What’s On Your Vision Board for 2025?

As we wrap up the month for New Year’s Resolutions, I’m looking into my crystal ball to envision a meaningful and productive year, both for me personally and for The Blum Firm. In seeking inspiration for those resolutions, I found it on an early morning walk.

Laurie and I roll out of bed early (the older we get, the earlier that is). Our day starts with exercise. As Laurie advises, “move your body at least an hour a day.” On frequent mornings, we walk the hills in our neighborhood, often linking up with another couple. That couple has become good friends of ours, a fringe benefit of our workout routine. As it turns out, our walking buddies, Barbara and Thurman Schweitzer, provided that source of inspiration.

The Schweitzers are big-time students of motivational books to help inspire their team at Sotheby’s Reality. When I asked for their input, they were a treasure trove of ideas. 

Barbara was reading The Answer by John Assaraf and Murray Smith. As I was asking The Blum Firm to also look into a crystal ball and idealize the firm’s future, Assaraf and Smith offered great advice: When visioning the future as you’d like it to be, figure out what that looks like and get that into your mind. Doing so will automatically train your subconscious mind to take steps to make that vision happen.

The Answer tells how Assaraf grew up in modest circumstances, always wanting to live in a grand house. Assaraf gathered photos from Architectural Digest and created a “vision board.” Fast forward 15 years and Assaraf’s son saw that vision board and declared to his dad,” That’s our house now!” Without realizing it, Assaraf had actualized his vision. That only happened because he had planted that vision in his subconscious mind.

As our team embarked on an exercise to dream big, I asked everyone to close their eyes and envision the ideal Blum Firm of the future. In your mind’s eye, create a vision board with those images. I learned from Assaraf (actually, from Barbara), that’s the first critical step to manifesting your dreams.

When I help facilitate family meetings, I use this same crystal ball exercise. I ask the family to look into that ball and imagine how you want your family to be 25 years in the future. We then discuss steps to take to help you get there. But even without taking intentional steps, just creating that mental vision board will subconsciously help make it happen.

Thanks to the Schweitzers for this valuable lesson we can all use in our families and businesses. Next week, I’ll share round two of their wisdom. Here’s to activating our creative juices and generating some lofty vision boards!

Wishing all a meaningful and productive 2025!