There is no magical formula to believing in your dreams and becoming Extraordinary.
It requires hard work and knowing and understanding you and what you have to do to reach your goal. It is much like building a house. Before you start building, you have to create the vision of what the house is going to be like, its structure and design, and that is exactly what we are going to do next.
Step 1: Dream Time – Create your Vision
Now it is time to dream!
What would you really like to achieve? What do you want to win? Dream Big! Normal is not something you want to aspire to! That is what you want to get away from. Discover the real you and be all you want to be. What could you dare to dream? Follow your heart. Aim high. Great. Now go one step higher! Be Extraordinary.
What you focus on really expands. What will you win? How will you play? What do you look like? Are you in great shape? What team are you playing for? Where are you living? How do you feel? There is not one single Olympic Gold Medalist who did not start with a dream. They also worked incredibly hard day in and day out for years and years and totally believed in themselves too.
Don’t proceed any further in reading until you know your dream! If it is something within your apparent reach, it isn’t a dream. If you wouldn’t have to stretch beyond what you think is possible, then it isn’t a dream. If you could do anything, what would it be?
Firstly you have to create it in your own mind. That is where it all begins. Winners know where they want to go in detail! And they never, ever, ever give up.
The great Walt Disney, the creator of Disneyland and Disney World, the pioneer of animated cartoon films, and the recipient of 48 Academy Awards and 7 Emmys is an excellent example of a great dreamer and visionary. He had passed away by the time Disney World was officially opened and reporters questioned his son and said it must have been a sad day for Walt not being here for the launch of his dream.
His son simply replied,
“Walt saw it. That’s why you are seeing it today.”
What are you seeing? The key is first to create your dream, believe in it with all your heart and have the courage to pursue it. Then you can get into some fun activities and create a vision board.
Create your Vision Board or Movie
It is one thing to have a picture of your dream in your mind, but now you are going to make it even more powerful and create it. There are many ways to do this and I will let you decide what works best for you. You could do anyone of the following.
- Make a poster board to hang up on your wall.
- Make an A4 or A5 paper poster to place in your diary
- Create small cards for each goal to carry around in your wallet
- Make up an album of photos
- Create a power point slide show to watch on your computer
- Make a movie to watch on your iphone, ipad or computer
Which Vision Board is Best?
I have tried many ways over the years. Each year I used to do a poster board which I loved to gaze at everyday, but as I was always on the road travelling with my athletes, I really did not get to see it too much. Many athletes I have worked with loved doing these and it became the centre piece of artwork in their bedrooms. Others preferred to hang them privately and would do so inside their bedroom cupboards, or behind the bathroom door.
Wherever you place them does not matter, as long as you see it daily so as to reinforce your dreams.
I have also done A4 and A5 posters too and had them laminated and I would take them with me wherever I went. If you like the idea of a big poster for home, and the fun of creating it, you can always create that and then take a photo of it and make it into a smaller size to carry around with you. You could even go one step further and make the photo your screen saver too!
The last few years, I have made my visions even more powerful and have done a power point presentation to music to really enhance it so much more. I will let you decide what is best for you! My favourite right now is the imovie and if you have an ipod or ipad, it can go with you everywhere.
Add your favourite, inspirational song and you are well on the way to creating your dream.
I will be talking about goals in a minute. Everyone does goals. They write them up, and some even carry them around with them. It is no use just reading them. They must be felt and seen and imagined vividly so to work at a deeper subconscious level and this is where the vision board can assist greatly. Goals are great but by themselves are not enough.
You need to feel your goals, and bring them to life.
Have fun now gathering pictures and images of what you want to become. Don’t just limit yourself to your sporting life. Add in family, friends, health, fitness, nutrition, career, financial, spiritual, environment, and personal development pictures too. Find old magazines you can cut up. Alternatively you can always download pictures from the internet or from Google Images. They are so easy to find, so no excuses! Put some music on and have fun collecting your favourite pictures. You might also like to use some photos you have taken too.
Tips for Collecting Photos
Let’s go back to the example of building your dream home.
When looking for a picture, it will not just be any picture of a house. This is going to be your dream come true. As soon as you see it, you will know it is perfect for you. Feel it. Get excited about it. Imagine yourself living there. Visualise how your life will be. Remember to be realistic though. It is no use putting a picture of a $20 million dollar home if that is not realistic. A house like that is not a goal – it is a potentially misleading fantasy and only sets you up for failure.
Start by choosing images that might be a stretch for you and continue to update as you progress toward that $20 million home! The same principles apply to your sporting dreams. It may be totally unrealistic to aim for winning the World Championships if you cannot even make the finals in your National Championships right now.
Make sure your goals are realistically achievable.
Find excellent quality pictures that:
- Are a genuine challenge
- Are of something you really want
- Excite you
- Inspire you
and make up a poster or presentation of all you want to be.
Your vision board is a work in progress right now, and you will be adding your goals and powerfully positive words to it and refining it over the next few blog posts, so simply enjoy the process of collecting your pictures for now and keep them in a special place.
Back next week to help you plan to WIN!
In the meantime, have a fun week creating your dreams on paper!
