February 2019 - Beyond the Crucible by Warwick Fairfax

Science fiction at its best holds the promise of what can be.

It is idealistic and hopeful. That is what vision, at least great vision, is about – a clear picture of a better tomorrow.

My first introduction to science fiction was through the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey,” which came out in 1968. From the very first scene, I was transfixed. Many technologies that did not exist at the time, but would exist decades later, were shown. So many touches are designed to make you feel like you are there. When Dr. Floyd is on the space station, he uses voice print identification, a technology that would not exist until the late 1990s. Later on, we see Dr. Floyd in a Bell telephone video conference booth to wish his young daughter back on earth a happy birthday. Affordable video conferencing with webcams came in the 1990s, while the iPhone, which would have video call technology, was launched in 2007. Later, we see three scientists in cryogenic hibernation on a spacecraft run by a highly sophisticated, emotionally intelligent talking computer named HAL. While we have computer devices we can talk to and get answers from like Siri or Alexa, we still don’t have sophisticated emotionally intelligent AI devices like HAL, at least not yet!

The world that is created within this movie gives such a precise picture of a better tomorrow. A great personal or professional vision is often like this – a clear picture of a preferred future and a better tomorrow. It feels so real that you can almost touch it. It feels so real that you would want to live there – you want that vision to happen now.

Another great example of this is the original “Star Trek” series that came out in 1966. The show imagines a world where a collection of planets has banded together under an organization called the United Federation of Planets. Within the Federation there are no wars or poverty. It’s almost a utopian society. Starfleet is the defensive, scientific, and exploratory arm of the Federation, composed of many spacecrafts. Starfleet’s mission in the original 1966 series was, famously, “to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

Science fiction at its best such as “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Star Trek” provide a great example of vision. It is bold and feels far removed from where we are, but yet also feels attainable. The clarity of the vision makes it seem so real. Who of us would not want a future with a more peaceful, inclusive society or with great technological advances?

We spoke in the last blog of how vision often arises out of something you feel must change, perhaps relating to a crucible experience. But vision can also arise out of something that you feel could happen. You lie awake at night dreaming about it. Start thinking about what is it that you would like to have happen. Think far into the future. What would life look like? Once you have that vision in your head, write it down. Fill in the details of the vision, so that you can almost feel it and touch it. You know you have arrived at a good vision when it feels almost impossible — but not quite.

The next step is to get a core team together who share the same vision. The technology or infrastructure may not yet exist to make all of your vision become reality. But get started on a piece of it. What can you do now? What is the first step?

The takeaway here is to let your imagination go. It may take time, even years, for your vision to become clear, but start today. Boldly go where no one has gone before.

Reflection

What is your vision of a better tomorrow?

Next Steps

What first step will you take to make the vision happen?

Below are some next steps to get started:

Write down what you feel would be amazing if it could happen.
Imagine a time a few years from now when your vision has become reality. Write down what you see or paint a picture of what life looks like in this vision.
Share your vision with a core team that believes in the vision. Ask them to add to it and make it better.

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Finding Your Vision

Vision is a picture of a preferred future reality. It may seem almost impossible to achieve, but that is not a deterrent. You may not have a clear picture of what you want your vision to be or where you want to take your life, but you often have an idea, a thought. It calls out to you, compels you, and fills you with a passion unlike any you’ve felt before. I like to compare it to an impressionist painting more so than a photo. You can see colors and shapes, even if they are not well defined. You have a sense of what you want your life to look like and what your purpose should be. It’s exciting — propelling you forward with every thought.

The question many people will have is how you find your vision. Vision may come out of a crucible experience you have had. It’s often the most challenging and painful experiences in life that move people into finding their vision. Look at all the things you don’t like and want to change. Look at all the things you enjoy that you want to continue to serve. Out of all of those things, which are you really passionate about?

Forming Your Vision

So how do you form a vision that is so compelling, that you are so passionate about? I like to think that the best-formed visions live at the intersection of your deep-seated beliefs and your aptitude. It starts with being grounded in your fundamental beliefs. A vision that will go the distance must fulfill a higher purpose — something that you believe will make the world a better place. Circumstances such as crucible experiences often provide fertile ground for understanding who you really are and what innate gifts and abilities you have. Creating a vision for yourself that fully aligns with who you are sets the foundation for you to live and lead with uncompromised authenticity.

In an earlier blog post, I spoke of Walt Disney. He had a vision of a different kind of cartoon, cartoons like Snow White that would be full feature-length movies that would tell a compelling story. It helped that Walt Disney was an animator that could inspire others with the vision he wanted to achieve.

Vision can sometimes seem hard to define. But a vision that is anchored in who you are and what you believe, defined and refined by circumstances such as crucible experiences and fueled by a higher purpose, will become clear and grow over time. Walt Disney did not necessarily have a vision of everything he would achieve, but he was fascinated with animated cartoons and the ability to tell stories. He knew that there was promise there, he believed in what his vision was, and so he began the journey of turning it into a reality.

What we learn from Walt Disney is that vision may change, evolve, and grow into something greater or different than you originally intended, but this is alright. The important thing is to start. Begin with what you feel needs to change, perhaps as a result of a crucible experience, then take one step at a time. The vision will become more defined over time. Trust your instincts and trust the process as your vision begins to slowly evolve and take shape.

Making It Stick

Seeing your vision take hold and grow in clarity is not easy — it may take years. Inevitably there will be challenges and setbacks. So how do you keep going and persevere? It is critical that you have a support team that believes in you and your vision, people who are with you no matter what. It could be family members, or it could be the team that you are going to build the vision with. If the vision is all about you, you will probably find it hard to attract people to help you or be part of your vision.

To have staying power, you also have to believe in what you are doing. Always remember why you started this journey and why it’s important to you that you see it through. Don’t let fear or doubt hold you back. A vision that will go the distance must fulfill a higher purpose, something that you believe will make the world a better place. This will always help compel you and your team forward.

There’s no better time than now to begin your journey to finding your vision, forming it, and giving it the necessary ingredients to make it become a reality.

What dream do you have that you would like to become reality? Get out your paintbrush and start painting. Brush stroke by brush stroke, you will fill in your vision and bring it to life in ways you could never imagine.