“Visionary builds what dreamers imagined.”
― Toba Beta
The visionaries of any generation, from Da Vinci to Steve Jobs, are defined by their ability to turn their ideas into transformational realities. Yet, for most of us, too many great ideas die in the womb. We often hear about this mystical 80/20 rule, but how do we actually put it into use when, a lot of the time, our “focus” lacks focus?
Astronauts and Slaves
Most people have an overly romanticized and inconsistent relationship with their dreams. They either jump too fast without a parachute or remain paralyzed by whatever excuses rule their minds. There are two types of such personalities.
The Astronaut
This type romanticizes that magical “AHA” moment as the path less traveled morphs into their very own yellow brick road. Success is usually reduced to a sequence of five second cut scenes paired with the theme music from Rocky. Never planning two moves ahead, they quit their jobs and jump ship with no lifeboat. Not surprisingly, it usually isn’t long before the realities of rent and bills catch up to them. Initial focus is quickly replaced by panic and their motivation goes along with it.
The Slave
With unfaltering clarity in one hand and meticulous focus in the other, the peak of their Everest feels within reach. For a brief moment, the impossible seems ordinary as they dip their toe into what could be. They try to plan and strategize, but end up spending most of their time overanalyzing until they are left paralyzed by the chains of their overly detailed maps. Their conceptual understanding of the next 2,793 steps leaves them incapable of taking the first one. All that they reveal to themselves is just how much they don’t know and can’t do. As their initial focus flees, they are left somewhere between too anxious and too overwhelmed to ever get off the ground.
Stop Trying to Play the Tournament in One Match
In sports, games are played one round at a time. To do anything, our brain absorbs information, reflects on it, and follows up with appropriate action. While this process is often seen as linear, this is an invitation to see it a little differently. Imagine a tennis court with two players.
On one side you have ACTION
When we act as astronauts, our information ball is too small for either player to hit. Thus, there is no real basis for successful execution. When we act as slaves, we try to play tennis with a bowling ball and break our mental rackets. Yet when we play with the right amount of information, point by point, we allow our ideas to steadily develop. It may not happen as quickly as our egos would like it to, but it does happen. We must retire any preconceived notions about “how long” or “how hard” something should be and embrace how it is. Ironically, once we do that, the game instantly becomes shorter and easier.
We unconsciously do this all the time. We often forget that walking was once just a foreign idea to us. Yet somehow, our toddler brains were able to teach these two blobs, known as our legs, to carry us for the rest of our lives! We didn’t ponder the task for years, nor did we try to run marathons for our first steps. Unperplexed by all the worries and doubts that came with age, we took one step, then another, then another. We just did it. To channel this youthful ignorance and genuine curious mindset is to channel victory in anything we do. To see the world like a child is to get out of your own head, step into the moment, observe, learn, and ultimately, create like the great visionaries do.