The old saying goes: "If you can dream it, you can do it."
I think that's more than just an axiom. I believe that visualization is one of the most powerful means of achieving personal goals. To have an idea or dream, and then to see how you can make it happen, helps shape your plans and defines your goals more clearly.
Many people, especially athletes and celebrities, have discovered the amazing power of visualization and have used it to enhance their careers and achieve their goals and dreams.
Actor Jim Carrey wrote a check to himself in 1987 in the sum of $10 million. He dated it Thanksgiving 1995 and added the notation, "for acting services rendered." He visualized it for years, and in 1994, he received $10 million for his role in "Dumb and Dumber."
Oprah Winfrey openly used visualization techniques on her talk show. She often talked about the power of the subconscious mind and goal-focusing techniques. Oprah said, "The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams."
Nobel laureate Jonas Salk was asked how he went about inventing the polio vaccine. His reply: "I pictured myself as a virus or a cancer cell and tried to sense what it would be like."
When I was 13 years old, I dreamed about owning a factory. Then when I actually owned the factory, I visualized selling the largest and most prestigious account in town -- General Mills. And I finally did it.
One of the most well-known studies on creative visualization in sports occurred when Russian scientists compared four groups of Olympic athletes in terms of their physical and mental training ratios:
