“Our imagination doesn’t promote creativity.” And I’m sure that you are reading this article just to try to find out who is the weirdo that would write such a statement.
We all have imaginations, and we all use it every day-to-day dream, dream up new ideas, dream of contributing to the world, or even dreaming of a better world or life.
And here is the kicker. All of those imagined ideas are useless unless we’re prepared to put them into action.
It’s not the imagination that promotes creativity, but it is applied imagination, and the creative process begins – the problem solving and the making connections when we start applying the imagined ideas.
Sir Ken Robinson defined creativity as the process of having an original idea that have value.
I’ve been lost in my head imagining about what my life would have been like if I’d made a certain decision differently. The problem with that is the dream offers no value at all. I can’t experience that reality, I have no clue if it would have turned out as I imagine it to be, there is nothing that I can do to create that reality, and frankly, it’s a waste of my time.
Malcolm Gladwell said something like, “artists are people that ship their work.” He wasn’t only referring to exhibiting artists etc, but to people who create from their imagined ideas.
To use our imaginations is easy, to use it to create ideas of value is more difficult, and to put those ideas into action is even harder.
For the latter, we have to have self-belief, possibly resources – time and money etc, we have to overcome the fear of failure, and we have to understand that it’s a process.
And the process includes generating the ideas, trying them out, and evaluating them. Making the necessary changes by generating a new idea, trying it out, and evaluating it, etc, etc, etc.
The understanding of this process enables us to overcome one of the biggest challenges of implementing an idea we hold of value, “I don’t know how to get to the end result.”
We don’t need to know how to get to the end result, we just need to have the courage to take the first step so that the process begins.
On a personal note.
Once upon a time, quite long ago, I imagined a story about a brother and a sister who meet a character who is their imagination – to explain to them about this gift we all have, our imagination.
It was an imagined idea.
The process began when I decided to write it out.
I showed it to people.
One suggested I re-write and learn how to send a proposal to publishing companies.
For 3 years I sent out my proposal – for 3 years it was rejected.
Finally accepted by a publisher
Illustrator commissioned; illustrations completed.
Final edits and approval
Publisher closes down before publication.
Decide to independently publish.
Learn everything there is about independently publishing.
Raise necessary funds.
Print 1000 copies
Launch
Have it translated into 3 African languages.
Accepted on Amazon.
(The whole process involved generating ideas, actioning ideas, evaluating ideas, collaborations, learning and trying new things, sleepless nights, small wins, challenges, and big wins)
To view/purchase the interactive children’s book, The Magic that’s Ours, please tap on this link. https://garyhirson.com/childrens-books/
