Think Like a Kid

Remember back to those days where cardboard boxes used to become rocket ships, and you became the astronaut? Remember when chairs and blankets became forts and castles? Remember when you used to doodle in class, and you filled blank pages with your drawings? Remember when you imagined on the playground that you were your favorite football player or a foursquare champion? Remember when you still used your imagination and thought anything was possible?

It still is, and your imagination still has power.

There’s a kid here at OrangeBall that we could all use as an example. Beau’s son Brody has one of the greatest imaginations we’ve ever seen. At a recent party, he told stories of building a cardboard Skee Ball game complete with a working ball return. He also spent the evening with a marker in hand, drawing great cartoons for all of us to share. From what his dad has shared, Brody also puts on a puppet show that will take you to the edge of your seat, and with his sister runs a mean lemonade stand.

The kid has imagination. And, in talking to him, he actually believes anything is possible.

It leads me to this question… What if we still thought that way?

What if we still used our imaginations and looked at cardboard boxes like, well, anything but a cardboard box? What if we saw the potential in things rather than what we’ve been trained that they are, and what if we still believed anything was possible?

Growing up, becoming an adult, and gaining wisdom is great. Unfortunately, it’s also what holds us back. At some point, maybe in high school and more likely in our first jobs, we begin to get jaded. We begin to see the world through the lens that everyone else sees it through. We begin to see cardboard boxes as cardboard boxes and nothing else. The world steals our imagination, and instead of our “what-if’s” being focused on great potential, we only see how our ideas could fail. Instead of imagining building great things, we imagine what will happen if chasing our dreams doesn’t turn out.

So, we focus on what’s “realistic” – not what could happen if we used our imagination and trusted the kid inside of us.

Brody isn’t thinking realistically. All he sees is what could be and what IS in his head. He hasn’t had the chance to get jaded yet, and so his imagination is running hot.

I want to be Brody. I want to live life like Brody. I want to see the world through Brody’s eyes.

Thank you, Brody, for the reminder.

Call-to-Action
Be Brody. See life like Brody. Go unpack your imagination and start thinking like a kid again. Let off the brakes and start chasing what’s possible… without reminding yourself of what’s realistic. “Realistic” is B.S., and your imagination is the gateway to everything.

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