Michael Phelps is hailed as the greatest swimmer of all time and one of the most exceptional athletes in history, with an unparalleled Olympic record that includes 23 gold medals, 3 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals, earned in the 12 year span between Athens, 2004 to Rio 2016.
TWENTY-EIGHT medals. Let that sink in.
You already knew that Phelps is the most successful Olympian of all time. But what you may not know is that before becoming the most decorated Olympian in history, Phelps trained his mind as much as his body.
Every night, he visualized winning — down to the feeling of water on his face and the crowd cheering. His coach, Bob Bowman, even called it “watching the tape,” like a movie in his mind.
Here's why I'm sharing this story:
Before top achievers reach their breakthrough moments, they’ve already crossed that finish line a hundred times.
In their heads.
They don’t just hope to succeed. They don't just take action.
They build belief through repetitive visualization.
They recognize the importance of preparing mentally and logistically.
In case you're wondering what this has to do with your goals, here's what I can tell you:
Visualization is not just for athletes.
It’s the same mindset training and energy behind top execs, successful entrepreneurs and job seekers who actually get hired.
They've learned the skill of combining intention + emotion + action to collapse their timeline and accellerate success.
I see it all the time with my clients. They come in overwhelmed, stuck, discouraged, unsure where to start.
But when get clear on what they actually want (intention), build a plan to get it (action) and how they'll feel when it happens (emotion)...
That’s when the synchronicities happen.
Like the colleague you haven't talked to in 2 years who you suddenly run into and just-so-happens to have the perfect job opening.
When you know how to leverage the Law of Action + the Law of Attraction, you can accelerate your timeline to success.
Let me show you how it works.
What Top Performers Know That You Might Be Missing
You don’t need to know every step.
But you do need to have clarity on what success looks like and how it will feel when you get there.
This is the part most people miss. They only focus on the action. They're networking like crazy, applying to 10 jobs a week, researching until the wee hours...
But they miss (or dismiss) the accelerator of the right focused energy.
Here's a personal story to make this real:
My sister-in-law pivoted her career into teaching. She'd just received her M.Ed, had $45k in student debt to repay and thus was full force into the job search.
She asked me to review her application materials and her website and give her feedback on where she could improve. For those of you who've worked with me, you know that I always have a thing or twenty to say about edits to profiles, resumes, application materials. :)
But in Cynthia's case, I had nothing.
Her website was incredible. Articulate, branded, quantifiable, visually beautiful. Her resume was incredible. Well written, credible, positioned, results-oriented.
She was taking massive action and had applied to 30 positions over the last 30 days.
So I asked her...
What's the main emotion you been feeling through all of this?
She was silent. For a lot longer than I expected. And then she answered honestly:
Discouraged. Afraid. And a little Pissed Off.
I acknowledged her. The pressure of $45k in debt, needing a job and applying to 30 roles with no response would absolutely result in discouragement, fear and feeling pissed.
But fear-based emotions muck up the process.
I then asked her "how will you feel when you land your ideal job?"
She paused and thought about this. And said:
Relieved. Excited. Proud of myself.
That's the accelerator, I told her.
Keep up the massive action but catch yourself everytime you start to feel discouraged or afraid and switch your focus to the emotion and energy you want to feel - relief, excitement, pride.
8 days later (no joke) she texted me:
"Julie, OMG. I can't believe it. I just got an offer from my #1 school and the job I wanted the most. I'm so excited. The stuff we talked about worked!"
This is the power of combining Intention, Emotion + Action.
Cynthia is a high performer. And like all high performers, she learned the skill of seeing success before it happens.
That’s how you can influence timelines.
Intent + Emotion + Action = Your Accelerator
Here’s the truth most people are unaware of:
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Intention without action? That’s just wishful thinking.
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Action without intentional visualization? You’re burning out fast.
Let’s look at a few real-life examples you can learn from:
Michael Phelps: Visualization = Preparation
A 2023 study showed that visualization improves performance by up to 23% when paired with action.
According to Psychology Today, there are four types of visualization that can sharpen performance and boost confidence:
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Outcome visualization – Seeing your success (e.g., landing the role)
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Process visualization – Mentally rehearsing your steps (e.g., how you show up in interviews)
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Learning visualization – Practicing new skills in your mind
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Healing visualization – Managing stress and self-talk through calming imagery
Accelerator #1 for you
Mentally rehearse success before stepping into interviews.
Mentally rehearse the emotion you want to feel when you get the hire
Oprah Winfrey: Purpose-Driven Action
Oprah attributes much of her success to a clear understanding of her purpose. She has consistently emphasized the importance of aligning one's life with a deeper mission. In her book The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life's Direction and Purpose, Oprah shares her journey and the lessons she's learned about finding and living one's purpose.
Her leadership style is characterized by a clear vision and a deep sense of purpose.
Whether through her television shows, book club, or philanthropic efforts, Oprah's mission has always been to uplift and empower others.
This unwavering commitment to her vision has guided her decisions and actions, aligning her leadership style with a greater cause.
Purpose gives you direction — and science backs this up:
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A 2024 study published in Positive Psychology found that employees who find purpose in their work report higher job satisfaction and overall well-being.
