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Summary

The article emphasizes the importance of combining creative imagination with creative vision to manifest one's desires and achieve success in life.

Abstract

The concept discussed in the article is the distinction between creative imagination and creative vision, as highlighted by Napoleon Hill and Andrew Carnegie. Creative imagination is the ability to conceive ideas, while creative vision involves formulating and executing plans to bring those ideas to fruition. The author illustrates how successful ventures, from coffee to Uber, started as ideas that were actualized through creative vision. The article also discusses the significance of recognizing opportunities, staying persistent, and providing value to others as key components of creative vision. It suggests that by focusing on serving humanity and sharing knowledge, individuals can attract abundance and achieve their own goals. The author encourages readers to reverse-engineer the success of mentors, embrace a mindset of service, and consistently deliver exceptional value to others.

Opinions

  • Creative vision is crucial for turning creative imagination into tangible success.
  • Many people fail to act on their ideas due to a lack of creative vision.
  • Successful individuals are often those who obsess over their ideas and take actionable steps to realize them.
  • Engaging with a community and seeking mentorship can provide answers and opportunities for growth.
  • Persistence and the willingness to learn from failures are essential in the pursuit of one's goals.
  • Giving away value for free can attract followers and customers who are willing to pay for more comprehensive solutions.
  • Personal beliefs and values are significant drivers in recognizing and seizing opportunities.
  • Providing exceptional service and consistently exceeding expectations can lead to attracting abundance and achieving personal desires.
  • The principle of helping others get what they want is presented as a timeless truth for achieving personal success.

The One Concept You Need to Get What You Really Want in Life

It’s an oldie but a classic goodie

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

Do you possess creative vision?

Napoleon Hill’s classic, How To Own Your Own Mind, challenged the reader with the difference between “Creative Imagination and “Creative Vision.”

Like the then young Napoleon as he interviewed Andrew Carnegie back then, we both thought that the terms were interchangeable.

The wise steel magnate quickly corrected his mistaken assumption.

While creative imagination is something that inspire people, creative vision, he explained, is putting a plan in action to make use of creative imagination to favour your advancement.

The world around you runs on creative vision birthed from people who saw an opportunity to capitalize on ideas and needs around them.

People who were obsessed enough to not just think about it, but driven enough to find a way to do something about that obsession.

Think about the life you are enjoying today.

  • That takeaway coffee was once an idea.
  • The Uber you just got into was created from a needed opportunity.
  • The burger you just picked up from the drive-through was a concept.
  • Even writing online was nothing more than a prospect way back when.

All the successful endeavours around you once was the creative brain child of someone who found a way to make their idea a reality.

Such people of vision are builders, givers and, by nature, positive influencers.

According to Andrew Carnegie, while everyone possess creative imagination, most people lack creative vision. They fail to take their ideas to the next step or they fail to expand on their imagination.

They think small and therefore, stay small.

So how do you harness the power of creative vision?

Tapping into opportunities

A few years ago, I was inspired by top Medium writer Ayodeji Awosika and his no nonsense advice on building a writing career.

I wanted to do what he was doing.

Writing topics flashed through my brain.

My creative imagination was stirred.

If I had stopped at that point, I would have missed the opportunity to try something that I had not considered before. It would have been another thought with no action and easily dismissed.

I began writing.

It was just crickets in the beginning.

Frustrated by my lack of traction, I was in a place to see what I needed and recognize the opportunity when it danced before me. It was a writing cohort that linked to a network of writers also seeking answers to their questions.

Here is what I have learned.

When you keep your desires simmering in your subconscious with determined regularity, you are far more aware of prospects that provide solutions.

Creative vision inspires you to stay alert for opportunities that are favourable to your future goals.

Now as I struggle in another area, it is coming as no surprise to me, to find more of the answers I seek.

If you have a dream, no, an obsession that is driving your soul, the more you ponder it, the more you will become mindful of creative solutions.

  • It becomes your call to action.
  • Take those first, wobbly steps.
  • Fail, learn, get up and do it all again.

To win the endurance race, you have to train obsessively. Go after the solutions you want with tenacity. Reverse engineer your mentors.

Be hungry for every tip you excavate.

You want the results so you doggedly do what you have to do to get it. No excuses allowed.

That is creative vision in action.

In the beginning, I had the drive but I lacked the vision to plan how it would all unfold for my life.

I was stuck at tossing spaghetti at the wall and sinking into depression when it failed to stick.

Tuning into creative vision, is like finding the map to the treasure chest. You stop spaghetti slinging and start taking calculated, actionable steps.

When to give it all away

“To get more from life one must give more.” – Andrew Carnegie

As I become more aware of the power of creative vision, I am seeing the necessity to stay plugged into the world. Not as a consumer but as a giver. To view life through the lens of how I can better serve humanity.

It is not so much about giving away all your worth, but sharing samples that makes others hungry for more.

People are hesitant to shell out cash on a product/idea/dream that they are uncertain about.

If they believe that you can provide answers to their problems, then they will want to follow you.

  • They want an outcome.
  • You have a solution.

If they like the taste of what you are giving, they will come back for the whole enchilada.

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” – Muhammad Ali

So many entrepreneurs have chosen to give away their secrets. From blogs, books, YouTubes, and social media, you can find any answer you seek if you want.

However, you are more likely to follow the person who has or is already adding value to your life. Those are the ones who will stand out above others.

When you provide a generous, rich service that enhances the lives of others, you can’t help but attract what you also desire as well.

The secret sauce

Perhaps the biggest influencer in discovering your creative vision is best defined in your beliefs and values.

What ultimately motivates you is what will reveal opportunities to you.

  • If profit is your goal for example, you will be more atune to ways to monétise your offerings.
  • If it is status you want, those are the opportunities that will leap out at you.
  • If it is freedom to travel, you will look for creative prospects for making that real.

When you are motivated by a particular outcome, those become the maps that will make the most sense for you to follow.

I wanted to write online because I no longer wanted to be tied to a brick and mortar job. Freedom to perform for someone else’s profit was loosing its appeal.

I have the dream (creative imagination). I also have the plan to make it happen (creative vision).

But it is not all about me.

To get what I want out of life, I must become a master of helping others get what they need.

Those who freely/consistently deliver above and beyond expectation will attract what is valuable to them.

It is a classic truth that has withstood the test of time.

People who become known for the value they provide to others, can’t help but attract abundance to their own lives.

You don’t need to demand payment for your worth. It becomes self evident.

Choosing to go the extra mile, is your ultimate secret weapon for defining your value. People become so blown away by what you give away that they are compelled to find out what else you have to offer.

That is the power in your grasp. Provide exceptional service to others and they, in turn, will want to serve you.

“You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.” – Zig Ziglar

With so many smart, great people saying basically the same thing, maybe, just maybe, it is time to sit up and take notice.

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