Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Knowledge helps us understand what’s already possible whereas imagination helps us explore things that don’t seem possible at all. It’s the latter that gives us freedom to throw out conventional thinking and create possibilities where none seem to exist. It’s imagination that changes the world.

I need to do more imagining.

Life is like riding a bicycle. You have to keep moving to keep your balance.

There is so much in our world and our universe which is simply beautiful and awe-inspiring. No matter where you are there’s never a reason stop peddling although there are times you may just need to change course.

It is important to foster individuality for only the individual can produce the new ideas.

Collaboration and individuality should not be mutually exclusive. They should co-exist and be interwoven into our teams and communities so that we can strengthen each person together while allowing each person to strengthen the group.

An environment created solely around collaboration (where there is no time for independent minds to distill and grok on their own) is a detriment to the individual and their spirit just as much as one that embodies people as silos.

We need both.

I very rarely think in words at all. A thought comes, and I may try to express it in words afterwards.

Often times, I don’t think linearly (or sequentially). I won’t say that I’m a visual thinker, but at times it’s as if there is a vast array of dots in my head where each dot represents part of an idea, and they aren’t in any particular order, but my brain knows how they’re connected and seems to be able to make sense of them.

My challenge then becomes communicating those to others. Often times, I attempt to do it verbally and fail miserably. My mind has a different order of things and the thoughts usually come out all wrong.

In the past few years I’ve found that writing my thoughts down helps me get the sequence right so I can communicate my thoughts successfully. Once I’ve done that I can verbalize it effectively and begin to refine it. This usually takes a little bit of effort. And this is one of the reasons why I feel I can be a horrible person to pair with.

Once a concept has been distilled in my mind and the sequence figured out (in a way that makes sense to others) I can banter, refine, and explore them successfully with others. It’s just the initial learning curve of communicating them that stands in my way.

My wife says it takes me a little longer to initially process information. The nice thing about it is that once I’ve distilled something, it’s usually with me for good.