Take Back Your Brain!

I just saw the first sign of autumn - a huge display of school supplies at the local market. Yum! Don’t you wish you had an excuse to buy some?

Here’s a very easy, low-tech way to put yourself in the picture. It works just as well as technology-based methods like Photoshop, but the only tools you need are scissors and glue. This project is cheap, simple and fun … and you may get to buy school supplies!

Basically, you’re just going to cut out a picture of yourself and glue or tape it into a picture of the future you want to imagine:

1. Find a photo of the situation you want to imagine yourself in.

It might be a place you want to go, a place you want to work, or an event you’d like to attend. Maybe it’s not a place at all. It might be something you want to have, like a camper van, or something you want to do, like surfing.

You can probably find a picture of this place or thing in a newspaper, magazine, or brochure. Or you can use your computer to find and print exactly the picture you need with Google Image Search.

2. Get a good photo of yourself.

This photo should look like you’re doing the activity in #1 above.

If you have a digital camera you’ll have the advantage of being able to take a picture especially for this project. In that case be sure to dress the part, because it will make your finished ad that much more convincing. Wear clothes that are as close a possible to what you’ll be wearing when your goal comes true, and carry any props that would be appropriate. Try to get the attitude right, too.

You may already have a picture of yourself that will work. If you don’t want to cut it up you can take it to a copy shop and make a color photocopy for about $1. This is also a good way to enlarge or reduce its size, if needed.

It’s pretty important that you like the picture if yourself. Otherwise your primary reaction to the ad might be “I don’t like how I look”. I find that if I have any negative response at all to my ads they don’t work very well.

3. Cut out the photo of yourself and paste it into the picture from step #1.

Use some kind of adhesive to attach your photo to the background picture. I like to use glue stick, but any kind of tape or glue will do.

CONTEST ALERT: The first person to send me a photo of an ad made with duct tape gets their story featured in this space! Submit a comment below to get contact information.

4. Install your masterpiece in a visible location.

Think of someplace where you’ll encounter the finished picture frequently without necessarily thinking about it again. As I’ve said before, the refrigerator and bathroom mirror are great places to put ads. So is your desk if you spend a lot of time there. The goal is to automatically expose yourself to the image dozens or even hundreds of times without any further effort on your part.

Old school is cool

Take Back Your Brain! often writes about using personal technology to make and deliver ads, but you don’t have to even own a computer to take advantage of advertising to yourself. Some people like me are really comfortable with personal technology. Others, not so much. Advertising will work for you either way. In fact, something about the process of physically handling the materials to make a paper and glue ad is really effective.

Regardless of the technique you use, all of these methods are designed to get you used to seeing your desired outcome as already true. As I wrote in Unexpected results, some part of our mind seems to get busy immediately making sure our reality matches the pictures we see in the environment around us. Some of them might as well be ours.

Other articles in the Put yourself in the picture series

1. Put yourself in the picture
2. Get a Gorilla to hold the camera
3. Put yourself in the picture to get a job
4. A great digital camera
5. Put yourself in the picture with Photoshop
6. Put yourself in the picture with glue (you are here)

Related articles

• Illustrate your ads with Google Image Search
• Use software to imagine your future
• Unexpect results
• Supercharge your life with a New Year collage
• Seriously - the New Year collage is a great hack
• How to write an effective ad on a Post-It note
• Extreme makeover - refrigerator edition
• Refrigerator update - who could say no to that face?
• How to download and print pictures
• Advertise your way to paradise