"Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare." 


Japanese Proverb

Steve Young 8th String Quarterback

"Champions are made from something they have deep inside them -- a desire, a dream, a vision."

Muhammad Ali

Your Imagination

"Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions."

Einstein

Imagination

"Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions."

Albert Einstein

Visualization--Mental Pictures--Mental Movies

Visualization is mentally picturing in your mind, like taking mental pictures or mental movies in your head. Research shows that people who visualize effectively enhance their performance and raise their achievement level tremendously. For example, Dr. Maxwell Maltz in his book Psycho-Cybernetics: A New Way to Get More Living Out of Life shares a report from Research Quarterly about an experiment on the effects and results of mentally practicing shooting basketball free throws. The experiment organized students into three groups.

Group 1: This group was scored on the first day and then actually went onto the basketball court and practiced shooting free throws every day for 20 days. At the end of the 20-day trial, they were scored again.

Group 2: This group was scored on the first day and engaged in no sort of practice whatsoever for 20 days. At the end of the 20 days, they were scored again.

Group 3: This group was scored on the first day and then spent 20 minutes a day, mentally practicing, imagining that they were shooting the ball at the goal. When they mentally missed, they would imagine that they corrected their aim accordingly. At the end of the 20 days, they too were scored again.

RESULTS after the 20-day experiment:

Group 1, which actually practiced shooting 20 minutes everyday, improved in scoring 24 percent.

Group 2, which had no sort of practice whatsoever, showed no improvement.

Group 3, which mentally practiced in their heads using their imagination, improved 23 percent!

WOW! Students, can you see the power of taking mental pictures or mental movies to improve your skills, knowledge, and performance? Mentally see yourself qualifying for membership into the Academic Champion Club (The ACC). See yourself receiving an 'A' on a test. See yourself scoring a three-pointer in a basketball game. See your athletic team winning the state championship. See yourself obtaining your driver's license. See yourself attending graduation and receiving your diploma. See yourself attending the college or university of your choice and graduating. See yourself performing successfully in your chosen career field. See yourself enjoying a happy, successful family. The practice of visualization is powerful and is applicable for any situation. Regardless of what your past circumstances have been or what they currently may be, you can always visualize and forsee a magnificant future. Look forward and go forward toward your desired future. 

LaVell Edwards calls this science "Self-visualization." He said, "Self-visualization encompasses not only what you are now but what you may become." Students, visualize your potential. Visualize yourself being really outstanding in your field. Visualize yourself being a great person living a great life! Practice visualization forever!

Olympic Gold Medal Winner-- A Perfect 10

Risk--Originality--Virtuosity         

                                                                                  VIRTUOSITY

Perform an ordinary skill in an extraordinary way
 

Showing virtuosity means doing something with the ultimate proficiency and skill, showing that you are simply the best at what you do. The best way to become skilled is to work hard and smart. While we cannot control the amount of natural ability we have, we can control the amount of effort we put forth. Think about Peter's description of his daily training with Tim Daggett before the Olympics. They had a vision in their minds of what they wanted to accomplish, and how they were going to perform to reach those goals. Remember, PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT... so practice right. What we do over and over again will become permanent behavior. If we approach each day with average effort, we will consistently get average results. But when we place a high enough value on something, we'll figure out a way to get the job done well. In order to apply the principle of virtuosity, we must always remember our ultimate goal, even if reaching our goals takes years to accomplish. And those final goals must be of great worth to us personally. By constantly keeping the Olympic Gold Medal in mind, Peter placed a great value on every workout. And there were big rewards for his little extra efforts. Virtuosity involves taking a common skill and working hard to perform the task better. Add your own flair. Let your own personality and unique qualities shine through. Risk using your own Originality to develop Virtuosity. Peter Vidmar's Webite Students, becoming an Academic Champion is just like becoming an Olympic Champion--both require working hard, working smart, and working together with other people. Both require having a vision in mind of what you want to accomplish and keeping this vision in mind until you achieve your desired vision.