During my senior year at Stanford in 1978, I remember taking a class: Sports and Society. Yeah, it was one of those “Mickey Mouse” classes. You remember those, right? I think all the universities had them and probably still do. When I had a particularly heavy class load, I would fit into a class that provided a few units without requiring a large amount of study time. However, this “Mick”, as we call such classes, was interesting and quite challenging and, being an athlete myself, I placed more value on it than a typical “easy” course (not that I’m in the habit of scheduling those, of course). As a side note, one of the guest instructors was Dave Meggyesy, former St. Louis Cardinal Football player and author of “Out of Their League,” a critical look at the drug culture and brutality of the NFL in the 1960s. Needless to say, the topics ran far and wide.
Another of the books that we had to read was “Zen in the Art of Archery”. I’m not sure if you can still find a copy. It was about the power of the mind when it comes to athletic performance. He described in great detail how the Japanese archer could pull the incredibly taut string of a giant bow and send the arrow flying towards its target with focused breathing and intense concentration.
John Brodie, the great quarterback for the 49ers in the 1960s, wrote an article describing how he used to visualize every aspect of the game before playing it and how certain plays played out just as he envisioned them. He described the release of the ball and how it seemed to go over the outstretched arms of the defender into the hands of the intended receiver.
So while putting the power of the mind to use is not a new concept, it is a concept that is more often than not relegated to sport and often overlooked, especially in business. The reality is that the same benefits can be obtained in our business as in the sports field.
There was a research study done in 2011 at the Institute of Sport Science at the Justus Liebig University of Giessen in Germany. They compared five different groups of people. The first group did 100% of a physical training program, the next group did 75% physical training and 25% visual training, the third group did 50% physical and 50% mental, the fourth group did 25% physical and 75% mental, and the last group did not train.
The results were dramatic. There was only a small difference in physical improvement between the group that did 100% of the training in the gym and the group that only did 25% of the work in the gym and 75% of the training through visualization. The groups spent the same amount of time “training,” either in the gym or through visualization. Pretty amazing, don’t you think?
Most people don’t want to believe that the mind really has a significant impact on the direction of their lives. Here’s an exercise for you to do over the next 30 days to decide for yourself. Take a few minutes when you wake up in the morning or just before going to sleep. Visualize the kind of day you want to have. Focus on what you want to happen versus what you don’t want to happen. Your mind doesn’t care. This concept can work against you just as it can work for you. Plant positive thoughts and actions! It has been proven that your subconscious mind is more receptive during these times.
Focus on attracting new clients, be a great partner for your branches, a safe and reliable adviser for your clients. See it and feel it. Imagine yourself achieving the things that will come with your success. Soon this will become a habit and your actions will coincide with your thoughts, that is, you will walk with your words and thoughts.