Dear Sandy,
Our conversation creating a vision in a microwave world left me in a bit of a quandary. As we listed the instant examples that our culture has become accustomed to, from microwave cooking, to fast passes at Disneyland so we don’t have to wait in lines, to being annoyed if the speed of our internet connection is not blazing fast, and we used to think dial-up was fast.
Oh my gosh!! I couldn’t agree with you more when you said
“instant everything is a mindset for failure.”
Do you think that’s why we don’t have clarity of outcome? I know I need and enjoy my downtime to think, reflect, pray, write, review, ponder and call you to discuss the ripple effects. Some of my best and deepest conversations were during the planning stages. Even our conversations today are instant, text messaging, email, and twitter. Are we loosing the ability to communicate? How do you share you visions and dreams in a world of 140 characters or less?
Think about it…creating your vision can be like a kid in a candy shop – you’re overwhelmed- your visual and unconscious senses start to kick in, the colors represent taste your mouth starts to salivate thinking about the lemon drops , you can feel the chocolate as it’s melting in your mouth as a dance hall for your taste buds, all with too many choices. What do you do? How do you choose? What direction do you go?
You’re overwhelmed, with too many choices, what’s the best direction? So you decide to call for help, no one answers, yet instantly you get a text message “I saw you called, what’s up? No real conversation, no real answers; and yet again your visions and thoughts are a roll of incomplete items lingering for action, incomplete things still on your to do, and we both know when incomplete thoughts remain in your sub-conscious your momentum and creativity is blocked and stopped like a clogged drain.
Then even more hilarious is how you described selling your vision in this instant everything culture. I can totally picture trying to pitch and sell my vision to a pouty toddler – that is the perfect picture and may be more valid than you think.
The quote from Albert Einstein; stated “If you can’t explain it to a 6 year old, you don’t understand it yourself”
So the question remains; how do you communicate your vision?
My thoughts:
Clarity, accuracy, cognizability, and tangibility: getting clear on your outcome…
By getting clear on your outcome, you will be using the awesome force of what Napoleon Hill called desire the first step toward riches, Napoleon wrote “All achievement, no matter what may be its nature or it’s purpose, must begin with an intense, burning desire for something definite.”
I did not realize, nor understand what this truly meant until a few years ago when I started on this journey in getting clarity and focus in my own life. I realized my passion, and deep desire of empathy for others being my purpose. Being able to communicate that vision in a way that it becomes tangible for others was journey of its own. The planning, the writing, review and distilling of my thoughts, in to a burning desire to make a difference in what I believe is a Leadership Crisis is our country and across the world.
Okay back to clarity of outcome, here’s your challenge; before you do anything else as it relates to your personal life, or professional work, take time to get crystal clear on where your desired outcomes are headed…see it in your mind’s eye until you feel an emotional tie to it. In other words, the future you create for yourself pulls you in closer to it, and empowers you to take the proper actions in the present. Asking yourself the question is that the direction I want to go?
Let’s talk in 2 weeks, a few points to ponder as you write remember the old adage that says “you are the average of your five closest friends” and as you know I am aware of who I spend my time with, I learned the hard way.
But before I go, remember this story?
There is an interesting fact regarding how elephants are conditioned and trained. When they are first born into or placed in captivity, they have a large and heavily-liked chain attached to one of their legs. The chain is wrapped around a large spike that is driven deep into the ground; thus limiting the elephant’s freedom of movement. Over time – as the elephant struggles against the strength of the chain and spike, it comes to realize the futility of the struggle and accepts its limited range of motion, and begins to give up the struggle.
Next, the trainer or keeper will replace the heavier constraint with a lighter chain and a smaller spike. The elephant will sense the chain around its leg and assume that it is still being “locked down.” Any effort to pull that spike out of the ground and gain its freedom has long since been abandoned and assumed as a fruitless effort.
Finally, a light rope is wrapped around the elephant’s leg and attached to a wooden stake. The elephant makes no effort to free itself; assuming that it would require a supreme effort, when in reality – a simple tug would do. By convincing itself of the futility of the struggles and giving up, the elephant allows itself to be conquered and in the end, this giant is constrained by the simplest means.
When we are faced with challenges or obstacles, do we simply convince ourselves of the futility of the struggle when a simple tug at the rope would free us and set us upon our paths to greater success and freedom? Do we resign ourselves to failure when in reality; a wonderful adventure lies ahead for those whose never give up tugging on the rope?
“The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, learn about them, or even seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan do to along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.” – Denis Waitley
I am wondering how many people I can communicate and share my vision to inspire leadership through self development and growth, to take action and invest in themselves for clarity.
Kindest regards and may His peace be with you till we meet again.
Vicki
P.S. So the moral is, what are you settling with? – How strong are your desires to be more? Steve Jobs believed so much in his vision; he agreed to come to apple for an annual salary of one dollar, plus stock options-was it worth it? How do you create your vision in a noisy-instant world?