Imagination can run wild and drive you insane or it can be creative and directed to produce prosperity.
Millions of people fail to break free from the chains that bind them to a life of dissatisfaction because they fail to leap the hurdle of doubt.
Entrepreneurs who succeed use creative imagination to banish doubt by focussing on solving the problems that plague others. By helping others they create lives for themselves that are meaningful and rewarding.
You are actually stopping yourself
Ruts of dissatisfaction are created by stale, me-centered thinking.
Focussing your attention on yourself and your miseries will keep you in chains. Autonomy is beyond your grasp because you are looking for release in the wrong place. You are imagining how wonderful your life would be “if only I didn’t have to…..(fill in your own dissatisfaction). Or, “My life would be meaningful if I could spend my time doing….. in this beautiful place.”
This is nothing more than unproductive daydreaming.
To change your life you need to engage your mind
Daydreaming wastes mind power. It is like leaving your mental lights on when you’re not in the room.
You need to harness the power of your mind, to gain control and use its dynamism to create what you want. It’s the difference between allowing your car to freewheel and putting it into gear. When you engage with your mind you connect to the full power of the engine that is your entire being.
Your first move is to step outside.
Change your point of focus
OK, so you want to live the life of your dreams. To be a successful entrepreneur. You want the freedom of autonomy. And a good income.
So, think about what entrepreneurs do. They solve the problems that plague other people. And, when they find solutions to other people’s problems those people pay them for their inventions.
Computers were complicated to use until Apple introduced the graphical user interface. Using icons and a pointer (mouse) solved the problem of having to learn DOS to operate a computer. Icons and a mouse made usage much easier. Solving this problem opened the way to mass-market take-up of personal and home computers. This solution was the launchpad for the mighty Apple corporation.
Shopping for a family’s weekly groceries was a time-consuming task that often required visiting several different shops. Then, in September 1916, the Piggly Wiggly self-service grocery store opened in Memphis, Tennessee. This store set in motion a trend that quickly swept the world. Today it’s unthinkable that we might have to visit several locations to do our weekly grocery shopping.
Until the mid-1970’s if you wanted to make a phone call you had to seek out a wired-up phone which wasn’t necessarily nearby. Then, in 1973, Motorola came out with the first mobile phone. Nowadays hundreds of millions of people carry cell phones with them all the time.
The question you have to ask yourself is, “who has a problem I can solve?”
Shift your locus of attention
What all successful entrepreneurs do is stop thinking about their own needs, wants, and desires and focus on other people.
They engage their senses and observe what’s going on in the world around them. What problems are angering people, making them suffer, causing inconvenience? What would someone really like to have that they can’t get where they are?
Chris Rainey wanted to live on the lovely Cornish coast. He noticed that there was a shortage of accommodation for holiday visitors. He started buying up old, often derelict cottages and apartments. He refurbished each of his purchases and added some unique characteristics. Today he owns 43 cottages and lives exactly where he’s always wanted to live.
Chris’s wife noticed that the visitors who stayed in her husband’s remote cottages often found it difficult to get basic supplies. She started a daily delivery round that provides milk, bread, eggs, bacon, etc. She now has a fleet of 7 vans and employs ten people.
How to use creative imagination like an entrepreneur
Your ordinary imagination looks inside your head. It looks at past experiences in your internal world.
A recent study reported in Psychology Today showed that only 6% of people use their creative imagination to look outside for new ways to solve problems. This doesn’t mean that you can’t use creative imagination, it only means that 94% of people don’t do it. And that, in turn, means that there is a ton of opportunity for those who make full use of their creative imagination.
You can ride on the road to autonomy and prosperity by devoting time to watching how other people do things and then connecting with them asking questions.
The secret power of entrepreneurs is that they use Creative Imagination to focus their attention outward on the external world. They look for patterns, relationships, and connections. They consciously search for specific problems.
Unless you engage your imagination in this way little will change in your life. Carl Jung expressed it this way,
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
How to make today the first day of your new life
The Greek philosopher Aristotle said:
“Take charge of your mind, you can do with it what you will.”
The key to creating a happy and prosperous life is to take control of your mind. I call it Mind Mastery. It demands that you make a conscious effort to direct your thoughts. This is the process I used to create a coaching business that has prospered and allowed me to live an autonomous life for 25 years.
- Know yourself — make a list of what you enjoy doing. Notice what specifically you find fulfilling about the activities that give you pleasure. I have always enjoyed playing sports BUT I noticed specifically I also enjoy looking for ways to improve my performance and helping others with the new knowledge that I accumulate.
- Find a problem to solve — observe how other people do things that you enjoy. Specifically, look for what they find difficult. Notice when they struggle to do something well, their difficulty is your opportunity. I noticed that people who work in large corporations often have issues with leadership and communication.
- Use your Creative Imagination to invent a solution — imagine how the people with the problem you’ve noticed would behave if they no longer had the problem. What would they be doing and in what way would they be doing it? Invent a way to get them to do it that way. I invented a coaching method that enlists a client’s natural abilities to make them fluent communicators and confident leaders.
- Take action — start talking to people with the problem you can solve. Tell them how you can get their problem to go away.
The difference between a successful entrepreneur and an also-ran is that one focuses their mind on these four steps and does not give up until they are helping people solve their problem. Mind Mastery and the use of Creative Imagination are the keys that open the door to your future happiness and prosperity.
Thanks for reading, David.