Vishen Lakhiani recounts a 2008 vision-board exercise (at a Harv Eker event) in which he put Richard Branson at the center; months later, while at a mastermind in Las Vegas, he serendipitously met a fundraiser who got him onto Branson’s Necker Island for a discounted fee (Vishen reports ~3 hours one-on-one with Branson). The conversation expands to the power of vision boards, resourcefulness, and goal-setting practices (including Lifebook—now partly owned by Mindvalley), emphasizing documenting a vision, asking the right questions, and using structured categories to design a personalized life plan.
Questions this video answers
2008.
A Harv Eker seminar.
Richard Branson.
Necker Island (British Virgin Islands).
About 3 hours one-on-one.
Chapters
So this is. I pulled out way too fast. But this is a vision board that I created in 2008. Joe, let's hang it up here again because there's a wild story here. So I attend this event by Harv Eker. The event no longer exists, but they give us magazines and we have to create a vision board. So the magazine that I got, I think was Forbes of Fortune and it had Branson in the COVID right? So this was supposed to be just a fun little experiment. Normally used multiple magazines. I only had one, but I stuck Branson directly in the center. I thought, well, this guy is such a great entrepreneur. I would love to meet him. I love how he balances fun and business. And so a few months later, I'm attending this Mastermind in Vegas. And you were there for sure. Tony Robbins was there. I remember Paula Abdul was sharing advice from Stage. Then we all go for lunch and I don't know this man, but I end up sitting next to him. And it turns out that this guy actually organizes fundraisers for Branson and as a result gets to bring dozens of entrepreneurs at a time to Branson's private island, Necker in the British Virgin Islands. So we start talking and I ask him, well, what would that cost? And Joe says, 40 grand. I don't have 40 grand. I can't pay 40 grand to attend. I'm just starting out. Like I'm building websites. I'm just a beginner entrepreneur. This is 2008. And Joe says, well, you know what? Joe listens to my story. And this man is so kind, he's so nice. I was so lucky to sit next to him. He listens to my story and he says, you know, if you can sleep on the beach, if you can just rent a boat and just sleep on the boat on the beach rather than pay for one of the expensive hotel rooms that cost 10k a night, I think I could get you in for 12k. And so I do that and I end up on Necker island getting like 3 hours 1 on one time with Branson. I get to interview him for my book. I learned so much from him and from the other entrepreneurs there. But how crazy is that? I put this dude, intending to meet him in the center of my vision board, and I meet this guy just a few months later, the fundraiser for Virgin Unite, and he gets me on Necker island at a discount. How does that work? Right? What are your theories?
Well, everyone has dreams and goals and aspirations, but when you take that, what's that saying, a goal Is a wish taken seriously.
Right.
Everyone wishes they had this, wishes they had that. But the persistence and the willingness for one, you have to identify what the goal is that you, you want, even if you're not clear. I mean, obviously this is visions, vision.
This was stuff that resonated 2008. Right.
And it's also resourcefulness because you said.
At the right seminar, which you're keeping your radar open.
One magazine, Right?
Right.
And so you're saying, okay, I got one magazine here. What do I take in here that represents a future focus that I want?
Were these goals really mine or were these goals influenced by the magazine? Did that magazine that had this picture of this beautiful apartment inspired me to create an apartment that won an award a few years later for second most gorgeous interior design apartment in my city. Did it inspire me to create beautiful office spaces that won an Award, Top 10 Most Beautiful Offices in the world, An Ink magazine. All of these things, they started happening in my life.
What this represents is, for one, you have a vision. Second, you're willing to document it. Third, you're willing to do whatever the hell it takes in order to get there. And then finally, once an opportunity presents itself, you figure out how to do it. Because there's a million opportunities that have presented themselves. But every opportunity that you've had happen, you did something to get there, and.
You end up sitting next to a kind person like you that opens those doors. Now, the other cool thing about Joe is we became friends. And then he ends up introducing me to John and Missy Butcher, the people behind Lifebook. And today, Lifebook is that goal setting program on mindvalley. We acquired a portion of that company. So this is good. Lifebook is at the next level. You were one of the people who said Lifebook is a must attend for every entrepreneur.
Well, vision boards are just one piece of it. But the 12 categories, all of the different categories of every aspect of your life, from health to relationships to financial to career, parenting, you name it, allows you to go really deep. The difference is with Lifebook, you get a tremendous amount of questions. See, people think they're seeking answers, but I think questions are more important than answers. And with the right questions, you will come up with the answers that are personalized for you. And the reason I think Lifebook is such a very valuable thing is you create a personalized book about your life that's guided and directed, and it's extremely unique.
Yeah, it's like 10xing this process, right? Because you look at strategies, vision a hundred times, 100 times because you look at your strategies, your visions, your belief, how you're going to get there, and you go really deep. Like, this is very random and stuff still happened. I think there's this incredible part about the human mind where when we give it a target, it literally warps reality to get us there. As long as we're in the right state of being.
You can look at every opportunity, every person, as a domino. A domino that can be a trajectory into a good direction or a bad direction, because you can think of dominoes in your life where you've been invited to partake in something and it'll totally change the trajectory of your life in a good way or where things will change the trajectory in a bad way. So what is the invitation that is being presented to you right now that is a domino? And are you willing to push it?
That is awesome. Joe, let me give you a hug. Thank you, brother. Everybody needs a Joe in their lives.
