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Do you purchase a car because of its’ curb appeal and sleek exterior or do you purchase based upon what’s underneath the hood?

Because I’ve had my own business since 1999, I’ve been leasing my cars since that time. My accountant advised me 11 years ago that it made more sense from a tax standpoint for business owners to lease rather than purchase.

After taking my wife to lunch on Saturday, I asked her if she’d like to join me in taking a look at the Volkswagen CC at a dealership that’s close to our house. I thought I should start looking because my current lease expires at the end of February and I was quickly approaching the mileage allowance on the existing car. In just 60 more miles, I’d begin paying $.25 per mile for every mile driven until February.

When we pulled up to the front door and took the key out of the ignition, Carolyn didn’t budge from her car seat.  I asked her if she was coming in with me to give me her opinion on the car and to keep me company. That’s my idea of a romantic Saturday afternoon after 25 years of marriage! She responded sheepishly with “no thanks, I’ll just wait here for you”. Even though she’s been married to a salesperson since 1984, salespeople still make her so uncomfortable that she’d rather sit in our car alone than have to deal with their sales tactics and insincerity.

After a few words of encouragement from my best “Mr. Suave impression”, she finally agreed to venture inside the lion’s den. I hadn’t yet finished closing her car door when one of the lions came out licking his lips like we were deer. I don’t know who was more uncomfortable, Carolyn or Kevin, our VW salesperson.

It’s not just Carolyn and Kevin.  Most salespeople are uncomfortable calling or approaching prospects/customers and most people feel uncomfortable dealing with any kind of salespeople.

After Kevin’s over the top but nice hello, he opened the door to invite us into the showroom where right inside the door were 10 other lions hanging around waiting for their next deer: with nothing to do but slurp coffee and consume whole donuts in a single bite. The testosterone-filled room of trained killers was making Carolyn even more uncomfortable.

As Kevin asked us to sit so he could ask us several questions, I think Carolyn felt we were being offered poisoned apples from the Queen like Snow White: she was sure “come here my pretty” was the next line out of Kevin’s mouth.

I told him the truth as I always do. I still had 4 more lease payments to make and my current lease didn’t expire until March 1st.  The only reason that we had stopped by that day was to take a look at a car that had caused me to rubberneck a couple of times within the last 30 days or so. I wanted to get an idea of whether or not the VW CC should be on my list of possible cars.  I already like the exterior. I wanted a chance to see what the inside looked like.

We went out to the lot to take a look at what they had in stock. Because I drive in 3-4 rental cars per month, I wasn’t even interested in test-driving the car. I was pretty confident that a Volkswagen would handle very well.  Upon their insistence (it’s part of their sales process), I agreed to take one out for a quick test-drive. I didn’t feel any different about the car after doing so, but they were happy that I had.

When we returned from the test drive, Kevin asked one of the sales managers to talk with us about our options – lease, purchase, etc.  At this point, Carolyn was trying to hide within the confines of the chair as her scrawny 148-pound husband was being pounced upon simultaneously by multiple lions.  Though they were really very nice, Carolyn already had her mind set into thinking that this and all car purchases should be bad experiences. I was pretty confident that this would be a good experience whether we decided to buy a car or not.

We always get what we expect!

Carolyn was so uncomfortable as I was mulling over the lease versus buy options that she left the showroom again seeking shelter within the car we came in.  Because I genuinely liked the car I had test-driven, the salespeople were good, and the price was great, I was strongly considering getting this action item checked off my “to-do” list while I was here.  After a little positive pressure from the sales guys and a little thought, I decided that this would be a good deal for everyone concerned.

Kevin said that he would process the paperwork, work with the insurance company and registry of motor vehicles, have the car serviced and detailed and have it ready for me to pick up Monday afternoon.  Even with the sale done, I wasn’t completely confident that the car would be ready on Monday and I had to be certain that if I returned my lease on Monday, the new car would be ready so that I could get to a speaking engagement early on Tuesday morning.

On Monday, Kevin sent me a text message saying that the car would be ready to be picked-up between 2 and 4PM.  Carolyn dropped me off and barely slowed-down enough to push me out of her car prior to speeding away from the scary zone. I think she thought that if she actually stopped the car completely, Kevin or one of the other lions would coerce her into buying a car against her will!

