Be Your Own Visionary

There is no doubt that we are in a time of monumental change. Banking experts and government leaders are paving the way for a new tomorrow, many of us hope. However, what we need are new voices, new visionaries. All we have to do is look in the mirror. Who knows what any of us might be able to add to the mix? Thought leaders, such as Albert Einstein, have throughout the ages understood that we cannot solve the problems of today using the perspectives that created them. It is time for those who have been quietly keeping to themselves or the ones who have long gone unnoticed by popular culture to step out of the shadows and infuse the main stream with a new energy and consciousness. This wonderfully creative process can start with each one of us, being visionaries for ourselves.

Perhaps you have been wanting to do things differently. Take a few minutes. Make some quiet time for yourself or go above and beyond and focus in the midst of chaos. Let that desire for change sink in. From its depths allow the ideas that are unique to who you are and your experiences to spring forth. Innovative visionaries such as Paul Hawken, Peter Senge, and Jacob Needleman have for decades espoused the ideals that can help each individual create collective, positive change. Their work is aligned with the burgeoning green movement. It has been happening one person at a time. Men and women, young and old, and people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds hold the key to creating a sustainable Earth. Listen to your own voice. Be courageous enough to share your thoughts with others, as the men listed above have done. They have taken up the challenge. What valuable insight can you add to the times of today? Perhaps you can add a feminine perspective? Do you have some great ideas on how to breathe new life into your rural hometown’s economy, or would you like to create new ways to support change through inner-city programs?

Paul Hawken, co-founder of the company Smith & Hawken, wrote Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution, calling for industry and government to transform the way we do business now by using biological and social frameworks to inform our decisions, which is a key part of going green. Peter Senge wrote The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, positing that businesses are dynamic learning organizations. As companies re-create themselves for a new era, this understanding will be crucial. While Jacob Needleman has authored numerous books including The American Soul, which among other interesting ideas describes how the uniqueness of the American spirit can guide us to greater awareness and transformation. These visionaries know that they have not gone it alone. They observed the world around them. Took into account their own needs, values, and desires as well as those of their communities and created seeds of change. What have you observed? What do you need? In this time of deep reflection, listen to your heart and articulate your vision with your own voice. Then, be sure to share it with the world!

Lorraine Lyman, MS, is the founder of Savvy Success Unlimited, (http://www.savvysuccessunlimited.com), and the author of several papers on global sustainability, consciousness, and community. A business and life coaching company, Savvy Success Unlimited, specializes in the organizational embodiment of the green movement’s values and practices as well as using our inner strength to transform the world around us.