Got a Dream? Cut it Out!

From where I stand, all is possible.  This attitude is a form of psychotic innocence that no force can dent.  For example, I believe I could learn anything, be anything, do anything or have anything, all by Tuesday. 

Experts tell me that’s crap.  They say we have to plan our dreams or they will never arrive.  Well, Tuesday always arrives, so where’s their logic? 

But sometimes the experts are right, so I spent a whole day on the floor planning for 2007.  I’m now the exhausted owner of weekly goals, monthly goals, quarterly goals, annual goals and 10-year goals (for dreams that even I have to admit are too huge to be squeezed in before Tuesday, like learning not to bump into things).

Secret Attraction

After all that planning I needed a break.  I sat down and watched the metaphysical cult-hit DVD, The Secret, which reveals the ancient key to being, doing or having anything you want, maybe even before Tuesday. 

The experts in The Secret were not perky time-management strategists, but popular authors, philosophers and theoretical physicists.  They explain that the secret of the ages (oh sorry, am I blowing it for you?) is the Law of Attraction, which states that the nature of your thoughts attracts all of the experiences you have, and even the people you’re surrounded by. This is a real kick in the teeth at first, but then I remembered that my relatives had all left town after the New Year’s debacle.

Seeing is Achieving

One of the speakers in The Secret recommends stoking the Law of Attraction by using a ‘vision board’.  He cuts out pictures of stuff he likes and tacks them up on a bulletin board.  He looks at the board every day, imagining the feeling of having already achieved the successes pictured there.  This really, really, really worked for him.  (Okay, I won’t blow it for you.) 

I really liked the Vision Board idea but the only bulletin board I could find in the garage was from World War II.  Time to upgrade.

I went in search of a new one but all I could find were cheesy bulletin boards with flimsy frames of fake wood. I was attracting crap! So I changed my tack (as it were) and bought some nice picture frames.  Then I drove to The Home Depot and bought a $15 slab of their corkboard (half-inch fiberboard with cork laminated onto one side).

I built two handsome Vision Boards and loaded them up with images of tools, vehicles, tools, tropical vacations, tractors and tools.  Lots of tools.  I hung the boards where I can gaze at them from my desk, and now I have to wear a bib to catch the drool, so I’m pretty sure the Law of Attraction will find me. 

Detailed Steps

Use a felt pen to mark corkboard (cork side up) with the correct dimensions to fit the frame of your choice.

Score the cut-lines with a utility knife.  Use a carpenter's square to guide the blade.  Make several passes with the utility knife, going deeper with each pass until you're almost all the way through. 

Then flip the board over and complete cutting from the back.

Place the corkboard so it sits snugly inside the frame. 

Next, use tongue-in-groove pliers to slowly squeeze finish nails along the sides and at corners to hold the corkboard in place. TIP:  Place a piece of non-stick vinyl drawer-liner between the frame surface and the pliers so the metal teeth don't mar the frame's finish. You may have to pre-drill if your frame is hardwood.   If your frame wasn't recessed enough to hold the full depth of the corkboard, you'll have to drill at an angle through the corkboard and then tap the nails into place with a hammer.   

Next, install eye-hooks and wire or 3M Command Adhesive Picture Hanging Strips. You may want to cover the nail heads with masking tape if they protrude.  This will prevent them from scratching the walls. 

Mount that baby and start snipping!

Comments

[jesse cerda]

looks real neat going to make myself one. thank-you jesse

[Jacob Kennedy]

Just thought you should know that the "Try this tool" link takes you to the Toronto Sun who want $10 to view the article. I appreciate your advice and love your shows but $10 is a lot for any advice regarding my dreams :-).

[Mag]

Thanks, Jacob. I didn't know that was happening. We removed the link and just printed the whole article here. Sorry about that. Now my dream advice is free, the way it should be.