Kevin greeted me with a sincere smile, handed me the keys and quickly guided me through the owner’s manual prior to escorting me out to the perfectly detailed car. He continued respectfully calling me “Sir” throughout the entire process as he patiently familiarized me with the car.  It was only at this point did I realize that I could be old enough to be his father.

When he had finished showing the old man how to use all of the electronic gadgets and was still seated in the front passenger seat, he leaned towards me enough to pull something out of his right coat pocket.  It was a white paperback book with red ink lettering on the cover.  The title was, The Greatest Salesman In The World.  Kevin said, “I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of this book, but I read a chapter each day  in order to……”.

I responded very quickly while he was still in mid-sentence because I was so excited saying, “Kevin, not only have I read this book, but I’ve internalized each of the 10 concepts for success in life into my mind.”  “I’ve given motivational talks around the world based upon the concepts in this exact book. In addition, I’ve read every word ever written by one of the best inspirational, motivational, Christian self-help authors in the world – Og Mandino.” “He has been inspiring me to new levels of success since one of my sales managers gave me that exact book in 1990”.  We both smiled at each other about how much we had in common.

Although I was pretty confident in my decision that purchasing this car was the right thing to do, there was still a little apprehension in my head over the weekend about buying the first car that I looked at from the first salesperson at the first dealer that I visited.  I had also been wondering whether it made sense to buy a new car when I still had 4 hefty lease payments to make on a car that I would be turning in 4 months early.

When Kevin pulled that book out of his pocket, I had received a sign from God that I had absolutely purchased the perfect car at the perfect time at the perfect den from the perfect lion. And, for Carolyn, it showed that no seven dwarves were needed to rescue us (though I’m sure she’d say “this time”)!

Although I never cared to look under the Volkswagen’s hood, I was fortunate to glimpse what was underneath Kevin’s.  He’s put into action the concepts that he has disciplined himself to read on a daily basis.

All people are good underneath the hood.  It’s our job to see what’s beneath the rust, grease, dents, dings and cracks that are visible on the exterior.

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Life is a Circus Without a Strong Foundation.  It takes guts in order to embark on a change that you want to make. It takes courage to admit that we’ve been under-living our lives and that starting today we’re going to commit to improving ourselves.  To admit that we have more potential and that we’re not using all of our available resources is an admission that we are capable of doing better.  We need a strong foundation.

Congratulations!  You’ve found a partner who embraces every change that you want to make that is in alignment with your highest self.

This weekend, my wife and I ran into a friend who had the courage to tell us that she is getting divorced because her husband had left her and her children for a woman who is less than half her age. I could see the pain on her face and her eyes become teary as she shared her heartbreaking news with us.  I think that she felt comfortable telling us because she was confident that we would support her in every way with unconditional love. We will.

How does a person feel after a break-up or divorce?  Alone, isolated, angry, insecure, guilty, depressed, overwhelmed.

You are not any less of a person after these things happen.  You are complete by yourself.  Other people complement you!

Major experiences of loss usually cause us to become very introspective.  Many times, people come back stronger after these situations – especially when they have a strong support network.

I overheard someone call my friend a “boomerang” yesterday.  I guess she has successfully bounced back from traumatic experiences before this one. I know that she’s going to come back from this experience stronger too. This is a time of tremendous change, growth and self assessment for her.

On Saturday night, Carolyn and I had dinner with our great friends Greg, Dreana and Frank.  We are all friends who met at the gym several years ago, who were gathered together that evening celebrating Greg’s last chemotherapy treatment 9 days prior and his clean bill of health.  When Greg was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in March, he went into it knowing that he was exceptionally healthy of body – he’s a personal trainer and former all-natural body building champion.

Like our friend who is going through the divorce, Greg had some of the same feelings – alone, isolated, angry, insecure, overwhelmed, worried – after the initial diagnosis.  Announcements like these that are unexpected are serious shocks to us mentally, spiritually and physically.

Greg will be the first to tell you that although he went into his therapy exceptionally strong of body, he had to work extra hard to stay strong and become even stronger spiritually and mentally. The roadblock in Greg’s life allowed him to spend significant time building up his mental and spiritual capital.

I mentioned that Greg was physically strong prior to the disease, I wish that you could have been with us on Saturday night and seen him.  He is exuding tremendous physical, spiritual and mental confidence.  He has come out of this a drastically stronger person (mentally and spiritually).

We all know that when we go through one of life’s difficult experiences like divorce or cancer treatment, it’s exceptionally important to have support systems in place to assist us. Although there are numerous potential support systems, I’ll address three of the systems which I find the most valuable.

