The power of imagination: did you see the yellow cat?

A little girl was just walking on the street; all of a sudden, she stopped and started to look across. She was staring to a point on the wall.

Her father asked her: “What do you see, honey?” The mother looked a little exasperated, since her child was used to see things that were not there.

Smiling, she looked at her parents and said: “I am looking at the yellow cat!”

The mother laughed, that kind of cruel laughter when someone says something stupid. Even her innocent child could perceive it…

“It is there, mom, it is there!”

 

Scenes like this one were very common in the past, but not so much nowadays. Today, the father would join the mother in explaining there is no yellow cat…

We are underestimating the power of imagination, the wonderful door that opens in our mind to see what is not there.

Imagination is around us. EVERYWHERE!

At least its fruit: buildings and bridges, machines and an incredible software that enables you to read this, no matter where you live, and much, much more…

All of these things, many of them we take for granted, they were just like the yellow cat in the past.

They didn’t exist.

 

Many years later, the girl is now a woman, who cultivates her dreams and projects very well. She has been relatively successful and very happy with her life.

Particularly today, when an old dream will become a reality…

 

Imagination changes into dreams later in life, when we start to understand our role in this universe, in our society and community. Those dreams can be, in the hands of imagination, incredible engines to make us to move on the road of existence.

There are two powerful tools that convert imagination into a dream:

• Reflection. By reflecting, the individual realizes what is going on and they are able to land the imaginative scenario taking place inside their head in the living reality.
• Visualization. It is basically imagination, but with a focus and it comes often as a result of a few questions a person asks the self: How is this going to happen? When is this going to happen? What should I do to make it happen?

 

She still remembers the scene of her childhood: one parent’s support and another parent’s… sniggering… But she is not a child anymore.

She is a woman who is standing in front to that wall, in which she saw the yellow cat. She is not cross the street, she is exactly on that spot and she is surrounded by her team, which will make her dream coming true.

The yellow cat is going to be alive!

 

Someone said that if we want to live what we dream, we need to stop sleeping, that is, we must change our imagination into reality.

By reflecting or visualizing, you were able to have a vision of what we want; now we must build it, and…

… Of course, it is more complicated, but there are 3 basic things:

1. Willpower. That is the push that will turn our dreams into a living reality.
2. Resources. It is the fuel for that transformation.
3. Capacity. We will need knowledge of many things, talents and skills.

And then, at last, imagination will walk on the streets…

 

They just finished their job and here it is: The Yellow Cat.

A restaurant that will change people’s lives. She has more dreams about the restaurant, but right now she is just mesmerized by what she sees.

A huge yellow cat licking the window of her restaurant, just under its name!

 

Final remarks:

• Remember that failure and defeat are lessons, they will increase your capacity.
• It is always possible that your dreams don’t come true; learn from them and help others to make their dreams come true.
• Surround yourself with positivity, but embrace others’ critique.
• Meditation is a perfect way to improve your visualization tool.
• Dialogue is key and emotional intelligence will be very helpful.
• Nobody can make their dreams come true by themselves…
• When you get success, share it with others by helping them somehow.

The role of imagination during a crisis

One of the weirdest things happening during the pandemic is the increasing value people are giving to imagination. We see that by how much people are engrossed in watching television series, movies and a big etcetera.

But is it all?

In fact, imagination when it is focused gives power to people and make them realize other aspects of reality.

For instance, a wooden box is… a wooden box. But you can use it as:

• A way to keep memories that are important to you.
• A ladder to change a bulb.
• A place to keep old school books.
• A piece of decoration.

When a crisis comes, it means much of the present structure that helps you to live will go down. By using your mind as a wonderful tool, you can look – or re-look – at your life and give a different meaning to each component.

• You can look at a relationship and rethink it, by seeing it in a different way. Maybe this person who is always giving you trouble may be the one who can help you in this new reality created by the crisis.
• It is possible you won’t have work right now, what is a wonderful opportunity to learn something new, to change your career.
• And what about that nosy neighbor? Maybe it is time to invite them for a lunch or something…

Don’t deny yourself the capacity to imagine… It will help you to focus and refocus life, live and relive…

Ideas, Creativity and Innovation

One person was talking the other day on how FUN is losing its, well, fun. He was saying about how everyone nowadays is funny - there are funny pictures, funny videos and funny stories, all over the place! So, fun is less funny when is everywhere.

Is it like that with creativity? Possibly. Creativity has an interesting and easy path to follow through: it starts with an idea. The more original that idea - or, at least, the more original you think that idea can be used in reality - more that idea can become a spark of your own creativity.

However, originality is a must in that case. For instance, you can have an idea of cars moved with kinetic energy, let's say like a "bicycle-car". But, was that idea really original, or you just saw it at someone's pinterest board?

In this era of information, an omnipresent information, it is crucial for the sake of creativity to take time out and unplug. Then, allow the mind works on that wonderful idea that is just germinating. This is a good recipe for creativity: from that point, if you are able to turn it into something profitable, you will turn your own creativity into innovation. Profitable does not mean necessarily generating money, but something that you feel "richer" because of that, like a new way to give poor children hope in life.

Another way to keep creativity going on is to let yourself flowing in the waves of the internet ocean, taking inspiration of everything there. Sometimes, originality is not so much in imagining something nobody ever did, but imagine something that is already there in a different way. It is the typical case of IPod, which is a different version of Walkman... hard to connect both, perhaps, but it is the same principle: play music in a portable device.

However you think you can do, do it: keep your ideas, creativity and innovation alive. After all, wouldn't be interesting to have a "bicycle-car" one day?