Visualize and Affirm Your Desired Outcomes: A Step-byStep Guide

January 30, 2013 by Jack Canfield 10 Comments

You have an awesome power that most of us have never been taught to use effectively. Elite athletes use it. The super rich use it. And peak performers in all fields now use it. That power is called visualization. The daily practice of visualizing your dreams as already complete can rapidly accelerate your achievement of those dreams, goals and ambitions. Visualization of your goals and desires accomplishes four very important things. 1.) It activates your creative subconscious which will start generating creative ideas to achieve your goal. 2.) It programs your brain to more readily perceive and recognize the resources you will need to achieve your dreams. 3.) It activates the law of attraction, thereby drawing into your life the people, resources, and circumstances you will need to achieve your goals. 4.) It builds your internal motivation to take the necessary actions to achieve your dreams. Visualization is really quite simple. You sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes and imagine in as vivid detail as you can what you would be looking at if the dream you have were already realized. Imagine being inside of yourself, looking out through your eyes at the ideal result. Mental Rehearsal

Athletes call this visualization process mental rehearsal, and they have been using it since the 1960s when we learned about it from the Russians. All you have to do is set aside a few minutes a day. The best times are when you first wake up, after meditation or prayer, and right before you go to bed. These are the times you are most relaxed. Go through the following three steps: STEP 1. Imagine sitting in a movie theater, the lights dim, and then the movie starts. It is a movie of you doing perfectly whatever it is that you want to do better. See as much detail as you can create, including your clothing, the expression on your face, small body movements, the environment and any other people that might be around. Add in any sounds you would be hearing traffic, music, other people talking, cheering. And finally, recreate in your body any feelings you think you would be experiencing as you engage in this activity. STEP 2. Get out of your chair, walk up to the screen, open a door in the screen and enter into the movie. Now experience the whole thing again from inside of yourself, looking out through your eyes. This is called an embodied image rather than a distant image. It will deepen the impact of the experience. Again, see everything in vivid detail, hear the sounds you would hear, and feel the feelings you would feel. STEP 3. Finally, walk back out of the screen that is still showing the picture of you performing perfectly, return to your seat in the theater, reach out and grab the screen and shrink it down to the size of a cracker. Then, bring this miniature screen up to your mouth, chew it up and swallow it. Imagine that each tiny piece just like a hologram contains the full picture of you performing well. Imagine all these little screens traveling down into your stomach and out through the bloodstream into every cell of your body. Then imagine that every cell of your body is lit up with a movie of you performing perfectly. Its like one of those appliance store windows where 50 televisions are all tuned to the same channel. When you have finished this process it should take less than five minutes you can open your eyes and go about your business. If you make this part of your daily routine, you will be amazed at how much improvement you will see in your life. Create Goal Pictures Another powerful technique is to create a photograph or picture of yourself with your goal, as if it were already completed. If one of your goals is to own a new car, take your camera down to your local auto dealer and have a picture taken of yourself sitting behind the wheel of your dream car. If your goal is to visit Paris, find a picture or poster of the Eiffel Tower and cut out a picture of yourself and place it into the picture. Create a Visual Picture and an Affirmation for Each Goal

We recommend that you find or create a picture of every aspect of your dream life. Create a picture or a visual representation for every goal you have financial, career, recreation, new skills and abilities, things you want to purchase, and so on. When we were writing the very first Chicken Soup for the Soul book, we took a copy of the New York Times best seller list, scanned it into our computer, and using the same font as the newspaper, typed Chicken Soup for the Soul into the number one position in the Paperback Advice, How-To and Miscellaneous category. We printed several copies and hung them up around the office. Less than two years later, our book was the number one book in that category and stayed there for over a year! Index Cards We practice a similar discipline every day. We each have a list of about 30-40 goals we are currently working on. We write each goal on a 3x5 index card and keep those cards near our bed and take them with us when we travel. Each morning and each night we go through the stack of cards, one at a time, read the card, close our eyes, see the completion of that goal in its perfect desired state for about 15 seconds, open our eyes and repeat the process with the next card. Use Affirmations to Support Your Visualization An affirmation is a statement that evokes not only a picture, but the experience of already having what you want. Heres an example of an affirmation: I am happily vacationing 2 months out of the year in a tropical paradise, and working just four days a week owning my own business. Repeating an affirmation several times a day keeps you focused on your goal, strengthens your motivation, and programs your subconscious by sending an order to your crew to do whatever it takes to make that goal happen. Expect Results Through writing down your goals, using the power of visualization and repeating your affirmations, you can achieve amazing results. Visualization and affirmations allow you to change your beliefs, assumptions, and opinions about the most important person in your life YOU! They allow you to harness the 18 billion brain cells in your brain and get them all working in a singular and purposeful direction. Your subconscious will become engaged in a process that transforms you forever. The process is invisible and doesnt take a long time. It just happens over time, as long as you put in the time to visualize and affirm, surround yourself with positive people, read uplifting books and listen to audio programs that flood your mind with positive, life-affirming messages.

