Dream Life: Living a Dream Lifestyle: Step 3 - Decide

Deneen L. Garrett: Hello, and welcome to another episode of Women of Color, An Intimate Conversation. I am your host, Deneen L. Garrett. I'm also a Women's Empowerment Speaker and a Dream Lifestyle Coach, which is what this episode is about. So this is episode three of my How to Live a Dream Lifestyle series. So episode one was giving you an overview, introducing you to my three plus Ds framework to live a dream lifestyle. So number one is dream. Number two is design. And so that's two plus. And then three is drive towards living your dream lifestyle. And last week was the dream episode. So during that dream episode, you know, that's the time for you to reflect on the life that you want. You know, it's really just about thinking and seeing and what it is that you want to be. It's really no other action other than that. It's just dreaming big, you know, in your mind, creating that life that you want, something that you've always wanted for yourself, something that you see in other people that you will love for yourself. However it is, that's what you're supposed to do. So let me just read this quote that I have in front. So let's see. This quote is by someone who I just absolutely love her book, We Should All Be Millionaires. And you can actually get that book through my Amazon channel. So just go to deninelgarrett.com and go to the shop Amazon with Denise. And you can look at the different books that I recommend, books that I've read, books that I'm reading, books that my guests have even mentioned. And also, I'll have it in the show notes. But Rachel Rogers, who is the author of that book, she says, and this is what she wrote in her book, create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life because you become what you believe. And so actually, that quote is Oprah Winfrey's, but it was one that I found in Rachel's book. So that's, again, what the dream phase is of my 3 plus D steps. So again, today, we're getting into decide design. And now it's time to get to work, right? It's to start getting busy. It's to start taking action. So taking what you saw in your mind and actually doing something with that. So during this design phase, you will decide what you want your dream life to be, see it in the physical, and create a vision board or journal about it. So this is a time where you take what you thought about, what you dreamed about, what you saw in others, in Pinterest and magazines, on TV, social media, in just your mind's eye. Now you're going to take that and you're going to do something with it. And so one of the things that you can do is to create a vision board. So if you're not familiar with a vision board, basically what people have done in the past, they use old school magazines and they cut out pictures that represent what they want for themselves. So we're talking about that dream life. And so whatever you came up for yourself. So for me, an example of what my vision board will look like is you will see lots of travel. As a matter of fact, the shirt that I'm wearing, it's my merch, so you can actually get it at shopwithdenine. Again, you can go to deninelgarri.com and slash and go to the shopwithdenine. And then you can order Live a Dream Lifestyle merchandise. So I'm excited about that. And I actually have two different, there's actually three different designs. However, two of the designs are actually like scenes. So like I said, so something like this would be what I would cut out, right? So the different elements that are in my top, I would cut those out and that's what will go on my vision board. So you would have a woman representing me, you would see her with a suitcase, planes, an island, different things that represent travel because that's number one for me or how I live a dream lifestyle. But again, it's taking what you've envisioned for yourself and making it tangible, right? Starting to make it tangible so you can get to the final stage, which is driving towards making it happen. But we're not there yet, okay? We're not there yet. We're at the side design. So taking a step back, again, you spent the time where you thought about what you wanted for your life. And then you have to decide, okay, well, out of those different things that I thought about, how do I want my life to be, right? And so now that's the decision, where you come to that decision, again, take everything that you did in your dream phase, and now you're like, okay, out of all those things, I went big, I dreamed big, there were no barriers around, I didn't put myself in a box. And so now you have to decide, well, what exactly do you want it to be? to be, right? And now we can get into the designing phase, get into the creating of the vision board, or just journaling. I did kind of mention I'm in a dream phase, so journal, which you don't necessarily have to do that in the dream phase. Because again, really, we're just taking the time to just think about it. But definitely in this phase, this design phase, so having the design, that's where you're actually going to get the work and you're going to journal about it, right? You're going to map it out. You're going to create a vision board, an aspiration board. There's even such a thing that I've heard about this year, a mood board. So whatever is your visual representation for yourself of the life that you want to live, that's what you want to do. You want to go ahead and create that because you know, we're visual beings, and we like to see it, right? We like to see it, remind us, you know, there's a triggering, and again, triggering in a good way, triggering us into action when you see it, right? So you have it, like I have paintings behind me, and the paintings behind me are from family members. I actually have something that I created when I was in elementary school. But you know, you would, The way I have these hung up, you would hang up your vision board. You would put it somewhere that you would see. Wherever that place is, wherever that place is, that's going to motivate you, remind you, like, oh, let me take action on my board. But again, we're not taking action yet. We're just setting everything up to take action. So let me just pause there for a moment and look through my notes and see what else I want to make sure. Another thing that you can do is a personal SWOT. And so a SWOT is Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. And you can do something like that for your life as well, right? You can do that. Because this is the phase where we're doing, we're designing, you know, like, okay, what is that going to look like? You know, like an architect, or would prepare for a building, you know, right? So before someone builds something, you have to actually put it to paper, right? You have to go ahead and do blueprints. Again, map it out. What is it going to look like? And the foundation and the levels and the floors and the rooms and all of those type of things is what goes into the design phase. And that's where we are with our dream life. So the planning. Like I said, a vision board, physical vision board. And then for those who are, you know, really connected to the internet, online, virtual, whatnot, then you can use something like Pinterest. And Pinterest is, you can create that vision board on Pinterest. I did that before as well. So whatever works best for you. I mean, a combination, right? You don't want to hold yourself back in this phase either, right? Because, you know, design it. Whatever