"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others." - Jonathan Swift (a fellow Irishman)
A friend of mine once told me, "Experience molds vision." And I thought, pshhh. I have great visions for a great future that are so real I could touch them!...and they don't need molding.
Then a few months went by, and as I grew older and wiser I realized that whether or not visions need molding isn't the point; they just do mold. The reality is that everything we do, see, hear - in short, experience - shapes who we are and who we aspire to be. If we fully live and engage with the people and places we meet along our way, they will leave their mark on us. This is part of being truly human, part of being in a world with so many unturned stones that bid us to never stop looking and learning.
Having a vision can be a beautiful thing if it comes from a heart that is yearning for beauty. It can also be an ugly thing if it comes from a heart that perhaps once yearned for beauty and now has ceased to do so in favor of protecting its own prideful pursuit of power. (I'm not sure power is the right word, but the opportunity for another p was too much to pass up)... What I mean is this: if I have a vision, there is a danger for me to become married to it simply because it is mine (this is often a downfall of amateur entrepreneurs as well); I think it will work, I believe in this vision, I know that people need what I have to offer -- regardless of what the evidence does or doesn't support. If this occurs then my "vision" is no longer about the original vision at all; it is about me, and I will fight for it whether it continues to be a beautiful thing or becomes something futile. A pure vision is one that springs from, and remains within, a pure and malleable heart.
Beauty is utterly intertwined with meaning. As we continue to discover the depth of what is truly meaningful, our vision of beauty and how we reflect it will mold to that understanding as well.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
O Pioneers
"A pioneer should be able to enjoy the idea of things more than the things themselves."
--Willa Cather, O Pioneers!
I personally believe that just about anything is better shared, so please share your ideas and I will share mine. Hopefully by so doing we will create a collection of ideas which are naturally great, if only because of the hearts that invented them. Ready, set, brainstorm.
On the Outside
"Stay outside the box.....it's better out there" --Ward Brehm
Here we shall display people and places that are outside of the box. Why not?
Here we shall display people and places that are outside of the box. Why not?
The Kamikaze Entrepreneur
ka·mi·ka·ze : a Japanese term literally meaning "God" or "spirit" (kami) "wind" (kaze). Usually translated as "divine wind" (used as a noun and an adjective).
en·tre·pre·neur : a French word, which comes from an even older word meaning "to undertake". Interestingly enough, a similar-sounding Sanskrit word meaning "self-motivated" is thought to be historically related. Literally, a "self-motivated undertaker"; and we can at last understand why we've adapted the lovely French word instead of its English equivalent.
An entrepreneur, no matter how much of an innovator, organizer, or manager, is first and foremost a risk-taker. A good entrepreneur will identify these risks and attempt to eliminate them before sinking in too deep, but nevertheless risks have always, and will always, be present. We self-proclaimed entrepreneurs often go into things a bit kamikaze, hurling headlong into an unknown and unwelcoming market with big dreams and little knowledge. Still, this is not why I choose to highlight the kamikaze kind of entrepreneur. This person is perhaps without experience and knowledge, but it is precisely this "greenness" that allows him or her to be swept up in the whirlwinds of unassuming inspiration. Though one may hear their sound or feel them brush across the face, none can quite tell from where they come from or to where they go. And for this reason it is the kamikazes who will soar on these winds; risking a fall to the death over defeat by fear, and in hopes of reaching the heights where sorrows melt and bluebirds fly and dreams come true....
But why blog about this? You may know that blogs usually make me cynical, and I tend to laugh at them rather than read them. But upon request I have taken up the challenge to blog my findings as I begin my career of a self-employed researcher. My promise to the readers is that this will not be my online diary, nor my online trophy case. My goal instead is to present an online research journal and brainstorming outlet for those of you like me who are entrepreneurs at heart. Yes, at heart and perhaps not yet in action, but as Willa Cather wrote in her book O Pioneers!, "The history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman." Maybe the same for the history of every business? At least the kind that we kamikaze entrepreneurs dream of.
Don't confuse us with the mere dreamers of the world. Dreamers dream but don't always act, while we will attempt - one little rise at a time, upon each little breath of wind - to bring the things of our dreams to life.
en·tre·pre·neur : a French word, which comes from an even older word meaning "to undertake". Interestingly enough, a similar-sounding Sanskrit word meaning "self-motivated" is thought to be historically related. Literally, a "self-motivated undertaker"; and we can at last understand why we've adapted the lovely French word instead of its English equivalent.
An entrepreneur, no matter how much of an innovator, organizer, or manager, is first and foremost a risk-taker. A good entrepreneur will identify these risks and attempt to eliminate them before sinking in too deep, but nevertheless risks have always, and will always, be present. We self-proclaimed entrepreneurs often go into things a bit kamikaze, hurling headlong into an unknown and unwelcoming market with big dreams and little knowledge. Still, this is not why I choose to highlight the kamikaze kind of entrepreneur. This person is perhaps without experience and knowledge, but it is precisely this "greenness" that allows him or her to be swept up in the whirlwinds of unassuming inspiration. Though one may hear their sound or feel them brush across the face, none can quite tell from where they come from or to where they go. And for this reason it is the kamikazes who will soar on these winds; risking a fall to the death over defeat by fear, and in hopes of reaching the heights where sorrows melt and bluebirds fly and dreams come true....
But why blog about this? You may know that blogs usually make me cynical, and I tend to laugh at them rather than read them. But upon request I have taken up the challenge to blog my findings as I begin my career of a self-employed researcher. My promise to the readers is that this will not be my online diary, nor my online trophy case. My goal instead is to present an online research journal and brainstorming outlet for those of you like me who are entrepreneurs at heart. Yes, at heart and perhaps not yet in action, but as Willa Cather wrote in her book O Pioneers!, "The history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman." Maybe the same for the history of every business? At least the kind that we kamikaze entrepreneurs dream of.
Don't confuse us with the mere dreamers of the world. Dreamers dream but don't always act, while we will attempt - one little rise at a time, upon each little breath of wind - to bring the things of our dreams to life.
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