IMAGINATION 405The one who owns the big print shop had the good judgment to
ally himself with a man who mixed Imagination with printing. This man
of Imagination is an advertising writer who brings in more business than
the shop can handle, by analyzing its clients' business, creating attractive
advertising features, and supplying the necessary printed material with
which to make these features of service. This plant receives top-notch
prices for its printing because the Imagination mixed with that printing
produces a product that most printers cannot supply.
In the city of Chicago the level of a certain boulevard was raised,
which spoiled a row of beautiful residences because the sidewalk was
raised to the level of the second-story windows. While these owners
were bemoaning their ill fortune, a man of Imagination came along. He
purchased the property for a "song:' converted the second stories into
business property, and now enjoys a handsome income from his rentals.
As you read these lines please keep in mind all that was said at the
beginning of this lesson, especially that the greatest and most profitable
thing you can do with your Imagination is to rearrange old ideas into
new combinations.
If you properly use your Imagination, it will help you to convert
your failures and mistakes into assets of priceless value. It will lead you
to discovery of a truth known only to those who use their Imagination:
that the greatest reverses and misfortunes of life often open the door
to golden opportunities.
One of the finest and most highly paid engravers in the United
States was formerly a mail carrier. One day he was fortunate enough to
be on a streetcar that met with an accident and he had one of his legs cut
off The street railway company paid him $5,000 for his leg. With this
money he paid his way through school and became an engraver. The
product of his hands, plus his Imagination, is worth much more than he
could earn with his legs as a mail carrier. He discovered that he had
Imagination when it became necessary to redirect his efforts, as a result
of the streetcar accident.