The Power of Visualization: Manifesting Success in Your Business Ventures

A woman takes a mindful moment to connect with her body and visualize what success looks like for her.

"Manifestation" is a buzzword that has taken social media by storm, but did you know science has acknowledged and is actively studying the phenomena? Below, you'll find what science has discovered to be the basic steps for manifestation, through the lens of brain training specialist Emilie Leyes. Use and adjust these steps as necessary to use the scientific practice of visualization to begin manifesting your unique success.

Click here to find Emilie's How to Like Your Life podcast and the Doddle app, where you can dive deeper into tips and tricks for working with your brain.

What is Manifestation?

In its most simple terms, manifestation is the process of making your desires come true or bringing ideas into physical reality. To break it down further, Emilie Leyes created a definition that highlights the various stages of manifestation:

"Manifestation is the process of retraining the mind and brain to remove unhelpful subconscious beliefs, to be primed to notice opportunities, and to build confidence to take action with the belief that your goals are easy and possible."

Step 1: Write Out Your Goals

The first step to manifesting is to write out your goals. The key here is to not worry about being realistic. Dream like you're a kid again. Have you always wanted to be a writer? Don't limit yourself to "Publish a Book." Instead, say something grand like "Become a Best Selling Author." Write out what your dream life would be and don't hold back!

Step 2: Notice Limiting Beliefs

Limiting beliefs are subconscious thoughts that prevent you from taking action because they're believed to be the truth. As you write out your goals, you're going to find limiting beliefs surfacing in your mind. You might think things like, "That's not realistic because I have no experience," or "People like me don't get opportunities like that." Bring these subconscious beliefs into your conscious awareness by writing them down. For each limiting belief, also note a positive alternative. For example, if one of the beliefs that popped up for you was "I'm not good enough," then the alternative belief would be "I am good enough." (This will feel weird at first, almost like you're lying to yourself, but these alternative beliefs are vital in the next step.)

Step 3: Notice Past Experiences to Reinforce Positive Beliefs

Once you've narrowed down your limiting beliefs and their coinciding positive beliefs, start noticing experiences from your past that reinforce the positive thoughts. For example, "I was good enough to drive to work this morning" or "I was good enough to get hired." No memory is too small! Each little moment you can think of will provide further evidence to your brain that upholds the positive belief. Think back and embrace how you felt in those big and small moments of triumph.

Step 4: Create Present Experiences and Visualize!

In addition to finding moments in your past, create experiences in your present that reinforce the positive beliefs. Science revealed that your brain doesn't know the difference between a real-life experience, and a visualized one. Therefore, you can train your brain to have confidence in positive beliefs by visualizing scenarios where you get to live them out. The more senses you can imagine during visualization, the more powerful the experience is for your brain. According to Emilie Leyes, during visualization "you're priming your brain to seek out these experiences [as] your brain starts to trust you are capable of experiencing feelings of worthiness."

(For example, let's say you're reinforcing the belief that you are good enough to sing on a stage. You may visualize yourself in front of an audience with the spotlight shining on you. You can feel the vibration of the music in your boots and smell the wooden planks that make up the stage. You can feel the heat radiating off the crowd, forming droplets of sweat on your forehead and lip.)

Step 5: Let Time Pass and Your Brain Transform

With time, you will start to believe that you are worthy and capable BEFORE you reach your goals. This will give you the confidence to begin taking action that might've seemed pointless previously, but results in new opportunities and areas of growth. By using visualization to manifest your professional endeavors, you will gain the ambition to overcome challenges and take bold action.

"The belief is priming your brain to notice what was always there for you." - Emilie Leyes, How to Like Your Life Podcast; Episode 14