J. K. Rowling used to be a poor divorced woman,but she is now one of the best-selling authors in the whole world,having sold over 250million Harry Potter books. One of the reasons for the huge global popularity of the Harry Potter series is that the book really stirs the imagination. For example, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Quidditch, an imagined sport game, and magic wands,capture the readers’ fancy. Imagination is the key to the success of the Harry Potter series.
“Harry Potter” is not the only work that became a huge hit through imagination. The “Star Wars”series is another example of such, having become a box office hit through its use of diverse stories about the universe of the X-Factors. “Jurassic Park” was also a great success in many countries, with its computer-graphic dinosaurs coming to life,exciting the audience to no end.
The human genomes are at least 98.77% identical to those of chimps, but humans and chimps are clearly different from each other. One of the big differences between them is that humans can make and use new tools when they face new problems whereas chimps cannot. Humans can break free from the accepted ways of thinking, and think creatively, thus being able to make new tools to solve new problems. This creative thinking is called “imagination.” Mankind has lived in the world of imagination, outside the mind, since time immemorial, as evidenced by theNeolithic stone axes, Galileo Galilei’s heliocentric theory, the airplane, the computer, the mobile phone, iPod, etc. All these are products of humans’ rich imagination,which has been the driving force of the changing and developing world. To develop your imagination, you need to exert efforts to think from various perspectives and viewpoints. Try to have a fresh look at things, and start by asking how, what, and why questions.
American writer Napoleon Hill said, “Thinking and imagination are important because they are essential in developing creativity. Without creativity, people can’t generate new ideas. Thus, imagination is the motor force of innovation.” We are now living in the age of the imagination. Encouraging and nurturing our imagination is not too difficult to do. To improve your competitive power, don’t lock yourself in transparent thinking, and let your imagination run wild and be creative. For all you know, your ideas can help change and develop the world.
