Saturday, September 12, 2009

How to Make a GREEN Vision Board by Joyce Schwarz author THE VISION BOARD book

Okay, now's the surprise-- all vision boards are really green and eco-friendly because they are really recycling magazines! Kewl huh?

One of the most eco-friendly ways to celebrate Earth Day with your family, office mates and school class is to create a Vision Board.


HOW to create an eco-friendly vision board to celebrate EARTH DAY!

Blogger note, during the past few months, one of the most requested posts on this author's Amazon.com blog has been "how to create an eco-friendly vision board. So I've repeated and updated this step-by-step post in celebration of Earth Day 2009. ENJOY!

RECYCLING ASSOCIATIONS DOING VISION BOARDS WITH JOYCE SCHWARZ, speaker and author, Good news, Joyce Schwarz, author,being contacted by various recycling organizations and foundation to set up workshops across the nation to show why creating Vision Boards is eco-friendly.

CARBON NEUTRAL:

First we want to assure that the book itself --208 page, 4-color throughouts, hard cover, 100 color pix IS "carbon neutral". A quick check online shows that News Corps, who owns Collins Desing, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishing does buy eco-offset credits

REMIX: RECYCLING MAGAZINES & OTHER PRINT MATERIALS
Be assured by creating Vision Boards using images from old magazines and other printed material such as direct mail flyers, invitations, posters, wallpaper and even newspaper clippings, you ARE RECYCLING!

There are several regional and national programs organized just to recycle magazines (more on those later, especially the ones from the MPA (Magazine Publishers Assn) and the City of New York.

SO TO START CREATING AN ECO-FRIENDLY VISION BOARD:
A) Gather old magazines, newspapers, printed materials including greeting cards, cartoons from newspapers, grocery circulars and catalogs in a large basket.

B) Be sure if you purchase any new background paper or materials that they are recycled too. Recycled posterboard is available but you may want to create your board using such eco-friendly materials as flax or organic cotton fabrics or even the back of old paintings or posters you already have on your wall--continuing the recycling circle.

C) Gather up found objects, paperclips, broken jewelry, ribbons from a birthday party or wedding shower, stamps and stickers from envelopes (you can re-attach with a glue stick later)

D) Be sure any paints or marker pens you use are also eco-friendly. In fact considering buying a whole pack of these and sharing them with your neighbors so that they can create an eco-friendly board too!

Or use natural materials. I've seen vision boards created with charcoal, withwaters colored by natural herbs & flowers and almost water-painted onto the board.

Or even consider painting (with eco-friendly paints) a large bolder or old board you find near your garage

E) Consider making your own recycled hand-made paper from old paper --the back of old posters, the back of leftover wallpaper or even on the back of an old awning or window shade!

F) If you're framing your board, be sure to recycle an old frame that you have in your house or garage or to pick one up at a flea market or thrift store in your neighborhood.
Examples include:


I recycle everything I can.

I am recycling my kitchen scraps too now.

I turn off the water when I brush my teeth.

I have a filter for my tap water.

I am simplifying my life.

I buy only what I absolutely need to live.

I make my footsteps on earth as light as they can be.

I recycle for others when I see an opportunity.

I make sure what I buy is carbon-neutral.

Pictures for your eco-board.

One of the fun ways to get the right pictures for your eco board is to make a list of those pix you'd like to see on the board such as: a) a home garden you are planting b) a method of composting you are starting in your group/family c) Past pictures of your family in the outdoors -- climbing or hiking or enjoying the earth at places you've visited --yes, even if they are near and part of your home town area. They don't have to be at an exotic location

TRAVEL -- another option is to gather some travel brochures at your local travel agency or from the travel section of your newspaper or favorite website and put those on the board planning on where you'd like to visit that IS eco-friendly

G) Gather the raw materials together. Spread out an old blanket or tablecloth to cover the creation area (a table or an area of a floor or even do it outside on your patio).

H) Begin by making a list with your group of the Eco affirmations they would like to keep in the next year and for the rest of their lives!

For more information see my other blog at http://www.visionboard.info/ and click on eco-vision board! Thanks or email me at thevisionboard(at)aol.com

Comedian Maria Bamford on Unwanted Thoughts & THE VISION BOARD book

Comedy is one of the greatest ways to counter the challenges of a job search. So I want you to meet one of our favorites Maria Bamford!

Fun to see our pal comedian Maria Bamford out with a new project from Comedy Central called , "Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome" .

