Daydreams at Work

Find solutions, new energy, motivation, and the next big idea—all through the creative power of your daydreams. Visionaries of every sort credit daydreams for creating conditions ripe for moments of insight to blossom. Einstein, at the age of sixteen, pictured himself in a daydream traveling alongside a light beam, a bit of fanciful imagery that he later credited as the seed of his theory of relativity. Mozart daydreamed about music as he walked and rode through the countryside—imagined sounds that became the basis of famed compositions. Walt Disney came up with the idea for a theme park while idly watching his daughters ride by on a merry-go-round. And that’s just the beginning. The author of Daydreams at Work, Amy Fries, has interviewed dozens of people to discover how daydreams have led them to start life-changing nonprofits, create innovative products and million-dollar businesses, and visualize their way to the summit of Mount Everest, to name just a few. Though many of us have sensed the connection between daydreaming and creativity, recent scientific studies are combining with an abundance of anecdotal evidence to establish that when daydreaming, we are literally in our most creative state of mind, tapping into and connecting the most complex regions of the brain. The beauty of daydreaming is that it’s a process available to every one of us. Yet many of us know relatively little about it. In our production-oriented, to-do-list world, we practically worship the focused, directed mind. We laud the pursuit of the quiet mind after wearing it out with the stress of incessant activity and striving. Yet we disparage our third state of mind, our most creative, imaginative, problem-solving, energizing, and entertaining mental state—the daydreaming mind. Daydreams are not a guilty pleasure or mere wishful thinking; they are your source for ideas, energy, and motivation. Daydreams at Work:  Reveals the valuable & productive role daydreams play in your life and work—they help you juggle multiple goals, and plan and envision future actions.  Examines how the Einsteins and Edisons of the past found inspiration in their daydreams and why the most innovative companies in the world—Google, Gore & Associates (Gore-Tex), and 3M give their employees the time and space to daydream.  Gives you ideas for tapping into your own daydreams through stories from and interviews with entrepreneurs, inventors, psychologists, artists, writers, scientists, and athletes, including legendary mountain climber Ed Viesturs.  Includes questionnaires and discussion guides to help you determine your own daydreaming style, and thought-provoking exercises that will have you using your daydreams in new and creative ways. We all daydream—isn’t it time you found out more about your most creative state of mind and how to work it to your advantage?