What is your vision?

What is your vision? This episode explains what you should be asking yourself to understand exactly what it is you want to do and what that looks like.

Watch the video version: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivtalk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/JennOcken/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-ocken/

Samantha Morgan:

Welcome to episode two! Two!

Jenn Ocken:

Number two!

Samantha Morgan:

Number two of ThrivTalk.

Jenn Ocken:

Dos.

Samantha Morgan:

Hard to believe it's been a whole week.

Jenn Ocken:

I know. Time flies.

Samantha Morgan:

It feels just ... I mean, God, five minutes ago or something.

Jenn Ocken:

I know, right?

Samantha Morgan:

Yeah.

Jenn Ocken:

One of my big things that I want to do, and I think every podcast wants, is just to make sure that I'm giving people enough valuable information. It's really important to me, so I really want some feedback from the people so I'm giving them what they want because I've got a lot to offer. I just don't always know exactly what it is they need.

Samantha Morgan:

Well, let's talk about how to give feedback then.

Jenn Ocken:

Okay.

Samantha Morgan:

So I'm listening to this now and I'm like, "I got some feedback for you. Get that dog out of there." No, I'm just kidding. Sorry about Jenn. Say I'm listening right now and I want to give you some feedback. What's the way to do that? How do I do that?

Jenn Ocken:

Well, one of the most direct contacts with me is go onto the website and you can download one of our freebies. The links are everywhere, jennocken.com/thrivtalk, and you'll get an email once you've downloaded those. And if you directly respond to that email and ask me anything you want, give us any kind of feedback, I'll hold a conversation with you there. I love that kind of stuff. It's just because I'm so ready to know what it is our listeners are wanting and where they're at in their journey, because this is all about them. I've taken the journey. I think the last episode, we talked about the 20-year journey a little bit, and just being in a space where I've experienced the highs and lows.

I've experienced the fails, which is kind of what we're going to get into today, that I don't believe that there is ever a true fail, especially when you're moving through purpose and moving towards something that you feel really strongly about or you're really good at. Whatever that looks for you on a creative business entrepreneur space, there's no fails. And I think society ... I think our place now is seeing that we have so much to learn from what is considered a mistake, and I would like to negate that even more here.

Samantha Morgan:

That's really the important part here, is having that two-sided conversation. This isn't a "talking to," it's a "talking with." Also, social media would probably be a good way.

Jenn Ocken:

Any comments. Yeah.

Samantha Morgan:

Yeah.

Jenn Ocken:

Private message me. I'm okay with that. I know a lot of people don't like to have too many.

Samantha Morgan:

Show up at her house. Just walk in the door. She'll probably give you the code.

Jenn Ocken:

There is a little bit of truth there behind that.

Samantha Morgan:

So let's talk about what we're getting into today because you said you're excited to talk about it.

Jenn Ocken:

I'm very excited.

Samantha Morgan:

Let's jump right in.

Jenn Ocken:

Yeah. I mean, I really want to talk in and hone in on the vision. What is your vision?

Samantha Morgan:

Right.

Jenn Ocken:

Ask yourself the questions, and actually sitting with them and understanding what it is that you really want to do and how that looks. And a lot of things, for each person, will dictate how they perceive their vision, different elements in their personal life, responsibilities that they have to hold to, a lifestyle that they want to live. That's a part of your vision. Who you want in that circle of friends, that's all very important in the vision, and getting as detailed as possible is clutch-

Samantha Morgan:

Yeah.

Jenn Ocken:

And actually writing it. Do you write down your vision? Have you ever written down a vision, Sam?

Samantha Morgan:

I have not been very good about that in the past, but I'm definitely starting to try and do that. I have started to try to outline some things. And I do find myself able to focus on it a little bit more when I actually start putting pen to paper and looking at what I'm trying to say.

Jenn Ocken:

It doesn't have to be pen to paper. It could be a recording.

Samantha Morgan:

Right.

Jenn Ocken:

It could be a video to yourself. But the fact of the matter is, when you actually define it, the first thing you need to say to yourself, or to understand, is that nothing is finite. We are organic, ever-evolving, and we have the right to change our mind at any time, in any conversation with ourselves or with anybody else. But to write it out, speak it out, give it life in some way. You then have the opportunity to see it and make a commitment to it.

