We all have this vision of the person we want to be, of the person we picture ourselves as. We'll daydream and envision ourselves with rockin' bods and full money clips, fast cars, and expensive vacations. The question is, why can't we be that person? What's stopping us?

Perhaps we're putting too much focus on the ends, and not enough on the means. This hit me the other day when thinking on it. What was I focusing on? Let's first start with this: what's the deal with this whole visualization thing I keep talking about?

The point of picturing what you want is simple - so that you know what you want! Riveting stuff, I know. For starters, many people feel trapped in their current circumstances because they simply don't know what else they want to do. They know they want different, but haven't pictured what that different looks like. Well, if you don't know where you want to go, how do you expect to get there? What's more, it's not enough to know where you want to go; you've got to know how you are going to get there.

Example. I'm a huge golf fan. One of my buddies tells me about this course in Arizona that I just HAVE to go and play. Ok sure! What's it called? He doesn't know. Ok, well where in Arizona is it? He doesn't know that either. Wow. So all I know is that there's a course in Arizona (I'm nowhere near Arizona by the way) and that I need to get there somehow. I know where I am now. I know where I want to go. I have no idea how to get there or where to start. I could start heading that general direction and hope I end up close to it, but there's a chance I could completely miss it. There's a chance I could start heading the opposite direction without even realizing. This doesn't sound like a recipe for success does it? In fact, you probably wouldn't even bother making the trip. This predicament is comparable to the one who dreams of having it all, without putting thought into how to make it happen.

I'll often spend some time, be it during a morning meditation or otherwise, envisioning the person I want to be. It's important to be specific. The easier it is to envision what I want and the more detailed I can be, the more my brain is able to gather useful facts and develop ideas towards helping me get there. In other words, I want my brain to know exactly what I'm looking for, down to the view from my luxury high rise balcony. This way, I can continually gauge my progress and change course if need be, based on the path laid out in my mind.

I'll ask myself: what does future me look like? He's definitely in great shape - he's got to have that. He's a scratch golfer, that's a must. He's an avid writer, contributing to websites and releasing his own content too. Future me is doing well for himself! Alright, so if he's all those things, how did he do it? How does he spend his days? What thoughts run through his head now that he has these things? When he looks back, what does he reflect upon?

So now I'm thinking about what future me is thinking about. Now I know how he spends his days and what he concerns himself with. So I've got this picture of who I want to be and I've got these ideas of how I need to get there. From here, I can start putting it into practice. I can start thinking and living NOW in the same way I know the future me will. This is called thinking from the ideal. In other words, it is the process of thinking as if your desires have already been achieved. If I want to be the future me I need to think like he does, but I need to do it today. This has been referred to as the universal Law of Assumption. Live and think assuming your wish is fulfilled, and you will slowly start to alter your actual reality into your ideal reality. So it really all starts with this practice of visualization.

Let's come full circle.

Be the person you want to be, today. If you know who that person is and how that person got there (because you've already put thought and energy into picturing it), then start putting it into practice right now. Don't waste another day or another second. If the future me is in shape and plays great golf, he must exercise regularly and practice on his game. I can start doing that now! If the future me is a writer, he must have a commitment to honing his craft. I can start doing that now!

This is the name of the game folks, and we've no time to sit back waiting on things to happen. You already are who you desire to be, it's only a matter of bringing out that part of you. Take steps to activate the real you. Picture the person you want to be tomorrow, and start being that person today.