by Andres Valdes | Leadership
Photo by Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash
“It’s vision.”
That’s what Lewis Howes, the entrepreneur and host of the “School of Greatness” podcast answered when asked on the Bigger Pockets podcast what the greats have in common.
Howes has interviewed hundreds of people who have achieved remarkable things so when he says something like this I pay attention.
I don’t know if it’s because it’s 2020 or the “year of vision”, but this topic keeps coming up. The impact of vision has become so apparent that I see its effect everywhere.
I see it in Elon Musk’s quest to bring human life to mars.
We can see it when we listen to Martin Luther King Jr’s, “I have a dream” speech.
At the grand opening of Walt Disney World in Orlando, a reporter said to Lillian Disney (Walt Disney’s wife) that it was unfortunate that her husband could not be there to see it finished (Walt Disney had since passed away). And she responded by saying he saw it more clearly than anyone else.
When Nelson Mandela was released from prison and he spoke about a “rainbow nation” of united people in South Africa that was vision.
Born blind and deaf, Hellen Keller would fight her way to becoming an activist for several social causes, a speaker, and an author. She famously said, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision”.
The bible says in Proverbs 29:18 says that without vision the people perish. And there are over 130 scriptures that mention vision.
But what is vision?
Merriam Webster defines vision as “a mode of seeing or conceiving”. But it’s more than that.
I’m listening to a book called “How to Stay Motivated” by Zig Ziglar (deceased) one of my favorite people of all time by the way and in it, he shares my favorite definition of vision when he describes it as “a clearly articulated results-oriented picture of a future you intend to create.”
The key word here is YOU.
The future YOU intend to create.
But if vision is so impactful and critical then why do so few of us have it?
I heard leadership guru Simon Sinek say that not all of us are visionaries so we can’t have a vision. But I disagree.
I’m starting to think that we all have a vision for life or a picture of the future, but that image is not always one that we have carefully and intentionally designed.
Is it possible that some of us have attached ourselves to personal visions that limit or even prevent us from reaching our potential or having better lives? I think so.
So how can we create a mental picture of an aspirational personal future? And if this tool or ability is freely accessible to all then why doesn’t everyone do this naturally?
What’s your spark?
One possible reason we don’t instinctively create compelling personal visions is that we are lacking a creative or inspirational spark that comes from some type of experience (both positive or negative).
We need something to inspire us or wake us up to override the default mental programming we’ve involuntarily downloaded from social conditioning, cultural expectations, past experiences, and perceived limitations.
So how do we create a spark that inspires a compelling personal life vision? I’m not sure but I have some ideas. This would be a great problem to solve, so I’ll be obsessing over this for the next year and I’m thinking about writing a book on this topic.
But aside from those unexpected experiences that force us to look for a better future, other sparks can be asking good questions that make us think about the future we want to create. We can also get this spark from
- Journaling
- Take some downtime to reflect on the future
- TedTalks and great conversations
- Great books
- Coaching
So, how are you creating a tomorrow that is bigger and better than your today?
by Andres Valdes | Leadership
Image Credit: Howard Bouchevereau on Unsplash
For years there’s been one ongoing debate in the basketball world. Who is the GOAT? Is it Michael Jordan or Lebron James?
Sports broadcasters debate this on-air, athletes argue about it in locker rooms, and even friendships are strained because of how passionately basketball fans feel about this question. A colleague and I have been debating this for a year every time the question comes up.
So, who is the GOAT?
While Jordan is still my favorite there is one area in which King James is truly untouchable.
Lebron has been playing in the NBA for over 17 years. But years playing can be deceiving because for mere mortals the final years are normally spent on the bench or just playing a minor role. Most Jordan fans easily overlook his final year playing with Washington Wizards; we don’t count that time when we talk about “the Jordan years”.
But for King James; his statistics show that he’s still getting better despite being well past prime years for basketball. His scoring, field goal percentage, and his assists are all better now at age 34.
And the scariest part is that we don’t know if he’s reached his peak yet. This isn’t humanely possible.
When is comes to consistently performing at the highest levels, there’s no question that Lebron is untouchable. So, what’s Lebron’s gift or zone of genius?
I said it before that Jordan’s gift was a mindset that loved constant improvement. Lebron’s gift is the ability to remain disciplined for long durations.
He’s the GOAT of sustained self-discipline.
When you watch Lebron play or check out his highlights what you are witnessing is a man who has lived a life of self-discipline for years.
Lebron spends upwards of 1.5 million dollars per year caring for his body. He sleeps in an oxygen chamber, sets the temperature in hotel rooms to 68 to 70 degrees, and turns off all lights. He doesn’t buy mobile apps, turns of roaming on his cell phone when traveling, and uses free versions of software like Pandora all of this to control unesessary spending.
He’s never been involved in any off-court drama.
He married his high school sweetheart.
And he works out intensely during the off season.
You know what all this shows?
Discipline.
When you watch people like Lebron perform what we are actually witnessing is the power of concentrated self-discipline. Despite his size and speed, King James would not have been able to do what he’s done without discipline. That’s his secret sauce.
Where Jordan’s gift was a mindset for constant improvement, Lebron’s God-given talent is the ability to remain self-disciplined in perpetuity.
People who are great at what they do like Warren Buffet, Jeff Bezos, Denzel Washington, you name it, all have demonstrated insane discipline in at least one area.
Is there any area of your life where moe discipline can help you?
by Andres Valdes | Leadership
Image credit: Zbysiu Rodak on Unsplash
Recently, I’ve had a few conversations with people who seem defeated as they describe all of the problems we are witnessing today like global instability, war, wealth inequality, political infighting, the environment, etc.
They’re so disappointed that the world doesn’t have the right leaders to solve these problems. I’d be sad too if I had that mindset, so I can’t blame them.
But what if we saw things differently?
What if we started seeing problems as opportunities in disguise that are just waiting for regular people to fill the leadership void?
The issues and problems we are so troubled by can be great opportunities waiting for regular people to show creativity, curiosity, and a committement to doing something.
And instead of thinking about EVERY problem, what would happen if we only focused on the specific problem we are best equipped to solve? Maybe there’s that one issue that drives you crazy or that you have particular skills that can be applied to this problem.
Here’s another way to think about this.
What problem are you best equipped to address with the gifts, resources, network, and abilities you have?
Geoffrey Canada, started New York City’s “Harlem’s Children Zone“, a charter school focusing on not just the student’s educational life, but their home environment and community too.
When learning as a child that Superman was a fictional character, Canada came to the realization that “Superman is not coming to save you.” Since then, Canada has applied this philosophy to his personal life too.
Canada started by focusing on one problem- ending intergenerational poverty in Central Harlem.
Sometimes without even knowing it, we find ourselves waiting for some superhero (politicians, teachers, our boss, or just anyone but me) to step forward and solve our biggest problems.
But what happens if this this superhero doesn’t show up?
What would happen if you stop looking for others to do something and instead become the superhero (leader) you are looking for?
No one else on this planet can take your place, think like you, or do what you can do. Not one of the billions of people alive has your combination of experiences, relationships, vision, personality, aspirations, and dreams.
As Doctor Seuss famously said,
“Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no alive that is Youer than you.”
What would happen if we started to see opportunities where most saw problems? How would this world be different if we saw ourselves as uniquely suited to solve very specific needs?
It’s possible, but it starts when we become the leaders we are looking for.
