Without imagination we are nothing

“Without failure there’s no success, without attempt there can be no result, and without black there is no white. Most importantly, without imagination there can only be nothing.”

Before I fall asleep each night I realize that I’m truly crazy. Hundreds of thoughts, fears, angers, frustrations, optimistic ideals, plans, paranoid suggestions, happy thoughts, and random ideas fill my head to the point of bursting. It’s weird how this symphony of thought ebbs and flows, swirls around in no particular direction, and eventually ends up forming my first dream that softly takes me to the land of slumber. Some of these thoughts are valid and some are not, but once in a while a super-thought finds its way in there and needs to be captured immediately by pen. We all have very similar brain patterns so I assume everybody reading this is the same. Some daydream best in the shower, others in the car, some during painting, and others while doing a repetitive exercise. It doesn’t matter where or when, what matters is what we do to capture those imaginations and transform them into reality.

Homosapien has thrived above all other species due to his ability to find patterns in his environment, imagine ways to manipulate specific elements, and create tools to implement those manipulations. Without ancient dreamers who invented the spear, fire, the wheel, or shoes, then we would probably still be chasing one another in the trees stealing each other’s food. With time, our imaginations grew more complex and we built upon the discoveries of our ancestors: We stood on the shoulders of giants, building bigger and better inventions along the way. With time our tools got more sophisticated, and we were able to imagine complex things like villages, then cities, and built tools that allowed us to build magnificent cosmopolitan arenas. Our modern tools are now geared toward discovering (and eventually conquering) space.

“the essential ingredients to a culture of innovation are optimism and belief.

According to Dave McClure of Silicon Valley (a startup guru), the essential ingredients to a culture of innovation are “optimism” and “belief”. “Belief” can only begin to materialize after a series of successes, which stem from somebody’s idea or innovation; which comes from imagination. “Optimism” stems from belief and hope. Somebody dreamed to invent a silicon chip for computers; somebody believed in him, they built and developed it, and their enthusiasm and success infected a whole area (Silicon Valley). Today Silicon Valley is the hub of technology and IT development in the USA, and attracts billions of dollars of investment as well as the best and brightest minds from around the world. Why? Because people saw a success story so amazing, and believed that they could also do it. Some could, others failed. Regardless, optimism and belief remain ingrained even after a bubble crash or two.

“To me the biggest failure is not trying in the first place, because then you’ve lost automatically.

I don’t need to talk about the benefits of failure because I’ve raved about it enough in the past. What I want to focus on is the future: The future of innovation, the future of invention, and the future of imagination. Imagine you have an idea but throw it away because you don’t have time. Imagine you take a risk and succeed. To me the biggest failure is not trying in the first place, because then you’ve lost automatically. Without failure there’s no success, without attempt there can be no result, and without black there is no white. Most importantly, without imagination there can only be nothing.

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