I am at my best when I clearly know where I am going or what I am heading towards. Almost without exception, when I can clearly and fully visualize something, I will achieve the goal. The times I have failed are when I:
- did not listen to my intuition, you know, those little voices inside.
- did not put myself in the center of my vision.
- did not pay attention to my feelings or lack thereof about the vision.
Another way to express this would be to say that I always succeed when I am in the center of a vision that I see not just mentally but emotionally as well. Much has been written on this subject and I am by no means an authority. The best I can do is to share some of my personal experiences which for me were very instructive and hope that you can glean some insight from them. Here is one that is near and dear to my heart.
Some time ago, I owned and operated a professional business center. We had 22 offices for rent and offered a number of other services to businesses that needed a presence in town. One of our tenants was a psychologist. I would often take my clients out for lunch or coffees to thank them for their ongoing business and get to know them better. One day I took the psychologist out for lunch. I had a question for her that I hoped she could answer.
Here is what I asked her:
“Sue, as you know, I am also a musician. For years I had envisioned building a music studio in my home. I wanted it to have all the gear I need to record my music. It would feature a high quality mixer, compressors, effects units and excellent speakers. I envisioned a room that was sound proof, comfortable and easy on the eye. It would have my guitars on stands always at the ready to be played and microphones ready to sing into. Two years ago, I built it and it’s pretty much exactly what I had visualized. My question is this. After 2 years of having this studio, and despite the fact that over the years I have written in excess of 100 songs, I still have not recorded a single one of them. Why do you think that is?”
She answered with some questions of her own.
“Gil, when you envisioned this great little studio, did you envision yourself using it? Were YOU in the center of that vision? Was the vision about you recording or was it about owning a studio? Did you envision how it would feel to use it and the satisfaction that would come from recording your songs?”
Her reply really caught me off guard. Wow I thought! She nailed it right on the head. My vision was about having something. It was not about doing something. I got exactly what I asked for which was way off the intended mark. In time, I was able to re-focus, see a new vision and I eventually recorded a jazz/rock instrumental CD called Old Dog New Tricks.
In closing, here is one other thing for you to consider. A few times in my career, I have engaged in a vision or an activity that ignored my intuitions. In each case, a little voice inside said; “don’t do it”. I didn’t listen to those little voices and ultimately I failed miserably. Your intuitions have nothing to do with your left brain logical thought processes. They are right brain and I believe they are your deepest self, your emotions and your spirit. They see the big picture. When you don’t listen to these, there is absolutely no chance that you will be able to feel passionate about what you are doing. On the other hand, I also believe that if your intuition is telling you to do something, if you see the big picture, even if you have not worked out the details yet, you will more than likely succeed.
© Gil Namur, 2009
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