What did you want to be when you grew up? When I was little, my friends and I had lots of different ideas. Every day, we would make pretend and be all those things.

We pretended we were Mommies with babies, teachers in school, nurses and doctors in a hospital, or secretaries in an office. (I hope today little girls are dreaming they can be CEOs, too!)

The point is, we would get lost in creativity and spend hours immersed in a world of our imagining. And we were never ready to stop playing when it was time to go home for dinner. The next day we’d pick up where we left off and the fun would begin again.

As an adult, I often wonder what it would be like if more of us would make pretend? What if instead of focusing on all the darkness, suffering, chaos, and division that is so prevalent in our world, we chose to imagine a better world?

What if we pretended that we could actually create that better world using our imagination, intellectual prowess, and a little chutzpah?

Could we imagine our way out of the darkness and into the light? I know we can! Not only can we – we must. Because the direction things are headed is woefully unacceptable.

Understanding Our Own Imagination

Imagination is defined as “the faculty of imaging, or of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses”. So, it’s not that what we imagine doesn’t exist. It’s just that we don’t experience it yet using our five senses.

In other words, a better world – a better way of living – does exist. It’s simply up to us to make it real.

We are the creators of our own reality. And, if you’re like me, the reality you imagine looks a whole lot different than the reality many of us are living on a daily basis.

The better world I imagine has figured out how to solve our most challenging social issues. Hunger, homelessness, and disease are a thing of the past. Education, employment, and healthcare are accessible to all. Violence, war, and destruction are a distant memory. Harassment, racism, and inequality are not tolerated. Women are not exploited and children are not abused.

And in this better world I am not constrained by feelings of fear or unworthiness. I’m not afraid that I don’t fit in or have what it takes to make a difference. I don’t play small because that’s the story somebody wrote for me.

From Dreams to Reality

In this better world that I imagine, I am courageous, confident, and limitless! I am open to the experience of infinite possibilities. And what I have to offer – what I have to share with the world – is desperately needed at this moment in time.

In fact, the world desperately needs what each of us has to offer, what each of us can dream, what each of us knows to be true.

It’s not that different from when we were little and we pretended that the world was filled with beauty and hope and love.

That’s why I can make this world my reality. I can’t control what others do, but I can control my actions and steps towards creating the world I desire.

Our imagination is the connection to our soul – our AWE-thentic self. We need to spend more time there.

Today I want you to think about something you really want to do. Or a way you really want to make a difference in your community, for your business, or for your family and friends. Dream it then go out and do it!

Leave me a comment below and tell me about the world you imagine and what you’re doing to make it real. Sometimes speaking our desires out loud (or virtually, that is) is the first step to getting them done!

Be AWE-dacious! Make pretend!