works best for you to go ahead and design it. and you want to be able to refer back to it, and you want it to be somewhere that's near you. And I mean, you can do it on Pinterest, right? So you're doing it online on Pinterest, and you can always print it out. So whatever works best for you, whatever is your mode that you prefer, go ahead with that again. Generally, you may prefer to actually map it out or write it out. And this is how I want it to be, again, a combination of all of this. So again, I am the host of Women of Color and Intimate Conversation. I'm also a Women's Empowerment Speaker and a Dream Lifestyle Coach. And that's what we're here today to talk about the third step of my 3 plus D's framework. for living a dream lifestyle. Next week will be drive. So that's where we're actually now going to start to put to apply it. So what we designed, we're going to go ahead and apply it next week. But again, we're not there yet. We're going to sit with this deciding phase and then designing what we've decided upon. That's what we're doing in this particular stage. And I want to go back to that quote that I had read. create the highest grandest vision possible for your life because you become what you believe. And again, that's from Oprah. And I saw it in Rachel Rogers' book. And the thing about Rachel, what I like about her, and that's another something else that you can definitely use as well, right? So going back to your dream phase, books. Rachel, she talks a lot in her book, writes a lot rather, about living your dream life, right? And so what Rachel says is pretty much what I'm saying. Envision it, see it for yourself, right? So this. see it, how do you want it to be, right? Okay, so you want to live on a beach, you want to drive this type of car, you want your children to go to this particular school, you wanna wear these type of clothing, you wanna vacation this often, et cetera. All of those are elements of your lifestyle, right? They could be elements of your lifestyle. So go ahead and again, you thought about it, right? You envision it, you saw it, And now we're at the point where, okay, out of all those things that I saw, right, because I thought about, well, a beach where, right? What kind of house, what kind of style? So those things is just where you're just thinking big. And now in this decision, it's like, okay, well, I decide I want my house to be on a beach in Belize, in Key Cawker. And I say Kekawker because I visited there recently and let me oh my God I love it right I just love how it was a small island, and it was one of those islands where everybody knew each other. And so, you know that right getting very specific I'm deciding upon. what I want, the life that I want, where I want to be and live, et cetera. And so that, again, is the decision. And now let me start designing it. What does it look like? Let me go ahead, what I've decided, let me go ahead and map it out in however, whatever ways that I want to map it out. And that's what you do in this particular phase. And again, the final phase, we're not there. But just setting things up. And what I also want to say is, it's not in cement, right? You're not putting any of this in stone. And even if you are, stones can be broken, right? The point is, whatever you come up with right now, you don't have to stick with, you can change it. You know, that's another thing as far as like the putting together your vision board. You know, whether it's on Pinterest, you can delete something, remove it. You know, whether it's on a board, you can take it off that board. You can continue to redesign. It's like, this is just to get you started to think. And as you grow and as you, you know, elevate in life, things, so will your taste, so will the things that you want. And all of that is great and it's okay. And another thing that I want to highlight and really emphasize is you don't have to come up with the entire plan, right? You can just focus on one element of it, one aspect of it. You know, like I said, for me, number one is travel. And that's really what I focus on. So for me, it's about travel. It's about traveling. you know, having the freedom and flexibility to travel when I want, where I want. And I had set that up, right? I didn't just walk into it. I had to come up with, okay, dreaming, this is what I want, I love to travel, I always have, you know, and then I had to decide, okay, well, you know, what type of places do I want to travel to? and what does that look like, the design of it, and then again, we're not there yet, but you know, executing it, making it happen, driving towards making it happen. But again, start small. Don't overwhelm yourself because that's not what it's about either. You know, all of this should be fun. It should be joyful, right? Because that's what living your dream life is about. It's about being joyful. And so if you're needing help with living a dream lifestyle, you're wanting someone to help you, guide you, cheer you on. I can definitely help you with that. So reach out to me. I've also created what I'm talking to you about each week. This series is a four-part series. I've also created a program to walk you through it as well. Because these videos, this podcast episode is really just a teaser. But we can get together, we can connect I can coach you through it, we can work together, a partnership through it. So definitely reach out if you're interested in that, go to deninelgarrett.com slash coaching. You can even email me at deninelgarrett.com and let me know what you're interested in. So I will be back with you on next week where we will get to that final step, the drive step, right? The drive piece of my three plus D's How to Live a Dream Lifestyle coaching program. So until then, I hope you all have a wonderful week. Reach out to me if you have any questions, comments, please comment on YouTube, listening on your favorite podcast platform. I really want to drive you towards YouTube though, because I'm really trying to build my channel. I'm really trying to and you know, and then to be able to see me right and and see the expressions and to be able to connect with me that way. And again, those who love the audio part, you can just listen to YouTube as well, because I do that when I'm walking. I will have YouTube open and and listening to the person and then always have an option to look at the video if that's what I choose to do. But I'm really trying to push my channel. So I really want you all to subscribe to it, share it with other people. And I appreciate you. And just on a side note, I want to shout out my top international audience. So number one is Bangladesh, number two is India, and number three is Spain. And it's been that way for a while. So thank you all for being committed and loyal. We do have some others that are you know, Vine to get into that number three spot. So it's just exciting to me to see that. And then for the US, because I can't forget about the homegrown, the homies. Of course, Michigan is number one. And I love that, right? Because I am a Detroiter. Michigan is home. So I appreciate Michigan for standing up and representing. So greatly appreciate you. And I'm just going to, you know, shout out Michigan for number one right now. And then next time, let's see who else, where else we can shout out. Again, thank you so much for tuning in, whether again, you're watching on YouTube, you're listening on your favorite podcast platform, I appreciate you. And until next time, bye and enjoy.