just remember that time in my life so vividly and when we started that tradition and I was just thinking about it and thinking about who I was 20 years ago, what I was doing, what I was thinking about, what I was feeling about myself. And it was just so easy for me to like travel back in time to that past self. Right. And then I was thinking it really would be so helpful if I had an equally vivid and easy to visit future vision of myself. Right. And so that's what I wanted to talk about today. And you know, in order for us to really be motivated by our future, we have to have a really clear vision of it. And so just like, you know, I can so easily Transport myself back 20 years, I also want to easily be able to transport myself forward 20 years. Right. Or even three years or five years or even to next year. And so I was thinking about like 20 years ago, I was living in Boulder and living with a girlfriend of mine who I knew from New York when I lived in New York, and she had also moved to Colorado after 9 11. And so we had known each other in New York, and so we got a place together in Boulder, and it was super fun. We lived right downtown. We had beach cruiser bicycles and we rode them everywhere. And we were single. And I had actually 20 years ago when we started doing this Thanksgiving Day run. I had met my husband Adam the year before on Thanksgiving, and we were dating, but I didn't. We didn't have kids. I hadn't started my business at that time. I wouldn't even start playing hockey for another 10 years, which is so funny to think. And I was just loving life, living in Boulder, but I was drifting a little, right? I was in transition, trying to find out what was next for me or what I wanted to be next for me. After leaving New York, living through 911 there, and I had a job working for a mortgage bank in Boulder and was doing all their marketing as well as managing the office and had, you know, a really great situation going on there. And so it's just funny, like, I can remember so many details, right? And. But yet I don't have that same vivid vision of my future. And really having a vivid vision, vision of your future makes it so much more inevitable that we will achieve it. I mean, that's what the science positive psychology is now telling us, right? That the future will guide you and create that pathway all the way there when you have a vivid vision. And so even if you get the details wrong, like, I can think back 20 years to what I was dreaming about creating in my life. And you know, learning to play hockey was not on that list. But that's become such a huge part of my life. But even though I didn't know all the details, that wasn't really the issue. What's most important is that you're beginning to build your future by discovering what you desire and what you know now about what you most want and then filling in those details as you go, right? So, for example, you might have a much clearer picture of what you want in 2024 or even in three years than you do for your future in 20 years. And that's okay, right? It's okay. Because you know, as you look at your past, who you were in the past and who you are now and who you want to be in the future. Like, there's through lines all throughout that. So, you know, identifying what you know now that you want to become or want to have or do in three years or five years or 10, 20 years, it puts your brain to work creating that future for you, right? You put your brain to work looking for opportunities and identifying pathways and seeing all the ways to create that future. And this is super relevant to your business and your career, but it's also for your life too, right? And when you do this, when you think about what you know you want, because you don't know all the things right now, right? There's no way 20 years ago I could have predicted that I'd be playing hockey. That is not something that was on my radar, right? But the reasons why I did it and why I still do it, those through lines are still consistent, right? And so when you start thinking about what you want, what you want to create in the future, whether it's just for 20, 24 or further on, you begin to engage your reticular activating system. And that is your brain's focus. It focuses your brain on what you want to create in your future, what you put it to work creating. And so your brain focuses on finding those pathways, those opportunities, and it filters out the inputs that aren't consistent with that, right? So a really great example is like thinking about cars. Like, I know that the next car that I want is a BMW and I know exactly the one that I want. And I'm currently driving a Subaru, which I absolutely love, and it's such a meaningful car for me in a lot of ways. That's a whole other story. But I am driving it until my daughter is 16 and then it'll become her car, right? But so when she turns 16 and takes over that car, then I am planning to get my BMW. And so that's like I've seen that future, right? I know exactly, I have it planned out. It might not actually happen that way, but that's how I think it's gonna happen. And so I see the car that I want all the time, right? I see it out in the world and I, every time I see it I'm like, oh, I can't wait till I get my BMW, right? I'm so excited. And so that's engaging my reticular activating system. I know I want the BMW, so I see BMWs everywhere. But if someone said to me, when's the last time you saw a Ram pickup? Well I guess that's not a fair thing because my brother in law down the street drives one. But you know, if someone said to me, when's the last time you saw a, a Jetta, Volkswagen Jetta? I would be like, I have no idea. Because I'm not. My brain isn't tuned into looking for Volkswagen Jetta. My brain is tuned into looking for BMW M8s. And so that's what I see. Or M4s, whatever. So that's what I see. And so it's the same thing with activating that, that part of our brain where if we want a future and we have a vivid picture of it, then that is what our brain is going to see us to. Right. And that's how that, that future pulls us forward. That motivation takes over, that motivation from our future. Right. So identifying what we want in the future and what we know about our business and ourselves as CEOs in the future is part of the work that we're going to be doing. In my Envision 2024 event that starts on December 11, we're going to be setting goals and putting together a plan of how to achieve them from this place of thinking from our future. Because a lot of planning and goal setting happens from our. Many people do it from our present and our past. And that is not the most that doesn't serve us the best. Right. Thinking from our future will help us to explore and expand our capacity and our ability. Right. And the capability of what we're able to achieve. So that's what we're going to be doing in the event. Of course, you