Personal Support System

When you go into any traumatic experience with a very healthy mind, healthy body and strong faith in God and yourself, the ordeal becomes significantly easier to handle because of your solid foundation.  If tomorrow you had to deal with a traumatic situation like one of the above, how would you rate yourself on the following on a scale of 1 – 10:

Spiritual Health |     Mental Health |     Physical Health

Assume that you have the potential to approach a score of 10 on each of the above. Ask yourself: in which area(s) are you in most need of tapping into your potential?

What do you choose to do starting today to improve in that area?

Who will become part of your accountability/support network as you make these changes?

How long will it take before you can approach a total score of 21?

Can you envision a total score that approaches 30?  How would you feel with that score?

Are you committed to starting the process today?

If you could choose a “10” in only one category which one do you think it most critical to approach a 10-like score?  Why?

Spiritual Support System

One of the many reasons that people of faith are encouraged to worship together and not just in isolation is so that we can support each other in times of trouble. We’re also encouraged to become part of a faith community to help each other grow in our faith and to hold each other accountable. Service to others becomes a major component of spiritual maturation.

When you are missing from church attendance or a group meeting within your faith community for more than a week or two, you will have a family of people who will be calling, visiting and e-mailing to make sure that you’re okay. You are genuinely missed when you’re separate from your small faith community.

Your friends of faith will be there to support your faith at a time when you might be more vulnerable than usual to feelings of negativity or despair. They will be there to listen, call, visit and pray for you during the entire experience.

Spiritual communities allow us to surround ourselves with people who are there to lift us up and support us in our beliefs and values. We are never alone when we’re actively participating within our faith community.

I am now more confident than ever that the power of prayer has the ability to positively impact the people who are in need of the prayers.

Physical Support System

Another group of people that I’d encourage you to participate with on a regular basis is an exercise group – yoga, tennis, racquetball, spin, pilates, basketball, weight training, running, etc.  These bodily health-centered groups provide the same benefits as the faith community but, are primarily focused on the physical body.  These groups will provide you with friendship and accountability on a daily basis.

My friend Sean from the gym walks into the locker room every day and asks me “What did you weigh today, Bob” before he even says hello.  Because of our similar builds, ages and goals, we naturally fell into an accountability habit with each other that is competitive and fun.  I’ve maintained my strength and taken off 7 pounds of fat since we began the practice.

Like the faith community, your physical health community will notice when you’re absent too.  I receive calls and e-mails from my friends at the gym when I’m away for more than 3 days. It’s a built-in support system of like-minded friends who are committed to their physical health and support you in attaining or maintaining yours.

Change can be intimidating even when it’s proactive change as a result of our awareness of our potential.  Prepare yourself to deal with all of life’s events that you’ll be challenged with by developing your mental, spiritual and physical foundation. Utilization of support groups of like-minded people will assist you and support you in your efforts.

A solid foundation helps us deal with unwanted, external change. Remember, most of all: you are never truly alone.

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I’ve written to you quite a bit about the best practices for keeping your mind, body and Spirit healthy on a daily basis.   Today, let’s speak about what happens when the real world – outside influences – try to take us off course.

As a way to level-set, here are some of the best practices that assist me on a daily basis to ensure that I’m physically, mentally and spiritually prepared to deal with life’s curve-balls:

To nourish and feed the Spirit: daily reading of Scripture; daily meditation; daily prayer

To maintain a positive mind, healthy self-esteem and focus on goals: read present tense statements of belief (affirmations) at least two times per day (the best two times are upon rising in the AM and just prior to falling asleep in the PM); affirmations are one-sentence statements of fact or belief about how you choose to be in the future that are stated in the present tense so that you can visualize yourself that way – NOW.

To maintain an always healthy body: daily exercise; 5-6 small meals every 3-4 hours; consistent sleep (ideally 8 hours – I rarely hit the ideal on this one)

So now, it’s about 8AM and your exercise, affirmations, meditation, prayer and breakfast have all been completed. I really enjoy getting these activities accomplished before the rest of the world awakens because it’s my “no excuses” time of day.  You can determine when the best “no excuses” time of the day is for you. It’s a way for me to make sure that my priorities for the day are accomplished before outside influences begin interfering.

