Imagine

We humans are "future designers" - our brain operates best when it can analyze "what is" and envision "what can be."

The best future designers always look for alternatives to "what is."

• Envisioning options and possibilities can lead to intentional change and faster improvement, as well as forecasting threats.

• Knowing WHY we need or want to change is initially more important than knowing the How and the What - yet later you need to have a change process in place and know the cost (monetary and emotional) of the change.

IMAGINE is an invitation to embody the person you need to become to achieve your goals and aspirations.

Imagine that you already are what you want, that you are the person who lives the future you desire:

• What knowledge and skills does this person have?

• What attitudes and habits give this person the ability to connect perform at his/her best?

• What strengths and power does this person project?

• What obstacles and threats has this person avoided to achieve his/her position in life?

It All Begins with Desire

Desire allows us to feel that "we already are what we want to be" and adapt our physiology and mindset to walk towards our vision of growth.

Desire forces us to become flexible, versatile, creative and resilient, increasing our capacity to design solutions that lead to fulfilling achievements.

• When we are driven by desire, we understand why what we do matters

• We don't work for what we desire; we grow through the work we do while we are transformed by our desire

• We achieve, we are fulfilled, we know in service of what we do it - and we get feedback on how we contribute

The Four Key Questions of Desire:

• What is the desire that drives you? What fascinates you?

• What takes your breath away? How does it pull you to enjoy more of it?

• Who or what inspires you to succeed?

• What is your success inspiring others to do?

Desire-aholic: I’ve always had a fertile imagination

My brother and I did not have a TV at home until we were 14 years old. When we were kids, we used to make up games with toy soldiers and model cars. We read comic books (Superman, Batman, Flash) in Spanish, imported from Mexico. We drew and painted, and we got in trouble often by following the rascals we had as neighbors.

I read classic books without anyone forcing me. I loved Charles Dickens and some of the books we read at school in Spanish. There were always books in the house, new ones every month. I grew up in the addictive bubble of imagination, daydreaming and absorption... and I kept pressing my nose against the glass at bookstores until I emigrated. Some bookstores proved to be magical, as the one in Covent Garden in London, where I found titles by chance (maybe not) that changed the direction of my life. When I tell that to the authors (who became my mentors) they just stare and smile.

Our exposure to TV was low and regulated. We would go on weekends to our grandparents’ homes and watch Walt Disney and other children’s programs for about two hours, while the adults talked. When I became a teenager, I remember loving to listen to the adults’ conversations, their stories and jokes.

Not all the adults were good listeners, especially when we youngsters spoke. A comment had to be of a certain intellectual caliber to matter; you had to sound like an adult to particpate in the conversation. Therefore, I listened to all nuances and details, as if I was in the theater. When I got the adults’ attention, sometimes they did not understand my complex and imaginative viewpoints. I learned to identify the cold shoulder and the sharp edge of dismissal, but I never stopped imagining.

My family had often international visitors, corporate colleagues and professors. Their visits excited my curiosity and I eavesdropped as much as I could. I observed them carefully and paid attention to their habits and styles. They always mentioned something that was different, interesting and unusual compared to our Argentine ways. It made me want to travel and see their countries and customs first-hand.

When my father started traveling regularly for work through Latin America, Europe and the USA, he brought souvenirs, which became the starting point of his stories, but I would make up new stories, convoluted ones, in my head, dreaming of how I would feel in those places and situations.

I dreamed of traveling, having exotic adventures and returning to Buenos Aires to tell my stories. I imagined I would write about them and find new meanings in the experiences in conversations with others, as in the European salons. When I started TheSircle Executive Club in Charlotte, NC, I was trying to assuage my childhood’s desire for conversations with interesting people, sharing inspiring stories with deep meaning.

In retrospect, my imagination always transported me and drove me to plan my transformation into an immigrant later in life.

Pain and frustration pushed me towards adventure, but the Desire of becoming a better version of myself pulled me towards the real journey.

IMAGINE: a Journey of Personal Transformation

“We have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us. The labyrinth is thoroughly known; we have only to follow the thread of the hero path. And where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god. And where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves. And where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the center of our own existence. And where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world.” - From Episode 1: Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth — ‘The Hero’s Adventure’ – TV series with Bill Moyers 1988.

Every inspiring story describes a journey of Transformation.

