Remember the stories we created when we were to young to know better. They were real. We could feel it in everything around us. Possibilities. Realities that for others around us were just fabrications. Flawed or not, we didn’t care. Blanket forts were castles and kingdoms. We owned it. We were doctors, lawyers, or architects. While around us the adults laughed and remarked, “How cute”. To us, it wasn’t being cute, it was. It might have looked abstract, unorganized, and all over the place. To us, it was freedom. To us it was logical, methodical, and expected to unfold just the way we saw it.
Then we became adults and forgot about imagination. We forgot how to dream as we moved into our third or fourth mocha. We lost sight of where we could go and heights we could achieve, trading them in for ergonomically adjusted seats in white walled rooms. Now, we struggle and shrink away from opportunities to collaborate or dream with others. Worried about being misjudged or made fun of, we’ve lost our sensibility to still imagine, to daydream. Would you turn in a strategy to your boss based on imagination? Probably not.
But, that’s what this world needs. Risk takers not afraid to reach heights never imagined. There’s a shift in the type of talent that is needed. They’re not always the type of talent that has degrees and the best test scores. They’re instead the ones that dream beyond their means and have the ferocity to see it come to life. Laughed at, made fun of, and scoffed at they have the skin of a rhino. They don’t care, the dream is to big for anyone or thing to take them off their plan. They see brilliance where we see ugliness and discomfort. They are the faculty of forming ideas, images, and sensations that we cannot get off a conference call to give the time of day to. They will inherit everything.
The definition of imagination is this:
The ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful. The part of the mind that imagines things.
Feed yourself. Dream and stretch beyond what you see not present to your senses yet. Imagination is where some of the best things in life you enjoy have come from. Your game system, not possible with out someone imagining it. Your smartphone, the same. Most of us are wearing a computer on our wrist, Dick Tracy anyone? Comics and Stan Lee. You get the point. I have 5 reasons why imagination is more important than reality;
- It ignites; it’s fuel we need for our passions.
- As I stated above, imagination is where our future is born from.
- It creates an unmistakable tone of innovation in everything it touches. The watch on your wrist that’s a computer that can monitor your heart, was born from innovation not possible without someone imagining it into reality.
- Imagination is magical. I watched a 3 year old who just got a tow truck as a gift. For hours he was a tow truck driver taking broken down cars from room to room. He was a tow truck driver. Someday, he’ll be towing space ships to and from space docks.
- Sometimes we just need a break from reality. Life can really suck and we die a little inside each time we aren’t free to imagine any more.
If you see it this week, take a time out. Recognize it. Recognize the one doing it and encourage it, even if you yourself don’t have the strength to do it any more. It could be the most incredible gift you ever give someone. You could help someone become the next Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, or Buzz Aldrin. Keep imagination alive. You will make our world better because of your efforts.
✌🏻Shawn
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