Imagination is where every great story, and every great startup, begins. It’s the invisible spark that turns ideas into belief and belief into action. While knowledge explains the world as it is, imagination creates the world as it could be. 

In today’s issue, I’ll break down the science behind why imagination is so powerful and share:

Enjoy imagining what your startup can be…LG

Imagination. It's one of the most powerful words in the English language and one of the most powerful forces in storytelling.

Albert Einstein once said:

One big reason for this is that Imagination is the seed of all great accomplishments.

Take a look around you. 

It is likely that everything you see is a product that someone saw in their mind first, before it came to be.  

It's part of what makes entrepreneurship special in that we see things that don't exist yet.

We imagine a product or service as well as the potential behind it, long before anyone else does. 

Like stories, it's a superpower for Founders. 

When you're an entrepreneur, you often start with little more than an idea. There's nothing tangible to show because you don't have a product or service yet. 

Yet you still need a way for others to see what you see and the potential behind it.

Think about Blake Mycoskie coming back with 250 pairs of shoes when he started TOMS. The real magic wasn't in the shoes themselves, it was helping consumers, retailers, investors, and the press see something they'd never imagined before. When you buy a pair for yourself, a family in need gets an equal pair free. 

That mental picture was mesmerizing. His "One for One" concept sparked an entire wave of social entrepreneurship, all because he painted a vision people couldn't stop thinking about.

This is where you leverage imagination within your story to get your idea off the ground.

As an entrepreneur, imagination is a force you can use externally to catalyze the minds of your audience.

Whether it's as direct as starting with "Imagine if..." or as subtle as describing a situation in vivid detail, you can instantly get your audience thinking in a directed way. You take them out of the present moment into a time and place of your choosing.

Howard Schultz understood this better than most. When he returned from Italy, he didn't just tell people about espresso bars, he painted a vivid picture of a "third place" between home and work, where community and comfort were as important as the coffee itself. 

Just like everything around you was created by the imagination of someone before you, you are creating something in the minds of your audience that you are building before it exists. 

Stories blur the lines between reality & fantasy, or in the case of us entrepreneurs, reality & our vision.

And by leveraging your audience's imagination, you are able to draw them into this world and see your idea and its potential as you see it. 

Sara Blakely had nothing but a pair of scissors and pantyhose, but constantly used imagination to build get SPANX off the ground. 

She imagined a solution that didn't exist. cutting the feet off pantyhose before a party sparked an image of shapewear that was comfortable and invisible. She visualized herself on Oprah years before it happened.  And she used imagination in her sales pitches, inviting women to imagine wearing clothes they loved but avoided, then asking: what if something underneath could change how their butt looked? 

That simple prompt turned Spanx into a billion-dollar industry disruption.

Here's an interesting byproduct: imagination leads to action because it drives us, and those around us, to create and build.

If the idea is compelling, our desires take the form of these mental images. By painting a picture in your audience's mind, you ignite this desire within them the same way it's lit you up, because they can begin to see your vision and what makes it special.

Walt Disney knew this intimately. He didn't just imagine entire worlds, characters, and experiences, he used that imagination to mobilize his team to make the impossible real. From the first feature-length animated film to Disneyland itself, Walt constantly urged everyone around him to dream bigger.

When people could see what he saw, they didn't just nod along, they rolled up their sleeves and built an empire of imagination that became theme parks, movies, and a storytelling legacy that endures today.

When you use imagination as part of your story, you have this incredible power to connect the seemingly unconnected.

JK Rowling captured this essence in her Harvard commencement speech: 

You can take a room of completely different people from different backgrounds, interests, and needs, and instantly bring them together because you're showing them a common vision. The mental images you provide stay locked in their minds. They can take those scenes and turn them into something that feels real.

What JK understands more than most is that changing one mind or the whole world begins with invoking one of the most powerful elements in our minds, imagination.

By weaving imagination into your stories, you'll go a long way toward getting your audiences to see what you see and get behind you and your startup.

Imagine what's possible if you can do that.

The best founders don’t just describe their ideas, they project them. Blake Mycoskie, Howard Schultz, Sara Blakely, and Walt Disney used imagination to help others see what didn’t exist yet. They sold visions, not products. Because when people can picture your world, they start to believe in it, build it, and spread it. Here are three lessons to help you spark imagination in your own storytelling.

Simply by asking your audience to imagine something, starting your story with "Imagine if”, you can increase the chance of influencing them by almost 14%. A famous study by Green and Brock found that when people get really “lost” in a story, their minds vividly imagine it, making them much more likely to believe and be persuaded by the message.

Here are two quick videos to spark your imagination this week: one on the force behind creativity and the other on the power of storytelling. Both show how imagination can shape reality, fuel action, and bring your vision to life.

This is the POWER of IMAGINATION | Jim Kwik

Jim Kwik reveals how imagination fuels learning, creativity, and growth. He shows how simply picturing something can rewire your brain and reshape what’s possible. A powerful reminder that imagination is the driving force behind all achievement. Watch here:

Imagination – One of the Most Powerful Forces in Storytelling | Lyn Graft

In this video, I share how imagination gives founders the power to move hearts and minds. How painting vivid mental pictures helps audiences see your vision and believe in it, before it exists. Watch here:

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