Tamara is a mom, wife, dog owner and citizen of this world believes that there is a better way to do business and that is at the foundation of Imaginibbles.
She considers Imaginibbles a for-benefit company. It means balancing making profit and doing good in the world. At Imaginibbles they are committed to the Dream Big Promise, which is giving women and children in need access to the basics of life, dignity and hope. They’ve partnered with LifeStraw®, is an award winning portable water filtration device that provides access to safe drinking water. And on her site, her speaking presentations and her radio show’s she’s bringing that loud and proud passion for finding a better way to do business.
I don’t encourage stalking. But I know you’re up to some cool new project. Where are you and what are you doing?That’s a great question. 2009 was the year of the springboard. 2010 is the year of flying. We’re launching apparel and its all about sparking ideas and converesations on innovation.
We’re half way to reaching our goal for 3000 LifeStraw®.
Its summer and I started training for my first triathlon. I’ve never done it before. I’m a horrible swimmer. It’s going to shape up my mind and body. We’re talking about doing things differently and that’s why I wanted to do it.
I think you’ve answered this question already. But, it’s the foundation for all that you do now with Imaginibbles. My friend Erika Andersen coined the phrase reasonable aspiration or hoped-for future in her book Being Strategic. What was your reasonable aspiration or hoped-for future as you started Imaginibbles?
I love the story in her book. That’s a wonderful example of dreaming big. And when you take people along on your journey of dreaming big then magical things happen.
My big goal is to really help more people transform themselves and to help more people get more out of their lives. If there are a lot of people getting what they deserve and desire than I’m achieving what I want to.
You may say you’re not a creative, you’re not a photographer or artist. But, that’s not what creativity is about. It’s about thinking differently or sideways.
How will you know you are reaching it? What are the signs or metrics that you’re making progress?
As a business owner I have to ask myself that question every day. For me the word metrics is really appropriate. Goals and achievements are more like play-doh, not set in stone. I like to think of them as more milestones that change as you reach them.
From a business perspective, I think the best metric is the number of people referring me. If somebody else is willing to spend that time talking about me, promoting Imaginnibles says I LOVE That show, referring other people...I feel I’m moving forward.
Every time someone buys a product a LifeStraw® is given to someone in need. I have this wonderful visual ion my wall of a LifeStraw® and every time we make a sales we mark off the lives we get to change on that LifeStraw®.
I'm a big fan of Bruce Springsteen. He's been quoted as saying he sings every song to a member in the audience. Who are you talking to with your mission at Imaginibbles?
Who am I really talking to? My business is talking to individuals. Who are the dreamers I am talking to? It’s people that really want to take their creativity out of the drawer ...and reengaged with that creative side. It’s people who feel a little stuck in the mud. I know there’s something better for me...
At my workshops I ask some standard questions and one is what do you hope to gain from this workshop. And people say they are looking to reinvent themselves or reinvent their careers.
Tell us about the Dream Big Promise and the LifeStraw®. That’s quite a journey we all can share and help with. What was your reasonable aspiration or hoped-for future here?
This isn’t a marketing campaign or a corporate responsibility program. We’re so crazy passionate about bringing out the crazy passionate in all that we live by this promise every day. Everybody has a creative side and we just need to re-engage it , strength it. The truth is we have the right to dream big. For a lot of people not having their basic needs met interferes with their ability to access those opportunities and to dream big.
The dream big promise is focused on quenching the thirst ..which is about water. We take water for granted. There is always water running from the tap. Water sustains us, lifts us up mentally We found LifeStraw®, an amazing portable water filtration system. It literally is a big straw and kids can wear it around their neck and drink from a river they should not go near.
For every product purchased we’ll give a LifeStraw® to women and children in need... Our goal is to deliver 3000 Lifestraws to children and families in need. Think about that. Women could focus on families versus walking 8 hours to find clean water. Children could go to school instead of missing 440 million days of school from water-borne illnesses.
