Napoleon Hill lists imagination as the fifth principle of the 13 described in his book, Think and Grow Rich. Hill's principles help guide you to live a successful life, and he posits that imagination has two types to get you there:
Creative Imagination. Bringing a new idea into the world.
Synthetic Imagination. Improving or modifying an existing idea.
Visionary Creativity
Hill uses the example of Thomas Edison and his invention of the light bulb to illustrate his point. While there may have been other people who imagined an electric light, Edison was the first to figure out how to make it work. He made sure the filament didn’t burn out when the bulb was lit, and his discovery changed the world. Edison's visionary thinking is a perfect depiction of creative imagination because nobody had ever seen anything like his invention before.That was in 1879, and here we are 140 years later, asking if anything has changed about the light bulb since? We have a variety of lighting to choose from, such as LED, neon, and fluorescent. They each come in various watts as well. However, the light bulb is essentially the same — and every advance in electric illumination since Edison has been an example of synthetic imagination.
Imagination on Life’s Stage
One of my favorite quotes about imagination comes from Albert Einstein:
"Imagination is more important than knowledge for knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand. Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. ... It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”
I love this quote because it comes from one of the most logical people in the world who used his imagination to explain some of the great mysteries of the universe. Einstein was the last person you’d expect to come up with the brilliant ideas he presented later in life. During his early years, he was just another patent clerk. He pushed paperwork that helped establish legal claims to products or services imagined and created by other people.
A Modern Showcase for Imagination
A real-world forum for putting people’s imaginations on display is the television show Shark Tank. If you haven’t seen the show, it's about new inventors and entrepreneurs who present their ideas for businesses based on products or services they have invented. Then, a panel of four business experts evaluate their ideas and decide if they want to invest. Some of the ideas are not well-thought-out, but others are amazing and show what the human mind is capable of creating.
Imagination and Health
In Hill's book, he suggests that using your creative imagination can lead to better health. Even though he wrote his book nearly 80 years ago, he was on to something. Today, scientists and mental health experts seem to uniformly agree that creative imagination is the key to developing a healthier mental and physical state.A research project recently conducted on 68 volunteers at Colorado State University showed how imagination can be used to unlearn potential fear. While the imagination can be detrimental to someone who has an anxiety disorder, that person can be trained to visualize positive images in place of the catastrophic ones their minds produce. Multiple psychologists and mental health counselors use visualization with their clients to bring them to a place where they can begin to get over anxiety, trauma or other blocks. One such mental block that people experience is the inability to move forward with their plans in life. Whether you’re looking to invent the next great product or trying to calm yourself down and face your fears, exercising your creative imagination will lead to multiple lifelong benefits.
Three ways to Exercise Your Creativity
1. Act on your thoughtsVarious online estimates suggest that people have between 15,000 and 100,000 thoughts per day. If you ignore the sleep time, these numbers correspond to between 0.25 and 2 thoughts per second. However, we don’t act on most of those thoughts because we tend to think they don’t make any sense until we see someone else make them a reality. We all know things are created twice: first mentally; then physically. Walmart, Disney World, McDonald's, and everything else started with an idea and a dream that someone believed in enough to make it happen. So — if you think it; you can achieve it.
2. Don’t follow the norm Most people tend to follow what has been done in the past, thinking they can’t create anything new. They’re afraid their ideas will be rejected, and people will laugh at them. Maybe they will and maybe they won't; but they take a deep breath, hold their head high, and do what they want to do anyway.Put yourself in the spotlight willingly; that's what I do. I knew I had a message that would benefit some people, and I could have kept quiet out of fear, but I didn't. I started a weekly blog and became a life coach. Maybe I will be criticized, and maybe I won't; all I know is that I have the courage to present my ideas to thousands regardless. I’m asking that you do the same. If you have an innovative idea you have not yet offered to the public, please come out and present it. Don’t follow the norm; be an innovator and strive to a great one.
3. Be flexible and willing to listen To be successful, you need to be flexible. At times you will have a wonderful idea that requires some tweaking for it to work. Don’t be too stubborn and refuse to change your ways. I have some trusted mentors, and when they advise me, I analyze what they say, and if it makes sense, I make adjustments. If you want to use your creative imagination, be willing to listen to your mentors, and be flexible. You won't be successful in life if you refuse to listen to others. As a mentor myself, I have helped countless others redirect their imagination so that it works in their favor. I’d be happy to help you envision positive scenarios that point you toward and help you achieve the type of success you desire.
To catch up on my series about how Napoleon Hill's 13 principles help you live the life you desire, start here: "Fuel Your Desire and Live Your Dream."