The power of intention moves you beyond wishful thinking
When we started Apres Creative in 2013, we didn’t wish it into existence. We conceived the idea, planned and worked hard to bring it to life. We could not have achieved the launch of our business, nor the success it has created over the past seven years, without the power of intention.
Before the pandemic and social-distancing orders, the three of us reconnected with that intention at Oprah Winfrey’s incredible and inspiring #2020VisionTour. We reflected upon what has led each of us to our professional and personal dreams thus far and also spent time envisioning what we want for the future.
Why set an intention?
Oprah prompted event attendees to reflect upon what they hope to achieve and asked:
“What’s your wellness intention? Every successful journey relies on clear intention – the why behind every action.”
She focuses specifically on wellness, but the idea of wellness expands beyond physical and mental health. It can encompass your whole life, including your business, finances and more. Setting intentions with a view toward increased wellness in all aspects of life can help you connect with your deeper reasons for pursuing some goals over others.
Without understanding your internal motivations, you can easily feel pressured to follow someone else’s definition of success. You can find yourself on a journey that doesn’t fit your own values or dreams – one that leaves you feeling hollow and empty because you were chasing someone else’s goal. Setting an intention keeps your mind and spirit focused on your own journey.
From a business perspective, that intention can mean the difference between mediocrity and success. The three of us have remained committed to creating a business that fits who we are as people, which in turn allows us to deliver our best work to the clients we serve. If we had simply followed someone else’s business model, we would not have been able to create as authentically as we have.
How to set an intention
First, you take the time to understand your starting point. Then you consider where you want to be in the future, and why, which leads you to an intention that can define your next steps.
Oprah challenged the group with the question:
“Is it one day, or day one?”
“One day” may never come. Without intention and clear action plans, your goal could remain an elusive fantasy for years. With intention, however, “day one” sets you on an action-driven course toward achieving your goal. It’s the difference between wishing and actively making a decision to act.
That intention, according to Oprah, becomes a new, healthy habit. For each healthy habit, you can then set cues and rewards that support you in solidifying it as a pattern in your life. A cue can be as simple as a calendar reminder, and a reward is something meaningful you give yourself that signifies completion of each milestone along your journey.
Those cues and rewards help keep you on track and help prevent your intention of slipping back into “one day” mode.
What we intend
As we continue to practice social distancing, we have not lost sight of our vision and intentions for Apres Creative.
Oprah asked us to:
“Nourish what makes you feel confident, connected, contended. Opportunity will rise to meet you.”
Our work and our clients are a big part of that formula for each of us. Along with family, friends, travel, music, great food – and all the other ingredients that go into a satisfying life – we each actively intend to continue our creative work. We can’t wait to see what exciting projects 2020 has in store for us, and we look forward to connecting with our clients (from afar or otherwise) to innovate and create.
Looking for a new way to approach your multifamily branding and marketing? Reach out to us.
