Imagineer Manifesto

Imagineers believe in the following principles:

1. We believe in the power of imagination to shape the narrative of our work. The world of reality is limited. The world of imagination is boundless ¹. So, we are idea centric, we bend reality to conform to our view of the world yet we are guided by reality’s data driven choices.

2. We are idealist builders. We see what is wrong in our world and we invent a way to make it better.

3. We are driven by exploration, the why not, not just the why. We drift, we allow randomness and serendipity. Ordinary is death, so we follow our inner voice even when the world does not understand. Curiosity has its own reason for existing².

4. We recognize that starting is the hardest part. We see our unrealized potential and we invest in that future because nothing else is worth doing. We take a first step, and after that it is just another step.

5. We are daydreamers, we think, we plan. But we know the only thing that get results is action. So we act with our hands³.

6. We live to create. Our creations are personal, an expression of ourselves yet selfless, directed to the world.

7. We create ventures that do good for the world and can do well for our families and communities. We prioritize the moral good over financial economic gain.

8. We diversify our interest. Our worth is not tied to one project. We know creating is our way of life, so there is always another idea that will light up the fire in our eyes.

9. We are animated by a desire for constant and never ending improvement.We look at our work with a smirk of discontent, yet we also know when to let go of our imperfect creation.

10. We lean towards self reliance. Against blind consumerism, local not global, handcrafted not contracted, small business not multinational. We minimize the layers between our consumption and its source.

11. We commune with others to enrich our work. We are individualistic yet we are not self enclosed. We welcome feedback yet we understand we are the ultimate arbitrator of our work. In the end, we only answer to our inner voice.

12. We persevere when things dont come easy. With setbacks we do not give up, we keep chipping away. When reality punches our plans in the face, we punch back.

13. We cultivate a broad range of skills. We are jack of all trades and master of ONE. We are T shaped⁴, we explore the possibilities at the intersection of fields.

14. We believe hard work fueled by a sincere passion is the way to great creations. But we work hard the lazy way. We minimize the amount of work needed to get something done while paying attention to not take damaging shortcuts.

Notes:

1. Jean Jacque Rousseau quote about Imagination.
2. Einstein quote about curiosity.
3. James Altutcher in Reinvent yourself.
4. Art of Manliness Brett McKay.

Last updated 7/11/2022.