One of the classic ability of the successful people is their ability to visualize. It is the inherent understanding of their domain that makes them look far beyond into the future and get foundation of something that is needed to make it real. To me visualization is an art which need to be mastered with time. Some people are very good at it while there are others who learn from their experience. The more you are into it, the better chances you have to make your imagination run miles into the unchartered territory. Visualization in essence makes the best use of your senses to picture something worthwhile for you to believe on.

 

 

My job involves lot of visualization related to features of our product. Many times I have also been entrusted to come out with something that makes the operations smooth and increase the productivity of team. While I have developed the deep understanding of our competitors, I never fail to look into the direction our market is growing. The Job involves lot of iterations and working with technology group to make it happen in real. It is a complete cycle that goes from inception, modeling, working with technology and acting as Product Manager. In whole process, the one thing which makes me feel good about myself is ability to visualize.

 

How good you are at visualization depends upon your interest in particular field. There are areas which interests me and that helps me bring out the best. This is true with everyone and is the main reason why some people are rising in their jobs while there are others who mint money through their artistic qualities. Visualization in isolation doesn’t survive till the time you put it down into something which is workable and sellable. If this relates to your personal self, the ideal representation is the satisfaction you garner by making it real.

 

 

There are eight steps which I have always followed whenever there is a conscious need to visualize something. I have repeated them over and over till the time the idea is sellable or marketable to me and others. Not all ideas reach the success stage but visualizing gives a step up to my imagination and take it to next level. At times it is something small which needs to be build into workable idea. The eight steps that make this process effective are

 

 

1)     Eliminate Noise- If you are serious about it and want quick results, you need to eliminate noise around yourself. Go to some place that is quiet and there is no one around to disturb you. If daytime is too hectic for you, try in night. Reserve a time, drink something but make sure there are no hindrances. This is first step that can make this process real effective.

 

2)     Declutter Your Mind- You need to clear your mind completely and throw out things which are bothering you. The process demands a complete immersion and hence any competing thoughts need to be put at rest. If something urgent is bothering you than solve that first before putting yourself on visualization process. You need to create an environment which makes you passionate about whole exercise.

 

3)     Start with the Basics- It is like looking at big picture without going into the details. It is essentially a need assessment stage where you visualize something that looks like a real working model.

 

4)     Work on Ideal Scenario- There are things which can be done while there are others which are not be possible. It is always important to visualize something which would exist as per your imagination. It is essentially an ideal stage where everything would work and there is nothing which cannot be done.

 

5)     Invoke Your Experience- Once the Ideal scenario is in, use your experience to put finer points in it. This is essentially a stage where you experience would drive you to add mixture of almost everything to the whole mix. This is stage where you experience might make you enhance you idea or deprecate it a bit. Listen to yourself and eliminate the bias. This is stage where your experience makes you answer some tough questions.

 

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6)     Add a Reality Check- There is always short, mid, and long term plan to everything. While your experience would make you more conscious, adding a reality check would bring out something which is more workable. It is elimination stage which might make you rework on all the above points. It is more like looking at mirror and feeling good or bad about yourself.

 

7)     Build a Story- This is the most interesting part. Build a story which looks no less than a real movie. Put real characters and real scenarios. Stuff it with situations and emotions. Make it enjoyable with climax and turning points.

 

 

8 )     Put it Down- Put the story in some points to help build a flow around it. It can be in terms of presentation too, if you would like to use it for corporate work. I seldom use a small paper or even a napkin depending upon the place. Once you have all the steps, recreating the complete story is just a matter of time.

 

 

Practice it again and again till the time you are satisfied with the quality of it. Great artists change places, go in isolation, visit countries just to give a boost to their imagination. Visualization gives a shape to your imagination by sewing all the pieces together. Whenever you visualize something make sure your mind and thoughts is at your best. Start something, go create a story, visualize something.

 

Photo Credit- Fabiana Zonca

 

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