In the year 2000 Muhammad Ali was voted ‘Greatest sportsperson of all time’. I can’t think of too many people who could claim that crown since, so let’s assume he still holds that accolade.

What made him so special?

There are many characteristics that made Ali great (or the greatest) but few were more perfected than his ability to visualise an outcome.

He said that after a press conference he would go back to his hotel room and visualise the preparation for the next fight exactly how he wanted it to be. He would see himself working hard in the gym, pounding the big punch bag and building up stamina. He would imagine what it was like to be back from his early morning run before his opponent had even got out of bed.

Then he would visualise the day of the fight. He’d see the car pulling up outside the venue and he would hear the crowd shouting his name: ‘Ali, Ali, Ali.’ He would see himself in the changing room and he’d vividly imagine the smells, tastes and noises. He would create the feeling of the bandages being wrapped round his hands and the gloves being tied. Then he would see himself walking to the ring and hear the crowds shouting for him. Once in the ring, he would see his opponent but would make him look small and weak.

Next he would imagine how the fight would be fought. He’d visualise each round right until the moment where he believed he would win and then he would see his opponent fall. After hearing the count and knowing at that moment he had won – he would freeze-frame the image and surround it with brilliant white light.

Future history

That is the image he would visualise when training. That is the image he would see every morning when he woke up and every night when he went to bed. That’s the image he would see every time someone mentioned the fight. He called it creating a ‘future history’. A future he was so certain of, it was as if the historians had already recorded it.

Is that how you visualise your goals?

For some people, visualisation is easy. You simply close your eyes and you can see stuff in your ‘mind’s eye’. If you’re lucky enough to be able to do that then this section is going to be easy. If you close your eyes and just see darkness, don’t worry. I’ve got some ideas to help.

By now you know what you want; you have a short, medium and long-term vision, a description for your goals and an action plan. The final stage is to be able to visualise it as complete.

Future history maps

Can you use a pair of scissors, glue and some coloured pens? If so, you are perfectly qualified for creating your very own future history map. Here’s what you do. Find as many visual images as you can to represent your goals and cut them out neatly. You can use magazines, photographs, printouts or even drawings.

Then take a piece of A3 card, turn it so it’s ‘landscape’ and create a montage of your pictures. You may want to do one for your short-, one for your medium- and one for your long-term vision.

Then, in brightly coloured pen, write the first line of the goal as described in the ‘written goals’ section and finally write the date when you will have achieved it. Remember to write the date, not just ‘three months’ or ‘one year’.

Now get your future history maps colour copied in various sizes and put them in places where you will see them every day. Stick a small one on your mirror. Put one on your wardrobe door. Laminate an A4 version and study it every night.

Night visualisation

When you look at a goal and read the description, close your eyes and see yourself achieving it. Make it as real as you can, add details, amplify the colour, add taste, smell and feelings. Then when you really feel it is part of you move on to the next image.

By doing this on a regular (daily) basis you become extremely focused on achieving your goals and while it doesn’t do the work for you it does drive you to do it. It keeps you focused, works at a subconscious level and helps to keep you on track.