If you would like a step-by-step, comprehensive approach for defining your goals, creating affirmations for them and how to create a powerful visual support system, take a look at our Vision Boards Kits... they contains a everything you need--just add your dreams! Repeat your affirmations every morning and night for a month and they will become an automatic part of your thinking... woven into the very fabric of your being.

7 Steps for Creating the Life YOU Want

January 16, 2013 by Jack Canfield 27 Comments

We all aspire to do, be and have great things. Yet most of us simply aren't creating the results we want. We complain that we don't have enough money, romance, success or joy in our lives. We point fingers and blame outside problems that "happen" to us and make life more difficult. But what we need to understand and keep at the forefront of our minds is that greatness exists in all of us. It is simply up to us to pull it out of ourselves. Regardless of personal circumstances, economic climates, and access to resources, it helps to maintain faith in the fact we each are more powerful than we think. We all have the ability to create the life we want. We just need to learn how to do it. Is there an exact "formula"? No, but there are certain common features that successful people exhibit and that anyone can practice. They are what can jumpstart your success and attract what you want in life. You'd be hard pressed to find any high achiever who doesn't live by the following 7 tips:
1. Take No Less than 100% Responsibility for Your Life

One of the greatest myths that is pervasive in our culture today is that you are entitled to a great life and that somehow, somewhere, someone is responsible for filling our lives with continual

happiness, exciting career options, nurturing family time and blissful personal relationships simply because we exist. But the real truth is that there is only one person responsible for the quality of the life you live. That person is you. Everything about you is a result of your doing or not doing. Income. Debt. Relationships. Health. Fitness level. Attitudes and behaviors. That person who reflects back at you in the mirror is the chief conductor in your life. Say hello! I think everyone knows this in their hearts, but the mind can play games, tricking plenty of people into thinking external factors are the source of failure, disappointment, and unhappiness. But the truth of the matter is that external factors don't determine how you live. You are in complete control of the quality of your life. Successful people take full responsibility for the thoughts they think, the images they visualize, and the actions they take. They don't waste their time and energy blaming and complaining. They evaluate their experiences and decide if they need to change them or not. They face the uncomfortable and take risks in order to create the life they want to live.
2. Be Clear Why You're Here

I believe each of us is born with a life purpose. Identifying, acknowledging and honoring this purpose is perhaps the most important action successful people take. They take the time to understand what they're here to do, and then they pursue that with passion and enthusiasm. If you don't know what you're supposed to be doing, then just tune in to the signals around you. Looking toward others for help and guidance is helpful, but don't forget to stay tuned in to yourselfyour behavior, attitude, likes and dislikes, and life experiences. Identify what's working and what isn't. If you need to, write it all down. You might be surprised by what you discover.
3. Decide What You Want

It sounds so simple, but here's the problem: I see plenty of people who are overly-busy yet who feel unsatisfied and unfulfilled. They are physically tired, spiritually drained, and far from where they'd like to beas if they've been running on a treadmill going nowhere fast. Why? Because they haven't clearly mapped out what they want and then taken the steps to get there. Rather than identifying specific goals, milestones, and dreams (and I'm talking BIG dreams and goals here), they go through the motions day in and day out tackling unimportant tasks. They end up...you guessed it...going in circles and wasting lots of energy. In the meanwhile, they grow increasingly uninspired and out of touch with their authentic selves. This, of course, sets anyone up to living a life out of balance. One of the main reasons why most people don't get what they want is they haven't decided what they want. They haven't defined their desires in clear and compelling detail. What does success look like to you? Not everybody's definition of success is the same, nor should it be.

Don't let your inner devil's advocate (or that incessant but unimportant To Do list) inhibit you from dreaming big. As soon as you commit to a big dream and really go after it, your subconscious creative mind will come up with big ideas to make it happen. You'll start attracting the people, resources, and opportunities you need into your life to make your dream come true. Big dreams not only inspire you, but they also compel others to want to play big, too.
4. Believe It Is Possible

Scientists used to believe that humans responded to information flowing into the brain from the outside world. But today, they're learning that instead we respond to what the brain, based on previous experience, expects to happen next. In fact, the mind is such a powerful instrument; it can deliver literally everything you want. But you have to believe that what you want is possible. As you commit to believing in yourself, also make a commitment to toning down the complaint department. Look at what you are complaining about. I'm fat. I'm tired. I can't get out of debt. I won't ever get a better job. I can't stand the relationship I have with my father. I'll never find a soulmate in life. Really examine your complaints. More than likely you can do something about them. They are not about other people, other things, or other events. They are about YOU.
5. Believe in Yourself

