"It’s amazing that mental images have such power—but they do."

A thought by Zig Zigler, from his book, Better Than Good (p. 30). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

And this is very true.

Zig says, "The power of the imagination is one of the greatest untapped resources in the human tool kit. It’s amazing that mental images have such power—but they do."

He goes on, "One of the things that spurred me on as a rookie speaker was my imagination. I pictured myself speaking before crowds of thousands of people, knocking them dead with my humor and wisdom and humbly receiving their standing ovations. That didn’t happen overnight, but I never allowed that picture to be erased from my mind. And eventually, everything I had imagined, and then some, became reality.

"Bruce Barton made an interesting observation: 'I do not like the phrase ' "Never cross a bridge until you come to it." ' It is used by too many men as a cloak for mental laziness. The world is owned by men who cross bridges on their imaginations miles and miles in advance of the procession. Some men are born with more of an imagination than others, but it can, by hard work, be cultivated—not by mere daydreaming, not by lazy wondering, but by hard study and earnest thought.' "

Zig continues, "To this very day I still imagine exactly where I will put the emphasis on a word, how long I’ll pause between this statement and that, if I’ll raise or lower my voice, and if I’ll raise my arms or get down on one knee to make a point while I’m speaking.

"As I arrange my notes, I’m deciding at what point in my presentation I’ll walk from one side of the stage to the other, how fast I’ll do it, and how long I’ll stay there. My imagination helps me work through what I want to be the best speech I’ve ever given. It is as Bruce Barton says, hard study and earnest thought, but the results are well worth the effort."

Zig then says, "Please understand I speak of the imagination only in the way I believe God intended it to be used: as a source of inspiration and motivation. I am not into New Age beliefs that suggest we can create reality just by thinking hard enough about it. I believe God created reality and how I respond to Him determines my condition in life. But I believe the pictures we paint for ourselves of the kinds of things we’d like to achieve can be powerful stimulants."

So, will you be inspired by first living out your dreams in your imagination? Will you?

Yes, yes!