How Powerful is Imagination?

Who loves Lego? My earliest childhood memories consist of building zany things with all sorts of Legos. Unfortunately, I did not have the luxury of the types of Lego systems available today! I had to “engineer” whatever I wanted to create my vision with whatever I had – which wasn’t much in terms of variety. Most pieces looked like little bricks of different sizes, shapes, textures and colors. I did have a lot of them, which ensured I would never get bored. I know that I would’ve had a blast with the plethora of the ones I see in stores today. Regardless, what is most important is that they kept my imagination going and going for hours.

If anyone has similar childhood memories of being extremely creative and using your imagination to your fullest – this entry is for you.

As my memories extend forward from childhood into teenage years, my creativity took another shape. I remember that I started drawing in any and every form of paper I could get my hands on. Nothing was sacred. Notebooks, text books, anything flat and white. Pencils turned out being my greatest friends as any “mistake” was easily taken back with the stroke of an eraser. However, if it were not for my love of drawing, much of my imagination would have been silenced. Reality has precedence over all things. I needed to make the grade and continue with a career path that would be “stable”. Was it to please other’s expectations? Maybe. Not to mention my own fears of being mediocre when compared to other more talented artists.

As I continued a career in engineering, I tried to keep my imagination alive when possible. I would draw all sorts of still life. Mostly faces, portraits and people. Trying to capture their emotions. However, my creativity and/or imagination was rarely put to use in my “every day” tasks. There were a few times that I did. Not sure if they were noticed or received proper praise. Interestingly enough, it has been said that you can buy a man’s back, but his mind and his heart are volunteered (mind being your creativity/imagination).

“Imagination is more important than knowledge”

-Albert Einstein

It should not stop there though. Imagination is only the first step. It is good to have a vivid imagination, but we cannot live in a fantasy. We are responsible for our lives in every way, shape and form. Furthermore, execution is where the “rubber meets the road”. Without it, it will remain only a fleeting thought that will not find expression and “die”.

“Vision without execution is hallucination”

-Colin Powell

Remember the movie “The Never Ending Story"? Not only is it an entertaining flick for young-ones, it has a deep message adults should listen to. Here’s my interpretation: Imagination is so important and so powerful, that without it we forfeit our hopes and dreams. As a result, we become susceptible to other’s influences and we are no longer masters of our own lives.

“Because people who have no hopes are easy to control; and whoever has the control... has the

power! “

-G’mork

Why should someone else be in control? Why should we give “them” the power? If we remember The 7 Habits – the 1^st 3 Habits really has a lot to do with using our imagination. Thinking ahead, and being in control of our emotions and responses by “using our imagination” to create choices that are favorable. Not just “who is right” but “what is right” – based on who we are at our core: our principles and values. Lastly, our hopes and dreams stem from our goal-setting (envisioning our future), thus we prioritize based on them. See how it all goes together?

The fact that we can imagine, not only makes us superior to our primate “cousins”, it makes us masters of our own destinies. In addition to the opposable thumb and our God-given souls, we have become the dominant species on the planet (and ironically, capable of destroying it 100 times over). Although many species on the planet are capable of communication, counting, thought and even emotion – none can imagine and envision the way we do.

All we need sometimes is the proper leadership – the vision to allow us to imagine what achieving the goal means. This includes a strategy and action plan of “How it will be like” if we work hard and work together as a team. If our creativity is encouraged, we will find ways to achieve the goals.