Imagination is more important than knowledge (Einstein)

I want to talk about one of my favorite quotes today, because I think it has a lot of hidden information needed by those of us who want to set big goals. I will point out three things in particular this quote is telling us that we need to consider and implement in setting our big goals.

If you are here, I bet you are someone like me – you want to make leaps forward in your life. It’s one thing to stair step forward in life, but it is another thing to take leaps – to go somewhere totally new, to evolve – and it requires a different approach. That is what I seek to do and what I seek to help others do.

The quote we’ll discuss is from Einstein: “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” There are three things in particular you can take from this quote that you should apply when you are sitting down to set your big goals.

First, the quote reminds you to be UNLIMITED. Knowledge is limited; it becomes static. Knowledge is incredibly useful in everyday life, and in the stair steps toward goals – but when it comes to taking giant leaps forward, we must let go of our limits. This is where imagination comes in. Imagination asks us to see beyond how things appear to be; it asks you to tap into something more. Being unlimited in your thinking when you set your goals allows you to set those goals big. It doesn’t tie you to the past; unlimited goals bring you into a new future.

Second, this quote asks you to be ORIGINAL. Your imagination is about your own creativity, and looking inside yourself to see what you want to create. Imagination doesn’t externally reference. Knowledge is about what’s true “out there” while imagination is about what is true for you internally.  You want to set big goals that are your original goals rather than a goal someone else told you to strive for or you read in a magazine. If a goal is not original, it will hold you short of where you could be. Big goals require your energy, and for your goal to energize you it has to be your original idea. Taking that time to look inside yourself, to imagine your desired future – that is what will feed your progress.

Third, this quote reminds you that in setting big goals you must DREAM. Dreams are precursors to goals. You can’t stop at a dream and experience it in your life, but a dream is the beginning. It has to start as a dream, something that is not yet real. Then the dream gets a timeline. If it is a big goal, it’s a little bit hard to imagine. It takes effort to put yourself in that dream space and to make the unreal feel real. After this is when you take that dream and break it down – that’s when the everyday goal setting strategies come in handy. It has to start at that dream level first.

I hope that you will take one of your goals for this year and apply the three things alluded to by Einstein in this quote. He tells us that imagination will get us much farther in life. When we set our big goals, we must BE UNLIMITED, BE ORIGINAL, and DREAM. Start there, conceive those big goals that you yourself are inspired by, and begin to make those your reality. 

We need bigger dreamers in this world. I hope you will join me in employing these three aspects in setting your goals for this year. I’d love to hear any ideas that come to you as you hear this or ponder it in the days ahead!