What does it mean to live your life from a stand?  How do people who try to stand for something fall into the trap of forming a position, from which they lose their vision, passion, compassion and power to cause the kind of change they intended?  What does it mean to live a visionary life–to think, speak and operate from a place of authentic power?

Embark on this journey inside of our Visionary Mind Shifts program, and continue it with the Visionary Mind home study program, an experiential program of self-inquiry and visionary thinking.
Then if you’re ready to be the visionary change agent that the future requires, then go learn how you can be part of the emerging One Million Visionary Campaign and possibly be one of 30 visionaries to lead the way in 2007.

We all have ideals and values we want to uphold, and as we encounter resistance, we begin to form and strengthen our ideological positions.

Watch this video of a pastor in Ohio, who is standing up for what he believes. In his mind he is fighting the “secular jihadists!” It’s good against evil and god is on his side.

He is fighting “evil,” just as George Bush is doing, just as Osama Bin Laden is doing, just as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is doing, just as Hugo Chavez is doing…

Isn’t it wonderful we have so many people fighting evil? If we keep it up, all the evil will be gone in no time! lol

Now, this man, no doubt, is really standing for values we can all relate to. He wants children to be raised with good values, he wants us all to be good people, etc., etc. It’s the tactics that we must call into question. Are his tactics really even forwarding his own objectives in the long run? Is defeating our ideological enemies a sustainable method of positive change?

Looking deeper than an ideological position, what is formed by caring, passionate people who are trying their best to stand for something is what I’d call a psychological position, which becomes a barrier that frames our view of reality–barriers beyond which we cannot see.

This man is fighting the ACLU, an organization of human beings who are standing for people’s rights. Because they are supporting legislation and solutions that conflict with the ones he thinks are correct, they must be the evil enemy. Indeed, he cannot see people when he looks at them. He cannot see caring, passionate people who are also standing for worthwhile values.

Beyond the specific strategic solutions they support, the ACLU is simply standing for human beings, for their freedom, for their dignity. Who can oppose that? No doubt this pastor shares the same values. So why can we not collaborate and co-create in ways that work for all of us?
Rather than all of us fighting evil, why don’t what if we start standing together more for the values we hold in common?

The day will come, I do see, when all the world will view our current ways of thinking and communicating with one another as quite silly. Literally silly–ridiculous even. People of all ideologies will come to see how living this way, at the level of position, is antithetical to all of our values, and it feeds our devolution into people who cannot use our god-given (however you define that term) faculties of human consciousness.

I believe we can all rise to the level of vision. We can learn to think, communicate and interact at higher levels of consciousness; and, indeed, many of us are discovering how to do this at present.

Does our future demand finding the one and only true belief, joining the army of the righteous and defeating the evil ones?

Or does our future require us learning to rise above such positionary thinking?

No one needs to be afraid, for giving up positionary thinking does not mean giving up your ideals or compromising your values. It only seems that way, because from a position there is not much vision. I say, we as human beings are visionaries by nature–meaning we have the innate capacity to live at the level of vision. And I say it’s time we learn to make this shift in thinking.

“I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” –Anne Frank

Please comment…

Behind the scenes over here in the world of VisionForce, we’ve been quietly planning a movement called, One Million Visionaries. The idea was born and began to grow as we watched Clovis Ategeka, a blooming young Ugandan visionary promptly set out to change the world after simply downloading our Vision Force 101 program.

Imagine, one million Clovises, or one million gandhis, stepping forward with vision and in unison as they take a stand for all of humanity! Through this campaign we envision training one million visionaries in high-level visionary leadership skills over the internet–and for free. It’s much bigger than that and we are going to share the bigger vision and plan on a private conference call next Wednesday evening at 8pm Eastern. You’re invited to listen in live! If you want to be on the call, listening in, go mark that date and time on your calendar right away. Then we’ll send you an invite with the specific call in number (if you’re on our Visionary Mind Shifts list)! Stay tuned…

Something’s a brewin’ here in Austin, TX!

This evening I spoke to a revolutionary (and fellow zaadzster) with a vision for how human beings can solve the world’s problems in the next 50 years and create a world that really works for everyone… through entrepreneurship!

Right now it seems that most people who are passionate about issues like the environment, global warming, social justice, extreme poverty, etc. blame capitalism and entrepreneurship.

And most people who are passionate about business, free markets and entrepreneurship consider the aforementioned causes and people who champion them to be adversaries.

These two sides have been taking positions and battling each other in order to further their idea of a better world and a just society. What the man I spoke with tonight sees is how all of us as human beings can use our creative minds and entrepreneurial spirit to “flow” together and create a better world, a world that works for all of us. In fact, he partnered with Whole Foods CEO, John Mackey to create an organization called FLOW, to promote this vision and facilitate a movement where people passionately take up the cause of creating a world that works for all of us throught creativity and entrepreneurship.

