Can you remember what it was like playing as a little kid? For some of us, those memories may be a little harder to dig up than for others, but I would bet that however many of those childhood memories you can access, there are some fond ones. Remember pretending to be an accountant? Remember acting like you were a real estate agent or maybe a marketing executive? Of course you don’t! Because that is not what kids do. Nothing is wrong with any of those careers, and some of us, myself included find great satisfaction in those fields as a career. But as kids, we often find ourselves in a different world, or even a different universe. For most children, next to food and water, imagination is lifeblood. Where do kids live? They live in a world of pirates and knights and adventure, a world filled with sword fights and dragonfire and spaceships that travel at the speed of light.

But then we grow up, don’t we? We put away those childish notions as we prepare to be adults. Of course we have to grow up, but nobody ever said we should lose our imaginations. In fact, imagination is every bit as important at 45 as it is at 5. Albert Einstein stated, “imagination is everything. It is the preview for life’s coming attractions.” But so often we either lose the ability to exercise our imagination or maybe we just lose the willpower. Maybe you are afraid to try something new. Have you been told there is no way something will every happen or work? Are you afraid that no one will get it? Maybe you have been settling for the status quo for so long, you actually think you are using your imagination.

It’s time to raise the bar.  It’s time to stir up our imaginations. Maybe it’s unfamiliar or uncomfortable. It might even be unpopular. Let’s not be held back any longer by the fear of the unknown. Seth Godin writes, “Once you realize you’re settling, it may just be enough to get you wondering… wondering whether maybe, just maybe, something better is behind curtain number 2.”