As entrepreneurs, or anybody who holds a dream unfulfilled, we spend our lives tinkering with a universe that doesn’t yet exist. Leaders who are able to move people are those who are able to dream of things that never were. It is in describing the beauty that comes with a better tomorrow that imaginations are sparked and hearts are touched.
Great leaders throughout history each had a vision for the contribution they wanted to make to the people around them, to humanity, or to the world. This vision was focused not on them but on a greater purpose, which would improve the lives of others or the world at large. In this sense, I use the words purpose and vision interchangeably, to describe a contribution-centric legacy.
Creating a vision for your life and your life’s work ensures that everything you do aligns to your purpose, giving your life’s work a direction and a meaning that fuels you along the journey.
The vision Einstein held for his life was to be able to articulate the universe in one short, elegant formula. The vision Oprah holds for her life is to elevate the consciousness of humanity. The vision that Steve Jobs held for his life was to make a dent in the universe. The vision that Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal and founder of SolarCity and SpaceX, holds for his life is to enable the future of humanity.
I’ll use myself as an example – not because I’m saying I have achieved greatness, but because I am an ordinary person following the principles of those who have.
The vision I hold for my life’s work is to push civilisation forward by enabling more people to live on purpose. This purpose influences everything I decide to work on and, more importantly, everything I decide not to work on.
It is my guiding star, which reminds me what my life’s work is for, and therefore I only engage in businesses and projects that will enable me to move towards the actualisation of my vision. Your vision is the contribution you want to make and can only be formed from your own unique sense of purpose.
It’s important to note that, while many of the examples I’ve just given are from people who want to make a global impact, this certainly does not need to influence the scale of your vision.
Remember, legacy cares not for scale – it’s not about breadth; it’s about depth. It’s not about how far-reaching it is, only how deeply your vision resonates with you. If you were to craft a global vision for your life because that’s what Steve Jobs did, then really you are following the influence of OPRs rather than your heart.
Some questions to ask yourself, explore and wrestle with over time (this is not a 15-minute exercise) are:
- What do I want my life to be about?
- What am I great at?
- What change would I love to see in the world?
- What would I love the ultimate contribution of my life to be?
Mould your responses to these questions into a single sentence that inspires you, and this will be your vision.
Having a clear vision for your life and your life’s work not only guides and directs your own decisions but also provides leadership to those whom you enrol on the journey. Everybody wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Everybody, including you and me, longs to be a part of something that matters.
Leadership demands that you have a claim on the future. Great leadership enables you and your people to consistently achieve the impossible, time and time again. By having a clear vision, you will be one of the few who are bold enough to truly create the future.
Leadership is about guiding people to a particular destination. Without a vision as to where you are going, by definition you cannot be leading. Yet so many people avoid dreaming of the future or speaking of where they would like to go out of fear of not getting there. As a leader, this is not good enough. Your role, first and foremost, is to imagine what is possible, reinvent tomorrow, and make it how you see it.
One of the common misconceptions that exists around leadership is that people are “born great leaders”. I don’t buy into this. Instead, I view leadership as a skill that can be learnt and developed.
I just love the way you talk. Im supposed to be over the hill as it were. But hey, its not my fault being 40 something trappedvin a 60 something body. I totally agree with your opinions on the lack of real life education our schools do not teach. Thats a worry. We have a country full of clones with little to no numbers who are visionaries and want to rule. Maybe thats being a little harsh as I do think that the youngvare starting to come out of the woodwork protesting the politics of the country. Im hopeful.
Love your work
At the end of the day, while true leaders have an incredible vision and create a path to achieve that vision – they get the most out of those around them by genuinely being able to make it not all about them. Enabling those around us to succeed, grow and achieve their own goals as part of the vision is the only way to make a true high performance organization. This requires one to park the ego and invest in those around you to get to their next/highest levels.