Visualize For Success!Written by Jonathan R Taylor
The human brain is by far one of most incredible creations on this earth. Unlike an animal’s, a human’s brain has been gifted with wonderful ability to imagine. With it, we can create beautiful works of art, write captivating literature, and design skillful architecture. Everything man made that we see around us, was first created in mind through creative visualization. Visualization has much to do with our success in setting long term goals. Arnold Schwarzenegger won title of Mr. Universe seven times not just by pumping iron, but by spending a little time each day picturing himself winning title again. Professional golfer, Jack Nicklaus, explained power of imagination in his golf game by saying, "First I 'see' ball where I want it to finish - nice and white and sitting up high on bright green grass. Then scene quickly changes, and I 'see' ball going there; its path, trajectory and shape, even its behavior on landing. Then," he continues, "there's sort of a fade-out, and next scene shows me making kind of swing that will turn previous images into reality.” One of my favorite stories on power of imagination is about Major James Nesmeth. He was an average golfer consistently shooting in mid 90’s, until he developed a unique way of improving his golf game. It came while he spent seven years in North Vietnam as a prisoner of war. During those tortuous seven years, Nesmeth lived in solitary confinement
| | How Much Risk Is Too Much To Take?Written by Dave Carlson
The ladder was braced against railings going to basement. I started climbing up. I had to get to ceiling and this was my Rube Goldberg way of doing it without having to put up scaffolding. I made it up two or three rungs before coming to my senses. It would be so easy for railing to break and for me to go tumbling down stairs. You see I was trying to paint my living room with a cathedral ceiling. I had to get up near apex at 12 feet. The problem was that there were stairs going to basement and nowhere to safely put ladder. So I tried bracing it against railing before giving up. I was trying to put primer over a quote painted in black that said, “It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce.” It would have been so ironic for me fall from ladder while trying to paint over that quote. Believe me, I wouldn’t have bounced very high. How much risk is too much? I calculated risk and found risk was too high for reward. I ended up taping a paintbrush to a long pole, and I got quote painted just fine. Just a little ingenuity. In book, “Mental Judo” by Lance Lager, he talks about falling also. “In physical judo, practically first thing you learn is how to fall. … In Mental Judo, as in physical judo, learning how to ‘fall’ is important. I don’t mean, of course, falling on your rump, but in a figurative sense falling is falling. Life is a series of ups and downs, and none of us is our imperfection can avoid taking a fall from time to time. When you don’t reach your goal, when you are rejected or ignored or just outwitted for moment, you are experiencing a fall. It is extremely important that you learn how to fall gracefully and be able to snap right back up with a minimum of effort and without fear of next fall or concern about an injured ego. Just as in skiing or ice skating, if you are not falling, you are not learning or trying something new.” We are bound to fall, whether through our own fault or fault of someone we depended on, be it life at home or in workplace. What do we do when we fall? Sit and cry? Get mad? Resign ourselves to fact that this is way life is always going to be and that success will never come my way? It can be happen in any of these scenarios.
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