Page 34 - Standard Workbook 8-27-18

TOPUCU Standard Workbook
LESSON 5: PART 2
FINISH BEFORE YOU START
Visualization can be defined as, “The
practice of seeking to affect the outer
world by changing one’s inner thoughts
and expectations. It’s the basic technique
underlying positive thinking which is
frequently used to enhance performance.”
In other words, visualization is a
powerful tool when it comes to creating
transformation in your life. The amount of
positive change that can take place is literally
affected by the scope of your imagination.
Whatever you can see in your mind, that is
basically realistic, you can achieve. If you’re
a big thinker then you can reach big goals.
If you’re a small thinker then your chances
of staying in your current situation greatly
increase. Have you ever heard someone say,
“Let your imagination run wild”? It’s an idea
that we associate with children when they
play “make believe.” But at the very core of
imagination is the principle of visualization
and successful people are very aware of
this. Seeing that thing you want over and
over again; creating a detailed vision of it;
allowing yourself to experience all the senses
associated with that accomplishment – the
sight of it, the feel of it, the sound of it,
the smell of it! It’s like a golfer visualizing
the perfect stroke over and over again to
mentally train muscle memory.
Tiger Woods himself has claimed to use
creative visualization, and people like Oprah
Winfrey and Bill Gates have endorsed the
idea. Will Smith has told the story many
times of how he used visualization to
overcome challenges and, in fact, visualized
his success years before he ever achieved
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it. Another actor, Jim Carrey, has often
recounted the story of how he wrote a
check to himself in 1987 in the sum of 10
million dollars. He dated it ‘Thanksgiving
1995’ and added the notation, “for acting
services rendered.” He visualized it for years
and in 1994 he received a 10 million dollar
check for his role in Dumb and Dumber.
You must finish before you start. The people
we just discussed are only a few examples,
but these celebrities and athletes and just
about anyone else who had to work for any
sort of positive change in their lives have
this same thing in common: They all
visualized their success before they
achieved it. They saw the finish line before
they ever started the race.
Now it’s your turn! We’re going to take some
time to teach you a technique you can use to
visualize the results you’re trying to obtain.
It’s this simple. Write it down! This isn’t the
first time we’ve presented this idea to you.
Did you ever write that note to yourself
about the habit or circumstance in your life
you’re trying to change? If not, this is a great
time to do it. Look at the example of Jim
Carrey. He wrote it down so that every day
he had a visual representation of what he
was reaching for. It reminded him. It helped
him to stay motivated. It pushed him to
work hard and not give up. You’re saying to
yourself, “But I’m not trying to achieve fame
and fortune in 10 years – I just want to lose
10 pounds in 60 days.” Well, write it down!
Simply grab a piece of paper and write, “I
will lose 10 pounds in the next 60 days.”
If you want to graduate with honors, maybe
the key is printing out a picture of a diploma
and hanging it up in a place you’ll see it or
putting it in your notebook or taping it to
your laptop. You want to do better at your
job or get a promotion? Maybe you find a
picture that represents where you’d like to
"To accomplish great things we must first dream, then visualize,
then plan... believe... act!" — Alfred A. Montapert
end up in your career. The idea here is that
this picture or written note will represent
the cover of the puzzle box we discussed
in Part 1. As you’re working harder and
believing, more pieces to the puzzle will
begin to fall in to place. You continue adding
pieces and eventually the opportunity to
become the image you’re creating in your
mind could become reality!
Now you might be saying, “I’m only
five-foot-two, but I can play in the NBA
if I just visualize it?” Not exactly. In fact,
unreasonable goals are a surefire way to
tip the motivational scales in the wrong
direction. What we ARE saying is that
everyone has the potential to achieve
positive transformation in his or her life. And
every one of you has greatness on the inside.
Can you see it? Maybe you’re not meant
to be a basketball player. Maybe you ARE
meant to be a soccer player. Can you see
it? Maybe you’re not meant to be the owner
of a multi-million dollar computer company.
Maybe you ARE meant to be the owner of
the best computer shop in town. Can you see
it? Maybe you’re not meant to be a famous
celebrity. Maybe you ARE meant to be a
carpenter; a teacher; a caregiver; a healthier
person; a better parent, a better friend; a
better you! Can you see it? You can never
stop visualizing the positive transformation
that can happen in your life. You can never
stop working for it.
Lesson 5: Part 2
We’ve all heard of Thomas Alva Edison. If
you don’t know who he is, all you have to
do is look around and you’ll see his work in
every light bulb, headlight and street lamp.
Today we take the light bulb for granted, but
it wasn’t always like that. The electric light
bulb had been around for about 80 years
but it was a flawed and inefficient device
because it would burn out very quickly.
People would still use candles because light
bulbs just weren’t reliable. Then, in 1879 after
thousands of failed experiments, Thomas
Edison figured out a way to produce a light
bulb that would last and eventually one
that would glow for over 1500 hours. Why
did it take almost 80 years before anyone
discovered this improvement? What was
different about Edison?
He visualized the finish line - that’s what
was different. Every time an experiment
failed it was like trying to jam a puzzle piece
into the wrong place. But he saw the picture
on the box, so he kept trying that puzzle
piece in different places until he found the
perfect spot. Eventually the image began
to take shape and in time he completed
the picture.
Find that finisher picture that represents
your goal and desires and put it somewhere
that you’ll see it several times a day. It can
be the wallpaper on your computer, tablet or
smart phone. It can be something hanging
from your rear-view mirror. It can be a
piece of paper hanging on your wall or your
refrigerator door. It can be something you
wear around your wrist – like your starter
band. Let the picture build passion and a
burning desire inside of you. Hopefully it will
push you to do all those things you don’t
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