Because the world around you is now awake, this is when some of the outside influences begin trying their hardest to start cracking your eggshell – that tough exterior designed to repel verbal and mental grenades.  This is when we get the flat tires. This is when we get the call from school telling us that we have a sick child.  This is when the prospect calls us and tells us that we didn’t get the business. This is when we notice that the roof is leaking and our ceiling and walls are damaged.

When we are focused on the direction that we want our life to take and when we’re committed to the ideal “end-result”, each setback or obstacle along the way is just a minor irritation that can bring a smile to our face.

“I smile in the face of adversity.”  That’s one of the thoughts that I repeat often in my mind that I’m pretty sure came from one of Og Mandino’s books.

As these setbacks occur in my life on a daily basis, I’ve noticed that my response to myself (inside my head) and to others out loud is, “Thank God that this is my biggest problem!”

I am constantly thanking God that the problem(s) that I am facing – regardless of how big it seems at the time – is just a puny, little speed bump along my destination.  It’s a minor detour. It may cause me to go out of my way for a block or two, but it will not derail me.

On the way home from church two weeks ago, my car seemed to be handling a little funny. When I got into my driveway, I realized that I had a flat tire.  The flat tire is on a lease that is expiring in a couple of weeks. “Why is this happening now?” was an initial thought that I had which I quickly turned into, “Thank God that this tire is my biggest problem!”.

When I went to the tire shop the next day, I was notified (of course) that the $300 special tire had to be ordered and would not show up for 4 days.  That meant that I’d be driving around with the spare tire (donut) on my car and unable to safely drive more than 50MPH for five days.  “Thank God that this is my biggest problem!”

That Friday, the tired showed up midday. “Finally, my car is back and I can drive the speed limit again.”  It was now 3PM and I had dialed into a conference call on my cell phone as I left the tire shop.  About 30 yards down the road from the tire shop, a warning light came on the dashboard that said I had a problem with my brakes.  Because I was on the conference call and assumed that the authorized dealer would have to fix this electronic problem, I drove 30 miles to the dealer to see if they could fix the problem.

“I am bigger than any problem that is presented to me.” (We can repeat affirmations that strengthen us all throughout the day.)

The service manager came out to look at the car and noticed in 3 seconds that the new tire that had been put on my car not 40 minutes ago was a truck tire and was therefore too big for my car. Having 3 tires that are one size and a fourth tire of a different size is the problem that was causing my warning light to come on.  When he told me that, I took a very deep, cleansing breath and repeated to myself, “Thank you God for allowing this to be my biggest problem.”

Rather than focus on the reality that was being presented me, I triggered my forethought to focus on what was going to occur later that evening. As I visualized a couple of hours into the future, I knew that I was going to get dressed up and take my beautiful wife to a dinner with the President of my daughter’s high school.  It would be a great evening of cocktails, dinner, conversation and laughs with my wife and with other parents of high school boarding students. When that event was over, I’d get to pick-up my daughter (who I hadn’t seen since the prior Sunday), give her a big hug and kiss and take her home with us for the weekend.  How fortunate I am!

You and I always get to choose whether we dwell on the negative or keep our thoughts focused on what we do want.  Successful people do not get bogged-down in their present reality.

I called the dealer on my way home but, it was too late for them to do anything about it at 3:45PM on a Friday and I assumed that they would have to “reorder” the correct tire again.  I knew that the car was unsafe to drive so, I’d have to go the weekend without my car.  “Thank God….”

Each time an obstacle is presented to me, this is the thought that goes through my mind, “Is this problem bigger than me OR am I bigger than it?”  This is a very key decision point for me.  I know with 100% certainty that I will never be presented with a problem that I can’t deal with as long as I have God’s Words inside of my head, the Holy Spirit inside of my being and God’s assistance in solving the problem.  I am never alone. I don’t have to deal with life’s small problems or big problems by myself – ever.

That belief allows me to literally smile in the face of adversity because I know that there is an answer to every single problem that we have to deal with on a daily basis.  I know that God is constantly challenging me to see how much or how little I’ll rely upon Him and include Him into my thought process and creativity.

Thank you God for making each problem a small problem in your eyes.

Thank you for the faith that allows me to know that you are always with me every second of every day.

Thank you for allowing me the ability to choose my thoughts and actions and for helping me to choose love, patience, understanding and compassion as my go-to responses to each of life’s pot holes.

