How would you like to spruce up your self-image? You know, give your self-esteem a real boost? You are equipped to do so, you know. Please, allow me to show you a neat little trick that will jumpstart your self-image makeover.

Okay, ready? I want you to think of a big, mean dog. Hes baring his teeth and growling at you. He looks like hes about to pounce on you. Theres nothing standing between you and him.

Take your time and make him look as ferocious and dangerous as possible. Okay, stop! Forget about that dog for a moment.

Instead, I want you to picture a cute little puppy. Picture him clearly now. This little guy is as friendly as they come. He is wagging his tail and wiggling toward you, anxious for you to rub his belly and scratch his ears. Aw, isnt that sweet?

Now, lets look at what happened here. First you saw in your minds eye a vicious dog. I would bet that your mind furnished all sorts of details, such as color, size, type, etc. Your imagination didnt need to be given instructions. It went to work automatically.

Now, how did you feel with this picture in your mind? Tense? Did you clench your jaw? Or perhaps your breathing became very shallow or stopped altogether for a few moments.

Then, when I instructed you to envision a friendly puppy, again your mind concocted all the details. What was your reaction this time? Did you smile? Did you chuckle softly to yourself?

Id like to point out two things. First, neither of those pictures existed anywhere in your immediate reality. They were both simply figments of your imagination. Nonetheless, the images you created were no doubt vivid. And more importantly, your reactions, physical, psychological and emotional, were all quite real.

Second, you were able to switch mental pictures completely and whats more, you did it in a flash. Exactly HOW did you accomplish this? Do you know?

Well, I dont know either, but that doesnt alter the fact that you are, indeed, capable of conjuring up whatever you want, whenever you want, complete with as many details as you want. This is truly an astonishing feat!

Theres no trick to it really. Its just the natural capacity of mind that you were born with. Can you believe that your mind has such phenomenal power? And you, and only you, have the final say as to which pictures you allow to linger in your mind. You control the master switch!

Once we start to appreciate the tremendous power of our own minds, then it becomes much easier to put forth whatever effort is necessary to feed it the messages WE choose rather than societys insinuations of our inferiority. Can you see how powerful this mental imagery can be in boosting your self-esteem?

Lets try something else. I found this next exercise to be very helpful and hopefully you will, too. Just imagine yourself sitting like a kid in a big playroom surrounded by many building blocks. Each block represents a thought.

Now some of these blocks are more attractive than others. You can pick and choose any ones that you want. Thats right. If you happen to latch onto a thought/block that you dont like, you can just throw it back. Its that simple. And that fast.

You are free to toss a block aside with absolutely no penalties. If you decide you want only the pretty blocks, no one else can keep you from taking them. Isnt this a delightful little game?

Your mental screen is a terrific playground! Have fun with it! Remember, youre the one in charge of the controls.

Now granted, since we humans are creatures of habit, we may have to throw back some undesirable blocks a number of times before we automatically go for the more attractive ones.

The really exciting point here, though, is that we are absolutely free to do so! No one, but no one can force us to pick up a block that we dont like or want.

No matter what we hope to accomplish in business or in life, harnessing our fantastic mental powers will greatly increase the quantity and the quality of our contributions.

Putting our imaginations to work for us instead of against us puts us on the fast track to success. Its like finally releasing the brakes on our engines.

I hope youll put these concepts to work immediately to freshen up a battered self-image and to help yourself in many more ways.

Naturally, permanent change will not occur with the first few attempts. However, I believe that once you have begun to explore how much fun and how powerful your own imagination is, it will be a pleasure for you to make the repeated, consistent efforts necessary to produce the changes that you desire.

I trust that the ideas put forth here have helped you to realize and appreciate the truly extraordinary power you have at your disposal. Certainly such awesome powers deserve to be tended and cultivated. Dont you agree?