Known for her great Los Angeles based stand-up routines about love, family and yes, self-help she is a joy to listen to and see. You may have caught her on a variety of TV voice-overs and appearances or on the "Comedians of Comedy" tour. "Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome"is her newest CD and includes some fun almost mocking of the very self-improvement techniques YES including a vision board.

Here's a pix of the cover of the new Maria Bamford CD. As many of you know, Maria has been very supportive of THE VISION BOARD book by Joyce Schwarz and even consented to our photographer Annie Kaycora shooting pix of Maria's vision boards. And she sent THE VISION BOARD author Joyce Schwarz a head shot with a promo for the book.

ThANKS AGAIN MARIA!

Join The Vision Board book Official Facebook Group today Personal Invite from Author Joyce Schwarz

As you know in my other life, I'm the best-selling author and motivational speaker for THE VISION BOARD book. So I'm welcoming you to join the FACEBOOK OFFICIAL VISION BOARD group -- here's the link -- JOIN TODAY -- lots of free workshops,seminars and ways to create multiple income streams!
Free newsletter, free classes, free info calls on how to become a certified vision board counselor by signing up at http://tinyurl.com/vbgroup on FACEBOOK

HOW TO MAKE A BACK TO SCHOOL VISION BOARD TO PICTURE SUCCESS From Joyce Schwarz, motivational speaker and author The Vision Board book

By Joyce Schwarz, YOU CAN GO BACK TO SCHOOL AT ANY AGE...and now with President Obama's encourgement lots of moms are looking at finally getting their degrees. PLUS BABY boomers are looking at school and continuing education as a way to increase their options in the job market.

CERTIFIED VISION BOARD COUNSELOR -- one way to help other people make their dreams come true and to have your dreams realized too is to become a certified vision board counselor , email: joycechwarz(at)gmail.com to get details

For most families with children this is the time to shop for clothes and to prepare for the new year ahead. But for many kids and even for adults (moms and dads and single people, even the thought of saying goodbye to the summer and heading back into the classroom causes jitters and nervousness.

WHAT WILL THE SCHOOL YEAR BE LIKE?
WHAT WILL THE SCHOOL YEAR BE LIKE? Will I do well? What will the new classroom be like? Will it be different now that I'm starting high school or college? How will I deal with kids/people in my class?
Statistics on back-to-school students: more than 85 million in almost 100,000 different schools in the US alone:

All those questions are quite common for the approximately 85 million Americans going back to school ranging from nursery school through college this fall (statistics courtesy of the US Census Bureau and the National Retail Federation.
BACK TO SCHOOL ACTUAL NUMBERS:

From data supplied by the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Retail Federation, here’s a look at back-to-school 2009, by the numbers.

Approximately 85 million: Children and adults enrolled in school - nursery school through college


19 million: Number of students in colleges and universities this fall

$548.72: Amount the average family with students in kindergarten through high school will spend on school merchandise this season

$47.5 billion: 2009 back-to-school and back-to-college expenditure in the U.S.

shopping

98,793: Number of public schools in the U.S. in 2006-2007

7.2 million: Teachers in the U.S. in 2008

BUT CAN IT BUY SUCCESS?

So with all that money being spent -- $47.5 billion in back-to-school and back-to-college shopping who is looking at how kids and adults can succeed in their upcoming school year? It's Joyce Schwarz, author of THE VISION BOARD: the secret to an extraordinary life, Harper Collins Publishing, Collins Design who is encouraging families and the more than 7.2 milliion teachers in teh more than 98,000 public schools nationwide to vision their best possible new year by creating a Back-to-School Vision Board.

Best-selling author Joyce Schwarz recommends you create a 'back-to-school' vision board for those students in your family heading back to the classroom this fall. She says, it works for any age from kindergarten to post-gradute work. Schwarz is a paid motivational speaker who conducts workshops for such diverse organizations as Boeing Corporation and the SBDC (Small Business Development Corporation) on visioning your best possible future. Joyce lives and works in Marina Del Rey, CA and you can see her websites at www.joycecom.com and www.ihaveavision.org

What's a Vision Board? A vision board, according to author Schwarz who is also a nationally known career strategist and author of another best-seller SUCCESSFUL RECAREERING, explains is a visual map of what you want to create in your life. With a back-to-school vision board you can actually immerse yourself into the school year and visualize the positive results you will create this semester.