I am now at the point of being almost 100% absent of fear.  It doesn’t matter what an e-mail says or what the phone message will be or what someone might say or do.  Each of these things will just be a very small detour along the pathway to a successful day: trust that God’s plan won’t make you drive 60 mph on your spare “donut” tire.

Have you ever felt that the world around you is changing so much that you may not be able to keep up?

For many of us, we buy into the “reality” that we’re bombarded with on a daily basis by the media – war, recession, death, disease, layoffs, jobs moving out of the country, etc. Even when we’re not personally impacted by these events just watching or listening to them can have a seriously negative impact on our minds.

Often times, we’re experiencing real events within our own lives that seem traumatic such as a loss of job, death of a loved one, separation or divorce, problem with a child, lower net worth, reduced value of real estate (or in drastic cases, all of the above).

These are tough to deal with when one of them is occurring. What happens when two or three happen simultaneously?

A great trait that I learned and committed to implementing in my life is one called compartmentalizing. What that means is that when we have an event that is not going well in our lives (pick any one from above or one of your own), we isolate that event from the rest of our activities so that we don’t allow that circumstance to contaminate the rest of the compartments that are going well. They also help you to stay intentional about “what you do want” in the area of your life that might not be going as well.

Compartmentalizing allows us to maintain the success that is going on in the rest of our life while we’re dealing with the isolated area(s) where we’re really hurting.  I’ve talked with you extensively about the habit of using affirmations as a way to control the thoughts that are going on in your head and as a way to bring about the changes that you desire in your life.  Using affirmations helps you to stay positive – and constantly improving – in the areas that are going well.

As I start to get more granular with you, I’m now recommending that you have at least one affirmation for each segment of your life that you consider important. This process will allow you to maintain your positive thoughts about how you see yourself and how you desire to maintain (and improve) the world that you’re creating around you – you’re reality.  Here are some samples of life segments that many of us share along with a sample affirmation in each area:

• Spirituality or Faith life
  • I happily spend 15 minutes per day in silence talking to, listening to or learning about God.
• Health
  • I enthusiastically exercise my body for 30 minutes per day each day and feel confident that I’m in optimal health.
• Family
  • I enjoy eating at least 2 meals a day with my family and cherish the time of conversation with my loved ones.
• Work
  • I am considered to be a person of exceptional value within my organization so I always feel confident about my livelihood.
• Income
  • It’s easy for me to pay my monthly bills and save $__ per month for retirement because I consistently earn $__ per year.
• Social
  • I enjoy lunch or dinner with my friends at least 2 times per week and feel blessed to have such close, cherished friendships.
• Education
  • I eagerly read at least one book per month to keep my mind sharp and to sustain the habit of constant improvement and feel happy when doing so.

As you become more comfortable with this process and benefit from your positive attitude and the results that you’re experiencing, you’ll probably begin adding additional affirmations (maybe 2-3) in each category of your life.

When we’re experiencing any of the “my world is falling apart” or “I think that my eggshell is beginning to crack” feelings, it’s usually because we’ve allowed a reality in one area of our life to spill over and contaminate other areas of our life that should not have been tainted.

You have the power and ability to isolate any negative thoughts occurring in your mind and to convert them into how you would like your life to be going.

I am asking you to become deliberate and accountable for keeping your mind focused on the kinds of thoughts that you’re choosing and to become aware of anything (television, radio, newspapers) or anyone (spouses, friends, co-workers) that is negatively infecting you with less-than-positive ideas or attitudes.  I am challenging you to accept responsibility for each of your thoughts because they are what control each of your actions and ultimately the results that you’re experiencing in every area of your life.

Proper thoughts lead us to proper behavior and actions.  Let’s focus now on the actions.   Whenever you and I do the right things, those actions make us feel better.  Our attitude is feeling better because of the correct actions.  Our correct actions lead to correct attitudes. Here are some examples:

• Whenever I attend a wake or funeral, I feel better because of the respect and kindness that I’ve shown to the family.  The action improves my self-esteem (my estimation of myself).
• Whenever I go to the gym, my body feels better and my head feels better. I know that I’ve done something good to take care of my temple. “That felt good.  I should do it daily.”
• When I pick up the phone and call a family member, I always feel better because of the effort that I’ve made – even if the call wasn’t easy or 100% pleasant. I did the right thing.
• Every time that I go to church I feel better about the time that I’ve spent with God and with my church friends.  I learn something about myself or God each and every week.

The concept is very simple: The correct actions done on a consistent basis allow us to feel good about ourselves consistently.

