This is dedicated to the visionary's - the ones who have experienced the dark side of inspiration and passion, who've known madness, and created new and better realities from it.
6 Attributes of the Visionary Leader
Action Style: Determination
Endurance
Strategic Analysis
Resilience
Culture / Community
Purpose
Natural Cycle
“The greatness of their vision is born in the darkness of potential. They see what is hidden. They see the light within the dark, what lives beyond the edge, what no one else can see. ”
A visionary sees what cannot be seen. They see in the dark, eyes brimming with madness as they explore the furthest edges of creativity, purpose, and genius. They submerge themselves in the quest to understand and reveal the deepest reaches of life. The visionary sees the unseen and creates new realities from it.
We know some of them by name - Billie Jean, Steve, Michael, Muhammad, Martin Luther, Winston, Abraham, Thomas. They changed the world. They changed the way we live, and the way we understand ourselves. And yet, for how much they've shaped our understanding, we don't fully understand them. Their passion is fierce, their devotion unrelenting. Their action, determined. They don't serve people, they serve purposes. They don’t play by the same rules as the rest of the world - they innovate and create a whole new set of rules that changes the reality we all live in. The greatness of their vision is born in the darkness of potential. They see what is hidden. They see the light within the dark, what lives beyond the edge, what no one else can see.
The visionary is resilient in their service to the vision. They are set upon outliving their opponent, and their opponent is not a person, their opponent is the darkness, the madness, the un-manifested vision. It is only when the vision is brought to life that others can begin to understand the madness of the visionary. When others can experience the tangible result of the leader's devotion to their vision, can they appreciate the genius of their madness.
We all possess the power of vision.
It was visiting hours. I stood in the middle of a the psych ward. I was looking out the window - furious and crestfallen. I didn’t know what to say. I loved her, and I also knew I couldn’t help her. I turned around, and looked her straight in the eyes.
She stared back at me.
"You have a choice." I said. "We all have a choice."
I opened both my palms, as if I was holding something in them.
"Power. It's right here (opening my palms.) It's raw. It doesn't have any rules. It can create and destroy. You choose what you do with it. No one can choose for you. I can't chose for you right now. I wish I could. I know your choice feels made for you. It’s not. You have a choice. Create or Destroy. I’ve been there. I’ve seen the madness and darkness. I know how it feels. I also know you have a choice. So, choose. The power is always there, but you choose what you do with it. Whether you live or die. Create or destroy."
To see the light, we must feel the darkness. Then we must choose what to serve.
Greatness comes at a cost. To be great, to be truly visionary, we must be willing to dig into the depths of the unknown and unseen, to travel into the deepest reaches of passion without being consumed by the madness of the visions we see. We must choose - to create or destroy.
Discover Within, Expand Beyond
Rachel