Schwarz has taught more than 10,000 students in her STAR*COURSE classes on how to be a star in your own life and does corporate seminars for such diverse organizations as Boeing Corporation and the SBDC (Small Business Development Centers) and trains teachers and counselors around the world from London to Sydney Australia to become Certified Vision Board Counselors so that they can show groups how to create vision boards like the Back-to-School Vision Board focusing in on educational success and maximizing learning potential for kids, teens and adults of all ages.

HOW TO CREATE A BACK TO SCHOOL BOARD

In her talk this Thursday night at the Mystic Journey Bookstore in Venice, California, Joyce will demonstrate how to create a Back to School Vision Board but she agreed to share some of the key steps with us here too.

1) Get a poster board approx 17 x 22 of any color.

2) Gather together colored markers, and stickers and other embellishments that will make your board colorful.
3) Get your kids and family together and brainstorm about how to make this school year the best possible year. Have some juice and water and snacks available as treats during this session.
4) Come up with some "power words" that express your the results of your brainstorming session such as: Happy, Challenge, Wisdom, Productive, Great Fun and even teen phrases like Awesome!

5) Add some favorite symbols such as a) happy face b) sunshine c)or even a new eco-lightbulb that is a bright color

6) Look up 'school quotes' on the internet or in a quotation book fro your bookshelf and add some of inspirational quote such as these:

"When the student is ready, the master appears." ~Buddhist Proverb


"Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere." ~Chinese Proverb

7) Have the kids or the adult students in your family rehearse the first day of school and the ideal scene that they want to experience and come up with some key words that express that vision such as: exciting, Welcoming and enjoyable

8) Thumb through some magazines and pick out pictures that represent your key words and power phrases but also add pictures that just 'seem right' to express how positive this school year can be for both parents and kids and their peers.

7) Cut or tear out those pictures. If you can't find any magazines -- go onto a major search engine online like Google or even Flickr and search for copyright free photos or for those covered by what's called the Creative Commons License so that you canuse them without violating anyone's rights.
8) Get a glue stick or white glue and begin to arrange A) the pictures B) the quotations c) the phrases and power words on the board in a decorative and pleasing collage. It doesn't have to be fancy but it should be colorful and positive.
) Get a glue stick or white glue and begin to arrange A) the pictures B) the quotations c) the phrases and power words on the board in a decorative and pleasing collage. It doesn't have to be fancy but it should be colorful and positive.

9) If your family is having trouble releasing any fears or negativity about the school year. Have the people experiencing those doubts write them down on little strips of paper and put them into a garbage pail and then make a ritual about disposing of them or under adult supervision even turning them into a small bonfire! Release that negativity before school starts.

10) If you have family pictures of the school you'll attend of fun pictures of school activites from last year's pix or your yearbook you can copy them at a copy center and add them to the mix too.

Going to a new school or starting college -- add some of the pix from the online websites (most schools have websites now or take a quick road trip to the area and add new photos to your Back to School Vision Board.

PUT YOU ON THE BOARD -- most people forget to put themselves on the board, explains best-selling author Joyce Schwarz, but she adds this is important for you can actually immerse yourself into the positive environment by adding your own happy, smiling picture. Don't have a picture then try on the new school clothes and take some digital pix and add those to the board.

DISPLAY YOUR BOARD -- display your board where you and the students can see it -- in their room or in the hallway or even in the kitchen. You can do one for the family or one for each child/adult going back to school. Parents anticipating empty nests for the first time can also create a vison board for their new life ahead.

Be sure to look and talk to your board. Read the positive quotes and power words. After all you talk to your pets or even your plants-- why not rehearse how wonderful the school year can be.

MAKE A PORTABLE COPY OF YOUR BACK TO SCHOOL VISION BOARD -- take the vision board to a copy place and get some scans done if they are too large to do with your home computer. Be sure to get color copies so that you can have the kdis put theim into the knapsacks or the adults into their briefcases. You can even do mini-versions so that you can stick a mini-back-to-school vision board in your purse or wallet or even laminate it and add it to your keychain or as a charm to dangle from your cell phone!

FREE CHAPTER:

For a free chapter on visioning from author Joyce Schwarz go to http://tinyurl.com/seeinsidebook and to buy THE VISION BOARD book go to http://tinyurl.com/visionboardamazon or get it at your local Barnes & Noble, Borders or Target shop or your favorite independent bookstore and in Canada at Costco stores.

FOR MORE HINTS ON MAKING VISION BOARDS: go to http://www.visionboard.info which is the official blog for Joyce Schwarz book THE VISION BOARD and you can also surf on over to the official website at www.ihaveavision.org