The dream big promise is simple. You transform yourself and you transform others.
So many things we think are important have no meaning without clean water. Children miss so much school from water-related issues. We are one big village.
It is ok to want to do something for ourselves and to want to do something for others. You’re unleashing your dreams and in doing so you’re helping others unleash theirs.
Any time people dream big it seems they run into obstacles. What were some of the obstacles your encountered along this journey? And how did you overcome them?
The one thing to remember along the way is that they don’t end. If we're continuing to be innovative we’ll always find obstacles.
When I started Imaginibble there were many people who told me I was crazy. Creativity is for people who want to paint in the corner, be a photographer. I thought Hold on what about the rest of us? Just because we are lawyers or accountants why can’t we unleash our creativity.
There are yes-butters in the world. They will say yes...but, you can’t do that. They are the first who will point out the holes in what we want to do. Those people are typically are stuck in the old way of doing things. Their world is how they operate. How we want to do something different is difficult for them to grasp until they can see it in a tangible form.
Just know there are those yes-butters out there. And it’s ok. We just don’t have to always listen to them.
On The Dream Big Promise...very few businesses merge the conversations of making money this idea of combining making money and doing good in the world was hard to grasp.
I got the usual I don’t understand...why do you want to go to Africa...why do you call your customers Dreamers...why don’t you serve on a non-profit board.
There are those types of barriers and the beautiful thing is that there are always ways to get around them.
My dad told me to write the rules in pencil and then erase the parts you don’t like. Rules are just other people’s ways of doing things.
How can we join this journey with you?
It’s much more fun when there are people with you.
Please join the conversation. The website is structured as a blog. So, post comments, ask questions.
Buy a product and we'll donate a LifeStraw®.Buy a workshop and we'll donate a LifeStraw®.
Take time to invest in yourself, take time to invest in others. Let’s remember we can help transform ourselves and others. Imaginnibles is happy to be the facilitator for this process. But regardless...
And refer others.
Tom Rath, co-author of Well-Being: The 5 Essential Elements talks about when finding that time of day where you’re focused, time flies, you’re having fun AND you’re reaching goals.
Sports figures use a different term. They talk about being in the zone. Every decision they make is right, there’s a sense of being fluid, time slows down and seeing 360 degrees around them.
You talk about being in your comfort zone, and even stretching it. How do you know when you’re in your comfort zone and how do you stretch it without collapsing it?
I think of my comfort zone as my yoga mat and trying to stretch it. I think of it this way because we talk about getting in and out of our comfort zone. years ago, I thought...Wouldn’t I rather have an ever-expanding comfort zone that gets bigger and bigger as I try new things...vs stepping in and out of my comfort zone.
I think more of us would do more if we thought of its as stretching our comfort zone. I’m actually most comfortable out of my comfort zone. That’s how I love life...trying new things.
That stretch is the part where we get a little nervous. And that’s ok. I’m always nervous before my workshops and speaking gigs. I’m glad. Because if I’m not then I’m not stretching myself.
Let’s just constantly be dipping our toes into new waters and stretching our comfort zones. It’s learning and having to adapt to a new experience.
What would happen if businesses helped in this process? You’ve been at the top of a corporate ladder. What are ways a business can help everyone find their zone and expand it?
It’s something I wish businesses did more of. At the end of the day, we’re business owners, if our members are stretching themselves they’re also stretching and growing the business. The benefits would be unbelievably tremendous. Just think about the ideas they would come back to the organization with.
Do we have the skills to bring this out in each other?
We’re programmed to sit in our seats. When I look at the corporate world there is this robot-action that is going. It’s set up to reward security.
When we look at where our assigned seats are there is no moving around. To get to the next seat you have to sit in your seat.
There’s a whole flip in how we’re rewarded. We’re really forced to push the ship in the same direction.
Let’s talk about releasing our imaginative superpowers. What does that mean? What’s in it for us? Why should our listeners care about their imaginative superpowers?
