ALLOW REALITY TO ALIGN

My visions used to scare my husband.  Don’t worry, it's not as bad as it sounds!

Early in our relationship, I would tell him about audacious things I would like to do in my business.  Things that were no where on the horizon or in the current realm of possibility. 

My husband is a very hard working and practical man.  He was concerned that if I set my sights too high, that I would be disappointed.   He didn't realize that this is something I have been doing my whole life. 

Colleen, my Practice Manager and best friend, has been listening to me tell her about my crazy dreams for almost 15 years.  We joke about it and started calling them "visions."  I regularly come into work with an announcement that, "I've had a vision!"

She laughs at me, but she has learned that many of my visions will come to fruition in unpredictable and unexpected ways.

Yesterday, a long-time vision became reality.  Some would say "a dream came true", but that is far too passive.  I held a vision for over a decade and reality slowly, painstakingly aligned with that vision.

I had a vision of someday owning a small office building that would be the home for our practice and client community.  The vision evolved over the years, but here are some of the components:

-Offices for advisors and staff (obviously)

-A modular training room to host educational and client events

-Sleek, modern finishes and furnishings with a spa-like feel

-Ample parking

-Room for growth (that would be leased out initially)

-A yoga/Pilates/massage/etc. business as a tenant

-Located in the city of Denver

-Reasonably priced so that we aren't cashflow poor

-The list goes on and on…

Friends, let me tell you that I had this vision when I was a solo advisor with just my sidekick Colleen.  Oh, by the way, I was recently divorced, negatively cash-flowing life and occupying our tiny 600 sq. ft. office.   

When you look at this list and you realize that I wanted this in a major metro area and on a tight budget, it is laughable!  I don't come from money.  I didn't have large resources to draw on.  I had this vision when it was, frankly, insane.

Yesterday, we purchased a two story, 6500 sq. ft. building in Denver, with 24 parking spaces, a training room, with space for everyone and growth.  Our net monthly payment will be about what we are currently paying on our office lease which happens to be up in March.

The building requires very little work, but has the bones to allow us to turn it into the modern office space that I have always dreamed of.  And…I actually got money back at closing!  Did I mention that we purchased the building with a business partner whose wife happens to own a Pilates studio and wants to expand!?

Reality is aligning perfectly with my vision!

This isn't a story of magical manifestation.  It is a story of vision and alignment.  I have held this vision I my heart for over a decade!  Along the way there have been many disappointments.  Many wrong turns.  Many moments where I thought I should just let it go and lease forever.

In this unique moment where a huge vision is becoming reality, I want to share my manifestation process with you.

Allow yourself to dream.

Most financial advisors are practical folks who value setting realistic goals that that can breakdown incrementally and track their way toward.  Visions aren't practical.  They aren't the logical next step.  They are an expansive view of the future you can barely imagine.  You have to allow yourself to dream when you don't know how you might possibly accomplish it!

Let it evolve.

All of the visions that have become reality for me have been better than I had originally wished for.  I didn't sit down and put it on a vision board and manifest the thing.  I was open for the vision to refine and change and evolve over time as life showed me what I love and what I can easily do without. 

Hold it loosely.

Of all of my advice around manifestation, holding it loosely is the most important and the hardest.  How do you want something in your soul and also let it go at the same time!?  When you hold onto something too tightly, it is a yes/no proposition.  Can I do this?  No.  Done.  When you hold it loosely, there is a feeling of not yet, not this way, working toward it, things will happen, who knows, but maybe, just maybe…  There is a sense of possibility that keeps the door open.

Take the next step.

I couldn't find a building I could afford or force a deal to come together.  I tried for years and I cried many times along the way.  But I always took the steps I could take at the time.  When my husband and I bought a new house four years ago, we kept my old house as a rental.  There was no evidence that I would be able to buy a building, but if it did, I wanted that equity to be my down payment.  I bought the furniture I wanted in the someday building for our current office.  I did what I could to prepare our personal finances.  As I continued to hold it loosely, I always took the next steps along the way.

Do it anyway.

If it's an expansive vision, it's likely to be scary at some point.  I have been told several times that I must be crazy to be buying a building in the middle of a pandemic.  I have thought it myself, but then I projected myself into the future.  What if the tenants move out, do I have the cash-flow to carry the building?  Yep.  What if there is an issue or delay with construction?  Can we operate out of the building as is?  Yep.  If it is your vision and you have done what you can to mitigate the downside, then, even if it's intimidating, you have to just do it anyway!  You are resourceful and you are surrounded by people who support you.  You will figure it out!

I am amazed at how life has aligned with my vision by doing these five things.  The exiting part is that the end result is always so much better than I could have ever envisioned initially. 

The process of allowing the dream and then letting it evolve…holding it loosely while taking the next steps and ultimately doing it anyway, even when it's scary, has allowed me to do incredible things!

I don’t want to create the idea that my life is perfect.  Those who know me will tell you that I am a humble person and I am intimately aware of my shortcomings.  This blog is not meant to impress anyone, only to share with you the process that I have refined over a lifetime.

I truly hope that this process serves you and that you give yourself permission to have dream big and allow reality to align with that vision.

With Purpose,

-Lucila

My friend, if you want to do big things in your business, I would suggest that you surround yourself with people who will support your vision!

If you aren't already a member of the IMPLEMENTATION Monthly Mastermind, you should take advantage of your free trial month.  We get together live once a month where I share new insights to help advisors build profitable, purpose-driven practices.  I answer Q&A live and we spend time learning from and supporting each other on the call.

Join us!  You can cancel at any time.  I would love to learn about your vision on our next call!

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