Seeing Your Success

Happy New Year! I hope that you’re off to a great start in 2013. I have decided to make this my most successful year ever. How about you? It may sound a little strange, but in order to make sure that it comes true, I have to make a decision to make it happen. I can’t just throw out a wish and leave it to chance. I talked a little bit about some of the important steps to making changes happen. It’s also very important that you have a clear vision of what success looks like before you can achieve it.

The New England Patriots were not a very successful football team before 2001. They had made it to two Super Bowls since 1960 and lost both. There hadn’t been many expectations of success on the team since Bill Parcells left for the rival Jets in 1996. The 2001 season was no different. The team lost its franchise quarterback in the second game of the season and turned to a second-year kid who wasn’t even a full-time starter atMichigan. This obviously didn’t give fans much of a hope for what the season could bring. But Tom Brady had other plans when he took over the helm. Known for his fierce competitive streak, Brady wasn’t about to allow his team to fade. He made it his mission to win the Super Bowl that year. He wanted it so badly that he could already see it happening in his mind.

It’s been said that Brady was closing his eyes and visualizing the entire game in the locker room before the Super Bowl against the Rams that season. The odds-makers gave them no chance at all of winning, yet it was so fixed in Brady’s mind that he couldn’t think of anything else. They were going to win. There was no doubt in his mind, or anyone else’s on the team. It didn’t matter what the media or “experts” said, they were going to win. And that’s exactly what they did. That season started what is arguably one of the best decades of any football franchise in history. Their success continues today, in large part to Brady’s leadership.

What Brady does before games is what the most successful people do before they achieve their success. Seeing your success happen and fixing it in your mind as something that will happen almost guarantees that it will. We have an amazing ability to control our thoughts if we choose to. Are you controlling yours, or are they controlling you? Take whatever your goal is for the year and imagine what life is like after you’ve achieved it. Does it mean more money? More flexibility? Recognition? Whatever it is, see it. Close your eyes and see it happen. Feel how it feels. It’s nice, isn’t it? You are much more likely to have it come true if you’re able to do this daily. Try it right when you wake up and before you go to bed. Here are some tips for helping you visualize it:

• Write the goal down. Put an exact date and exact result you want to make happen (dollar amount if money related, weight if health related, etc.). Read it twice daily before you start your day and before you go to bed.
• Clip a picture. Some people are more visual with pictures than with words. That’s ok. Print a picture of what your success looks like and look at that when you read your goal daily
• Say it out loud. Tell yourself your expectations out loud. I would strongly suggest doing this in the car or at home by yourself. Nothing freaks people out more on the subway than a person talking to themselves!
• Pray about it. Tell God how much you desire the success and ask for his help. Even if your success is money related, you should feel ok asking for it. Some may feel guilty asking God for more money or a bigger house. Don’t. If you want it badly enough and keep Him involved in the process, you won’t be denied. By praying about it, you’re helping to keep Him first and not make money your idol. Even if you’re not religious, give it a shot and watch what follows. What do you have to lose?

‎"You cannot perform in a manner inconsistent with the way you see yourself."
- Zig Ziglar

I have set out to make 2013 my most successful ever. I’m practicing all of these methods that are listed above. In order for it to come to fruition, I have to see it before I can make it happen. What are your goals for the year? What are you going to make happen?