AA Roofing Supply - reality vs. imagination

A number of years ago I had a house in South Seattle, and I used to ride my Scooter back and forth to work. On my route was a business called AA Roofing Supply - and on most days there would be a person standing out front in a costume waving to cars. Sometimes it was an Ape. Sometimes a Chicken. Sometimes a Super Hero, or a Mexican Wrestler. 

And on certain days, there would be a hybrid of costumes. A Super Hero with a Chicken head. An Ape with a Mexican Wrestler Mask. A Chicken with an Ape's head. The variety changed as much as possible.

I use this story to illustrate a point; I can't make up something that good. If I wrote that into  screen play, people would see it and say "That's impossible..." 

But it was REAL. I saw it. Every day. (And I have never needed Roofing Supplies. But I STILL remember the name of the store.)

Sometimes, reality is far more obscure that our imagination. Yet, we limit our imagination by saying "No, we can't do that innovation... it's too weird..." or "No one will ever go for that..." We shut down the next big idea since our version of reality is very tame. Then our version of reality comes into contact with a  giant Chicken wearing a Mexican Wrestling mask.

So as you are considering options for the next big idea, be aware that you might be limiting your own growth by setting perimeters on your innovation. You might believe that the limitations are based in reality, and you might feel as if you are being responsible to reality. For a moment - consider that maybe your reality needs to be opened a little wider. Consider a Superhero Chicken. And see if you can't find something that might have been outside of your concept of reality that can drive the new ideas forward.


"The level of our success is limited only by our imagination" Aesop

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