Visual Goal Setting: Interview with Patti Dobrowolski

We first met Patti Dobrowolski at TEDxRainier and were very impressed with her technique on Visual Goal Setting and how it can help you to achieve your goals. 

In her just released book, Drawing Solutions: How Visual Goal Setting Will Change Your Life, she shows readers how this technique really works.

Dan Roam, author of the international bestseller, The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures, has praised her book: “A wonderful book.  What makes Patti great is that she actually does what we all should:  she DRAWS out her ideas where we can all SEE them!”

We were very fortunate to get the opportunity to speak with her and learn more about her visual goal setting techniques...

Meylah:  How did you initially learn to solve problems by drawing the solutions?

Patti: One sunny California afternoon, I found myself on my hands and knees crying in a stranger’s garden. At first I was crying because I had tried unsuccessfully to prune a lemon tree.  The hacked up tree showed quite clearly that I was pretending to be a gardener because I was not able to find any other job. Up until then I had been a successful actor and writer –I’d even been on Broadway and then something happened that I never expected: someone wrote a really negative interview about my work and me. Despite my trying to get over that review, some part of me realized my career was history and I needed to make a change.

That’s when I decided to own by life and my destiny. I dreamt of a desired new reality and I thought, “I should draw this out.”  So I did, and things started to shift and change.  I started to meet my goals much more quickly.  Whenever I felt lost or confused about my next step, I drew my thoughts and ideas on paper. The more I did this exercise, the more I was able to realize my dreams using what I call my “Snapshot of a Big Picture” process. Since that time, I have used this process with thousands of people in a wide variety of settings, both personal and business and found it to be amazingly effective helping others navigate changes in their lives.

Meylah: Tell us about your new published book.

Patti: The good news is we can live the life we desire. It’s right in front of us. To achieve it, you have to see it, and then, you must graciously ask your brain to help you execute what you see – your vision.  The inspiration behind this book, Drawing Solutions: How Visual Goal Setting Will Change Your Life, was to give tools and techniques I have used to everyone, so that they could see how to use a simple picture to help them get what they want. My book allows you to draw your desired reality through a simple, fun, visual mapping technique that will help make changing your life easier than you think.

Meylah: Any parting words for our creative community?

Patti: The only thing we can count on in life is change. Knowing how to use a well-proven technique to navigate changes when they happen to you is critical for your success, happiness and ultimately survival.  Whether you dream to be an author, successful business owner or pursue your creative dream, don’t give up. I encourage you to try something different; which is both a great way to start this process and a means to wake your brain up by telling it “Pay attention, new things are happening here!” Plus you will have a great time turning your dream into reality!

About Patti

"Patti Dobrowolski is a nationally acclaimed comic actor, high-performance business consultant, speaker and the author of Drawing Solutions: How Visual Goal Setting Will Change Your Life.  She consults one on one with individuals to help them unleash their creative genius. She also works with teams at a number of leading Fortune 500 companies, including Microsoft, Pepsico and FedEx, to help them create more effective workplace strategies.

Ms. Dobrowolski received her Master’s degree in psychology with an emphasis in drama therapy from the California Institute of Integral Studies. She is currently a member of the National Speaker’s Association and was a TEDxRainier speaker in 2011. She won the “Woman of Achievement Award” from the Association of Women in Communications in 2004 and was a recipient of the “Make Mine a Million $ Business Award” in 2008.”

Here are a few additional resources to learn more about Patti and her innovative goal setting techniques:

• Watch her TedxRainier Presentation
• Visit her Website

Special Surprise! Patti is generously giving away 20 copies of her book in a contest right her on Meylah that will start on February 13, 2012...click here for the details on how to win!