American scholar and mythologist Joseph Campbell clarified "The Hero's Journey," the cycle of personal transformation in which the protagonist of the story must conquer a challenge to grow, mature and often times lead others to restore the moral order.

We are the Hero/Heroine in the journey, most likely an ordinary person thrown into extraordinary circumstances.

Sometimes the hero is seriously flawed – an anti-hero. As you identified with the hero, you know how you felt when they faced their ordeals, struggled and emerged having learned a lesson. You were there with them through their journey in the story every step of the way and might have wondered how it reflected on your own life.

The journey is well known and has distinct phases:

• As the Hero/Heroine of our own story, we live unaware of what's to come until we get a call to action, which we might initially refuse.

• We say yes to the call after situations become personal and our current identity or environment are threatened. We embark on the adventure and must steel ourselves, as we face enemies, obstacles and disappointments that question our resolve.

• Along the way, we also get help from mentors, friends and two-faced individuals who teach us and test us - until we finally arrive to the crucial point in which we need to face our fears and act decisively to resolve the challenge at hand. There might be risk and danger involved, sometimes lethal.

• Yet, when we succeed in killing our demons, we are Transformed. We see our environment and ourselves differently - we evolve to understand everything from a more profound perspective. And progress in our upward spiral of growth.

• The lesson is clear: there's no point in living anybody else's story but our own. The journey reveals to us that Living is Transformation. We transform to improve our minds and better protect Nature and the evolution of Humanity.

• Answering the call means going beyond covering our basic needs for survival, affection, belonging and achievement to create the conditions for more people to live full, authentic lives, starting with those around us.

A Journey within The Hero’s Journey

While in the mythological context of our lives we are navigating The Hero’s Journey described by Joseph Campbell, we are simultaneously exploring the knowledge, skills and strategies we need to become Leaders.

After over 35 years of helping professional athletes, corporate executives, entrepreneurs and artists transform their lives, I've summarized the process in four stages, which connect with the mythical power of the Hero's Journey:

• IMAGINE - envision and focus on what you want

• IMPROVE - sharpen your skills to achieve

• INSPIRE - recruit and lead others in your quest

• IGNITE - do more for more people, plan a legacy

Through this process, my clients undergo a process of Transformation that has physical, emotional and intellectual implications.

Initially, Peak Performance Training for Achievement is initially attractive to them. However, on the second or third session, they realize that Fulfillment and Meaning are more important - that their Transformation is about what they do “through” the project and not only “for” the project. Even the project is a metaphor for something bigger.

Although their initial goal might be Achievement, they realize that "going into training" makes them better at embracing challenges. They become adept at "making meaning" through positive actions that inspire others to follow them.

The Leadership Strategy process reveals the path to building an inspiring Legacy.

These are some examples of clients’ epiphanies:

The Lifestyle Portfolio Solution: A successful media executive wanted to have a more meaningful "second chapter" in his life and feel engaged again by developing new ideas. After retiring from a long and prolific international career, he was frustrated by the dozen projects or so he started. Nothing compared to the excitement of his previous life, but he was not going back to it. I helped him design a portfolio of commercial and philanthropic projects where he could funnel his energy, work with young talent and enjoy the impact of his influence in society. His passion for sports led him to create a new international company with family members to share inspirational stories focused on positive goals, resilience and significant achievements.

Inspiring Action, not Corporate Politics: A renowned medical expert wondered about being able to make a significant impact in the world at large. Growing poor, he had excelled academically and artistically to earn a scholarship to an Ivy League school. As a surgeon, he was at the top of his profession, but the daily routine and the politics at his successful practice had taken a toll. He accepted a top position at a Fortune 500 company overseeing one of three major divisions, which required inter-state commuting and frequent international travel. Within a year, he felt he was burning out, especially after corporate raiders took over the company and the politics became a burden. I assisted him in the design a personal Blueprint to focus on fundraising to solve social problems through scientific innovations. By having a direct connection with the people he can inspire to do good in the world, he found an aligment between Achievement, Meaning and his Legacy.

Expanding Resonance and Networks: A publisher and an educator requested my help to design a Breakthrough path to reach goals that seemed impossible on paper. As successful women entrepreneurs, they wanted to leap to a larger dimension and create a legacy for other women and future generations. During our training process, I helped each of them go beyond perceived limitations and learn to plan a series of challenges and leaps that yielded exponential results in terms of revenue, new networks, financial leverage for their projects and widespread recognition. They discovered that they could help new, more affluent audiences tell their stories and simultaneously create a more vibrant network that could generate leads on a consistent basis. They won awards and were able to transcend their local market and gaining recognition at the national level. Both women work intensively within Women Entrepreneurs Networks nationwide and the educator has established international ties.

