“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.” Albert Einstein, our beloved German-born physicist and mathematician, owns the delightful quote. And I find it especially timely when I’m mid-build of something big, new, risky, but beautiful.

I find when I’m imagining what’s truly possible, I love to collaborate with my inner circle (new and old). I also love to isolate. This feels intelligent (or at least sensible) to me. Imagining is where the magic is. We can always curtail our hopes once we see how things land.

Once the build begins and progresses, and as launch deadlines near, I find even more need to isolate. This helps protect you from my diluted focus. And it helps tame my inner critical interference (a Saboteur hijacking) and tap instead the creativity and strength of my inner girl and of my Sage. She tells me to think bigger. Trust more. And to calm my mind.

In this week’s episode, reading from Medium, I’m exploring this creative, self-preservation process on why you won’t hear from me mid-build in hopes it sparks a new way of looking at courage and imagination in you. I wrote and read this episode on the week of a huge launch: my first Lightning Lesson on Maven, a precursor to a my Brag Like a Boss workshop I’m launching in July. This sharing helped anchor me as I hope it does you.

Your show host, D G McCullough is a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. She runs Hanging Rock Coaching and serves as a communications coach to leaders all over the globe. Find her on LinkedIn. Join her Brag Like a Boss three-hour workshop on Maven here and check LinkedIn for free Lightning Lessons.