Self-Image determines more than sales

How do you picture yourself?

Pretty powerful question when you think about it. Some of you are thinking handsome or pretty, some overweight or average, some successful or struggling. Some pictures are happy, some are not. Very not.

Tell me about the picture. Was it a physical picture (tall, pretty), or a mental picture (self assured, confident)? Was it a positive picture (great attitude, successful), or a negative picture (failing, in debt)? Did you picture the “now,” or “what you want to become?”

The interesting thing about picturing yourself, I have found, is that most people don’t want to see it. They don’t like it, or they don’t like themselves. And then there’s that ever-present, unavoidable, bathroom mirror.

Suppose I told you that the more vivid the picture, the more accepting of yourself you will be today, and the more you can see that tomorrow is the fast track to success. Would you at least take a peek?

FIRST TRUTH: The picture you have of yourself, combined with the self-belief structure that goes with it, is what you are likely to become.

If you look at (read) some of the books written on the subject of self-image and visualization, you’ll be surprised to find that they all have a common theme: the easiest way to get where you want to go is picture yourself there in advance.

The breakthrough book, Psycho-Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz, is the classic example of what self-image is about. I read the book back in the early 1970’s, and continually read a few pages as part of my commitment to life-long learning.

Maltz says, “We react to the image we have of ourselves in our brain. Change that image for the better and our lives improve. Self-image is changed for the better or worse, not by intellect alone, not by intellectual knowledge alone, but by experiencing.”

This goes for any aspect of your life.
If you want success…
If you want wealth…
If you want a new home…
If you want to become a doctor…
If you want to win the game…
If you want to climb the mountain…
If you want to run a marathon…
If you want to become a great dad or mom…
If you want to make that big sale…
First picture yourself already doing it, or having achieved it.

SECOND TRUTH: You are in complete control of the beliefs and pictures that you put in your head.

Not only are you in total control of your mind, you can also alter (control) your environment to enhance that control. Where you are can affect the way you think.

HERE’S A DEEPER THOUGHT: If you don’t like your job, or boss, it will be real hard for you to have the positive mental picture necessary for achievement. You gotta love what you do (or at least like it a lot). How can you visualize success in a place you don’t like, or have a job you don’t like, or work for someone you don’t like? Answer: You can’t!

THIRD TRUTH: If you change your self-image in your mind, you will begin to achieve mental image, and live your thoughts.

In her book, Creative Visualization, Shakti Gawain says, “Imagination is the ability to create an idea, a mental picture, or a feeling sense of something. In creative visualization you use your imagination to create a clear image, idea, or feeling of something you wish to manifest. Then you continue to focus on the idea, feeling, or picture regularly, giving it positive energy until it becomes objective reality … in other words, until you actually achieve what you have been imagining.”

These two books, Creative Visualization, and Psycho-Cybernetics, are books you may want to add to your library as you seek to improve your self-image, build stronger self beliefs, eliminate self limitations, and block self-defeating thoughts. Just a thought.

If you would like a few words about each book mentioned above, just go to www.gitomer.com – register if you’re a first time visitor — and enter VISUALIZE in the GitBit Box.

“Jeffrey,” you ask, “Can I do all this just by reading?” Heck no! This is not about just thinking or visualizing. That’s the BEGINNING. You still gotta take action to make it happen.

Committed passionate, self-belief leads to action. Achievement action. Action (with a dash of passion and positive anticipation) leads to results. And those results will be your vision fulfilled.

The only way to achieve your desires and dreams is: ACT ON THEM.

About the Author

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].