When you have a good idea, take the time to write it down.
You won’t remember it later
The person you are talking to can wait.
Saying “I should write that down” does not count.
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Your vision demands interactions. It wants you to sell it, to push it, and to proclaim it at every opportunity. But it can’t grow without a little loneliness. It can’t expand to fill its own potential until you schedule enough time off from the day to day to get to the bottom of your own thoughts. In short, you’ve got to push past the discomfort. You have to resist the urge to reach out to someone and spend time truly alone with your vision. It deserves your full attention. When I was a kid, I knew that I was my own worst enemy. I was always distracted by new things, never knew how to show up anywhere on time, and thought that each and every authority deserved to be questioned. I promised myself that when I grew up, I’d stop messing around and get serious about being like everyone else. But when I grew up, I realized that all of those bad habits were really useful. They made me see the world differently, and helped me accomplish things others people said were impossible. So before you give up your wicked ways, determine how much they help you and hurt you. You might be surprised to find that they aren’t that wicked after all. There are times in our lives where we are totally lost. We don’t know what the next step is or where we are headed. The best solution to being lost is to try things. Go out and dip your toes into every pool you can find. Eventually, something will reach out and grab you. Until that happens, you’ve got to keep searching. But we aren’t always lost. Sometimes we just don’t like our choices. And when you find yourself stuck between two or three choices, trying out new activities is just a distraction designed to keep you from your decision. They aren’t going to help. You’ve got to sit down and make a decision. So the real question is “Are you lost?” Most leaders are booked up solid. We’ve got meetings to attend, errands to run, and paperwork to process. Most of my week, for example, is spoken for before it even starts. But that kind of schedule doesn’t leave anytime to work on a vision. There’s no time to daydream about the future or examine the distant past. There is only the present, always and forever. This week, do your organization a favor. Schedule a half day of nothing. No meetings, no paperwork, no errands. Just you and your thoughts. I think you’ll surprise yourself. The process of finding solutions to problems is time-consuming. You have to examine the problem, understand the broken parts, propose a solution, test the solution, and evaluate the results. For some people, this is simply too much work. They have something better than a solution: an ideology. For these folks, the best solution to any problem is the one they proposed last time. Coincidentally, this will also be the same solution they propose next time, regardless of the outcomes that arose from the last time they held the reins. Solutions are difficult and complicated. They require thoughtfulness and agility. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. Money isn’t your limiting factor. Your vision is the limiting factor. More money is needed to fuel some projects, the ones that are ready to make the leap because they are bursting at the seams with energy, promise, and results. Once you have those results (and get the money to match), you’re going to get a whole bunch of new decisions: Where will you build your corporate office? Which CEO is needed to bring your business to the next level? What communities (of all the ones in the whole world) deserve your nonprofit’s attention? No matter how much money you have, you still have to answer tough questions. You are still responsible for the marketing promises you’ve made. You’ll still have rough days, but now they’re on a larger scale and with higher stakes. At the end of the day, money isn’t going to make things any easier. It can only confront you with a different set of decisions, expectations, and opportunities. Your vision, above all else, determines your impact on the world. Money is neutral. |
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Copyright © 2012 Mark Truman - All Rights Reserved |
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