When images overcome doubt

Quick, which of the following thoughts is most terrifying: (a) speaking in public, (b) asking for a date, (c) requesting a pay raise or (d) death?

According to Kirwan Rockefeller, most people would choose (a), (b) or (c).

The Newport Beach resident, who leads the city's arts commission and serves on the board of directors for the Newport Beach Film Festival, has spent the last decade of his life researching things that terrify people. Not crime or war or any headline-making threats, but rather everyday situations that cause the pulse to quicken and the palms to sweat. Earlier this year, Rockefeller put out a book designed to help any nervous presenter through that presentation to the boss: "Visualize Confidence: How to Use Guided Imagery to Overcome Self-Doubt."

"I feel unsure of myself sometimes," Rockefeller admitted Wednesday in his office at UC Irvine Extension, where he works as director of arts and humanities. "I think it's human nature. We all have things we're confident about and things we're not confident about."

The book, published by New Harbinger Publications, advises readers on how to get through hair-raising situations by using positive mental images. If people feel nervous about a speech, Rockefeller believes, they can think back to a time when they nailed a previous one. If they need stimulation to parachute out of a plane, they can picture themselves landing triumphantly on the ground.

Rockefeller, a Virginia native, learned to rely on images early in life. He was born with 15% hearing and gravitated to paintings and other art. With hearing aids, he earned a doctorate in psychology and spent years working as a consultant for Warner Bros., CBS and other entertainment industry giants.

His path to being an author began in 1997 when he taught a career coaching class at UCI Extension. Rockefeller's students, who were going through life and career transitions, clearly had the smarts to get where they needed — but as the teacher quickly realized, many of them lacked the nerve.

"I heard it over and over again," Rockefeller said. "'Maybe I can't. Maybe it's a pipe dream.' And I started to realize that a lot of people didn't have the courage to start."

Rockefeller became a full-time faculty member in 2001, coaching students on how to keep their nerves in check. He got a book offer from New Harbinger two years ago after discussing his work at the California Psychological Assn.'s annual conference in Pasadena. He blazed through the manuscript, which draws on the experiences of his students and a number of famous people, in three short months.

Compiling the stories, he said, reminded him that there's no single definition of a positive image. Golf legend Jack Nicklaus described visualizing every shot before taking it, while skydiving champion Jack Jefferies said he pictured himself on the winner's podium to prepare for competition.

"No image has a connotation of being positive or negative," Rockefeller said. "It's just an image. But it's the meaning we attach to an image that makes it bad or good."