In 1993, a nine-year-old girl was asked by her teacher to make a vision board. She pinned a photo of the singer, Selena holding her Grammy award. That little girl grew up to become an international pop star-one. That little girl was Katy Perry.

It was 2006 when a 36 year-old woman sat in her guest bedroom and wrote five impossible things she wanted to pursue: (1) writing books, (2) co-hosting a TV show, (3) hosting a women's conference, (4) helping troubled teenagers, (5) launching a ministry outreach to France. All five were achieved by 2011. That woman was me.

The point I want you to understand is this:
You will NEVER leave where you are until you SEE where you'd rather be!

A vital component to your success is to surround yourself with what can be not just what is. That's the power of vision.

One of the best tools for harnessing this power is a vision board. A vision board adds clarity to your dreams and desires. It helps you concentrate and focus on your life goals . . . those things God has placed in your heart to be, do, and have.

Why do you need a vision board?
Vision boards and vision board parties have become popular over time, but so many people do not realize that God is the One who wants us to be clear on our vision.

Where there is no vision, the people perish.
(Prov. 29:18)

Let's break that scripture down in more plain terms—perish means die! Vision keeps you alive. It takes you from where you currently are to where you long to be!

Back in Genesis, God told Abraham, "Go outside and look up at the stars, for as many stars as you can see, that's how many descendants you are going to have" (Gen. 15:5). He later told Abraham to look at the grains of sand because it also represented the number of his future descendants. God wanted Abraham to have a picture of it in his mind.

Consider this: Abraham lived in the desert. What was he surrounded by all night long? Stars. What was he surrounded by all day long? Sand. God knew it wasn't enough for Abraham to hear about his future, but he also needed to see where he was headed. He was literally surrounded by vision. Ultimately, he became what he beheld.

When you create your vision in the form of a vision board, a vision book, or even an app on your smart phone, you are seeing yourself the way you want to be. I have been using vision boards for years as a tool to apply my faith, and they have helped to keep me in a state of continual progression.

What is a vision board?
A vision board is a collage of pictures and images depicting your dreams. It can range from places you want to go, things you want to have, aspirations you want to achieve, and your deepest desires in fulfilling your personal life goals. It is portions of your life-assignment displayed on a simple board.

Why does a vision board work?
It's not that the board itself causes your dreams to magically appear; it's what the realization and clarity of your dreams does to you that makes it work!

Personally, I have experienced the fulfillment of a wide range of dreams (and even personal desires) in my life by consistently having my dreams clearly visible before me.

If your life hasn't progressed like you've wanted in the past few years, then perhaps you need vision (and a clear one at that).

What's in front of you is far more important than what's behind you. Sure, you learn from your past. Yes, you turn your messes into a message to help others. But you shouldn't spend more time reliving, rehearsing or remembering the past when God has so much for you to accomplish in your future.

Paul said in Philippians 4:13-14, "This one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind and reaching for those things which are ahead, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus."

This principle should be applied to every area of our lives. Reach for those things which are ahead! In order to reach for them, you have to be clear on what those things are. So, before you start cutting and pasting away, put a demand on your faith to dream bigger and get clear on what you need to pursue!