Hope

Archive for the ‘Imagination’ Category

Hope

Monday, September 27th, 2010

Hope for tomorrow.

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”
–Albert Einstein

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Results and Methods

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

“Successful men are influenced by desire for pleasing results. Failures are influenced by desire for pleasing methods.” ~Frank E. Brennan

Sometimes in business, especially ones with long-standing traditions of “how we do things,” people can begin to care more about following the rules, checking the boxes, or staying inside the system than what they’re actually doing and the result they may have.

This isn’t to say there isn’t a place for instituting programs to make tasks and assignments run as smoothly as possible. However, when the end goal switches from “How can we improve the end result?” to “How can we make the process simpler?” (sometimes these are one and the same, but not always) it can actually make the system work.

When changes are being made to streamline or improve a method, always keep the end product in mind. Any changes should be done in such a way that not only creates a better method but also a better result.

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Perspective

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Ending each day on a high note.

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

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The Power Of Imagination

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Mark Twain in Tesla's lab

“You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”
–Mark Twain

Widely considered to be America’s greatest literary icon, Mark Twain left a legacy like no other. His books are beloved by readers of all ages, with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn required reading for millions of schoolchildren across the country. But what many people don’t know is that Twain was an inventor and spent countless hours in the lab with the legendary Nikola Tesla. In fact, Twain held patents for three different inventions: upgraded suspenders, a history trivia game and an ingenious self-pasting scrapbook with adhesive similar to modern postage stamps.

Twain’s fascination with science and technology likely began in his childhood. Due to poor health, he spent the first eight years of his life sequestered indoors. Unable to play outside with other children, his imagination took him places his body couldn’t. Years later, Twain’s incredible imagination would send a contemporary American back to Arthurian England in his beloved book, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. The story deals with a plethora of modern technology and became a blueprint for subsequent science fiction writers.

While some people may shrug off any mention of imagination as mere child’s play, consider what Twain was able to do. Drawing upon his creative mind, he wrote some of the most iconic literature of his century. He associated with Tesla and Thomas Edison, two other visionaries who stretched the boundaries of their imaginations in order to bring us light bulbs and hundreds of other inventions we use on a daily basis.

The importance of technology and imagination was reinforced by former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani during a recent speech in Salt Lake City, Utah. Several representatives from Professional Marketing International were in attendance at the seminar, which proved to be an amazing opportunity to hear a true leader. Mayor Giuliani explained that when he took office in 2000, New York City was the crime capitol of the world. He knew that the only way to overcome the rampant crime would be to embrace technology and get creative. To this end, he worked with other creative minds to establish the CompStat program, which involves daily crime reporting and precise location tracking. New York City’s experiment paid off and crime in the city dropped 70%! Many other cities have replicated the program and it helps police save lives every day.

Whether you are a mayor, writer or entrepreneur, the power of your imagination is a crucial key to your success. Don’t be afraid to take a chance on unproven methods. And don’t get discouraged when the results aren’t exactly what you expected. Mark Twain’s suspenders invention ultimately proved to be a failure, but he learned from the experience and proceeded to invent new products and create stories that have enchanted millions of readers around the world. Unleash your true potential by utilizing your imagination today!

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