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Research from the University of Michigan indicates that individuals with a strong sense of purpose are more resilient and experience greater engagement in their professional lives.
That’s the power of intentionality. When you get clear on your “why,” your choices become easier — and more powerful.
Accelerator #2 for you
Do you know your WHY? (hint: your Why should make you cry or at minimum have emotional resonance)
Are you aiming for roles that align with your deeper values?
Lynne's Story: Unexpected Serendipity
My client Lynne Harper was fully committed to finding her ideal next role. When I say fully committed, I mean she did all the work with every exercise recommended in her coaching, showed up for every single group call, researched, prepped her resume, LinkedIn and networked consistently...
And was crystal clear on exactly the COO role she was seeking, including the people-first culture of innovation and empathy she wanted and how she wanted to feel challenged, valued and excited about work again.
Shortly after we went through the very same Intention + Emotion + Action accelerator exercise I'm sharing in this newsletter, something uncanny happened.
She met up with a good friend for happy hour and while they were having a drink, her friend asked her what she was up to. Lynne told her about the job search and the ideal COO role she was looking for, including specifics from her career criteria exercise. Lynne knew her non-negotiables and was openly sharing them with her friend.
Her friend paused, looked at her and said, "Lynne, you should talk to Sam. He's the major investor in a VC firm and they're looking for someone to fill a role a lot like the one you described"
A few minutes later, guess who walks into the bar?
Yep, Sam.
Fast forward a month, and Lynne was offered that COO job.
I am not making this up. This is one of many client stories of unexpected serendipity when you align:
Intention (expressed through visualization)
Emotion.
Action.
The shift I want you to see is when Lynne created a very clear intention of what success would look like for her - and how she would feel when it happened.
What she didn't do was hold onto feelings of uncertainty or fear of the future.
This clarity, this "I am going to realize this goal" mindset matters. It shows up in your interviews, your networking and perhaps most importantly, your energy.
When you’re clear, confident and certain — people notice.
In the end, did Lynne feel challenged, valued and excited?
You bet.
Accelerator #3 for you:
Are you identifying how you want to feel when you reach your goal?
Are you mentally & somatically rehearsing this emotion regularly to attract more experiences that match that emotion?
Usain Bolt: Confidence Is Built
Usain Bolt didn't just wake up one day as the fastest man alive. He dedicated four years of relentless training to run a mere 9.58 seconds, setting a world record at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics
Reflecting on his journey, Bolt once remarked:
“I trained 4 years to run 9 seconds, and people give up when they don’t see results in 2 months.”
This quote serves as a powerful reminder of the value of patience and perseverance .
His confidence wasn't innate—it was built through consistent habits: reviewing performances, trusting his training plan, and focusing on controllable factors. This disciplined approach transformed him from a promising athlete into a global icon.
Research underscores the importance of perseverance. A study published in Psychological Science found that individuals who set specific goals and maintained consistent effort were more likely to achieve success than those who did not.
Accelerator #4 for you:
Are you staying consistent through the frustration and discomfort?
"TTP" Trust The Process is one of my favorite phrases. Are you staying on course and trusting in the outcome you want, refining when needed?
Ready to test this process out on your own goal?
Here's a PDF download that walks you through the process: LINK
Your Job Acceleration Playbook
Here’s what to actually do to collapse the timeline to any goal:
1. Visualize your ideal role — daily.
Take 2-3 quiet minutes. Close your eyes. Picture your future goal. Tap into as much sensory detail as possible. For example...
Where are you when you receive the job offer?
What does the first day on the job or your new office look like?
Who’s on your team? What do you hear them saying?
2. Identify what emotions you will (want to) feel when you realize that goal.
Will you feel Relieved? Excited? Proud? Challenged?
Incorporate these emotions into the visualization above. Really identify what excitement (for example) feels like in your body. It's so easy for us to quickly go to stress or discouragement or distracted.
But this one is key to the entire process because you want to match the emotion you want to feel with the goal you're pursuing.
3. Move forward taking consistent micro-actions every day.
You can't just sit on a meditation cushion and visualize or emotionalize your way into a new job or into realizing a goal. Michael Phelps was in the pool for 6 hours every day, 6 days per week. There's no question that he was taking massive action toward his goal.
While you might not need to take 6 hours of action toward your goal every day, what you do need to do is identify the things you need to do, and build them into your schedule.
If you're looking for a new role, here's what that might look like:
đź“Ś Prep Work: Get resume updated, quantified, branded, incorporate key words that align with the top roles. Get LinkedIn profile updated, including key words, About story, job experience, recommendations
đź“Ś Networking: Reach out and/or follow up with 2 new people every work day
đź“Ś Research: Research key companies, job roles, key contacts you can reach, tech or AI tools to support your goal
The Bottom Line:
The difference between hoping and hired?
Clarity.
Intention.
Aligned Emotion.
Consistent action.
Whether you're pivoting industries, gunning for a promotion, or finally ready to bet on yourself — adopt the mindset of a high-performer.
You don’t have to train like Phelps or lead like Oprah to think like they do.
You just have to stop winging it, start owning it and leverage the accelerators like visualization and emotionalization into your process.
Let's goooo!
-Julie
p.s. do you have a story of unexpected serendipity? hit 'reply' on this email and tell me your story!
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