Athletes have an advantage over most people when it comes to accomplishing their goals. They don't just make goals. They envision them. Watch a gymnast before she or he launches down the runway to the vault. Most times they are staring intently into space, almost in a trance. It's during this time that they see a picture in their minds of themselves executing the perfect vault. Then they explode down the runway to make this vision come true.

Most of us go through our careers trying to make something happen. Some of us try to set goals, and we may achieve some of them. Most of the time, life gets in the way, and we become hamsters on a wheel. We run and run and run. Sometimes someone opens the door and puts us into a different cage. This may come in the form of a layoff, a downsize or a rightsizing exercise. This forces us to navigate a new cage.

What if you decided to avoid the cage or, at least, the wheel? What might happen if you became like that gymnast and imagined yourself springing into a life? I believe that an entire world of opportunity would open up for you. You would begin to see beyond the bars, and see a world without walls and without wheels. You'd see a world that you could define, a world that meets your needs.

I know what you're thinking. "This sounds great on paper, but I've got to pay the bills." I understand. I have commitments also, like a mortgage and car payment. I know it can be hard to find time to have a vision when your inbox is overflowing and you're behind on every project you have. But life is too short to life in a cage that someone else has chosen for you. We all need to find a place in life where we can thrive, not merely survive.

In "Think and Grow Rich," the book by the legendary Napoleon Hill, he recants a story of Edwin Barnes. Mr. Barnes wanted to work for Thomas Edison. He didn't know Edison and when he arrived to meet him, he looked like a homeless person. Now, I don't know about you, but someone showing up at my door looking like he hadn't had a bath in weeks wouldn't move me to say "Sure, I'll interview you." But Barnes had a desire to work for Edison, and he didn't stop until he fulfilled that desire. Hill states that desire is more than a hope or a wish. It's a keen, pulsating need that transcends everything else.

Watch an interview with an athlete. They'll talk about how much they sacrificed to fulfill their desire. They talk about how they "saw" themselves winning. They talk about never giving up, even when they were on the losing side of things. There is a fire in their eyes — a pulsating need that transcends everything else.

We all need to take a page out of their playbook, and think of our careers differently. Instead of running on the wheel, picture this. First close your eyes. See yourself standing at the company entrance. You walk in for the interview or to ask for a raise or to inquire about the new "it" project. You hear yourself asking the right questions, and getting what you ask for or maybe even more. It may seem silly at first to stand there just "seeing" yourself succeed, but try it. I think you'll find out it's worth the work.

Now, open your eyes. Ready, set — GO.

Yvette Scheiber is the CEO of a Houston-based marketing and public relations firm. She can be reached at yvettescheiber@yrenterprises.com.