There’s an old saying that goes: If you can dream it, you can achieve it. That’s a good start, but I think that statement needs a qualifier. I would add a few words: If you can dream it, you can achieve it if you are truly determined.

Visualization is an important strategy for accomplishing dreams large or small. I believe it is an essential tool for maximizing your potential. But it needs to be workable.

For example, I can imagine myself competing in the Ryder Cup, the biennial men’s golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. I’m a pretty fair golfer, and I would love to represent America in winning style. Sadly, even though I was a competitive golfer back in high school and college, my glory days are long over. So I will be content to watch the competition and cheer on my countrymen.

And therein is the difference between fantasy and visualization.

I have used visualization throughout my life as a means of seeing my dreams realized. In business, I saw myself running a factory even though I had modest means and little experience. But I was willing to work myself to exhaustion and slog through the trenches to achieve my goal.

Part of the reason my visualization was effective was that I also foresaw some of the problems that I would encounter, which were abundant at the beginning. Foremost in my mind was how to work through challenges and still come out on top. I imagined what could go wrong, and how I could take charge of the situation.

I tried to prepare for every possible hurdle, because wrestling with a problem isn’t always the best way to generate a creative solution. Step back and quietly visualize the answer you’re looking for. These are the steps I follow:

n Focus on what you want. This sounds easy, but keeping your mind free of obstacles and distractions can be difficult. Try to clear your thoughts of everything but the outcome you need. Don’t fight negative thoughts — just let them flow out of your brain so you can concentrate on the positive.

n Make a movie in your mind. We tend to see things in pictures more strongly than we can visualize abstract concepts like numbers and theories. Think of your problem in visual terms and try looking at it and your solutions from different angles. Bring your senses into play: Imagine what your idea would feel like, sound like or even smell like.

n Take your time. The solution may not come all at once. Give yourself time to get used to the process so you’re not forcing ideas too hard. With practice, you’ll learn how to quickly relax your mind and let it explore problems and situations without effort.

“Losers visualize the penalties of failure. Winners visualize the rewards of success,” says sports psychologist Rob Gilbert.

Two-time Olympic pentathlete Marilyn King provides a very moving example of how powerful the conscious use of picturing what you want can be.

When King was preparing for the 1980 Olympic trials, she suffered a severe back injury and was confined to bed just months before the trials. She was determined not to let this injury keep her from performing, so she spent her time doing nothing but watching films of the best performers in the pentathlon events and visualizing herself going through the same events.

Amazingly, she placed second at the Olympic trials despite her lack of physical preparation. She credited her psychological state, not her physical condition, which resulted in her victory.

Mackay’s Moral: Seeing is believing — if you believe in yourself.

Harvey Mackay is the author of the New York Times best-seller “Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive.” He can be reached through his website, www.harveymackay.com, by emailing harvey@mackay.com or by writing him at MackayMitchell Envelope Co., 2100 Elm St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414.