“Losers visualize the penalties of failure. Winners visualize the rewards of success,” William S. Gilbert.
Are you a loser or a winner? I study the habits of a lot of successful people all the time and the saying above describes the one characteristic that most successful people have in common… A winner’s mindset. As black people, some of us struggle with a winner’s way of thinking because we’ve never experienced anything other than poverty. We’ve been programmed to think that the definition of success is securing a job (with good benefits) working for someone else…making that person rich. It hasn’t been instilled that we can be the employers. We can be the millionaires calling the shots. We haven’t been able to think it, therefore, it hasn’t happened.
Welcome to part II of Think like a Millionaire: Visualize and Plan. Visualizing is the process of creating mental imagery to assist in helping reach your goals. It is the process of allowing you to see the outcome of your successes. When you visualize you can place yourself in that space and time and allow yourself to receive the feeling of success. That feeling allows you to work harder to achieve your goals.
I was reading an article, “Visualization: A Key to Achieving your Goals,” by Z. Hereford. The author used an example of visualization. When you decide you’re hungry, you think of different meals to choose from. You decide whether or not you want to cook, or if you want to eat alone or eat with company. You make these decision by thinking them through first and then you make a decision. It is important to do this step in every aspect of your life.
“Without a plan a goal is simply a dream.” ~Unknown
This segment is about thinking like a millionaire. Afterall, Jim Carery did say he wrote himself a million dollar check in hopes that one day he would be able to cash it. And he did it! Don’t sell yourself short. If you want to be a millionaire, tell yourself you’re a millionaire.
Below are 3 common tools used to help you visualize your goals:
Vision Board
We’ve all heard of the famous vison board. This is an excellent and creative way to get your goals out of your head and put them somewhere you can see them. I won’t go into detail about vision boards because I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of them. If not…Google is your friend.
Live that life
By saying “live that Life”, I’m not saying splurge all of your money on material things, especially when I just told you to stop trying to live like the Jones’ in the previous segment (lol). I’m saying, allow your visions to become a part of your reality. For example, I worked with a gentlemen who said one day I want to live in a mansion. Whenever possible, he would dress up in a suit and go to open houses. All the homes he went to were the ones he could visualize in his head. He’d take pictures while sipping the complimentary champagne and he would inquire about what it would take to purchase one of these homes. At the time, he couldn’t afford to buy million dollar real estate but he knew it was something he wanted one day. He let that dream become part of his reality and eventually he got his million dollar home.
Write it down
Planning is a crucial part of obtaining your goals. First, you want to visualize them and then you want to plan how you’re going to get there. It would be nice if all you had to do was think and opportunity would just come knocking at your door. Unfortunately, you will have to do some work. Like my previous co-worker, who did his research to see what it would take to own prime real estate, it is important you do your due diligence to see what it would take to achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself. An athlete doesn’t become an athlete overnight. It takes grueling hours of practice and self-discipline to become a great athlete. Take Tom Brady as an example. Brady is the quarterback for the New England Patriots (this is football team for those who don’t know 😉 lol). He is one of the best to ever play the game. Although Brady has been in the league for about 15-16 years, he has been quoted saying he is the first person to be at practice and the last person to leave. He’s there even before the rookies. His actions speak volumes letting anyone who is following his career know that it is his goal to be the greatest.
This segment was important for me to introduce to “Black Wall Street” because I don’t think as Black people, we have many opportunities to see ourselves doing anything other than being drug dealers, rappers, and athletes. These are the only images we see ourselves being portrayed in media. We are so much more than that. We are doctors, lawyers, scholars, and entrepreneurs. However, images of ourselves in those roles are few and far between. Being that it is uncommon makes it difficult to visualize anything other than that. So if you want to be a Black Millionaire you can do it, just ask Mo Ibrahim (1.1 billion), Sheila Johnson (400 million), R. Donahue Peebles (350 million), and all the other BLACK millionaires in the world.
Photo Credits Source:
Afrikangoddessmag. (2013). Black Woman Thinking. http://afrikangoddessmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/black-woman-thinking.jpg (citation)
Toni Larue, author and COO of Team Jon Doe Publications
www.tonilarue.com
www.teamjondoe.com
Las Vegas, NV