Positive Visualization for your Business in 2008

Change your thoughts and you change your world. —Norman Vincent Peale

For some time now, I have explored and utilized positive visualization or “imaging” in my personal and business life. I believe this tool is incredibly powerful, and I want to share a few thoughts that might help your marketing efforts in 2008.

“Positive Visualization” or “Positive Imaging” is the process of tenaciously holding a picture of a desired outcome in one’s mind. As the image seeps into the subconscious mind, a powerful internal force can actually influence circumstances.

Let’s explore some principles of visualization:

The Mind is Magnetic
The thoughts and images we choose to entertain in our minds are magnetic. In his book ”Positive Imaging”, Norman Vincent Peale wrote that imaging is “based on the principle that there is a deep tendency in human nature to ultimately become precisely like that which we imagine or image ourselves as being.” What I put into my mind is what I’ll move towards.

Faking the Mind
In a podcast entitled “The Power of Visualization”, I heard Joel Osteen say “The subconscious mind doesn’t know what’s real and what’s fake; it just reacts to what’s put in.”

Details, Details, Details
The more detailed our visualization the better: imagine sounds, textures, panorama, characters, weather, smells, environment.

Visualization requires Tenacity
Reoccurring thoughts and repetitive mental images are like ruts in a muddy field; they are easy to get stuck in and hard to get out of! Visualization is a habit that comes with practice.

It’s an Inside Job
Positive imaging is a powerful spiritual force that results from honest searching and prayer. In the Old Testament, God used encouraging, positive imagery to help a discouraged Abraham. He told Abraham that his descendants would be more numerous than the stars in the heavens and grains of sand on the seashore.

Act As If
Visualize in the present! Act as if. Our words and actions must reflect what we are hoping for. Thank God for already bringing it to pass. The book of Mark says that “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Release the Results
I always try to release the results of prayers and visualizations to our Maker, saying “Your will not mine be done.” That way I’m not attached to the outcome. I’m also open to whichever way God chooses to bring about His blessings.

The benefits of this tool for our marketing efforts are boundless. Let’s say we create a brand new graphic identity and a quality brochure for our business, reflecting the great services we offer. We may have a plan for distributing our new brochures, but do we have a plan for the results?

We can imagine in detail the clients who received our brochure, saw the fresh look of our company, and decided to respond. We can carry it one step further and visualize those clients benefiting from what we have to offer, and passing those benefits on to others. Again, the more detailed the better. Where was our client when he received the brochure? Did we give it to him personally or did he receive it by mail? What was going on at the time? Did he call us on his cell phone or did he email us? How did he then use our service to benefit others?

Do you get the picture?