You’ll see it when you believe it

Occasionally, you’ll hear a skeptic say: “I’ll believe it when I see it.” This makes sense because seeing something provides tangible evidence that it exists, thereby making it believable. However, in order for someone to see it, they must first believe it.

I was recently in the NMC library when I noticed a biography on the shelf. I was intrigued with the life of this interesting, and sometimes controversial individual, so I checked out “Fantastic: The Life of Arnold Schwarzenegger” by Laurence Leamer.

Most people are familiar with the public life of Arnold and his meteoric rise to fame and fortune. He’s a modern Horatio Alger who arrived in the U.S. as an immigrant with a heavy German accent from a small village in Austria. Within a few years, he became the greatest bodybuilder in history; within a decade, the number one international film star in the world, and now the Governor of California. Many feel his sights are aimed at the highest office in the country. This would require a change in the Constitution—a minor obstacle for the Govenator.

As a side note, after reading Arnold’s biography I became more impressed with the man’s accomplishments, but less impressed with the man himself. We hope the Constitution remains unchanged so the Govenator does not transform into the Presidator.

Although the biography provides many details about his life, the book also provides a few lessons in how to get exactly what you want. When he was 14 years old, Arnold saw a copy of a bodybuilding magazine with Mr. Universe, Reg Park, on its cover. Park had parlayed his physique to start a movie career, and then took the money to create a gym empire. Young Arnold had a new role model, and said, “If he could do it, I could do it! I’d win Mr. Universe. I’d become a movie star. I’d get rich. One, two, three—bing, bang, boom! I found my passion, I got my goal.”

At 20, he won the amateur Mr. Universe title and cabled Reg Park to tell him. Park invited the young devotee to his South African home. After spending several weeks in December 1967, Arnold shared his dreams with the Parks, “I want to win the Mr. Universe many times like Reg. I want to go into films like Reg. I want to be a billionaire. And then I want to go into politics.”

So, Arnold could see the events of his life unfold many years before they actually became reality. In January 2005, Governor Shwarzenegger sat down with the editorial board of the Sacramento Bee to explain himself, and he said: “I always see things ahead of time. I see things way ahead of time. When people say, ‘You won’t be Mr. Universe, Austrian farm boy,’ I say, ‘I see.’ And they could not figure that out, and I did. I was totally convinced that it would work out. I saw myself as a great action star. I never saw myself as a musical star or something like that. I saw myself as an action star and that’s exactly what I did. And I saw myself as the governor.”

Arnold developed a philosophy as a teenager that involves a laser-like focus of his future image. In 1986, he said, “What I am most happy about is that I can zero in on a vision of where I want to be in the future. I can see it so clearly in front of me, when I daydream, that it’s almost a reality. Then I get this easy feeling, and I don’t have to be uptight to get there because I already feel like I’m there, that it’s just a matter of time.”

What application does this have for you as an individual or business owner? As an individual, you have the ability to change your circumstances by changing the vision you have of your personal future. This simple principle was documented by Napoleon Hill in his book, Think and Grow Rich. Hill interviewed individuals of great accomplishment and summarized their propensity for success in this statement: “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

This is consistent with Arnold’s philosophy, and it works for everyone, regardless of age, gender, or economic circumstances. You’ve got to see it in your heart and mind, and believe it before you’ll achieve it. If you see doom and gloom in your future, you will experience more of it. If you can see and believe a brighter future, your thoughts and actions will work to make it happen. The scripture summarizes this concept in Proverbs 23:7, “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

As a business owner, you must “see” a brighter future for your organization before it actually occurs. Knowing what you want is critical. Focusing on the negative will tend to bring more negativity. There are a few businesses on island that are doing very well, and the owners believe that things will only get better for their business. In the midst of an economic meltdown, they are more concerned about how to handle the increased business that will come their way. They see it because they believe it, and eventually they will achieve it.

(Rik is a business instructor at NMC and Janel is the owner of Positively Outrageous Results. They can be contacted at: biz_results@yahoo.com)