I picked those words very purposefully. If we ever watch children play their rules are yes, then play. My 5 year old uses his imaginative superpowers to negotiate with me and he wins 50% of the time.
Imagination is all the things we can do, all the dreams. Imagination can be put into our world and applied.
I could do that with super-powers. There’s something about that word that makes us think we can do and accomplish anything. We have a sense of confidence and discovery.
We’re all busy, we’re all scrambling. What are three tips you can share that will help our listeners release our imaginative superpowers?
Here’s the secret juice. I think that strengthening the Imaginative Superpowers is like going to the gym.
You can do it in even 10 minutes a day. Exercise our creative mind and provide it fuel we could tap into it...
Here are the three things that anyone can do.1. Doodling. Doodling lets us open our mind and relieves that stress on the brain and helps us with memory.
2. Movement. Movement is a huge part of it. You’re getting more oxygen to the brain. take your pen and paper and draw the music you hear when you’re in a restaurant. Music really does open up the mind.
3. Draw a Stranger. Go to a Starbucks; draw a stranger and show the stranger their drawing. You realize whatever they have done is great. What it helps us realize is that there are people out there willing to collaborate with us. I would encourage everyone to do this.Let’s talk about the dark side. The creativity killers. What are they? Where are they and how do we avoid them?
There are several. Some are external, some are internal. The first one is this fear of judgment by others. We layer this on ourselves. If people judge us I say ‘screw them’. We’re so afraid of not being perceived as perfect we never get our ideas out the gate.
Recently, I said to myself I’m going to focus only on the ideas I have so far., moving forward... What I discovered is that when I shut down that creative aspect of me..it shuts all of it down. The mind needs permission to play. And When we shut down that permission we shut down our creativity.
All that multitasking we do shuts down our ability to think e creative and we become process whores and all we can do is take in information. The brain can only hold one good thought at a time. When we’re multitasking we’re not creative, were just sucking in information.
Let’s talk about the economy for a minute. There’s a lot of data that indicates this economy came from a lack of innovation, a lack of creativity and imagination. As this recession grew so did our standing as a nation for our innovation drop. Would you agree, disagree?
I don’t know if there’s a direct correlation but where we are today is the perfect time for innovation. Anyone who says this is not the time...is using that as an excuse.
It’s hard to talk about the past as I have only some of the information. There are some of the ways we have our incentives set up and our educational system set up that really fails us.
I think now’s the time. And anyone who says it’s not is fooling themselves.
If we look forward, now’s the time we can change. Innovation is going to be the biggest asset we have in the future. That ability to think innovatively, that we all have naturally will drive us forward.
Let’s say President Obama made you the nation’s Chief Imagination Officer. What would be three steps we could take as a nation to re-ignite our imagination superpowers? And what would happen if we did?
First of all I’d have to say standing in the Oval Office would be stretching my comfort zone.
That would be awesome to have a Chief Imagination Officer...anywhere.
I would insist that creativity and innovation be part of the curriculum from Kindergarten through Grade 12.
There’s a great non-profit organization called Destination Imagination. It’s all about creative problem-solving skills.
Find some way to promote and encourage entrepreneurial ideas. Find a way to restructure the reward system. Make it a part of business.
Wow. I think I’d create an award for smart failing. We’d reward those who failed but did it with gusto. Took a risk that was intelligent and maybe it didn’t work out. This is my 7th business and this is the right one. And you know climb up that ladder and realize it’s on the wrong wall.
Make the award bigger than the Emmy’s and Oscars.
Leaders are readers. You’re a leader. What are you reading? What are the three best books you’ve read this year?
I was recently asked a similar question. I’m a bigger fan of following people who are doing it in the moment. I like to follow people who are doing it right now.
Here are some companies and people who are doing amazing things.
Born To Run. It’s about a tribe in Mexico who runs barefoot.
Where can we find you on the web?
Imaginnibles That has everything. It has upcoming workshops. It’s got a lot of products for sale.
Thanks, Tamara!
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