Upon reading – Seeing the Glory, as Mental Preparation for the Winter Games in the February 23, 2014, New York Times, I let out an internal whoop of joy. The validation of mental rehearsal by Olympian athletes leaves no doubt that visualization and imagery contribute enormously to athletes’ success. And the skill of visualization goes well beyond sports .
Visualization, imagery and vision have been my playground since the early 1970’s, when I began working with athletes and, later, taught clients how to apply their imagination for losing weight, increasing self-confidence, creating leadership vision and healing faster after surgery.
The techniques of applied imagination – using emotionally charged, detail-oriented imagery – have been shown by brain scientists to work for a multitude of disciplines, all of which require causing an idea, suggestion, goal or vision to be become imbedded in your subconscious. That’s now called: making something sticky.
Visualization helps everyone manage negative stress and enhances creativity . It supports success with surgeons, engineers, design and artistry professionals, racecar drivers, even Hollywood stunt people. Salespeople rehearse selling to gain self-confidence and film directors visualize each shot in advance of shooting. This is just the short list.
As a speaker, trainer and performance coach, this is fabulous news to me, because imagery, vision and the imagination play a starring role in my new talk for business executives – IMAGINE THAT! Firing up your brain for Extreme Success – and for our recently launched programs for the healthcare industry. http://www.jamesmapes.com/speaking/speaking-programs

Author's Bio: 

James Mapes is the founder of Quantum Leap Thinking™, creator of The Transformational Coach™, expert on the psychology of “applied imagination,” best-selling author, highly acclaimed business speaker, consultant, seminar leader and personal excellence coach. For over 30 years, James has been an ardent student of human behavior and dedicated to helping individuals, teams and organizations identify and break through barriers to reach their goals and achieve success. He encourages people to be open to new ways of thinking, and his goal is to help everyone make the “quantum leap” toward more creative, productive and confident lives. For both businesses and individuals, his message promotes an innovative, powerful way of thinking and provides a new-found mastery over their imagination and perceptions so that, in his words, “the invisible becomes visible and the impossible becomes possible.” The results have been nothing short of extraordinary, creating key breakthroughs in both organizational and personal excellence.

James Mapes’ success as a speaker and highly regarded authority on the imagination, creative thinking, communication, managing change, organizational problem-solving, successful teamwork, leadership and coaching is due to his early training as an actor and experience as a theatrical producer. In 1969, he graduated from California State University with a Master of Arts degree in theater and speech. He then worked in repertory theater, off-Broadway and directed two of his own theater companies, amassing dozens of television and movie credits including Taxi Driver, Star Trek and The Wicker Tree. As a performer, he developed a unique stage presence with a special talent for connecting with his audience. Mapes’ work has earned him appearances on CNN, The Today Show, Good Morning America and Fox Family Channel, among other media outlets.

As a recognized business speaker and performance coach, James has spoken to hundreds of public and private companies in more than 70 countries. His clients include financial institutions, software companies, the military, the healthcare industry, training and development divisions of large corporations and major non-profit organizations. Companies, associations, universities and business schools including – IBM Corporate, U.S. Coast Guard, Lockheed Martin and The Princeton Center for Leadership Training – have quoted Mapes in training manuals and textbooks.

James Mapes’ personal goal of living an exceptional life is reflected in both his business activities as well as his recreational pursuits, which range from scuba-diving, ballooning, racecar driving, Kempo Karate, and world travel, to an avid interest in reading. His two highly regarded books are Quantum Leap Thinking: An Owner’s Guide to the Mind and The Workbook: The Magic of Quantum Leap Thinking. His new book Imagine That!: Firing up the Brain is scheduled for publication in 2014 and his newest 2-CD program – Patient Pre-Op/Post-Op Healing Therapy™ – was released January 2013.

In the 1970′s, James became interested in the power of the subconscious mind. To better understand this intriguing area, he researched psychology, philosophy, neurology and eventually, hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming. His expertise quickly earned him recognition as a clinical hypnotist, becoming highly effective in assisting clients in weight reduction, smoking cessation, the elimination of phobias and pain reduction for terminally ill cancer patients. As a skilled practitioner of regression techniques, he helped the New York City Police Department in “memory recovery” with both witnesses to, and victims of, crime and he has worked with professional athletes to help improve their performance in their sport.

James Mapes has created an ongoing series of self-improvement audio recordings and writes a syndicated newspaper column for Hearst newspapers and The Arizona Reporter. James also enjoys presenting his one-man show, Journey Into the Imagination at performing arts centers and universities around the country. He appeared on Broadway in 2003 and presented A Whirlwind Tour of the Mind at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in Manhattan in 2007. When not touring, James and his wife divide their time between residences in Westport, Connecticut, and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.