“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” — Mark 11:24
Years ago, during a visit with my sister Franquis Grant, we were discussing a contract we had done together as a family with AmeriHealth. When some things had to be done at the last minute, very unexpectedly, Franquis said to me, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
It caught my attention. I asked her, “Who wrote that quote?”
She said, “That’s from John Lennon’s song ‘Beautiful Boy,’ a song he wrote about the birth of his son in 1980.” She reminded me how she was living with me in San Pablo, California, when she played that album so often. My youngest son, Elton Leon, had been born recently, and she was my babysitter. He was the first boy born in the family after my brother Elton Leon Grant was murdered. I had made a deal with the family that the first boy born after his death would be named in his memory. I had no idea it would be me, two years later in 1980.
After my maternity leave ended, I had to go back to work in six weeks. My new son would always get quiet and listen when she played that song. She called it “his calming-down song — even while you were pregnant with him,” she remembered. He would always stop and pause at the sound of that song.
Let me share the lyrics with you: “Beautiful Boy” by John Lennon — “Close your eyes, have no fear, the monster’s gone, he’s on the run, and your daddy’s here. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy. Before you go to sleep, say a little prayer. Every day, in every way, it’s getting better and better. Out on the ocean, sailing away, I can hardly wait to see you come of age. But I guess we’ll both just have to be patient, ’cause it’s a long way to go. A hard row to hoe. Yes, it’s a long way to go. But in the meantime, before you cross the street, take my hand, life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
Let’s talk about our imagination and how that line from “Beautiful Boy” perfectly illustrates the principle of imagination — a principle from Napoleon Hill’s book “Think and Grow Rich,” my second-most important book. The Holy Bible is always first. Hill’s book explains the Bible in practical steps to help one become successful. He studied his Bible for six hours most days.
We all know the word “imagination,” but do we really understand the principles of using our imagination? As a young girl, imagination certainly was my friend. Several aunts talked about me always being like a TV commercial child, always acting, doing something, like producing my sisters and coaching them in a little play I had created.
Imagination is the starting place when we discover life’s lessons. When we are paying household bills and doing grown-up duties, if we could only have dreams again like we used to as young children, things would work so much better.
Separate the word “imagination” into components, and you get “image” and “action.” The “image” is the seeing of something physical. The “action” part refers to making it happen.
Napoleon Hill says the more we use our imagination, the more it will deliver its physical form. People who have changed so many things in our world have used their imagination.
Examples include the Wright brothers, who imagined being able to fly without falling. After carefully planning and trying many things using their imagination, they finally got their converted bicycle machine to fly. Now, flying from state to state and to other countries happens because the Wright brothers believed they could make this work. The key is they refused to quit until they actually made flying work.
History shows how the light bulb evolved from a flicker of a wick that had been lit with fire and placed in oil. Workers would go out at night and light these wicks at dusk so there would be light in the streets until dawn. Then one man’s imagination clicked in as he watched lightning and decided there had to be a better way. Thomas Edison tried more than 1,000 ways, using his imagination repeatedly until he finally found how to make a light bulb. It all started in his mind first, and you can do this as well — but it takes time, so don’t quit.
Today, many of us forget about this amazing ability we all have called imagination. In the Scriptures, Luke 1:37 says, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve” is a well-known quote attributed to Napoleon Hill. It emphasizes the power of imagination, belief and determination in realizing one’s goals. This concept suggests that if someone can envision a goal and truly believe it’s possible, they can take the necessary steps to achieve it.
Never underestimate this powerful, forgotten little treasure we used to use so often on purpose. It is our imagination. Never think there is something you cannot do or have — if there is a strong enough will, you can make it happen, if it’s God’s will. If not, forget about it.
James Allen, a British inspirational writer, talks about how “our minds are like a garden — if you don’t use them, weeds will grow. Plant and water and look after your thoughts, and you will have a beautiful garden.”
Jim Rohn, also an inspirational speaker, said, “It’s not the blowing of the wind that determines our destiny; it’s the set of the sail.” Did you set a good sail? I sure did. Do you really know what you want from the goal you’ve set? Do you know what you would like to have left behind once your journey is over here on earth?
Take time and really think about what you want and where you want to go. Conceptualize the images and circumstances needed to make them a reality.
Lyndia Grant is a speaker/writer living in the D.C. area. Her radio show, “Think on These Things,” airs Fridays at 6 p.m. on 1340 AM (WYCB), a Radio One station. To reach Grant, go to her website, www.lyndiagrant.com, email lyndiagrantshowdc@gmail.com or call 240-602-6295. Follow her on X @LyndiaGrant and on Facebook.
