What You See Is What You Get

You've heard the expression, "What you see is what you get." My grandfather used to say, "If you look at a tree long enough, it will move." We see what we want to see. Psychologists tell us that nothing controls our lives more than our self-image. We live like the person we see in the mirror. We are what we think we are. If you don't think you'll be successful, you won't. You can't be it, if you can't see it. Your life is limited to your vision. If you want to change your life, you must change your vision of your life. Arnold Schwarzenegger was not that famous in 1976 when he met with a newspaper reporter.

The reporter asked Schwarzenegger, "Now that you've retired from bodybuilding, what do you plan to do next?" Schwarzenegger answered very calmly and confidently, "I'm going to be the best movie star in Hollywood." The reporter was shocked and amused at Schwarzenegger's plan. At that time, it was very hard to imagine how this muscle-bound bodybuilder, who was not a professional actor and who spoke poor English with a strong Austrian accent, could ever hope to be Hollywood's best movie star! So the reporter asked Schwarzenegger how he planned to make his dream come true. Schwarzenegger said, "I'll do it the same way I became the best bodybuilder in the world. What I do is to create a vision of who I want to be; then I start living like that person in my mind as if it were already true." Sounds almost childishly simple, doesn't it? But it worked! Schwarzenegger did become the highest paid movie star in Hollywood! Remember: "If you can see it, you can be it."