Samantha Morgan:

You had us do a vision board earlier this year and that was my first time ever doing one, even though this is not a new concept. People have been doing this forever. I don't know what took me so long to get around to doing it. But I found myself a couple weeks after doing it, and I was like, "Okay, I want to do another one now, and focus in on this and focus in on that."

Jenn Ocken:

You had immediate results from doing it.

Samantha Morgan:

Yeah.

Jenn Ocken:

And it was just that energy, that joy that you put in. Surrounding yourself with a team, with your community, doing something fun, so good energy was through it that way. But you really got to look through the pages of your outside world. Cutting out magazines is kind of a reflection of we're seeing things in our outside world. We're seeing things we don't like. We're seeing things that really make us excited and fun. What type of lifestyle do you want to live? And I say look externally, not to compare yourself, but it's like, "I have an idea of what kind of car I want to drive."

Samantha Morgan:

Okay.

Jenn Ocken:

And that's kind of a legit thing. I know a lot of people are flashing and putting themselves next to Lamborghinis and this and that, and that brings them into a reflection that they have such a great life. No. There's a certain luxury and a feel because I'm in my car a lot traveling.

Samantha Morgan:

Yeah, you are.

Jenn Ocken:

And I want to be comfortable. It's the feeling that I have. The type of house that I live in, that is the kind of lifestyle. It reflects who I am. I love my house. I'm grounded into a home. That's very important to me. And this'll kind of segue into our next episode, is talking about core values and it being a customized system of checks and balances for as you're moving through, making decisions on how your vision is unfolding. But one of my core values is a balanced life. So when I work, I work hard. I work efficiently, I work fast. I have systems. But then when I'm not working, I'm turned off.

Samantha Morgan:

I would die to see what Jenn turned off looks like because I don't think that many people get to see that side of you.

Jenn Ocken:

Nobody gets to see it.

Samantha Morgan:

Right, because you're turned off.

Jenn Ocken:

Because I'm alone. I am alone in that turn-off. I'm one of those people that I need to recharge in a solo environment, even without my dogs. So that's the other thing, a part of your vision. Knowing yourself, understanding what you need. If something's not working out, it's not because you failed. It's because you might need to go at it a different way. When we have a vision and we start cultivating our core values, you have this system to check against, "Okay. Do I really want to go to this community event? Is volunteering this way good for my soul?" Because volunteering is great for your soul, but you got to find the type of volunteering that's good for your soul.

Samantha Morgan:

Right.

Jenn Ocken:

Taking pictures is very good for my soul, but what type of photos do I need to take that's going to cultivate that passion and that celebration and that excitement that photography gives me? Not every type of photography does that. So when we're moving through our vision and how it looks, we have to know ourselves in such a way that we can understand what it is we do and don't want. In my lean in exercises, I work people through having them think about lessons, times that they felt like they failed, to experience what it is that brings them back into knowing what it is they want. Sometimes we have to know what we don't want.

Samantha Morgan:

What's so funny is we're gym buddies, and after we go and do our workout, we sit and have a cup of coffee out in the little lobby area and journal a little bit. Because for me, we go swimming, and so I spend that whole time just kind of thinking about stuff and stuff pops up. Then I write it down afterwards and it's really-

Jenn Ocken:

It's like a nice little download.

Samantha Morgan:

A nice little download before I start the day so I don't just keep ruminating on that all day long. So the thing that I got stuck on today and wrote down was about I'm saying yes to a lot of things. I've got some new clients that I'm working with and I'm saying yes constantly. And so now, I'm starting to say, "Well, when am I going to say no, and what am I going to say no to? Where's my boundary? Where are my lines?" Right now, I haven't had any reason to say no because there's nothing I wanted to say no to yet. But the no's coming and I don't know what it's going to look like, and so I'm trying to create a vision of-

Jenn Ocken:

Of what it's going to look like.

Samantha Morgan:

"What does no look like?"

