Visualization is a great technique to picture what you want out of life. Jim Carrey said it best in a 1997 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Jim Carrey would visualize what he wanted our of life. He would drive and look at the big fancy houses in Hollywood and picture himself living there. He would imagine people close to him coming up to him and telling how much they loved his movie or how great of an actor he was. He pictured it and worked hard everyday to achieve it. The biggest visualization Carrey did was writing himself a check for 10 million dollars, and dating it November 1997. He kept it in his wallet as a reminder of what he wanted to achieve until the check became withered and crumbled. Then in 1997 Carrey made 10 million dollars on the movie "Dumb and Dumber."
Visualization works because it allows you picture what you want out of life. We often tell ourselves over and over again that we want more out of life but never work hard enough to do it. The quote above has one sole purpose: to tell people that the only way you're visualization can work is if you work hard. Picture yourself writing that novel or passing that class, work hard everyday to achieve your goal, and then work even harder after that.
Jim Carrey was right, visualization is also an added comfort for when you're feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders. It helps you push through that hard exam you have or the day of work at the crappy job you work to put yourself through school. Visualizing what you want helps determined what will make you the most happy in your life.
I visualize things everyday. I visualize telling my friends and family that my first book is being published. I visualize being interviewed by Ellen or living in a great, big city like Los Angeles or New York. I picture things in my mind and hope that they happen every day of my life. That's why we work hard. We push ourselves to get what we want because we want to make walking through hell worth it.
It isn't easy. If you could just picture yourself succeeding then everybody would be making 10 million dollars. It takes the work horses, the innovators, and the creators to build something truly spectacular. Back in the early 80's nobody knew who Jim Carrey was or that we was trying to make it big in Hollywood. Now he's one of the world's most celebrated comedians. Maybe he was onto something when he talked about visualizing how he wanted his future. Maybe I'm crazy in thinking that there's a whole amazing side of this world that is yet to be tapped, and is full of potential.
The only way to find out is to get there. Because this world is made for people who want to succeed; it just takes a little bit of extra effort. I'm willing to give it a shot... are you?
