“STOP WASTING TIME, PAY ATTENTION, SIT UP STRAIGHT! LEARN TO SPELL, LEARN TO COUNT – YOU’LL NEVER GET ANYWHERE IN LIFE IF YOU’RE OFF WITH THE FAIRIES!!”

When I was a kid, daydreaming was almost a punishable offence.

“STOP WASTING TIME, PAY ATTENTION, SIT UP STRAIGHT! LEARN TO SPELL, LEARN TO COUNT – YOU’LL NEVER GET ANYWHERE IN LIFE IF YOU’RE OFF WITH THE FAIRIES!!”

But now we realise how important daydreaming and imagination are in helping to problem solve and think creatively. While I may not have been academically gifted, using my imagination has helped me create a life that I’m thoroughly enjoying living.

When I tell kids, I get paid to stare out the window and come up with ideas, they don’t believe me, but it’s true and I want every kid to know they can do the same and how important using their imagination is    

• Everything that’s being invented or created has started out in someone’s imagination.
• That includes scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, great ideas, philosophies, works of art, books, TV shows and computer games.
• We teach empathy by imaging what it would be like in someone else’s situation.
• It’s in our imagination we can start to create what kind of life we’d like to live.

When we allow space for kids to daydream and give them permission to follow their ideas, they’ll have a skill set that they can carry with them through life. And it’ll also help them thrive in a fast-changing future where AI and machine learning will kill off many white- and blue-collar jobs.

That’s why I made imagination and creativity a big part of the Inspiring Kids Program, showing kids that life isn’t all about tests, scores, assessments and winning and losing. It’s about equipping them with useful skills to make their life really awesome right now and into the future.

So nurture your child’s wild imagination, it just might be their biggest asset.

Start here and here