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The routines that sports figures follow provide great examples of ways to achieve success. If you don’t do the work and follow through, then you will lose. Even more importantly, if you don’t believe you’ll win the game, chances are you won’t. If you believe against all odds that you can beat your opponent, you have a pretty good chance of making it happen. The worst player in the league has the potential to beat the number-one person if they believe they can do it. That’s not a fairy tale. It has been done.
Many sports psychologists work with athletes in professional sports, the Olympics, and other high-profile venues, and they ask them to visualize sinking the perfect shot or getting the fastest time. They put the athlete’s imagination to work and couple that with their training. If they can see it, then they have a chance of accomplishing it.
The exercise of visualization works across all areas where one is striving for success. You have to see your dreams in your mind’s eye before you can make them a reality. If you don’t believe you can be a success, there is no way it will happen. On the other hand, if you imagine success and visualize how it would look on you, then you start to believe it is not an unattainable goal. When you believe, you have a chance to achieve.
Do you believe you are capable of achieving your dreams? Close your eyes and visualize how it will happen. See your success—then achieve it.
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Craig felt completely hopeless. He was buried under a pile of credit-card debt, was two months behind on his mortgage, and to top it off, he had recently been laid off from his job. Success did not look probable. Instead, Craig was on a train headed straight for bankruptcy.
Ever since he lost his job, Craig was frozen in fear. He was afraid to answer his phone, because he was sure it was creditors calling. He didn’t want to hang out with his friends. They would see he was a complete failure. In addition, Craig had no idea where to start to look for a new job. He had been with the same company for twenty years and had never even considered looking for a new position elsewhere. The future looked grim.
Sometimes the outlook is pretty scary. It seems as though you are headed for disaster, and there is no way out. Remember that no matter what you are facing, you always have options. You might be teetering on the edge of a cliff, but you can change your direction at any time.
Take a look at your current situation. If you were on a train, where would you be headed? Is it really where you want to go? If not, what can you do to get off at the next station and change direction? In Craig’s case, he could alter his route immediately by choosing some positive actions. He could make an appointment with an employment agency or call his creditors and explain his situation. Craig was not out of options. He could choose to continue to live in fear, or he could change direction overnight.
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Would you recognize opportunity if it knocked? What do you think it looks like? Unfortunately, opportunity does not look like a shiny new car or a million-dollar house. It looks like work. In other words, an opportunity might come in the form of a friend who needs you to help them with a catering job, an appliance that needs fixing in your own home, or even a local radio contest.
You never know when opportunity is going to show up, but if you are willing to put in a little extra effort— especially when you don’t have to—then you might be inviting opportunity in. You can’t predict where these seemingly minor tasks will lead you. You might meet a future employer on the night you help your friend with a catering job. You could very well discover a new invention when you’re trying to fix a broken appliance. A radio contest might give your new brainstorm just the exposure it needs.
Your assignment today is to actively search for new opportunities. Opportunity almost never looks like a winning lottery ticket or an unexpected inheritance. It is more likely to come to you in the form of something you don’t have the time or energy to take on. Nevertheless, seize that opportunity. Do the right thing when someone requires your help or a better solution needs to be worked out. Take the time, and you will reap the benefits.
