Written by Raymond Salas
Can visualization help you create and experience greater success?
…maybe, even win a national championship?
The University of Florida football team has shown us that it can.
Years ago, the University of Florida beat Ohio State 41-14 (“crushed” would be a better and more accurate description) in the NCAA national championship football game, I realized that it was another great example of the law of attraction in action, specifically the incredible power of using visualization for greater success.
Here are some of the visualization secrets behind their success:
Before the season began, the University of Florida head coach at the time, Urban Meyer, gave each new freshman player a photograph of five rings. The photo showed four Southeastern Conference championship rings and one national title ring. It represented what each senior player accomplished the last time the team won a national championship in 1996. Meyer told his new players that this is what they were playing for and what they ultimately wanted to experience.
Just like a good gardener sowing seeds of manifestation, Meyer was using the power of visualization and the law of attraction to begin paving the way for his Florida team’s eventual success. He made it real for them by giving them each something visual to focus on.
After the team experienced their first loss during this past season, a situation that usually eliminates most teams from the opportunity to play in the national championship game, Meyer did not waver. Instead, he remembered to keep his team focused on their ultimate goal and turned to the power of visualization again.
After their loss, he passed out a new card to each of his players. On one side was a photo of a national championship ring. On the other side was a quote from the former University of Florida quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner, Danny Wuerffel, who played on the 1996 national title team that was down (emotionally) after losing to Florida State in the final regular season game. Wuerffel told how the team bounced back from this one loss to eventually win it all.
Coach Meyer wanted to show each of his players that it was still possible to win a national championship, even with one loss. However, they must first each accept and believe that it was possible. Printing up cards with the photo of a national championship ring and Wuerffel’s quote on the back helped to make this possibility very real for them in their thoughts and beliefs.
In one of the most surprising outcomes from that national championship game, the University of Florida quarterback, Chris Leak, actually outplayed the national favorite and recent Heisman Trophy winner, Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith. Leak completed almost 70% of his passes (25 out of 36) passes for 212 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.
One of the secrets behind Leak’s performance can be found in the week prior to the game. Leak decided to borrow a national championship ring from a player from the 1996 Florida team. He said that he wanted to see what it felt like to wear it, intensifying his focus on the desired outcome and reminding him what the team was ultimately playing for.
Guess what? It worked.
Now, personally, I’m not a big fan of football – occasionally, I watch some college and maybe a little pro. But, whether or not you enjoy football, this story behind the University of Florida winning the national championship football game is a powerful example of using the law of attraction to visualize success and the desired outcome in any area of life.
Here are some of my key reminders for visualization success taken from this story:
In the movie “The Secret,” Dr. Denis Waitley supported this idea with his findings from his “Visual Motor Rehearsal” research on Olympic athletes and the astronauts in the Apollo program:
Therefore, when the University of Florida quarterback, Chris Leak, went around wearing a national championship ring for a week, his mind assumed that it was real, aligned his vibration accordingly, and brought to him the experiences that matched this vibration.
I love how this works!
So, what future events for your life are you creating right now through the power of your imagination?
Whatever they are, it’s always within your power!
Can visualization help you create and experience greater success?
…maybe, even win a national championship?
The University of Florida football team has shown us that it can.
Years ago, the University of Florida beat Ohio State 41-14 (“crushed” would be a better and more accurate description) in the NCAA national championship football game, I realized that it was another great example of the law of attraction in action, specifically the incredible power of using visualization for greater success.
Here are some of the visualization secrets behind their success:
Using Visualization for Success
Just like a good gardener sowing seeds of manifestation, Meyer was using the power of visualization and the law of attraction to begin paving the way for his Florida team’s eventual success. He made it real for them by giving them each something visual to focus on.
Overcoming Adversity with Visualization
After the team experienced their first loss during this past season, a situation that usually eliminates most teams from the opportunity to play in the national championship game, Meyer did not waver. Instead, he remembered to keep his team focused on their ultimate goal and turned to the power of visualization again.
After their loss, he passed out a new card to each of his players. On one side was a photo of a national championship ring. On the other side was a quote from the former University of Florida quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner, Danny Wuerffel, who played on the 1996 national title team that was down (emotionally) after losing to Florida State in the final regular season game. Wuerffel told how the team bounced back from this one loss to eventually win it all.
Coach Meyer wanted to show each of his players that it was still possible to win a national championship, even with one loss. However, they must first each accept and believe that it was possible. Printing up cards with the photo of a national championship ring and Wuerffel’s quote on the back helped to make this possibility very real for them in their thoughts and beliefs.
Winning Quarterback Uses Visualization for Success
In one of the most surprising outcomes from that national championship game, the University of Florida quarterback, Chris Leak, actually outplayed the national favorite and recent Heisman Trophy winner, Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith. Leak completed almost 70% of his passes (25 out of 36) passes for 212 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.
One of the secrets behind Leak’s performance can be found in the week prior to the game. Leak decided to borrow a national championship ring from a player from the 1996 Florida team. He said that he wanted to see what it felt like to wear it, intensifying his focus on the desired outcome and reminding him what the team was ultimately playing for.
Guess what? It worked.
Keys for Visualization Success
Now, personally, I’m not a big fan of football – occasionally, I watch some college and maybe a little pro. But, whether or not you enjoy football, this story behind the University of Florida winning the national championship football game is a powerful example of using the law of attraction to visualize success and the desired outcome in any area of life.
Here are some of my key reminders for visualization success taken from this story:
- Imagine and mentally rehearse scenarios that feel good. Ignore so-called “reality,” including the experts, statistics, and opinions of others. Ohio State was heavily favored and picked to win this game. No one predicted or foretold the outcome of the University of Florida winning this game against the “number one” ranked team in the country. This possibility existed only in the hearts, minds, and imaginations of the Florida football team, staff, and possibly some of their fans.
- Urban Meyer, the head coach of the University of Florida, was so fixated on what outcome he wanted for his team that he literally blocked out any vibration or “evidence” of what he did not want. Even after his team lost that one game during the season, he used it as an opportunity to refocus and visualize even more, reminding the Universe again of what he did want to experience here. This is one of the basics of conscious, deliberate creation and “Law of Attraction 101” (i.e., focus on what you do want and ignore the rest. No matter what.)
- The mind does not know the difference between a real event and an imaginary one.
In the movie “The Secret,” Dr. Denis Waitley supported this idea with his findings from his “Visual Motor Rehearsal” research on Olympic athletes and the astronauts in the Apollo program:
“When you visualize then you materialize. The mind can’t distinguish whether you’re really doing it or whether it’s just a (mental) practice. If you’ve been there in the mind you’ll go there in the body.”
Therefore, when the University of Florida quarterback, Chris Leak, went around wearing a national championship ring for a week, his mind assumed that it was real, aligned his vibration accordingly, and brought to him the experiences that matched this vibration.
I love how this works!
The Power of Visualization
“We're going to give you a very powerful statement: Everything that you will some day live, in terms of life experience — and by some day, we mean as soon as right now, tomorrow, the next day, or some day — anything that you will some day live, you have first imagined. Because nothing will manifest in your experience without the imagination process happening first.
Whatever you're thinking about is literally like planning a future event.” -
- Abraham-Hicks
So, what future events for your life are you creating right now through the power of your imagination?
Whatever they are, it’s always within your power!
