The Idea Dude

CONNECTING THE DOTS ONE AT A TIME

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Jumpstart your vision

I was reading a John Maxwell article today. John said, "...Many people don't jumpstart their lives because they don't have anything to jump to! They plod along through life with little more than survival in mind. Visionaries dare to dream. They peer into the future and generate possibilities in their mind's eye..."

I believe most of the human race wake up in the morning waiting to be told what to do instead of thinking about what they want and should do. Jumpstarting your vision takes energy, guts and imagination.

Energy because we are entropic creatures by nature. All things being equal we prefer to settle to a low energy state, our comfort level. Jumpstarting a vision takes energy because it calls us to step beyond our boundaries and often into the unknown.

Guts because more often than not, we will be wrong. We will stand out from the crowd because our vision makes us different. It leaves us open to disappointment and ridicule. True visionaries will travel the path because they fear more that they will regret not travelling down the path.

Imagination because a vision requires bold thinking, exploring possibilities, questioning norms and asking what-if? Proust said "The real voyage of discovery consists of not seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes". Opportunities surround us each day, each waking minute. Too often we see our surroundings with old eyes. Discovery does not mean we have to travel far from where we are. Maybe all we have to do is look around us with a new lens.

Of course, all of the above is moot if we do not initiate. To make it to the top of the stairs means taking one step at a time.

I used to keep the three I's on my business card, Imagine, Inspire, Initiate. Imagining possibilities (don't box me in), inspire others around us (there is more power in the collective and me alone), and initiating to make a difference (just do it).