Have you ever wondered how everything we see around us came into existence?

I mean we used to live in the wild. Hunting and gathering. Barely surviving.

How did we get from that to this?

How did Newton come up with the laws of gravity?

How did Nikola Tesla invent electricity?

How did Steve Jobs create a small device that would change the world forever?

I am a rational man. I have no interest in woo-woo or magic potions. I believe in something only if I can understand it in a logical way.

I’ve heard and read a lot about using imagination, but I never came across anything concrete that could give me a rational explanation of why it works.

But two weeks ago, everything changed…

It was Saturday afternoon and I was doing my favorite thing: nothing.

Sprawled on the sofa, staring at the tree outside my window, when I heard tinggggg.

It was a video message from an old friend from my filmmaking days.

He’s an actor (who kinda sucks at acting).

It was a screen test for a role in a movie.

A text followed, “Dada, how’s it?” (Dada is a Bengali word for big brother).

I opened the video, expecting to see some cringe acting.

The video was 4 minutes 23 seconds long, and I didn’t blink even once.

It was not just good, it was the best acting I’ve seen in a while.

It could easily land him a role in any Independent film with that performance.

I was blown away. I didn’t expect it at all. Especially from him.

We talked for over an hour that evening.

And after that call ended, I was stunned. Everything started making sense.

I could connect the dots. It was like an epiphany I had never experienced before.

It took me a couple of weeks to gather everything together and make it simple enough to share in this newsletter.

Here’s what I learned.

Your Mind is nothing but Imagination 

Whatever I am today is because of the seeds that were sown years ago.

I remember I used to imagine being a writer and having thousands of people read and enjoy my books and writing.

If I imagined being an actor instead of a writer, I would have become an actor.

Your imagination is a TOOL.

It’s a map that guides your beliefs and actions.

For example,

If you imagine you suck at talking to people, your thoughts, beliefs and actions align with that self-image.

Your imagination will force you to be consistent with the beliefs you have about yourself.

And you will always end up being bad at expressing yourself.

The way to change it is to use imagination as a tool for positive outcomes.

Let me explain.

My friend started using visualization for 30 minutes everyday rehearsing in his mind the role he was preparing for.

Everything from his actions, expressions, tone, and emotions.

Now here is what happens…

Your mind cannot tell the difference between what’s real and what’s imagined.

So when he finally hit records, he had already performed that role multiple times in his head.

He had mentally made all the corrections that were needed to give a stellar performance.

And when he finally started acting, it came out naturally.

This is exactly how Nikola Tesla invented electricity:

 

 

This is how Chess Grandmasters imagine 10 moves before they move a single chess piece.

This is how Golf players imagine their stance, the movement of their golf club, and the trajectory of the golf ball before they hit the ball.

This is how successful salespeople solve all the objections of the customer before they open their mouth.

Here’s how you can use your imagination to reach any goal successfully.

 

Finish it in your imagination first

The mistake most people make (myself included), is that they lack patience.

Once we get the initial idea— even a hint of what can be done to reach a goal, we rush to make it work.

Forcefully.

And when it doesn’t work, we give up. Right?

Remember when you were a child and were given a toy, you struggled to grab it.

Your hand moved up and down and around it before you could finally grab it.

Every goal is like that toy.

Skill learning of any kind is accomplished by trial and error.

Mentally correcting the aim after an error, until a successful motion or system has been achieved.

Once the successful motion is learned, you forget the error, and just focus on repeating what worked.

Your mind has an in-built mechanism to reach goals successfully. But we “jam” that mechanism by becoming too concerned about whether it will work or not.

It knows how to work and get you to the goal.

You must “let it” work, rather than “make it” work.

Remember this: When the will and the imagination are in conflict, the imagination invariably  wins the day.

That’s why it’s important to finish where you want to go in your imagination till the very end, so that when it’s time for action, you will feel no inner conflict or confusion about how to go about it.

Because you’ve already been there and done that.

You’ve already accomplished the goal successfully in your head.

Whatever we do in our daily lives, we first imagine it in our heads.

When you pick up a coffee mug, you imagine it first. But it happens so fast that we never pay attention to what’s actually happening under the surface.

If you want to lose weight, start imagining yourself waking up early, putting on your running shoes, working out in the gym, sweating, and getting in shape day by day.

If you want to start your own business, imagine how you’re going to sit at your computer, make a plan, imagine yourself doing the work, and earning a living doing what you love.

And then, all you have to do is follow exactly what you imagined in your head.

In my Chapter 4 ‘Perception’ of my book “Born to Stand Out“, I explained in great detail how our subconscious needs proof to reach any goal, and how you can change your perception simply by reconditioning yourself.

Everything starts in your head. Finish it there first. Then act it out in the real world.

 

Conclusion

Everything we see around us came into existence because our ancestors imagined that it was possible.

Once they imagined it, their creative mechanism automatically aligned their thoughts, beliefs and actions to accomplish it.

Here’s the practice:

Spend 21 minutes everyday visualizing what you want to accomplish till the very end.

Till the “very end” is the key.

Keep your focus on the end goal. Stop worrying about the means, stick with the end.

Make mental corrections until you can clearly see yourself reaching the final goal.

And then.. get to work.

And trust me, it will happen.

Stay blessed,

Karun