If you are going to be successful in creating the life of your dreams, you have to believe that you are capable of making it happen. Whether you call it self-esteem, self-confidence or selfassurance, it is a deep-seated belief that you have what it takes; the abilities, inner resources, talents and skills to create your desired results. Have unwavering faith in yourself, for good and bad. Make the decision to believe that you create all your experiences. You will experience successes thanks to you, and you will experience pain, struggle, and strife thanks to you. Sounds a little strange, but accepting this level of responsibility is uniquely empowering. It means you can do, change, and be anything. Stumbling blocks become just thatlittle hills to hop over.
6. Become an Inverse Paranoid

This one is straightforward: Imagine how much easier it would be to succeed in life if you were constantly expecting the world to support you and bring you opportunity. Successful people do just that.
7. Unleash the Power of Goal Setting

Experts on the science of success know the brain is a goal-seeking organism. Whatever goal you give to your subconscious mind, it will work day and night to achieve. To engage you subconscious mind, a goal has to be measurable. When there aren't any criteria for measurement, it is simply something you want, a wish, a preference, or a good idea.

Sometimes we need to make just one initial goal to get started, and that's okay. At least it comes with a few actions to achieve. A first step simply can be making an immediate change in a single area in your life. Are you unhappy about something that is happening right now? Make requests that will make it more desirable to you, or take the steps to change it yourself. Making a change might be uncomfortable and overwhelming for you. It might mean you have to put in more time, money, and effort. It might mean that someone gets upset about it, or makes you feel bad about your decision. It might be difficult to change or leave a situation, but staying put is your choice so why continue to complain? You can either do something about it or not. It is your choice and you have responsibility for your choices. Bear in mind that you have to be willing to change your behavior if you want a different outcome. You have to be willing to take the risks necessary to get what you want. If you've already taken an initial step in the right direction, now's the time to plan more steps to keep moving you forward faster. Isn't it a great relief to know that you can make your life what you want it to be? Isn't it wonderful that your successes do not depend on someone else? So if you need just one thing to do different today than you did yesterday, make it this: Commit to taking 100% responsibility for every aspect of your life. Decide to make changes, one step at a time. Once you start the process you'll discover it is much easier to get what you want by taking control of your thoughts, your visualizations, and your actions!

Finding Opportunities in Any Economy

November 28, 2012 by Jack Canfield Leave a Comment

Your own beliefs and behaviors are great predictors of your success than any fluctuation in the marketplace. Even when the newspapers splash the word recession across the front page, you can write your own success story.
Master the Art of Inverse Paranoia

Start by becoming an Inverse Paranoid. What I mean by this is, believe that every event in your life is the seed for your greater good; something meant to enrich you, empower you or advance your cause.

Imagine how much easier it would be to succeed in life if you were constantly expecting the world to support you and bring you opportunity. You can easily verify this belief for yourself. Just think about the last time that a terrible event turned out to be a blessing in disguise. A big blessing for me came during the 1970s when I lost my job. I was working at the Job Corps Center in Clinton, Iowa, pioneering new ways to teach underachieving students. One day the word came down that the center was being relocated and I was being laid off. While attending a workshop at the W. Clement & Jesse V. Stone Foundation in Chicago, I shared my predicament with the presenter. He happened to be vice president of the foundation, and he immediately offered me a job working with inner-city black and Latino kids. I accepted the offer, and what I got in return was a bigger salary, an unlimited budget, and a laboratory for learning the success principles that transformed my life and launched a new career path.
Ask Yourself: What Opportunity Exists Here?

Take the fast track to inspiration by constantly asking yourself: Whats the opportunity here? Make this a habit, and youll stay calm and centered during any event that seems like a setback. The beauty of this question is that it triggers your mind to respond with positive suggestions. Compare these to the useless information you get by asking yourself the questions such as: Why did this happen to me? Or, Whos to blame for this mess? If you get passed over for a promotion or your retirement account takes a hit in the stock market, remember to ask: Whats the opportunity here? or one of its inspiring variations:

What can I learn from this event? What will I do differently from now on? Who can I turn to as a mentor or coach? Whats my next action?

Remember the Three Things You Control

In a way, the economy is just a vague and sometimes ambiguous idea. It refers in a general way to trillions of dollars of goods, services and products by billions of people across the planet. When you face a financial challenge, it is the vast, impersonal economy at work? Or is it your personal economy, which you can directly control? You cant always count on the economy, but you can always rely on yourself. Remember, you have absolute control over three things in your life:

1. The thoughts you think 2. The images your visualize 3. The actions you take (including what you say to others)

Your life experience is simply the sum total of the choices you make in these three areas. And you can attract new results at any time by making new choices. Use the ideas and exercise found in this article to do just that!