Why should you visualize your future?

Come with me on a time travel mission. We’ll start off going in reverse.

WINTER, 2010. BOSTON. 

I shiver as I shut the front door and shake the snow off my boots.

I can’t get warm fast enough after being out in the freezing Boston winter. 

I settle in – make some tea, put on a clean pair of fuzzy socks, stake my claim on the couch under blankets, and daydream about my acting career. 

An acting marketing coach I follow says that to create the career you want, visualization is just as important as taking actions like auditioning.

I’m skeptical, but I figure, what have I got to lose?

So, I go for it.

I relax and start with an image of success that feels really exciting.

I picture myself at a fancy film festival. I don’t have a specific one in mind. I just know that I want it to be top-tier.

I’m sitting on a chair on the stage, surrounded by the filmmakers and my castmates. The bright lights are on us. We are answering interesting questions from the audience about the film.

And, the brightest star in this image is my dress.

I’m wearing a bold, bright sexy red dress. And, I feel happy and very alive. And I’m proud of my artistic work.

I don’t know how this will happen.

But my heart is excited about it!

And it doesn’t matter that I don’t know how to get there or how to make this happen. What matters is my clarity and my willingness to keep moving forward with the next best step. 

SPRING, 2012. NEW YORK CITY. 

It’s a gorgeous spring day.

I’m in NYC – in Chelsea.

I step onto the stage at the Tribeca Film Festival. I sit with my castmates and filmmakers of the feature film Rubberneck, which just had its premiere.

I take my seat and await questions from the audience about our creative process.

My hair and makeup are looking fab. 

And I’m wearing…

Yes. There it is.

THE. RED. DRESS.

Boom!

THE HOW

These are the twists and turns that led to this moment:

-It’s a few years earlier. I have been trying to get my acting reel finished for quite a while. (An acting reel contains footage from other projects so people can quickly get a sense of your vibe, acting range, look, and experience). I am very frustrated with how long it is taking. 

-Finally, an editor friend finishes it for me!

-I load it onto a casting site.

-A former acting student (who, that week, is acting in a local indie film) sees it. 

-Said student learns that the movie needs to recast a role and because I am top of mind, she recommends me.

-Director watches my reel late that same night and reaches out to me the next day to see if I can audition on that same day.

– I audition, I am cast. We go directly to set and start filming.

-I shoot for a number of days.

-The filmmakers edit the film, test it in front of small groups of people they trust. Audiences like my character. They add more scenes for my character.

Months go by. Editing happens. Reshoots happen.

And then I get the news that this film will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival! (This festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2002). 

The director/lead is Alex Karpovsky, who plays Ray on HBO’s Girls. Girls is about to premiere.

So there’s some nice BUZZZZZZ!

GOGGLES

I’m a believer. Visualization is really powerful!!

Amazing article here about Olympian Michael Phelp’s visualization practice that enabled him to win a gold medal (and set a world record) despite the fact his GOOGLES WERE LEAKING and he couldn’t see.

An image, when played and replayed, becomes a fact to our minds.

WHAT IS YOUR RED DRESS?

What experience do you yearn to have?

• Working for a cutting-edge organization whose mission totally aligns with yours?
• Being a guest on a late-night talk show?
• Giving a riveting speech at the UN?
• Climbing a mountain?
• Being a guest on your favorite podcast?
• Feeling totally comfortable on-camera so you can get your message out to people who really need your wisdom?

Trust that visualizing every detail of that day that represents success for you – all the sensory elements of what the day sounds like, smells like, how you feel, and what you’re wearing – will only bring you closer to this reality. 

And it will allow amazing synchronicity to happen when the time is right.

Believe you deserve your dream. You deserve good things. Notice any thoughts and feelings that appear that contradict this. Do all you can to release them.

Will you need to work hard for your dream? Of course! Will you hit obstacles that will give you doubts? Most likely!

Do you need to know how it will all happen? No.

What is something you’d like to visualize coming true in the next month? 3 months? 3 years?

Click here to kick off your goal. Book professional coaching sessions to help you towards that milestone – the presentation, speech, promotion, or career change you’re after.