The Entrepreneurial Savant

Visualization is a very powerful tool for business and personal planning.  Basically, visualization asks you to create a mental picture of yourself in a certain situation and then enter into that picture and experience what is going on. Sometimes you might just observe and get another reference point, gaining a kind of objectivity about a problem or conflict you are trying to resolve.
There is a saying that goes: Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it. This is particularly true when we are pursuing success, whatever our definition of it is. Once you know your objective or goal, try visualizing yourself living life after you’ve achieved that success. Fill in all the blanks with your research, making sure you consider the negative aspects as well as the positive ones. Is this the life I really want? What kind of new challenges and stress am I facing? What have I lost and what have I gained as a person?
Putting yourself into your dreams on an everyday, real world level may show you a side of those dreams you haven’t considered. No matter how glamorous another life may seem, it always has its own set of problems and challenges. Are you ready to exchange yours for them?

Note: The more detailed your vision is, the more likely you are to achieve it. Imagine the physical environment you live and work in down the road and be specific. Populate it with the type of people a successful business you own would employ. Imagine the style and attitude of the company.

Now write it down somewhere where you’ll be able to retrieve it from a few years from now. You’re going to be surprised at how much of what you imagined can come true if when you look back.

This brings up one other critical aspect of visualization: Don’t sell yourself short. A low set of expectations can mean an underwhelming result. Challenge yourself in this exercise by setting high goals and creating a future that is beyond your best plans. Why not? This is all in your imagination so you have little to lose.

And remember- every successful person and business went for goals that seemed unrealistic to others when they started.

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