Another woman entrepreneur had just left Federal Prison, having served her sentence for having been embroiled in a large international real estate fraud. Reluctantly, she agreed to blur the lines to please a contact she knew and considered trustworthy and respectable. The person turned out to be a con man. She had been a successful real estate agent with a comfortable lifestyle and a solid record of accomplishment. Barred from her profession, a widower with grown children, she had no job prospects. Despite what seemed a long list of obstacles, she wanted to design her way forward and was seeking a Breakthrough. We worked together for a couple of months and I realized she was eloquent, vivacious, and insightful. She was ready to tell her story to the world as a cautionary tale, especially within the real estate industry. With structure and practice, she was able to design a keynote presentation, test it, and develop the confidence to write a short book. I put her in touch with an independent publisher and they worked out a deal. Her speaking skills improved every week and we even developed a pitch to TEDxCharlotte. Today, she speaks nationwide and continues to resonate under the premise “Don’t say Yes when you need to say No,” in reference to her mistake for which she paid dearly. As in the case of the publisher and the educator, resonance and networking paid off.

Enzo Fittipaldi IMAGINES his way to his first Championship

When I met Enzo Fittipaldi for the first time, we were celebrating his brother Pietro’s conquest of his World Championship. It was a wonderful lunch at a steakhouse in December 2017 with their parents and Caio Campos, who had introduced us. I watched Enzo, quietly sitting beside me and enjoying the moment. I noticed he had ordered something different from everyone else. After an hour or so, I asked him, “So, Enzo, what do you want? What’s your big dream?” He didn’t pause, he just told me point blank, “I want to win the Championship!” He surprised everyone with his assertiveness and there were smiles all around the table. I realized that Enzo had an unstoppable desire boiling inside him and that he was anxious to let it free. One could not ignore the pressure of the name Fittipaldi and not having a Championship, but Enzo impressed me as wanting to be fully himself.

Enzo’s training and racing calendar for Formula 4 was packed had only a few breaks on weekends and in the summer. He would be racing both the Italian and German Championships, representing 41 races in total. The training planning had to be precise, with clear objectives and milestones. We met on a weekly basis online, analyzing each detail of his racing experience to discover where he could have advantages. We also discussed how to get along better with his Ferrari teammates and his Prema Team engineer. Enzo learned how to access his Ideal Performance State on demand and under pressure, and we refined every element that might contribute to it. Racing F4 at over 200 kph requires focus to react in milliseconds, so visual intelligence (focus, fast recognition, pattern recognition and decision-making) comes into play. His thinking became both tactical and strategic, which helped calm down his anxiety when he was challenged during the race and reduced the number of mistakes. Sleep patterns, diet, planning for personal time, recovery, variety and intense fun were also fundamental components of his performance plan.

The most important factor for Enzo through the racing calendar was to stay committed to his Vision (“I want to win the Championship”). Like his brother Pietro, now a Formula One Team Haas Test and Reserve Pilot, commitment involves creating a firewall behind them, as if there’s no option but to keep moving forward. Failure means only failing forward, failing better, ensuring that every experience becomes a learning opportunity to refine their Breakthrough strategy. He won the Championship in the last race in Mugello by 0.28” in an epic photo finish. He decided that he would do whatever was required to win, starting with putting together exceptionally good qualifying laps to ensure a pole position. And he did it: the results came because he invested everything he had learned about mental toughness from day one. It all came to a point: standing at the P1 step at the podium.

Read more about Pietro and Enzo Fittipaldi’s Breakthrough Championships

How IMAGINE Starts:

These are two Key Considerations to start your process of Transformation at the IMAGINE stage:

Make your vision Big; go beyond your personal best

Extend your achievement horizon at least 300% beyond where you are today. Don’t hold back: imagine the optimal situation, your ideal day and week, the lifestyle that you desire in vivid detail and with whom you want to share your future experiences. Define what “success” is and “in service of what” you will achieve.

You already are what you want to be, so act “as if” - live it

Having a vivid, detailed vision of our desired outcome helps adapt our physiology from the start and through the Transformation process. To design your Breakthrough towards Transformation start thinking, feeling and acting today as if you are already living your vision. You can define the stepping-stones that will take you there and invite yourself to live each chapter of segment as if you want it to be.

