I am visualizing what I want in my life

Pictures of the finish are pleasant and do very little. Pictures of the first ninety seconds are the ones that change behaviour — the walk to the front of the room, where your hands go, the opening you will use before anyone has settled.

Performers rehearse that part obsessively and not the applause. They are not motivating themselves; they are reducing the number of decisions that have to be made while adrenaline is up. Whatever you want, there is a first ninety seconds of it somewhere. That is the part worth running in your head until it is boring.