Just beginning? Sill struggling to identify your ideal client? Working feverishly to get your marketing plan off the ground? Got everything together and just about to board the plane? 

Wherever you are with your retreat or business, there’s a simple tool that can make your next steps much more powerful and effective.

That tool is visualization. You’ve heard of it, right? The art of imagining how you want things to be and then magically — boom! — something manifests out of thin air?

Yep, that’s it! And when you’re using it well, the results can be quite amazing.

In recent years, the often astounding results of visualization — or envisioning, as I prefer to call it — have been documented in almost every field imaginable.

Sports greats use it to fine-tune their world-class performances. Business moguls use it to boost themselves to stratospheric levels of success. Therapists use it to help their clients heal, sometimes even from “incurable” diseases.

And yes, teachers, healers, coaches and travel professionals can use it to create more dynamic and successful retreats, not to mention more profitable businesses.

But how does it work?

Well, basically the mind can’t tell the difference between a real or an imagined experience. With envisioning, you give the mind a clear picture of what you want, along with lots of feeling and sensory detail. Then the mind takes that in and sends messages to the body and out to the world that begin to manifest that new reality. The process is all confirmed by neuroscience and the laws of quantum physics.

The clearer the picture and the stronger the emotion, the faster and more amazing the manifestation.

So let’s get practical. How do you actually DO it?

There are lots of ways, but if you’re not familiar with process, here are the most important steps when you’re just beginning:

1. Get relaxed and close your eyes.
2. Imagine a picture or symbol of what you want.
3. Empower that image with strong emotion.
4. Let go of the image and send it out.

 It’s really that simple. Now let’s look at a few ways you might use it for your retreats and business.

The Ideal Retreat Location

Everybody needs to decide on their retreat location, right? And it’s often a time-consuming process. But envisioning can help you speed it up. To do this, before you even start researching, create a picture in your mind’s eye of what your ideal location would look and feel like.

Imagine the most important features and amenities. See and feel yourself walking around, sifting your toes in the sand, soaking up the sounds, smells, tastes, and sensations. Then amp up those images and sensations until the experience becomes so real you feel like you’re actually there.

When you feel really joyful, excited and passionate about where you are and what you’re experiencing, release the image and that wonderful feeling to the universe. Then open your eyes and watch how much smoother and easier your research goes. And don’t be surprised (even though you will be 🙂 if it opens the way to the very spot you imagined!

Charging What You’re Worth

So often in our business, we see retreat leaders vastly undervaluing themselves and their trips, yet they don’t have the courage to charge what they’re really worth. If you’re one of these people, a few moments seeing yourself stepping into new levels of financial abundance can change your life profoundly.

First get clear on the image that’s going to be the most effective for you. Maybe it’s a fancy wardrobe, a spiffy new car or a more spacious home. Maybe it’s bathing in a tub of hundred-dollar bills or standing under a rainbow waterfall of abundance. Maybe it’s an embroidered check for a million dollars or a bushel of gold coins. Get playful and creative!

Then wear the wardrobe, drive the car, bathe in the tub, stand under the waterfall, feel the check in your hands, sift through the bushel of gold coins.

Finally — and this is the really important part — let yourself FEEL that it’s yours, ALL YOURS, and then amp up the image with gratitude!

Let your whole being open to receive your abundance. Feel your body surging with appreciation for all that it represents to you. Really experience and BE the expanded version of yourself that you’re envisioning. Then pour that feeling into the image, and let it go!

Bet you feel a bit different now, right? Maybe even ready to raise your rates? See, it’s working already! 🙂

Amping Up Your Sales & Marketing

Along with your sales and marketing skills, envisioning can be a powerful tool to amplify your attendance. One really simple way is this:

In your mind’s eye, imagine a magnet resting on your retreat location — wherever you’re going on the globe — and watch it it draw to it a circle of people that’s the perfect number for your retreat. Like sold out, right? When they’re all there, empower that image with positive emotion and send it out.

Another is to see your marketing messages motivating the exact folks who most need your services. You might start by envisioning a “wagon wheel” with you in the center, sending spokes of strong, intent out in every direction, each one touching the heart of one of your clients.

See the delight on their faces, hear their exclamations of surprise, feel their excitement, sense their aha moments in your whole body. Then send the amplified image out with “This or better!” and watch what happens!

