Every day I get an email from Simon Sinek, called “Notes to Inspire”. It’s got a quote from one of his books or speeches, and is meant to inspire his readers to be better leaders. As good as the quotes are, and some of them are incredibly insightful, what I really love is what’s at the bottom of every email: “We imagine a world in which the vast majority of people return home each day feeling fulfilled by the work they do.”
Wow. That’s some world, isn’t it?
Imagine the scene in people’s homes when those who live there come in the door feeling fulfilled. I can picture it being more peaceful. More lively. Stimulating conversations. Not so much television or drinking, or other “numbing” activities. People fulfilled by the work they do.
What kind of world do you imagine?
As I said in Episode 092, we are the only species that can imagine and create our futures. Imagine what happens when we harness that ability for the good of others?
What does that look like for you? For Simon, it looks like people not only engaged at work, but fulfilled. Believing that what they do is important. That who they are matters. That they have helped make the world a better place in whatever way they can.
For me, the world looks like people living in the full understanding that they are created with love to create in love. That each of us is unique. Creativity is our birthright. When someone lives out their birthright, the world is a better place. They are living to their full humanity and helping solve problems that maybe haven’t been solved before. They go beyond where they’ve ever gone before. Past stereotypes. Through limitations – to uncharted territory. They do it with and for love.
Imagine how that works itself out in the workplace. In relationships. Churches. Organizations. People fully alive bringing the best of who they are with and for others. Appreciating each other’s skills and talents because they complement one another. Even helping others develop greater skill, like an artist’s guild.
Picture what your world looks like – the world in your imagination. How does it look? Feel? Taste? What is it about this world that is so appealing to you?
Maybe it seems too good to be true. Maybe it is. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try.
When you were little, you probably made stuff and gave it to your parents, sister, or brother. You didn’t ask yourself if it was good enough. You didn’t say you didn’t have time. You just did it. It was as natural as breathing.
It wasn’t perfect, and you didn’t care. You did it because it was fun. Because you loved someone and wanted to show them. Because it was part of who you were.
Why not recapture that now? Use that picture of your imagined world, and ask yourself what you’re willing to do to help bring it about. All you have to do is imagine and start. Start with the tiniest step. And you don’t have to do it all alone.
Imagining and creating – that’s what makes us fully human. That’s what makes us fully alive. When we don’t do it, we’re stifled. Less than human.
It's hard to see people suffer because they’ve lost touch with their creative self. That’s what happened to me, and it was awful. It felt like a kind of death. And I think it was. First my job took all my time, so I had to give up all my outside creative activities. Then my job became progressively less creative until I was choking. I couldn’t stuff it any more, or it would have killed me.
If you’re at the point where you feel like you just have to get through the day, and then the next and the one after that, take a hard look. See what you can do to bring even the tiniest amount of creativity to your life. ‘Cause life’s too short to live it half dead. Or mostly dead. Time to live it fully alive. Engaged in the act of imagining and creating. Creating what matters most to you. Without judgement of shame. In and with love.
Imagine a world where everyone believes they are created with love to create in love. Now let’s make that world a reality.
How do you want to bring that world about in your own life? Leave a comment.
