Visualizing success
Despite my online persona (the Hummingbird604), my measure of success is completely different from what people seem to think I would consider successful. When I told my brother how many people followed me on Twitter and how many people read my blog (in terms of unique hits), he went “WOW”. You would think I would see myself as a blogging/social media success story.
And the truth is, my measure of success is substantially different from the statistics (despite widespread perception otherwise). Those who really know me well know that the way I quantify (and qualify) my success is quite multi-layered and complex. One thing I can tell you – it’s taken me A LONG TIME to get where I am. And one of the tips I thought I would give my readers (because it’s one of the things that actually has propelled me forward) is visualize your success.
I’m not kidding. I’ve spent the past few decades seeing myself as a successful individual. Counting the years by friends and not by number of hours spent at the office. Ensuring that I take care of the people I love the most, and that I take care of myself. Making sure that I believe in my multiple talents and abilities. Realizing that I am very blessed with what I have and that I really, really don’t need much more.
Do I live in a modest apartment? Yes, I do. Do I have to live within budgetary constraints (thanks, largely, to my overly lengthy stay in graduate school because, you know, I wanted 2 Masters and 1 PhD). Yes, I do. Do I have to work really long hours? Yes, I do. Do I feel sometimes overwhelmed, overstretched and over committed? Yes, I do. But more importantly, do I trust my talent and abilities to take me where I want to be, my heart, mind and soul to be key elements in the way people assess what I can contribute to their lives (in terms of education – my students; in terms of online community building – my readers and followers; in terms of love, my friends)? YES, BY ALL MEANS, I DO.
I *am* very successful. No, I’m not boasting. I really am. I’ve succeeded in many professional, personal, sports and human fields. But two key elements have been foundations of my success. First, I have given it my all. EVERY. THING. I. DO. I put my heart and soul in it. And second, I have *always* visualized me as a success story.
So, whether other people see me as successful is really NOT my measure of success. I am my own barometer. And those who love me and care for me know that. I would suggest that one key tool for personal growth (at least for mine) has been visualizing myself as successful. And I can tell you RIGHT NOW… I firmly believe 2010 is going to be great for me. I honestly hope it will be so for you too.
Related posts:
- On having the right support infrastructure for success
- Success overnight takes 10 years
- As always, Third Tuesday (on a Monday) was a success! Nate Elliott on The Future of Influence
- The good and the bad of family success
- Tazzu’s WordCamp 2008 Vancouver – A total success
I love the self-belief and confidence, that is equally tempered with hard work to back it up. The world is yours Raul!
Great post. Conscious visualization is a big part of what I do. My old default negative thinking used to bring me exactly the results I was imagining/visualizing and I had a miserable life. I believed, falsely, that I was powerless to change that, but now when I “consciously” use visualization positively my subconscious seems to go to work leading me toward exactly what I am after.
Case and point, last summer my wife and I were not happy in the social circles we were running in. The people we had in our lives were decent enough, but none of them seemed to be interested in what we were. We began to visualize having engaging intelligent and driven friends with similar interests to ours.
After doing this for a few months, fairly steadily we began to have more interaction with people who’s company we truly enjoyed, like yourself, Raul.
I could write for pages on this subject as I have proven again and again that it works for just about everything. I say just about because I’m still waiting on that lottery win.
One never knows how things are going to arrive but if you can truly see and feel yourself in the situation it will come.
“do I trust my talent and abilities to take me where I want to be, my heart, mind and soul to be key elements in the way people assess what I can contribute to their lives. YES BY ALL MEANS I DO”
Thanks for that. I needed to be reminded that although one may be overwhelmed and over-stretched, this does not immediately call into question their ability, or what really matters.
It’s great to read that someone with your scientific background believes in the power of visualization. It’s something that I’ve been interested in for 16 years, but lately, have been second-guessing it.
Reading your post reinforced my faith in it. Would love to have a conversation about it when you have the time.
And by the way, you deserve every bit of success that you have. It’s encouraging to see that good guys (like you) do succeed.
Very heartfelt and truthful post my friend, thanks for sending me the link on Twitter.
One thing my father always said to me was “don’t do anything, unless you do it to the best of your ability” and I have never forgotten this. Your post highlights his thinking and mine, thank you.