Imagineering Your Life

“I suck” “If I hired myself as a manager I would fire myself.”

I walked toward my treehouse and ranted. I had just accepted this challenge to write about the Imagineering life, and what do I know of it? Not much.

I thought about my life, and screamed to the powers that be to help me. I ranted and yelled to God that I trusted and expected things to work out.

And then I realized that is what the Imagineers at Disney do. Well maybe not exactly the ranting I did, maybe they don’t scream to God, but something like it. I know they accept an assignment without knowing how to do it. They say “Yes I can do that.” And then go to their study and pound their heads on their desks.

One can only pound their heads so long. Time to stop. Time to get to work. What is it they say? “The universe likes action?” Action tells the universe that we are serious. We can dream all we want, but if no action is taken nothing happens.

You probably know that the word Imagineer means to Imagine and to Engineer.

At Disneyland the Imagineers are the creative geniuses behind all the rides, the buildings, the displays, the interior design, the sets, they are the wizards behind the scenes who create magic.

A lot of us want that—to create magic, and we wonder how to go about it. Walt Disney’s motto was Dream, Dare, Do.

I know enough about entrepreneurs to say that typically those who succeed buck the system, instead of bowing to it. Entrepreneurs create new markets out of their vision or their imagination. Such is the stuff of Imagineering.

 Do we bang our heads? Yes. Do we scream and yell? Yes. Do we get the job done? Yes.

I am writing a book. I don’t know how to do it. I begin, it sucks. I start over. I will keep on until it happens. An Imagineering life is not always wonderful or beautiful. Neither does it work easily. It is a process. As life is a process. To work as an Imagineer moves us forward. It lets us know we’re alive. It connects us to the divine. It is following the yellow brick road to the Emerald City.
Jewell D

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