Feed your imagination


Fifty odd years ago, there was no internet, no Nintendo and no Playstation; the thing every kid did do, was read comics, collect marbles, catch lizards and the like. Most comics featured Superheroes of various sorts; Superman, the Green Lantern, Spiderman, Thor, the Hulk, etc. That was also a time where such comics featured a swag of ads promising a hundred ways to disable and humiliate the sand-kicking bully. ‘Fear No Man’ and “Secret Weapon’ adverts were full page and in colour; far beyond the ability of an eight year old to resist; at least I could not! And so I did my chores, saved my pocket-money and sent away for a drawer-full of Ju Jitsu and Karate booklets; some of which I still own. Such things were my prized possessions and the secrets contained therein, fired my imagination no less than the Playstation and Nintendo games of today – arguably, even more so. And that is where it always starts – in the imagination!
The imagination is a powerful thing. And the seed, once planted, receives it’s nourishment from the imagination. And so it was that my seed grew and my imagination kept feeding it. The life I have created for myself has grown from that small seed and I have never stopped watering it. Even now, my mother tells me that my imagination will never allow me to ‘get a real job’.
In each of us there lies a seed; a seed that wants to grow and shape our lives into something wonderful. These seeds need watering, they need to be tended by our imagination, they need to be ‘allowed’ to blossom. Most people find themselves too distracted by the social norm, too harnessed by fear or too tied by logic to persist with the watering of their ‘seed’. This is one of the tragedies of life.
Should you discover that you have a seed deep inside you somewhere; then find the courage and determination to nurture it. If you do this in a way where you are harming no others, then you are living your life the way it is mean’t to be lived; with full ownership and with passion and purpose.
JBW

Comments

Anonymous said…
Dear John,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you teaching me BJJ in 1997-1999 in Richmond Gym. Due to I was suffering a spinal injury and I stopped trainning and back to Hong Kong in 2000. I am so regret that I didn't say goodbye to you and all friends in the academy before I left Melbourne.

I finally got my spin healed and started to train BJJ in HongKong recently. I will water my seed and invest in myself carefully.

Thank you for sharing the "Shell, changing level and take down" skill in youtube. It is very useful!

You are the best teacher I have ever seen! Wish you all the best!

Alex Yue @ Hong Kong

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