IMAGINE - the Art Perspective: Imagination at Life’s Center

I bought this artwork by Nick Bloomberg in 2009 because, as he eloquently describes, it encapsulates the core concepts of IMAGINE: we might be pulled in many directions daily, yet we can live and be in the moment - as a working meditation - pulled by our vision and desire, creating the stepping stones toward our best future.

Betsy Birkner - IMAGINE emerging out of your armor as a better human being

[“I Should be Safe” - Armor Series by Betsy Birkner on fired clay, from left to right - Row 1: I should be happy - I should be a good Catholic - I should be beautiful - I should be charming - Row 2: I should be healthy - I should be nice - I should be safe - I should be sexy - Row 3: I should be skinny - I should follow my heart - I should follow my spirit - I should have babies]

I met Betsy Birkner during her residence at the McColl Visual Arts Center in Charlotte, NC in 2015 and was instantly impressed by her Armor Series (“I Should be Safe”). Her artistic choices, her brilliant artistry and its metaphorical power stayed with me for a long time. I attended with the CEO of a technology company from Silicon Valley and I witnessed the impact of Betsy’s work in him as well.

In 2016, Betsy requested my Leadership Performance Strategy consulting services as she was seeking to define her new artistic horizons. During the process, I learned about her personal story, motivating factors and incidents that led her to develop the Armor Series (“I Should be Safe”). I suggested she considered expanding her Armor Series into a workshop that could assist people in discovering their self-worth and sense of personal safety. Her artwork can be cathartic and can facilitate breakthrough through well-crafted questions. At the end of our collaboration, Betsy successfully designed her Personal Breakthrough Blueprint to expand on the core themes in new and interesting ways. Through her mastery of a variety of media, she can create a unique experience and engage audiences in transforming conversations.

“The fragility of the fired clay is a mirror of my psyche. When I think of safety, I think about: (1) Myself, and (2) Everything else, in no particular order, my kids and family, earth, air, water, girls, women, people of color, LGBTQ, young men, old men, HIV victims, homeless children, abuse victims and the list continues to grow.

The armor I have created is a personal device, which protects the heart and all internal organs, how we breathe, digest and process life. We armor ourselves while processing external messages until we can emerge with an authentic presence.

I want to explore “worthy.” I want to explore how self-worth relates to an individual’s sense of psychological safety. By connecting to my own sense of worthiness and responding with authenticity in my studio, I imagine the creative process to be quite random at first. As it narrows in its revelation, I can identify direction for each individual piece regarding cultural messages and how we armor to protect our ideal self-worth.” Betsy’s artwork encapsulates enormous potential to reach a society that feels armored, unsafe and in desperate need of authenticity and connection.

Her mission statement is “I want to make a difference in the direction we are headed, toward healing the collective psyche. Everyone has the right to experience the conditions of safety and worthiness. All of our needs, the earth, water, air and food have the right to remain safe.”

I believe that if we don’t design the future, someone or something else will design it for us. Betsy Birkner invites each individual to understand why and how we can envision alternatives and a better way of being. It’s the essence of IMAGINE. We can create a safe future when we accept our creative duty as a need and a responsibility.

I invite you to IMAGINE and create a Vision in which you can safely achieve, where you feel worthy and unarmored, authentic and connected, and where everyone else is safe because of your responsible choices.

The Key Questions of IMAGINE:

• What's missing in my life that I absolutely desire and it's not for power, money or fame?

• What's missing in the world that I could provide to make it a better place to live and thrive?

• What do I specifically want to achieve? What's my desired outcome?

• Why do I want to succeed? What will I do with my success?

• Who can support and accelerate my transformation? What would it take to get help?

• What could be the trade-off? What sacrifices I’m willing to make to get what I desire?

• How will the world be better because I succeed?

IMAGINE Tool: The Breakthrough Exploration Chart

Explore the results of your IMAGINE Questions above with The Breakthrough Exploration Chart on PDF:

HOW TO USE THE CHART:

• The Breakthrough Exploration Chart is a valuable tool to IMAGINE and have an overview of What You Want in one page. Make sure to choose a specific Focus. You can fill out several charts if you have several projects or goals to explore.

• Follow the numerical prompts in order. They will guide your thinking sequentially to explore the practical implementation of your goal.

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