If we control our thoughts and engage in the actions that we know consistently make us feel good on a consistent basis, we’re well on the way to a life that is truly blessed.

Did you count the number of times I used the word consistent?  Consistent actions yield consistent results.

Here’s an easy exercise:

• Identify the actions/behaviors in your life that you’re confident will have you feeling better – physically, mentally or spiritually (frequently all 3 benefit from any one positive action) and choose at least one from each area of your life: health, spirituality, education, family, social, work, financial, etc.
• Identify how often you would like to engage in this activity that will give you this good feeling.  Is it daily?, is it multiple times per week?, is it monthly?
• Write a present tense statement (affirmation) that includes the emotion of your feeling when acting, speaking or living the way that you’re envisioning.
• Read each of these affirmations every morning upon awakening and every evening prior to sleeping.
• Once these new ways of living become engrained in your new being, replace them with new goals and affirmations based upon the next vision of your higher self in that area of your life.

You control your thoughts, no one else gets to violate that sacred space without your permission. You control your actions. The correct actions always positively impact our attitude.

Fill your life with the correct thoughts and the correct actions and watch your heaven on earth materialize.

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Does anxiety ever prevent you from succeeding? Does it ever keep you from being as “good as you should be”?  If so, you have a lot in common with [tag]Olympic athletes[/tags] and professionals from every vocation imaginable. Here’s what one group of elite Olympic athletes recently did to help them eliminate or significantly reduce their anxiety and unleash their athletic potential.

The United States Olympic Swim team invited in The Pacific Institute to conduct a seminar for their athletes prior to the FINA world Championships. The aim of the seminar was to “turn the athletes’ minds into bunkers that fortify them against self-doubts”.

Soon,  ABC’s Good Morning America is scheduled to air a piece on the Seattle-based company and the role that they’ve played with the United States Olympic swim team. The segment is a follow-up to an article in the New York Times by Karen Crouse on 7/26/09- “Avoiding the Deep End When it Comes to Jitters”-, which talked about how even the United States Olympic swim team must prepare themselves to perform up to their potential.

Are you telling me that even Olympic athletes need assistance in order to be able to perform up to their potential?  YES- we all do! Studies show that most of us are only utilizing about 10% of our potential.

How can Olympic athletes experience self-doubt and perform beneath their potential?  When expectations from those around us are high, when we’re trying to perform better than we “know we are” and when we’re trying to perform in environments that are out of our comfort zones, our brains start creating negative (avoidant) thoughts that tell us to “go back where we belong”. Where do we belong? Back with the familiar: at the old job, at the familiar pool, with the old friends, with the old ways of doing things.  That’s why trying to do anything new or different can be so challenging.

Do you every experience self-doubt?  Do you every question your own ability to do something that you know that you’re good at when you have to “do it” in front of a larger audience or in a different setting? Does your negative self-talk ever kick-in when you’re tired, alone or about to try something new?

Pressure and anxiety occur when we try to perform better than we know ourselves to be. There is no pressure when we’re relaxed and performing in areas that are “comfortable” to us.

The key then is for you and I to become comfortable (familiar), in our own minds, with the new level of performance that we desire. So, how do we become comfortable and relaxed prior to swimming the race or giving the presentation?  We must be able to “see it” first in our own minds.

The Pacific Institute’s Project Director Brian Goodell – a two-time Olympic gold medalist- was one of the people contributing in the seminar for the U.S. Olympic Swim Team on how to utilize visualization techniques and achieve optimal performance.

Why do U.S. Olympic team members need to visualize? Because they get anxiety and experience moments of self-doubt just like you and I do whenever they’re in new environments or away from what’s familiar to them!

In order to reduce or eliminate the anxiety, athletes visualize themselves performing up to their potential before they ever get into the pool. They’ve rehearsed and visualized the event in their own minds where they can see themselves performing at a high-level of performance against the greatest competitors in the world in front of thousands (or millions) of people. They’ve already used their forethought to prepare for any obstacles that might be ahead of them and to visualize how to go over, under, around or through the obstacle. They’ve already successfully finished and won the race in their minds before they ever stepped into the pool!

I’ve been successfully utilizing these techniques for myself -and physically- and for my partners around the world for many years. Once we set goals for ourselves, we can use the visualization process to assimilate these new ideas of quality and quantity of performance into our minds safely from the comfort of our homes and offices before we ever have to do it for real!