The Power of Visualisation: From Decorating to Dubai

I was sitting in a Marks & Spencer café recently, sipping my tea and closing my eyes for a few quiet minutes. I wasn’t meditating, and I certainly wasn’t asleep, although a lady at the next table thought I was!
 
When she leaned over and asked, “Are you okay?” I smiled and said, “Yes, I’m just visualising my future.”
 
What I was doing was something I’ve practised for years: visualising the goals on my vision board. Every morning, I take time to picture my dreams as if they’re already real, seeing them in full colour, feeling the emotions, and believing that they’re on their way.
 
When I first began this habit, life looked very different. I was working as a painter and decorator, but I believed I could do so much more. I created a vision board with images that represented the life I wanted: 

• Photos of speaking events, because I dreamed of becoming an international speaker.
• A picture of a book, because I believed one day I would write and publish my own.
• A photo of a luxury hotel in Dubai, symbolising my dream of working with clients around the world.
• Two wedding rings, representing the happy and loving marriage I wanted to nurture.

Every morning, I’d sit quietly, visualise each image in vivid detail, and imagine how it would feel to live that reality. Slowly but surely, those things began to appear in my life, one by one.
 
I became a professional speaker, sharing stages with incredible audiences. I wrote my first book and held it in my hands. I travelled to Dubai for work, standing in the very kind of hotel I’d once imagined. And most importantly, I built and sustained a wonderful marriage with my wife, Julie.
 
This wasn’t magic. It was the result of focus, belief, and a remarkable system in our brains known as the Reticular Activating System (RAS).
 
The Science Behind Vision Boards
 
The RAS is a bundle of nerves at the base of the brainstem that acts like a filter for the information we receive. We’re bombarded by millions of bits of data every second – sounds, sights, sensations – but the RAS decides what we consciously notice.
 
When you set a clear goal and visualise it regularly, your RAS starts to recognise opportunities connected to that goal. It’s like tuning your brain’s antenna – suddenly, you start noticing things you’d have missed before: people, conversations, ideas, and opportunities that align with your vision.
 
So when I visualised speaking on international stages, my RAS became alert to anything that could help me get there – a potential contact, a book on public speaking, an unexpected invitation. The more I visualised, the more connections I made, and the more momentum I built.
 
Three Key Learnings 

• Clarity Creates Focus – When you know precisely what you want, your brain starts helping you find ways to get it.
• Emotion Fuels Action – Visualising your dreams with emotion activates your motivation and energy to make them real.
• Belief Changes Behaviour – As your subconscious accepts your vision as possible, your daily choices align with achieving it. 

Famous Visionaries Who Used Vision Boards
 
Oprah Winfrey has long credited visualisation as one of her greatest success tools, saying, “Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.”
 
Jim Carrey famously wrote himself a cheque for $10 million for “acting services rendered” and visualised receiving it – five years later, he earned that exact amount for Dumb and Dumber.
 
Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, used visualisation to imagine her products in major stores and herself on the cover of Forbes – both of which came true.
 
 
Thoughts for the week. 

1. What images or symbols would represent the future you want to create?
2. How could you make visualisation a short daily ritual to start your day with energy and intent?
3. What opportunities might already be around you that you’re not yet noticing?  

That morning in Marks & Spencer still makes me smile. The lady thought I was snoozing, but in truth, I was wide awake – dreaming on purpose. And that’s the real power of visualisation: it turns your dreams from pictures on a board into milestones in your life. 
 
Well, that’s it for this week. Have a wonderful weekend and keep believing.
 
Warm regards
 
John

https://jdmindcoach.com/product/off-the-wall-how-to-develop-world-class-mental-resilience/