Something I Do Every Day

Each night as I lay myself down to sleep, I visualize the upcoming day. Each day when I lift weights, I visualize how the set is going to go before I do the reps. These are just two of the many ways I incorporate visualization into my success habits. Visualization is a powerful tool and Robert Ringer shows us why today.

Craig Ballantyne

“It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.” – Muhammad Ali

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A New American Dream

“Millionaire”. Ever since he was a little kid, this was the answer Ryan Deiss, one of the most respected “gurus” in the Internet Marketing world, gave when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up.

And now having launched countless training courses, simplifying the complexities of online selling and providing success blueprints for marketers of all levels, Ryan has been able to live out his American Dream.

But Ryan’s good fortune didn’t start from some innovative idea that suddenly hit the jackpot. Instead, the stepping-stone to his self-made wealth started from a simple desire to generate enough money to buy an engagement ring for his college sweetheart.

And it was during this time, while working with an Internet marketer as a college intern, that Ryan discovered just how much more money he could make online than as a financial consultant.

So Ryan began experimenting with a number of online business models, and eventually transferred his knowledge to countless training courses on varied subjects such as social media, SEO, and continuity, while simultaneously creating the lifestyle he’d always dreamed of.

And today, in an effort to help others achieve their own American Dream, Ryan publishes, speaks, blogs, writes, and records video courses on what he’s learned in his world-renowned Internet Marketing business, while also hosting his annual Traffic & Conversion Summit in Austin, Texas.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here
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The Power of Active Visualization
By Robert Ringer

I use the term “active visualization” to describe the conscious attempt to influence the outcome of events by vividly picturing those outcomes in advance. This is a very powerful concept that can produce truly amazing results for the person who is willing to concentrate with intensity.

As a teenager, my second most favorite sport (after basketball) was fast-pitch softball. I was a catcher, slow afoot but determined. If you’ve ever played fast-pitch softball, you know that the ball is on top of you so quickly after leaving the pitcher’s hand that you can’t afford to blink. Which is why I almost never hit the ball out of the infield the first year I played in an organized league.

When I came to bat during one particular game, the second baseman for the other team yelled to the outfielders, “Move in. This guy’s an infield hitter.” Sure enough, I hit a dribbler to the right side of the mound.

But the second baseman’s remark really ticked me off – so much so that it made me determined to do something about my meek infield hitting. I began by spending hours visualizing and intellectualizing my hitting stance and how I swung the bat.

The first mistake I realized I was making was that I was putting my left foot “in the bucket” –stepping toward third base instead of toward the pitcher. When your first step is away from the mound, it gives you a head start on getting out of the way if the pitch ends up coming straight at you. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to hit with power when your pivot foot is preparing to head for the hills.

Second, I realized that I wasn’t swinging the bat with authority. Experienced Major League scouts often categorize players as having a “quick bat” or “slow bat.”

Third, I was making the mistake of taking my eye off the ball, a result of focusing on getting out of the way.

Fourth, I was hitting the ball with a stiff swing – i.e., I wasn’t “breaking my wrists” at the moment of impact.

These four steps are a lot to concentrate on when the ball is coming at you, from 50 feet away, at breakneck speed. But I was determined to become a good hitter, so I started practicing them in my backyard every evening.

I got down in my batting crouch hundreds of times during each session and, with intense concentration, visualized the pitcher going through his windup and letting go of the ball. As I pictured the windup, I focused on stepping directly toward the pitcher with my left foot, which was a bold psychological statement that I intended to meet the pitch head on.

In step two, I swung the bat as hard as I could – initially in slow motion, then working up to full speed. For the first time, I was attacking the pitcher.

In step three, I practiced keeping my eyes glued to the end of the bat and visualized it making contact with the ball.

Finally, at the last instant, I sharply broke my wrists.

Each evening, after practicing these four steps hundreds of times in slow motion, I would begin to gradually increase my speed until I was swinging at full throttle. But whether fast or slow, I would mentally count the steps – one, two, three, four – in order to give myself a rhythm.

I still remember the first game in which my 1-2-3-4 visualization practice produced positive results. The other team had a very fast left-handed pitcher who was pretty wild – just the kind of pitcher that would have scared me to death prior to my visualization practice.

I don’t know exactly how to express what I felt the first time I came to bat, but I distinctly remember there being no doubt in my mind that I was going to hit the ball hard to the outfield. I had visualized and practiced it so many times that I almost felt as though I had an unfair advantage.

In fact, I played a mental game with myself and pretended I was practicing in my backyard. When the pitcher went into his familiar windmill windup, I knew the instant I stepped directly toward him that I was going to make solid contact with the ball. And I did – a cannon shot that almost took his ear off.

I went three for three that day, all line drives to the outfield. After four straight games of great hitting, the manager installed me as the cleanup hitter, and I remained there for the rest of the season.

Instead of meekly dribbling the ball to the right side of the infield, I now pulled everything to the left, because I was always way out in front of the pitch. So much so that I hit a lot of line drives down the left-field line that went foul, and teams actually starting shifting both their infields and outfields toward the left side of the diamond when I came to bat.

Little did I realize at the time that my successful experiment with the power of visualization would be one of the most important tools I would frequently employ years later in the business world. Before business meetings, I would play out in my mind every possible objection, question, and scenario I could imagine. And I would think through and practice how I would handle just about any obstacle that was placed in my path.

Preparation through visualization takes an excruciating amount of mental effort, but once you begin reaping the benefits of your efforts, I think you’ll find that the results are worth it. What it gets down to is paying the price out front … and enjoying the benefits down the road.

[Ed. Note: If you're ready for a treasure chest of proven ideas, strategies, and techniques that are guaranteed to dramatically improve your dealmaking skills - and, in the process, increase your income many times over - you won't want to miss Robert Ringer's bestselling audio series, A Dealmaker's Dream.

Robert Ringer is a New York Times #1 bestselling author and host of the highly acclaimed Liberty Education Interview Series, which features interviews with top political, economic, and social leaders. His recently released work, Restoring the American Dream: The Defining Voice in the Movement for Liberty, is a clarion call to liberty-loving citizens to take back the country. Ringer has appeared on numerous national talk shows and has been the subject of feature articles in such major publications as Time, People, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Barron's, and The New York Times. To sign up for his e-letter, A Voice of Sanity in an Insane World, visit www.robertringer.com.]

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