There is a simple formula for dream attainment according to Sonia Miller, author of The Attraction Distraction: Why the Law of Attraction Isn’t Working for You...and How to Get Results-Finally. Last week we discussed the first step Identify what you want.

Now we’re ready for the second step which is to Pretend you already have it. “While you’re pretending you already have it, you become a magnetic match for the same,” writes Miller. “Like attracts like.”

You can “pretend” in a variety of ways. Close your eyes right now and imagine what it would be like to fulfill one of your biggest dreams. See yourself in Paris looking up at the Eiffel Tower. When you walk to the podium to make your acceptance speech after winning a coveted award, imagine what this will feel like. Imagine yourself trying on clothes after reaching your ideal weight. Picture your future resume where you list all the academic and professional accomplishments you plan to obtain.

I’m using Miller’s formula to find a job that fits my skills, natural talents and interests. So much so that it’s “easy” and not a strain at all. “Easy” for me means simultaneously juggling half a dozen projects, answering the phone and responding to email messages all while learning hundreds of new terms. To attract this dream job, I’m studying, doing an internship and I’m visualizing. Daily I imagine holding the paychecks I’ll receive from doing work that suits me.

“If in your mind’s eye and in your heart of hearts, for just a moment, you really have what you want, then you’ll attract that experience,” writes Miller.

If you have trouble “seeing” your future success, don’t worry. Shatki Gawain writes in Creative Visualization: Use the Power of Your Imagination to Create What You Want in Your Life says it’s not necessary to have a mental picture. You can also write down or talk about your vision. Visualization, according to Gawain can be mental imagery, or spoken or written words…”anything that helps you create a clear blue-print to put out in the universe is an aid to creative visualization.”

Many experts agree that imagining a bright future is one of the keys to success. Here are a few quotes below.

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“Whether we experience something or just imagine it, the same part of the brain lights up. A thought alone can trigger a physical response.”-- Véronique Vienne, The Art of Imperfection: Simple Ways to make Peace With Yourself

“Your subconscious mind doesn’t distinguish between what is real and what you imagine.”-- Steve Chandler, 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself and Change Your Life Forever

“What accounts for it is the mechanism of the mind. Whatever words issue from the left brain, whatever images arise from the right brain all take root in the subconscious, which hasn’t the analytical capability to pass any judgments or what it receives…It can’t distinguish reality from what’s merely imagined.--Don Greene, Fight Your Fear and Win

“Parts of the forebrain, which lies just beneath your temples, are stimulated whenever you look into the future...or across a distant physical or mental horizon. It mobilizes your inner resources to get there, to make what you envision happen.”-- Robert K. Cooper, Get Out of Your Own Way: The five keys to surpassing everyone’s expectations