Imagined realities are a powerful thing.
For example, consider Ralph Lauren. It’s a brand associated with wealth, with prestige, with a sport nobody plays but everyone knows is for rich people. A sport that by its very nature is inaccessible to even the average wealthy person—simply because housing and feeding and learning to ride horses is so expensive and time consuming. It is an antique sport of excess.
And that’s why Polo Ralph Lauren is such a powerful brand.
Now, consider the man. He changed his name from Lifshitz to avoid anti-semitism. In doing so, he imagined a new reality. (Given the sad reasons for the change, perhaps not an entirely happy one.)
Now consider the United States. A nation where everyone is free and anyone can get rich. Mr. Lauren achieved it, but only by buying into the imagined reality.
Countries, relationships, brands—they’re all built on stories. Stories are imagined realities. How good is your story? How good is your imagination?
