We have a unique ability to use our minds for wonderful creation if we take just a little time to learn how. Think of this short article as a framework, or a foundation to build your success around. I'm not so concerned with nitty-gritty science behind powers of mind; I'm interested in practical application! However, some brief notes on workings of mind can be helpful.

Our mind is divisible into two major parts: conscious and subconscious. You could say that conscious mind is master of subconscious. However, subconscious has real power because it is subconscious which initiates change in our lives.

But in order to affect subconscious mind so that it triggers positive changes in our life, we must learn how to control sub-conscious. How is this done? By directing conscious mind to guide subconscious.

Confused? If so, bear with me for one moment. By using our conscious mind to fixate on a certain thought, subconscious mind takes it as instruction and proceeds to manifest that thought in our lives. Sounds simple right?

Think of a farmer with a field ready to plant. The decision on what to plant (sow) is like conscious mind. The field on which plant will grow is like subconscious. Whatever farmer decides to sow (conscious), field will grow (subconscious). If farmer sows grains of wheat, he will reap wheat in due course. If farmer sows kernels of corn, he will eventually reap ears of corn. This is manner in which our minds work too.

The problem is that subconscious mind does not differentiate between positive and negative thoughts. It will act on any command handed down by conscious mind. That's why I always say "Sow a POSITIVE thought," not just "Sow a thought."

Olympic champions and other high-performing athletes understand power of mind and power of mind-imagery. They incorporate training for mind as a part of their daily training regimen. Not only do they have strength-coaches and technique coaches, but they have mind-coaches as well.

These athletes picture themselves making throw, hurdle, move, stroke, etc. that brings them Gold, and they truly believe that before they start a competition, they've already won it. In our last article, I spoke about Muhammed Ali and his use of affirmations. The reason athletes use mind-imagery is because they know that what mind believes, body achieves.

So if world-class athletes are using these techniques to succeed in their professions, why not us to succeed in ours? Let's talk about how we can use mind-imagery in our lives. It's important to note that subconscious mind does not understand difference between reality and imagination. What this really means is that we can show subconscious mind pictures of what we want to be our reality and subconscious mind will achieve it.

If you are like me and millions of others, using mind-imagery may be hard for you. I've heard that average person in US watches more than six hours of television a day! Incredible isn't it?! But in light of that knowledge, it's not so incredible to see that many of us have lost our imaginative abilities. Granted, we may not have had many to start with, but with so many things to watch on TV and in movie theaters, we no longer are required to use our imaginations at all.

Because pictures we show our mind are so important, it's no surprise to me that so many of us have trouble programming our minds for success. Only 4% of US citizens are truly financially free at retirement age! We have lost ability to imagine ourselves achieving goals and being truly successful in ways we desire.

Because subconscious mind uses pictures to manifest what we want, we need to learn to re-program our minds by learning to use our imagination again.