Why Investments in Innovations? Why MirrorMazeIraq® and TeraTargetVR?
You probably know me mostly as an educator and/or an administrator. But hearing about an educator investing in family attractions such as MirrorMazeIraq® and TeraTargetVR might raise some questions for you! Allow me, please, to address those questions very briefly. More specifically, let me tell you why investments? Why family attractions? And why me?
First of all, why investments?
One of the main factors leading to a different world, a better world is innovation. Innovation changes the way we do things, changes the way we live, and changes the world that we live in. But for innovation to reach the end users it needs to be recognized, supported, and scaled up. For innovation to see the light of the day it needs to be taken out of the laboratories and the diaries of the innovators into the daily lives of people. And one very effective way to achieve this is through investments.
Investments in innovative ideas allow for those ideas to turn into reality and create real changes. Noble and great governments, educational institutions, research centers, organizations, as well as businesses invest in innovative ideas all the time. That is why investments are one effective way of supporting and scaling up innovations. Many of the innovations that we see and use today are here not because of the innovator only, but also because some people believed in these innovations and supported them through investments.
Now, why family attractions?
Research shows that people who spend time and money in new experiences are generally happier than people who do so for owning stuff. Research also shows that people who spend time and money in creating happiness for others are generally happier than people who do so for making themselves happy. Therefore, creating a business that offers an experience to people is much more rewarding than creating a business that offers materials and goods. And seeing people happy when trying these experiences adds even more to the emotional reward of the investments. That is why I started with two, very innovative family attractions as my first steps towards investments.
And finally, why me?
Because I believe that we teach, we lead, and we parent by example more than we do by talking and lecturing. As an educator, as an administrator, and as a parent, I want to be the role model for my students, my staff, and my children. I want to educate people about the values of creative thinking, great designs, and commitment to quality. I want to show people that work ethics matter and that doing things only in the right and the best ways yield long-term satisfaction, recognition, and growth.
MirrorMazeIraq® is proudly the first and the only mirror maze in Iraq and TeraTargetVR was the first VR Theme Park to be opened in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. They are both creating unique, fun, and thrilling experiences for visitors on a daily basis. And seeing these two projects come to live and become part of the attractions of the city and the country is very rewarding indeed. I hope they also set the example for others to learn from and follow.