The Virtual Image Video


As a student of martial arts, I became interested in the bo staff. A bo staff is a five- to seven-foot wooden pole that was used as a weapon 500 years ago. It was originally intended for horseback fighting. If you wanted to unseat a rider, the bo staff was the simplest and most effective weapon available.

The competition I wanted to enter was not about fighting a real opponent. It was about certain "forms" or series of strikes, blocks, thrusts, and parries that might be applied in a confrontation, but now the opponent would be invisible.

When I started training with the bo staff, I had only three-and-a-half months until the competition. I would be going up against people who had been training with masters for many years, and I was doing this on my own. I could not train 24 hours a day. My problem was this: How could I make the most of the limited practice time I had?

My solution was to use visualization. I bought videotapes of masters teaching the art of the bo staff, and I studied them over and over again. I practiced with the real bo staff every day, and performed every move in my mind hundreds of times, step-by-step. I visualized my form in every spare moment that I had. I visualized every night before I went to sleep. For three-and-a-half months, I lived my "normal" family life and endured the busiest work schedule ever. At the same time, I lived and breathed the bo staff. When it came time for the competition in Atlantic City, New Jersey, I didn't have to think about my form at all. I was able to give my performance everything I had. Ultimately, I took second place in the first national tournament I ever entered.

This is the strength of creating your own virtual reality. Imagine if 95 percent of the visions you create in your head became physical reality! I challenge you to make that happen.

Envisioning the end is enough to set the means in motion.

—Dorothea Brand,
author

I challenge you to practice this skill for yourself. Take an exercise, a sport, or a project—anything that can be broken down into a repeatable sequence of events. See yourself going through each and every step. Every day you should be learning something new, gaining knowledge that will add value to your vision and make it even stronger. Apply your vision to reality and you will be amazed at what you can accomplish.

Don't get frustrated. This kind of visualization doesn't always come naturally. You may fall asleep in the middle of your scenario. You may start to do your steps, and slowly begin to think of other things. This is to be expected. It's difficult to close your eyes and visualize a sequence of events without getting lost. But like any skill, the more you practice, the easier it gets. Have faith that the results you get are worth every bit of effort you have to put in. Your future may depend on it.

A vision is not a vision unless it says yes to some ideas and no to others, inspires people, and is a reason to get out of bed in the morning and come to work.

—Gifford Pinchot III,
management consultant




Diamond Power. Gems of Wisdom From America's Greatest Marketer
Diamond Power: Gems of Wisdom from Americas Greatest Marketer
ISBN: 1564146987
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 207
Authors: Barry Farber

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