For anyone who has spent any time with people on their way to success, the idea of [tag-tec]visualizing a goal[/tag-tec] is nothing new. In fact those who have reached the higher levels of what we consider successful would tell you that it's mandatory.

Some people will think that visualization, "positive thinking", and other tools of thought are just a bunch of hooey made up to sell books and seminars. That's an impression based in ignorance.

Coaches in many different disciplines, ranging through business, sports, family and more understand that proper visualization will produce the desired outcome much more quickly than not using this tool. For example there is a fairly well known study that took three groups of basketball players and had them practice free throws for a week. After that week one group was told not to practice for the following week and not think about shooting free throws. The second group was told to continue practicing free throws as they had been. The third was told not to practice basketball, but given instructions on how to visualize taking free throws.

The first group was considered the base line for the results since they were taking no special actions (they continued practicing free throws). At the end of this second week, the three groups were tested again for thier free throw skills. The first group improved slightly over thier first week results (as would be expected). The second group (that did not practice and did not visualize) decreased in thier free throw abililty, as would be expected. The third group however actually showed an improvement in their free throw ability almost as great as their counterparts who had practiced all week!

There are entire books, seminars and video courses that go into depth on the various methods, results and techniques for [tag-tec]effective visualization[/tag-tec]. The simplest way to get started is just to write things down and be specific. By "things", I mean goals and other desired outcomes. "Specific" means that as a goal you don't just write down "I want to make a lot of money". A specific goal would be something more like "By June 30th of this year, I am earning $4,438 per month. I earn this because I provide valuable coaching services and products to people who need them."

That statement has a couple of important elements that may not be obvious right off the bat. One of them is phrasing the statement in the present tense. "I am" instead of "I will be". This places the statement in the "now" instead of holding it in the future. When you continue to place something in the future with statements like "someday I will…" your subconscious will do everything it can to make that a reality. This means it will always be "someday" and never "now" - your goal will never be reached because by making it "now" instead of "someday", your mind will have contradicted itself.

Having a specific goal also makes it more real to your mind. Rather than setting your goal as "I want  a cool car" set it as something like "I will have a white 1968 Mustang convertible".

Also write it down, don't just type it on the computer. The act of writing your goal down on a piece of paper makes a stronger impression on your mind than just typing on the keyboad. Keep this goal in a prominent place so you can see it while you work. Repeat it aloud twice each day - once in the morning as you and once in the evening before going to sleep. These two times of day are when the mind is most receptive to suggestion, and voicing it aloud engages more of your sences to make a deeper impression.

One more simple method to impress your desires on the subconscious is to place a photograph of what you desire in your workspace so that you can visualize it regularly and make it come to reality more quickly. This can also be in the form of a "dream board" where you make a collage of different pictures that represent your goals. This is actually a fun project to do with other family members or partners who are working with you on your goals. It brings ideas and vision to a tangible form and on those days where it seems a little more difficult to move forward it can help give a bit more energy to get through the next task.

A great reference to get started and get more in depth on these ideas is a book called "Think and Grow Rich: The 21st Century Edition" by Napolean Hill. Mr. Hill had the good fortune to study in person some of the most successful people of his time, including Dale Carnegie, Thomas Edison and many others. The 21st century edition has been updated with examples like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, recent presidents and other names you will likely recognize.

You could call this a "secret" hidden in plain sight.