VISIONARY LEADERS

The hardest thing in the world is being a Visionary Leader. Not just a leader, but a visionary leader.

Recently I have started a new business project with some couple of friends of mine, and as we seek to expand our business I have notice something quite strikingly prevalent in so many people; most people they don’t believe. Not that they don’t believe but what I mean is they don’t believe in dreams or the goodness of life. They don’t believe it can be possible to live the lives they want to lead and so they find any means and reason to support that belief of lack of belief.

Most people want to play it “sane”; they don’t want to be seen as delusional or as Dreamer. That is a relatively highest persecution or indictment that they perceive they can receive, so they bland out and try to be reasonable in their aspirations. They gather facts and opinions and try to mould their ideals to those facts. Most people don’t dare to be wrong and to mess up or try because of one common mental disease that plagues all man of all colour or nationality or creed, the fear of failure. Most people want to avoid this experience at all cost, even if meaning surrenderng their ideals and wishes. In fact most people are so fearful of this that they would try to caution others who seem to be daring enough to skid on the edge of the cliff in order to see the horizon clearly. Most people would use any tact to discourage someone who seems to be holding a vision inside so strong that it shines out to those who have held it but allowed it to get dimmed by a fear filled world.

“Being a visionary takes heart. Not mental capacity, not incredible talent or strength, not incredible physique. Heart.”

People resent anyone or anything that would remind them of the aspiration that they have long givev up on because they have chosen to listen to the facts and opinions of everyone else. You see, being a visionary means you are using Insight – sight from within – to see something that cannot be seen with the eyes but with the heart. Being a visionary takes heart. Not mental capacity, not incredible talent or strength, not incredible physique. Heart. The simplest yet deadliest ingredient because you see, those who are now fearful spectators of life, were once dreamers but have had their hearts crushed by a realistic world. By facts of it "can’t be done" and opinions of impossibility.  

Many people have their hearts desire stolenbecause they chose to believe that anyone besides themselves to know better for what’s right for them; knows the truth. Many people allowed themselves to be dissuaded from their dreams because of not being cautious of whom they share their dreams with. You have to be wise and cautious.

A dream is a fragile thing. And you have got to take care of it. It is like planting a tree, you have to nurture it and protect it. Protect it from the blazing sun (cynical people) and dried up soil (indifferent people) and noxious weeds. That is why being a visionary leader is the toughest position to uphold. You will have to deal with the ills and infections of the world that is filled by scorned dreamers. We are all dreamers, because we were all once kids. And it is that moment that we assumed the roles of being “adults” that we lost our capacity to dream. And the work of a Visionary Leader is to rekindle and remind the burnt dreamers of their once childish zeal for expecting the goodness of life as the norm. Nothing significant has ever been brought by a realist. What realists are, are observers of the past, what visionaries are, are the creators of the future.  And ultimately: 

Be a Visionary and move the world to a brighter tomorrow, through your ideals. And remember that they job of a leader is to turn vision into reality, sceptics into believers. And that is not an easy job. But leaders are not born out of easy circumstances but tough decisions. Dare to be a dreamer.