Jenn Ocken:

It's good to do that because you're creating the boundary to visualize, "What is that no? Where is my boundary?" Helps you step into that confidence of being able to say no. Because when you say no to something that doesn't elate you, doesn't bring you joy, isn't a part of your vision, doesn't check back in with your core values, those kinds of things, you're going to experience those ... I put in quotation marks ... "fails," so you're learning harder. When you do that, it's very valuable, and that is part of a vision. Writing in your journal is part of the vision as a form of visioning. It is just setting yourself up for success. Now, the other flip side ... and this is the balanced life ... is I would put too much energy into the what ifs. When am I going to say no?

Samantha Morgan:

Like you, specifically?

Jenn Ocken:

Yes, and I would go into that brain where it's like, "That's where I would say no." But then I would sit there and have the argument or the banter of a conversation that might never happen, so you're spending too much energy. You got to give yourself a boundary too. "This is not where I need to go right now." But the idea behind writing down your vision or doing a vision board, for me, is knowing that it's obtainable, even if I don't know how that looks, and letting it flow organically. I'm going to tell you. Once I started just opening up to the idea that I could have a house that I wanted ... I could get out of a condo and go into a house ... I don't even understand completely what made that flip for me. But that mindset, that shift, it moved a lot faster.

I don't want people to write down a vision and be angsty because they feel like their vision is out of reach. The idea behind it is it's got to be obtainable and believable for you, which is probably why your vision was so successful. You already knew in your heart that you could attain everything that you laid out on your board.

Samantha Morgan:

True.

Jenn Ocken:

And it just happened faster than you expected.

Samantha Morgan:

I stayed within the boundaries that I was already kind of in.

Jenn Ocken:

Comfortable with.

Samantha Morgan:

Comfortable with. This is my question. How do you set boundaries that are further out without creating too much anxiety for yourself?

Jenn Ocken:

Well, you got to check them. "Does all of this go with my core values?" That's one thing.

Samantha Morgan:

Okay.

Jenn Ocken:

And I'm big on core values. I'm big on core values. I think everybody should name them. I do think they're ever-evolving. Mine haven't changed in the last two years.

Samantha Morgan:

Can you give an example of what would a core value be?

Jenn Ocken:

Well, mine is cultivating creativity.

Samantha Morgan:

Okay.

Jenn Ocken:

So doing this podcast is very much in line with cultivating creativity.

Samantha Morgan:

Gotcha.

Jenn Ocken:

Another one is living a balanced life. So if this podcast started taking over too much of my anxiety or my time or energy, I would have to reevaluate it. Okay. Core values ask you to step back and check in. The other thing is your experiences that you've had. Commitment is another thing. I know that expanding, going into more public speaking than what I already do, or asking for what I'm going to ask for on one-on-one consultation prices, that all brings up a lot of anxiety for me. Total vulnerability right here, right?

Samantha Morgan:

Yeah.

Jenn Ocken:

But I also know that when I am creating, when I am cultivating creativity, when I am working one-on-one with somebody, when I'm working on this podcast, that anxiety of, "I hope that I can do what I say I want to do for people," pushes me. It's self-competitive. Pushing yourself to grow, committing to yourself in a growth, putting yourself outside of your comfort zone. It's a self competition for me that helps me expand and do things. Circling back around to my community. I've got a bunch of people around me that are valuable to coming up together.

Samantha Morgan:

Yeah.

Jenn Ocken:

I've had the question, "What if you don't have that?" I suggest strongly in cultivating that. I'm one of those people. Listen to this podcast on a reg because I'm one of those people that are always going to be lifting up. I want to bust the starving artist myth in committing to that vision that you have and knowing it's going to be ever-changing. And being okay with that allows you a freedom to take risks.

Samantha Morgan:

Yeah. Awesome.

Jenn Ocken:

It's really letting go, too, of that outside comparison judgment. Bring that competition vibe within you. Next day, next time, push yourself a little bit.

Samantha Morgan:

All right, Miss Jenn. Well, I think we have covered the values pretty solidly.

Jenn Ocken:

Until next week, y'all.

Samantha Morgan:

Until next week, visualize something. All right.

Jenn Ocken:

Three years.

Samantha Morgan:

Three years from now.

Jenn Ocken:

Right.

Samantha Morgan:

Very good. All right, goodbye.