Have you ever come across Dimitry Didorenko or Esref Armagan? They are both blind while one lost his sight during a digging operation in the forests of Ukraine, where they tried to find remains of Russian soldiers who were considered to be missing since the World War 2; the other was born blind and could never see as you and I do.
What stands these two men out however is that they are ARTISTS. Not musicians or anything that has to do with media, I mean painters. They draw and paint! Esref’s case is so overwhelming because he has never seen colours and does not know what red looks like neither can he differentiate blue from green nor can he tell you what a dog or a flower should look like. He was born blind and yet he paints!
Theirs is a case of daydreaming and seeing colours. Even though they might not be able to tell you what the colour of your dress is they can paint in colours, they have dreamt about colours and have brought it to life.
Once upon a time man used horse-drawn carriages to move from one place to another and dreamt of what it would be like to fly. He looked at the bird in the sky and the fish in the water and imagined having a machine that could do what they do.
Henry Ford, The Wright brothers, George Stephenson, Ernst Alexanderson, Thomas Edison and a lot of others all had daydreams like this too. They believed it was possible and knew that it would not be easy.
Edison’s dream for electricity is simply put in his words as "We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles."
They brought to life what was their musing and fantasy. What they hoped and believed could be possible and of use to the people in their environment; making their life better and making output more rewarding. From this daydreams inventions that we still make use of today became a reality; cars, airplanes, trains, radio and television, electricity, electric bulb; even years after they have gone.
This is practical daydreaming!!
Every business starts with a daydream, a fantasy of sort, wishful thinking of creating and developing a product or service to meet a particular need that they perceive in their mind could be of use to the people in their community. An entrepreneur makes a conversion from fantasy to reality by starting the business. His dream becomes a vision – a dream with a deadline - and achievable goals are set.
In 1891, Henry Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company; a company owned by Thomas Edison. It was while working here after his promotion that he started working on his daydreams and he created his first automobile in 1896. His daydream was not money or how to be rich, no! His daydream was how to make an automobile that would move on its own using a steam engine and one that would be affordable for all. He started the Ford Motor Company!
Meeting a need and doing it well brings the money, fame and recognition!!
In the 1800s working in the coal mines was almost always a death trap but it was the most common work then because of the unlimited need for coal in heating homes and a lot of other needs. The miners usually ended up going blind after been in the mine for too long because light in the mine caused explosions. George Stephenson an uneducated engineer invented a gas lamp that enabled the miners to mine without fear of explosion.
He saw a need, dreamt what could be used to meet the need and worked at it!
His most outstanding work however was the trains he created. The possibility of hauling heavy coal from one point to another on rail became his focus. He daydreamed of a contraption that could haul coal from the mines to designated spots. He saw the need for more efficient work, instead of using the horse drawn carts that was time consuming, a steam rail that initially used wooden rails and later iron rails was developed by a miner who wanted more efficiency in his and his community’s work. He knew this would also result in survival of lives, increased output and more money for the people.
His was a daydream that was practical!
Every success story in life comes from one man’s daydream and belief that it can be done.
Just like Esref and Dimitry, who although blind still created beauty that even those who can see admire and spend money on. Every business man can still create products and services from circumstances in which he finds himself.
All that is needed is that we be practical in our daydreaming and bring our fantasies to life. Any daydream that is solely based on money or financial reward is not practical but if it is a dream that puts others first and seeks a way to make life better then let it loose and the money will come.
Happy practical daydreaming!!
No comments:
Post a Comment