Financial Times

Giving up or seeking creative solutions?
The year is drawing to a close. You wanted to go into business. Have you identified a business idea for yourself? Have you finalized your business plan? Have you looked into the nitty-gritty's of going into business? Are you still dreaming? Have you succumbed to procrastination? Are your plans stagnating?

Whatever the reason, your business is still a dream. Ask yourself why. Are you committed entirely to this idea? Are you sure? Have you got your subconscious mind engaged in getting started? Did you know that you could do this, and increase your chances of success thereby?

Well, you can! The thinking behind this is simple. It goes just one step ahead of positive thinking. In positive thinking you believe you can attain a goal, convince yourself that you can and determine that you will. In this process, called creative visualization, you get into the habit of seeing the desired future as if it were real.

Let us take an example. You want to start your own little catering operation from home. While you look into the market and pricing and get your business plan sorted out, like any serious entrepreneur should, you can also begin your daily creative visualization.

In creative visualization you basically begin to imagine how you want this business to look like when it is operational. Then, everyday, you keep on adding more and more details into this picture. As the picture of your successful business operation get formed clearly in your mind, like a jigsaw puzzle nearing completion, your subconscious will automatically take over from the conscious. And if there are issues for which your rational, conscious mind cannot find answers, your subconscious at work will be a new source of inspiration. As you get caught up in difficulties, challenges and operational issues such as financing, it will motivate you. It is your self-starter and stops you from giving up. Can you afford to be without it?

Actually it is like day dreaming, but with a serious purpose. In creative visualization, you begin to live the dream in your mind. Don't they say that, "What your mind can conceive, it can achieve"? This is what creative visualization helps you do. Conceive the idea of a successfully realized goal in your mind.

When you talk to yourself in your mind during the creative visualization process, talk in the present tense. Don't say, "My office will be…" Say instead: "My office is…" This way, your subconscious begins to 'see' the reality as already achieved. This is how the creative visualization will pay dividends to you.

At the start it will seem strange. But dedicate 15 minutes every day, just after waking up and just before going to bed at night, to thinking of your proposed business. Here are some pointers to get you started:

Visualize what a typical day would look like. What time do you get started? What preparations do you need? How are you dressed? Do you have a small office or a nook in your home for conducting business? Visualize it in great detail. Are there people working for you? How many? How do things move when a new client or customer calls or visits? How do you respond? How do you go about clinching the business deal? How do you deliver on the promise?

And here's some advice from personal experience. Be very sure of what you want. Be very specific about your goal. And be ready to take the consequences. And make sure you do not visualize anything that will harm you or others.

Try creative visualization today and ensure that your new business gets off ground in the New Year. If you are thinking of going into business, we would like to know your experiences and comments. You can contact us on ft@sundaytimes.wnl.lk or on 5552524.

Back to Business