The Reticular Activating System (RAS)
The brain's ultimate filtering mechanism.
Does a vision board make you notice opportunities?
There is a real mechanism here, though it is usually overstated. Sustained focus on a goal biases attention toward goal-relevant information, an effect well documented as attentional bias. Framing this as the reticular activating system is popular shorthand rather than precise neuroscience.
Source: Moruzzi & Magoun, 1949 · attentional-bias literature
The RAS is a bundle of nerves at the brainstem (documented since Moruzzi & Magoun, 1949) that filters out the billions of bytes of data we are exposed to every second. It only lets through what it deems important.
When you focus on your FutureSelf vision board, you are literally training your RAS to spot opportunities. A job offer, a chance meeting, or a subtle sign that you previously would have missed suddenly comes into sharp focus because your brain is programmed to look for it.