Therefore I say unto you, What things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them]. — Mark 11:24
During a recent visit, my sister Franquis Grant said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” It caught my attention! When I asked her who she was quoting, she said it was from John Lennon’s “Beautiful Boy,” a song he wrote about the birth of his son in 1980. She reminded me how she was living with me out in San Pablo, California, when she played that album so often. My youngest son, whom she would babysit after my maternity leave ended, would always get quiet and listen.
“His calming down song, even while you were pregnant with him,” she told me.
Let’s talk about our imagination, a principal from Napoleon Hill’s book “Think and Grow Rich” (my second-most important book — the Holy Bible is always first). Hill’s book is an explanation of the Bible, in practical steps, to help one become successful. He studied his Bible six hours most days.
Hill says, “The more we use our imagination, the more it will deliver its physical form.”
We all know the word “imagination,” but do we really understand the principles of using our imagination? As a young girl, imagination was my friend, and lots of things came to mind when I was young.
When we discover life, bills and grown up things, if we could dream again like we used to, the way Napoleon Hill suggests using our imagination.
Separate the word “imagination” into components, you get “image” and “ion.” The “image” is the seeing of something physical. The “ion” part refers to the action.
People who changed the world used imagination. Let us thank the Wright Brothers, who imagined being able to fly up in the sky. After carefully planning, trying a bunch of things using their imagination, they finally got their converted bicycle machine to fly in the air.
History shows how the light bulb used to be a flicker of a lit wick in oil. Workers would go out and light these wicks at dusk so there would be light in the streets at night. But one man’s imagination clicked as he watched the lightings and decided there had to be a better way. Thomas Edison tried more than one thousand ways, used his imagination repeatedly until he found it.
Today, we almost forget about this amazing ability we all have! Luke 1:37, KJ says, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Never underestimate this powerful, forgotten little treasure we used to use.
“Our minds are like a garden, if you don’t use them, weeds will grow,” says British inspirational writer James Allen. “Plant and water and look after your thoughts, you will have a beautiful garden.”
Jim Rohn, inspirational speaker: “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? Do you really know what you want from the goal you’ve set? Do you know what it is you would like to have left behind one day when you die?
Take time out and really think about what you want and where you want to go, conceptualize the images and circumstances needed to make them a reality. Write them down! Use as much detail as you can muster and remember to use all your senses. What will you see, hear, smell, feel, and what will you think when your dreams come true? Imagine this every day and night, with great feeling, that’s how faith works.
As John Lennon says in his song, “They say I’m a dreamer, but I am not the only one. I hope someday you will join us and the world will live as one.”
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, visit her website, www.lyndiagrantshow.com, email lyndiagrant@gmail.com or call 240-602-6295. Follow her on Twitter @LyndiaGrant and on Facebook.