Seeing & Feeling the Final Result

No matter what you’re creating, you always want to envision the final result. One of the things I routinely do before all my retreats is envision all my people being surrounded in a cozy, protective cocoon and the retreat being an amazing success. Here’s how it goes:

I start by seeing the entire group sitting in a circle holding hands and sharing energy. No individuals, just nebulous forms. Then I imagine that current of energy beginning to spin around the circle. As the energy spins faster, the bodies gradually fade into one golden doughnut — a doughnut glowing and spinning with such power and speed that just watching it makes me feel exhilarated.

This is the symbol of how I want things to come out — one bright, excited, unified retreat family — everyone protected and complete, living their purpose, realizing their dreams, joyously celebrating this amazing life together.

I sit for a few minutes amping up that image. Then, when I feel joyful and complete myself — exactly as I want everyone else to feel when the retreat is over — I send that image out with the added thought, “This or better!”

I might return to amp up the image a time or two before the retreat, or even feed it a little energy during the event itself. But in the end, how I feel when my retreats are over — and how the group feels, too — is almost identical to the joy and delight I feel when I envision them.

A Tool to Empower Your Life

Of course, envisioning isn’t a substitute for all the nitty-gritty, down to earth stuff you need to do to make your retreat happen. Nothing will ever take the place of dedication and hard work.

But used in conjunction with these other powerful nuts and bolts, it can give you the extra oomph you need to break through barriers, get your retreat off the ground and really make it fly. And the same goes for any other aspect of your business or your life.

Try it out and see what it can do for you. It works like a charm. In fact, it IS a charm! 🙂

Looking to add a powerful experience to your next retreat?

Then you’ll DEFINITELY want to grab our “Vision Walk” retreat bundle so you can add a powerful experience to your next retreat!

The VISION WALK is a powerful tool both you AND your clients can use to resolve ANY question or problem in less than 30 minutes— even ones that have dogged you for years — just by accessing the voice of your own internal wisdom.

Questions like the following can be resolved:

• Who am I and why am I here?
• What’s my purpose in life?
• Where and how can I find happiness?
• How can I make more money?
• Is this relationship right for me?
• What does my business need most right now?
• What’s the next step in my retreat planning?
• Shall I hire an assistant or do it myself?
• And thousands more — in fact, anything!

Here’s what is included:

• • THE COMPREHENSIVE VISION WALK EBOOK, ready for instant download. You’ll be recieving the updated version which is coming out November 8th! The book includes everything you’ll ever want to know about the origins and how-to’s of the Vision Walk, as well teachings and stories (including my personal experiences with don Miguel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements) that will be helpful on your spiritual path.
  • My 14-track Vision Walk book in MP3 form, also ready for instant download. With the MP3, you can listen to the essential chapters in the book anytime, anywhere — even while driving.
  • The Indispensable Vision Walk Meditation, also available as a handy MP3, so you can store it on your phone and do the walk anytime, anywhere — except while you’re driving! ?
  • A Quick-Start Instruction Guide that explains very simply all you need to know to get started doing Vision Walks right away.
  • A Comprehensive 2-Hour Class (including your own first Vision Walk) on November 8th that explains the many ways you can use the Vision Walk for retreats, business and life, how to prepare yourself to do one, how to interpret your walk, and how to begin taking action to make the most of your answers.
  • Forever Access to my Seasonal, Live Online Vision Walks (4 each year!) where you can ask new questions, get fresh answers, get help with interpreting your walks, and learn more about how to use them with your clients.
  • Forever, Ongoing Access to my Vision Walk Private Facebook Support Group, where you can post your questions and experiences, get feedback from me and others in the group, and watch the class and seasonal Vision Walks as often as you like. The private Facebook group will be available indefinitely for ongoing inspiration and support!

To your wanderlust life,
Brandt Morgan, Wordcrafter Extraordinaire & Retreat Strategist @ The Retreat Blueprint Program

During his 30-year career as a professional writer and editor, Brandt has written nine successful books plus hundreds of lively and informative articles for a wide range of publications.

In addition, as a spiritual teacher and Toltec Mentor trained by don Miguel Ruiz, he has designed, marketed and facilitated dozens of his own international retreats.