How My Vision Board Helped Me Achieve My Goals at 70

Career Kuel Thought Leader: Gayle Petrillo

I just turned 70. I still have my business (career and confidence coach) and have been wanting to do more speaking to share my story as a burn survivor.

Believing In Vision Boards, Enough:

Many colleagues, friends and others have shared their belief and accomplishment of saying it out loud — putting it into the universe. I have to say while I wasn’t a disbeliever, entirely, I wasn’t overly confident that it would work either.

So in early January I did a vision board with a few long-time acquaintances. I dug through countless magazines, cut out words, phrases, pictures, and pulled stickers off their backing and even drew, with some less than creative utensils.

“To my surprise, so many of the visions have come true. “

The board has been sitting idly, since its completion, behind cabinets in my home office. At least that is until yesterday. I had an ‘I have to clean’ moment and started in my closet, emptying it of unworn items for resale or donation. As I looked around my office, I spotted several items hiding behind the cabinet, including a whiteboard, posters I use for trainings, and that vision board.

I took it and looked at it. I began reading and looking at what I had envisioned six months earlier. To my surprise, so many of the visions have come true. I have traveled and have three more trips coming up, including a life-long bucket list of seeing Alaska with a 21-day cruise and land. Other upcoming travel plans include attending the Albuquerque Balloon Festival, and a return trip to Kauai and Europe in early 2025.

Finding Accomplishments On My Vision Board:

Another accomplishment I see as I review my vision board, is my desireto do more speaking. That too has come to fruition. In May, I had a total of two speaking engagements. I was part of the roster at our local Female Storytellers, honoring my mom, with about 50 in the audience. I also had the honor of delivering the commencement speech for Tucson International Academies (four schools) wherein they combine the moving up ceremony for their Kindergarten, fifth, eighth-grade students along with the high school senior graduation. The auditorium was filled to its 500-seat capacity. 

“Another accomplishment I see as I review my board, is my vision to do more speaking.”

In June I also had two commitments, speaking at a women’s luncheon with 30 gals in the audience, followed two days later sharing my story with an audience of 90 in Phoenix as the guest speaker for a corporate’s monthly employee engagement luncheon.

Hubby and I have gone back to entertaining as well. We hosted a murder mystery dinner with 12 friends earlier in the year and will have 25 for our annual July Fourth holiday swim party.

An Accountability Partner:

One word that specifically caught my eye was accountability, and I realize that came true this year as I have an accountability partner. 

My take-away is that there is value in making the time to create vision boards. They can be single or multi-use. They can hone in on work and/or leisure. And, as I found, keeping them front and center, rather than hidden, has the purpose of reminding us of those thoughtful visions, hopes and dreams. There are a few more words, mostly, that I will continue to focus on for the remaining six months, which include sanctuary, service and celebrate. Our days fly by and I find I don’t routinely honor my day.

How many people smiled at me? How many people I smiled at? Who touched my life and vice versa? How much my yoga practice or Pilates class meant, etc.? I look forward to creating my next vision board and suggest if you haven’t looked at yours recently or done one, it’s not too late. There are still six months left to 2024. Create your vision board!

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