can get more information in the show notes on my website, but in order to set goals and to achieve them, we first have to know what we want and where we're headed with the goals that we're setting. Right. And so it's not just about the money. I mean, yes, we have to, you know, we're in business to make money and create and serve clients and create financial freedom. But it's not just about the money that we want to make in 2024 or three or five or 20 years. It's about who you will become. Right. Who you want to become, who you want to be in the future, and how you want to be thinking and feeling about yourself and what you'll be doing and how you'll be experiencing your life and your business in that timeframe. So it's not just about, okay, I want to make X number of dollars in 2024. Yeah, that's great. But that is only part of the picture. What is the rest of the picture? Who do you want to be creating that money? How do you want to experience your business and your clients as you're making that money and really creating and painting that vivid picture that you can visit on a regular basis in your visualization and experience, like, feel that accomplishment in your body, feel it, experience that vision of the future viscerally, when we do that, it becomes exponentially more inevitable that we'll achieve it, right? Because as we put ourselves in that place and practice being that person, we actually become her, right? And so just like it's so easy for me to travel back in time and think about who I was and what I was doing and what my hair looked like and the clothes I was wearing and how I was feeling in the past. I want us to be able to visit our future in that all in that, in that same level of visceral vividness, right? Because when we do that, it's going to motivate us all along the way and make it so much easier to stick to our plan and to create what we want to create and achieve our goals. So at the same time, I'm thinking about this future, right? I'm also. I can also be so grateful for my past self because for me, she was a real badass. Like, everything I dreamed about creating 20 years ago, I've created it. And so much more. Like, so much that I couldn't have even dreamed of 20 years ago. And I just remember, you know, not long after, you know. So I'm thinking about, like this snapshot in time, right, of 20 years ago when we did this Thanksgiving Day run together for the first time. And after that point, I moved to the mountains to be closer to Adam. And we got married. I found a way to support myself and start my business. We got a puppy, we got married. I became a professional writer. I had dreams of my children. And then I actually got pregnant and birthed them. Like, that was amazing. I took up hockey, I raced in triathlons. I was making money in my business all throughout, all of it. And we moved around a little bit. I moved my family, my business. I discovered coaching. And really that was the time that I entertained the thought that I had more to offer to the world. I really stepped into a higher, my higher calling and decided I wanted to help more people and continue to really pursue a life of greater meaning. And that's what I wanted to build. That's what I've always wanted to build. Like, that's one of those through lines, right? And I've always found ways throughout the 20 years, this is where hockey comes in, right? To be testing my limits and testing my capacity. And so it's fun to think about those through lines. Like, through all of that, I had dreams about the future. And even though I didn't have all the details, the through lines are consistent. So what's always been the same for me with my through lines is like dreaming big and creating big things and taking big risks and failing big too. Right? And having fun, trying new things and learning what I want and loving hard and going big. Like those have been consistent throughout my life and doing epic. And then, you know, on the other side life is 50 50, right? So I've also throughout my through lines are on the other side of the 50 50, consistently holding myself back in a lot of ways or avoiding failure and have been a people pleaser to my detriment. Like, you know, there's through lines there as well. So we're always experiencing the 5050 of life too. Half great, half awful. And as I think about the future, I plan to be here in another 20 years. And it's fun to think about who she of the future, my future self, who she will be and how my future self will be different than the me right now. Because I, if I think back 20 years, like it, I'm so much different, but also so much the same. Right? So if this process sounds exciting and interesting and fun to you, I would love to have you join me in your own process of discovery and thinking and appreciating your past self and how far you've come and then thinking about that future and what you most want and then setting your goals and the plan to create it. I would love for you to join me to do that process. This is what we are going through in my vision envision 2024 event. We get started on December 11th through the 15th, Monday through Friday, we'll be meeting for one hour on Zoom in the morning and I'll be teaching you and then we're going to be working together on our plans and I will be coaching and assisting and offering you all the support that you need so that by the end of Friday you have a really great plan set up for 2024 and you know the process to be creating that plan and following that plan all throughout the year. So you can find more info in the show, notes about the event and how to register and it's all on my website as well@melissamkellog.com and so as I'm sitting here all sentimental for my past and my future and for the holiday season, I just am so grateful for you, my listener. And I hope you have a fabulous rest of your day and happy holidays and I will see you right back here next week. Take care. Bye ladies.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but we are nearing our 100th episode.

Woohoo.

I would love to hear from you. In celebration of our 100th episode, I am wondering if you would share with me a question you would love to.

Ask me or a topic you'd love.

To hear me cover on the podcast. And I'd love to hear how this podcast has impacted or served you over the last two years and 100 episodes.

So I have a really cool new.

App that I'm trying. It's called Speak Pipe. And so there's a link to Speak Pipe in the episode description and show notes that you can just click on and it'll take you to Speak Pipe and you can ask a question or suggest a topic that you'd love to hear me cover on the podcast and.

Share with us how this podcast has impacted or served you.

So you can visit www.speakpipe.com Doing business like a Woman podcast and record your voice message and we may even feature you on the podcast.

Yay.

Thank you Sat.