Imagine That

I have been involved in many brainstorming sessions in my day, but none can compare with brainstorming with a group of 10 - 12-year-old Cub Scouting boys.  The ideas are fast, crazy and full of impossible things.  They do not stop to think if something could be done; if it was dangerous; if it was expensive or even if it was within the boundaries of reality.  You ask for anything and anything is what you get.

                The crazy thing is that out of all that confusion and extremism, you can find some great stuff.  This is what real dreams are made of and some can go on to doing wonderful things that affect mankind as a whole.  And then there is the dark side.  Some boys are told that they are unreasonable, silly and impractical enough that they believe it.  The dreams become nothing more than smoke and drift away never to be seen again.

                One of the goals of Scouting is to ignite the fire of imagination and keep that fire burning. Scouting helps boys and young men to know that their ideas may be wild, out there and sometimes impossible, but those are the very conditions needed to change the world. Scouts are encouraged to believe the impossible and therefore the impossible often become reality. Eagle Scout and astronaut, Neil Armstrong knew that to walk on the moon was crazy and impossible, but the Scout in him also knew that impossible was never a reason to give up.

“Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”

– Pablo Picasso

(1881-1973) Artist

                So how do we help others, and ourselves, go from the wild dreamers to the achievers of great things?  I have three ideas that will help you and those you love to become all that they can be.

1)  Think like a child

                When I say think like a child, I do not mean to be childish.  What I mean is to recapture the ability to let your imagination run wild.  To think of things on a grand scale and to be willing to sound foolish to capture that one great idea.  You never know what kind of wonderful things you can come up with if you try.  Remember the words of the great Albert Einstein who said, "If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it."

2)  Believe in magic

                Why is it that young people can come up with such crazy things?  It is because they believe those things could really happen.  Here is the amazing part, they do happen all the time.  Look around you, almost everything we use today was at one time considered impossible.  The human mind can create magic.  Not the hocus pocus that some call magic, I mean the real magic of awe and wonder.  You were created with the power to think and create.  Tony Robbins said, "If you believe in magic you will live a magical life."  I believe that is true.

3)  Read great books

                There is nothing greater that one can do for them self in life than to read.  Reading is not just something we do to learn or because we need instructions, it is the food of thought.  If you want to think and have great ideas you have got to read.  There is no shortage of wonderful material out there; great and exciting books of all kinds for every kind of person.  Reading shows that we think and if we think we can achieve great things in life.  As Mark Twain once said, "The only thing worse than the man who cannot read is the man who can read and doesn't."

                You matter!  You matter to the world and to yourself.  Remember to be your best, love God, have good manners, achieve the unknown and change your world.

Scouting Out of Uniform is a personal blog based on the lessons learned from Scouting that relate to personal development and success principles and is not an official site of The Boy Scouts of America. John Patrick Hickey does not represent or speak for the Scouting program; however, he does completely support and encourages Scouting for both young and old. John Patrick Hickey is an author, speaker, Personal Development Coach, and proud Scouter. To read more from John Patrick Hickey or to get his books, training and book him to speak to your church, business or group, visit our website at www.johnpatrickhickey.com.   © 2019 John Patrick Hickey