Pure Imagination,#1256

Every once in a blue moon, you encounter a soul so purely creative and innovative that just being in their very presence is inspiring.  I don’t just mean the kind of inspiring that gets your thoughts spinning and taps into your imagination.  Instead, this sort of once-in-a-lifetime earth shattering force gets your creative juices flowing and doesn’t stop there.  They inspire action.  They inspire the fire that lights your pants and gets you up and going.  They inspire you to share your efforts and to stand up and be noticed.

That was the kind of person my Uncle Irving was.  His creativity was absolutely limitless, and watching him work was mind boggling.

One time I ran into him at the local library with a stack of books in his hands as he was leaving and walking to his car.  His short explanation to me as we crossed paths was “I couldn’t figure out how to do something.”  What a statement!  Uncle Irving simply was not the type of person to give up and under no circumstances would accept defeat.

There are so many funny stories I could share about my uncle, but when I really think about writing this blog, it’s not the stories that I really want to pass along.  I know that my family and friends will read this, and I think what I most want them to take away when they remember Irving Olson is this:

Absolutely anything that you dream of achieving is possible.  Go give it your all and don’t let anybody tell you how to do it.  It’s your dream, and you are its inventor.

He never said those words to me, but just being in his presence made me believe them.  He didn’t have to say those words to me, because Irving Olson led by example.

The last time I used the song “Pure Imagination” for a blog post, it was a blog about Steve Jobs.  Yes, my Uncle Irving was an elite innovator of the highest ranks.. He was Steve Jobs creative, and so…it is time to use this song again.  I’ll give it a bit of a different twist though.  Maroon 5 did a cover of “Pure Imagination” when Gene Wilder passed away a few weeks ago.  It’s a well done cover, and AdamaLevine’s voice is perfect for it.  So, here it is a new spin on a classic…enjoy!

 

End Note:

I wonder if I’ll ever use “Pure Imagination” again.  Perhaps not, because this type of innovation only comes around once in blue moon.  Uncle Irving passed away just shy of his 103rd birthday.  I hope in the next century, we’ll encounter this rare breed again.  One can only hope.

 

DIY – How to Make a Desk Troll

My daughter is so creative.  Last night she started experimenting with duck tape, and she came up with her own adorable creation.  Ladies and gentlemen, I present to all of you – the desk troll.

According to her, this very unique “stuffed animal” is supposed to sit on your desk and give you smiles all day long. Today, she is teaching us how to make one.

To do so, you will need:

–Duct Tape (Two assorted colors/patterns)
–Scissors
–1 Pipe cleaner
–Stuffing (She’s using tulle, because it’s what we had in the house)

Step 1

Grab a big handful of stuffing.

Step 2

Completely cover the stuffing with your choice of duct tape.

Step 3

Take a pipe cleaner and cut it into 4 pieces to be used for the arms and legs.

Step 4

Tape two pipe cleaner legs to the bottom of the body, and one pipe cleaner on each of the sides for the arms.

Step 5

Use your second colored tape to make eyes and a mouth.

And there you have it…your own adorable desk troll.  My daughter made a whole desk troll family.  Check it out!

My song of the day for my baby girl and her creativity is “Pure Imagination” from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” because she is an innovator.  Love this kid and hope you love her “desk trolls” as much as I do!

Steve Jobs’s “Pure Imagination,” Day #116

Creativity is a gift from G-d, in my opinion. When inspiration strikes me, I recognize it as something holy and take it very seriously.

Creativity mixed with knowledge and education and pure smarts leads to innovation. To those people who are able to embody those traits, the sky is the limit. I have always been in awe of those people.

Steve Jobs was a true innovator. Yesterday, in learning of his death, I turned to Facebook. In a time of tragedy, Facebook becomes an open discussion forum. It is a place where we mourn losses as a community. In this case, the loss of Steve Jobs needed to be mourned in a wide scale global community. This one man was able to strike a chord in absolutely everyone.

How is it that one person can dream so big, and those dreams can affect an entire world? Truth is, I don’t own one Apple product. It doesn’t really matter though, because you’d have to be dead to not recognize the impact Steve Jobs has had on our world. It is why everyone is so crushed by his passing.

My brother called Jobs, “the Oprah for men.” I loved this comparison. If we think about what Oprah does for women (examine our flaws, read and educate ourselves with literature, become inspired, feel good inside), it really is true that Jobs has done the same for men. But truly, dear brother, Jobs was not a Lifetime original movie. He was more of an A&E documentary. He was someone we all could enjoy and appreciate.

Enough said….I could go on for hours about the awesomeness of Steve Jobs. It was hard to choose a song that captured his spirit, but the more I thought about it, I realized that to me, Steve Jobs was like a real life Willy Wonka. If we could peer into his brain, I am certain we would fine candy wallpaper and chocolate rivers and everlasting gobstoppers. The song, “Pure Imagination” from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory suits him perfectly.

As I end this blog today, I leave you all with this master innovator’s quote from his 1995 Stanford University Commencement speech. It is a Willy Wonka quote and one that we can all learn from.

‎”You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” — Steve Jobs
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Pure Imagination – Gene Wilder
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