A friend recently pointed me toward a book called "Big Magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of "Eat Pray Love." I listened to it in increments for a couple of weeks in the car, and by the end of it, I felt a little bit like a wizard with a sparkly cape and a head full of stars. And that is a wonderful feeling.

I also just watched "The Little Prince" on Netflix, which kind of made me feel a similar way. I read the book way back in sixth grade, and I remember thinking that it was beautiful, but the animated movie version is stunning. These two things, this magical book and this bright movie, inspired me to write a little piece about ideas. Because, as the great Robin Williams once said, "No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world."

I thought it was interesting that Gilbert claims to see ideas as individual entities, passing from mind to mind until someone invites them in for a cup of tea. In "The Little Prince," imagination is the root of the characters' happiness. Not an obscure, hallucinatory imagination that threatens their well-being, but an imagination that enriches their lives and gives texture to the world around them. To quote Albert Einstein, "Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."

The type of ideas I'm usually visited by are typically literary and story-oriented, and they usually come knocking while I'm driving, cleaning, or just about to fall asleep. I try to welcome them with open arms, but sometimes, if I'm in a bad mood, they will just pass me by. And that's OK. Because not every idea I meet is the right idea for me.

Personally, I tend to forget about the quieter ideas until they completely disappear. To prevent that, I started writing every idea I had down in a notebook. I highly recommend this if you find yourself consistently in the middle of idea traffic. I've been religiously recording my ideas for almost a year now, and I can guarantee that I would have forgotten half of them had I not written them down. Find a notebook that smiles back at you, open to a blank page, and give your ideas a home.

I love when ideas come straight from music trains or novel planes, because then they're excited and eager to tell me about their travels. We have long conversations that tend to keep me up late, sometimes for days, and then I show them to their well-furnished room where they will stay until they are needed. Or, if they're compelling enough, I will stop what I'm doing and follow them across the world.

Ideas are the lifeblood of creative people. Without ideas, I fear we would all look, talk, and act the same. But as long as we continue to live among these winged and vibrant entities, I am sure our abilities to be unique, insightful, and creative will stay with us.

Your imagination is a magical flying carpet that can take you anywhere if you have the courage to climb aboard. As we get older, this magic carpet tends to get thrown in the back of the closet and forgotten about, for we have important and demanding jobs and suits to wear and expensive coffee to drink; we have no time for imagination. But if you believe this, you are wrong. The beauty of this magic carpet is that it can take you across the galaxy in mere seconds. It is at your command.

Have you seen "Bridge to Terabithia?" "Finding Neverland?" "Where the Wild Things Are?" If you haven't, or if you're having trouble justifying this whole 'imagination' thing, I suggest watching these movies. They are brilliant depictions of the power of the creative mind.

If you need even more convincing, read the Huffington Post article titled "Scientifically-Backed Reasons Why Being Creative Can Make You Happier."

My point is this: let go.

Let go of the reality you've worked so hard to construct. I'm not saying don't go to work or stop taking showers. I'm saying loosen your grip on your fears. Let those quirky little ideas inside and have a conversation with them. Even if what they say is absurd or bizarre or downright nonsense. Another idea down the road might want to join the conversation, and that idea might be the answer to the question you've been asking for the past week, or month, or year. Maybe even keep a notebook, or listen to creative people talk about creative things, or read a book about dragons, or paint a picture of a cupcake, or follow a recipe your weird neighbor gave you that you swore never to cook, or get a new haircut, or pick a random playlist on Spotify and listen to the whole thing, or try gardening. You don't have to succeed at everything you do. You don't have to be serious all the time. And "I'm not creative," is not an excuse. My ideas agree with me.

If you are already living a creative life, I'm smiling at you. I know you'll understand me when I say I couldn't imagine living any other way. If you haven't read "Big Magic" or seen "The Little Prince," I highly recommend them. Maybe you'll become a wizard, too, if you aren't already one.