- Jun 23, 2022
- 4 min read

Create a Vision Board like Steve Harvey

If you don't write down the things you want, you probably won't get them. So create a vision board and set your direction.

Imagination is everything. It’s the coming attractions of your life. -Albert Einstein

Steve Harvey's View on Vision Boards

I recently listened to an excerpt from a talk by Steve Harvey, someone I revere. He is so naturally funny, so gifted. He is a self-proclaimed entry-level Christian, and a lover of ALL people. He grew up very poor and was poor for most of his life until he went to a comedy club at 27 years old.

Here is an excerpt from the excerpt….

Steve Harvey said that making a vision board changed his life.

Actually, he said that a scripture changed his life: “You have not, because you asked not.”- James 4:2-3.

He was homeless (living in a car for several years) and poor for so long, that he literally asked to be rich every day of his life. Most of us hearing that or reading it, may think this seems like something you shouldn’t ask for, but most of us have not lived in a car, either.

A vision board and James 4: 2-3 changed his life.

He says you HAVE to write down the things you want.

"The things in your imagination have to be written down," he says. "If you don't write down the things you want, your chances of getting them is drastically reduced. It's just a principle of success. They were divinely placed in your imagination for a reason." Harvey admits he never had any idea how he would get a lot of the things he put on his vision board.

“You know how to kill a big dream?” he asks. “Share it with a small-minded person.” He had a teacher who called him up in front of the class and made fun of him, after he turned in an assignment asking: What does your future hold? Steve’s paper said that he wanted to be on TV. In front of the class, she berated him.

His teacher called him to the front of the class to make fun of him.

“You stutter, you can’t even TALK. You're gonna be on TV?” she asked, laughing. “How many people in your neighborhood on TV? None. How many people in your family on TV? None. But you’re going to be on TV? Ha.”

Every year at Christmas, he sends her a flat screen TV so she never misses his shows.

All this to say that he believes in writing down what you want and making a vision board to put images with it. Steve puts his vision board everywhere. He has one as the screensaver on his phone. There is one in his car, his office, and anywhere he spends a lot of time.

Steve has a vision board in his car, his office, on his phone, and anywhere he spends a lot of time.

How to Create a Vision Board

Our minds react differently to visual stimulation, and a vision board's philosophy revolves around this concept. You can make your vision board on the computer. You can also create it on a small poster board or large piece of paper using images cut from magazines, or other sources.

Think about the areas of your life. Then think about the goals and dreams you have for your life in that "bucket." For example, my buckets include:

- Spirituality & mindfulness

- Relationships: family, marriage, friends

- Nature

- Health & athleticism

- Adventure & travel

- Writing

- Career

- Living/Working/Creating Spaces

- Improv

In each life bucket, there are things you want and work toward. What are they? Write them down. Now, look for images, words, symbols, etc., that give you a visual representation of those dreams and goals. Create your vision board the way you want to, because it is extremely personal.

Your brain processes visual stimulation differently than written information. That's the philosophy behind creating your vision board.

Here is my vision board from two years ago, and I really need to update it. Ideally, you should revisit this exercise yearly. This one hangs in my office across from my desk. I see it all day. It's not gorgeous and perfect, by the way, but it means something to me, and that is all that counts.

Here is my 2019 version in the pages of my planner.

And the one in my messy closet.

The visual of Will Ferrell reminds me of the Amy Poehler quote that we have in the lobby of the Blackbox Improv Theater.

No one looks stupid when they're having fun.

His relaxed way of being in this famous scene, while he looks absolutely ridiculous, is very inspiring to me.

Display Your Board

This is the most important part. It's great to create a board, but if you don't see it, it doesn't help you.

Put it somewhere you will see it every day, even though you will get used to it, your subconscious will constantly register your visions and imaginations.

If you don't see it every day, it doesn't help you.

Many people display their boards as screen savers so that they see them all the time. You can be like Steve, and put a copy in your car, office, and on your phone as your screensaver. I wouldn't be surprised if he had one in his bathroom.