This is a movement whose time has come.

More and more I see young people awakening to a vision of living a visionary life, a life without limits guided by their own vision, a vision that calls them into heroic action to create a better world. I see the idea of a visionary life becoming a meme. I see it becoming what’s next and what’s cool.

Zaadz is furthering this vision, this idea, this meme, this movement by creating a community where conscious, entrepreneurial people can come together.

I am seeing more and more incredible parallels and synergies for Vision Force, FLOW, Zaadz and other organizations as we bring this new world to life, and on my drive home the thought again occured to me of how we can help bring this world to life right now by making such conversations available to the masses right now. The kinds of conversations I am privy to, given what I do for a living, would be incredibly valuable for every independent thinker, dreamer, idealist and entrepreneur who still believes we can create a better world. Ha! Not just a better world… that’s just it… I want to show you just what leading visionaries SEE for our future. It’s far beyond a “better world.”

Put on your seatbelt and start with Michael Strong’s FLOW vision.

Yesterday we tested a new model for our workshops, one in which a partiipant only need give up an afternoon, invest a very small amount of cash and drive to a home in their local area. We titled it, Visionary Mind: Living at the Level of Vision.

We had a great conversation and the workshop “worked,” yet the greatest outcome was the vision for how we can upgrade it in the future. What we want to create is a simple format for a short afternoon or evening discussion that can easily be organized and lead by anyone with a moderate level of training in the iStand technology (the VisionForce work). The idea is to create a formula that can be duplicated around the world by people passionate about VisionForce and the difference it can make in peoples lives and for humanity itself.

We’ve scheduled the next workshop after having made the following adjustments/upgrades:

1) It will be an hour shorter (4 hours instead of 5)

2) We will leave more time to integrate the global vision, to build personal vision and to introduce opportunities for each of us to step up our game in “being the change,” and “changing the world.”

3) We will focus more on the Inner Conflict Diagram and use it to integrate more of the concepts, so participants leave with an even firmer grasp and clearer view of how everything relates.

4) We are going to make it even more of an interactive discussion than it already is.

If you can make it to Austin for the afternoon of Sunday, January 14th, we’d love to have you. Details are here.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at a news conference today, announcing further developments with his country’s nuclear program.

Referring the U.S., he said, “If they fix their behavior toward us, we will have a dialogue with them because that’s a principle of our foreign policy. But you know, they have their own way of thinking. They really think they own the world, they always sort of look down upon you.”

Notice his last two sentences. The crises we face as human beings in this era is given by our level of thinking. While most of us intellectually understand Einstein’s observation that we cannot solve our problems on the same level of consciousness that created them, we collectively have yet to 1) emotionally/behaviorally understand these words, or 2) understand how to evolve to a higher level of consciousness.

What will it take to evolve our thinking to the “next level?” Consider that the level we’re at has prevented us from even glimpsing the level beyond it. And we’ve been at this “level” for thousands of years–or as long as there has been consciousness as it exists today, with a high capicity for self-awareness.Can we really be so blind as to not see how the context from which we see and relate to the rest of the world is feeding the problem? Can we really be so foolish as to think that in today’s world we can continue to force our solutions on the rest of the world with military might? Do we not see how our own thinking is at the root of the problem?

It is time for a distinction between two levels of consciousness. Let’s call them the “position level” and the “vision level.” Consider that most of the world operates most of the time at the position level. This level of consciousness has the qualities of being dualistic, defensive, reactive and primarily motivated by psychological fear (whether one is conscious of it or not).

[The ideas that follow will be grasped more completely by those in the Visionary Mind Shifts course by e-mail.]

Considering these qualities, it should be no surprise that one who is thinking on the level of position does not recognize his own thinking as the source of the problem. For one thinking on the level of position, the problems are “out there,” not within–in fact, that’s the mind’s fundamental use for a position, is to avoid the pain of looking within. Honest introspection and vision are obstructed by the position, for these qualities exist at the level of vision.

For many thousands of years, thinking on the level of position has “worked,” or at least been tolerable. The more one looks around and sees everyone else behaving at the same level, the less one questions one’s own behavior.

At the level of position, one finds a view of the world (or position) to stand in, and proceeds to defend from and attack others’ whose views threaten one’s own. Thinking at the level of position, one naturally tries to achieve goals or change the world by 1) converting, 2) compelling (forcing to submit; overpowering), 3) compromising with, or 4) killing one’s adversaries.

At the level of position, there is only one right way to view the world; and one’s job is to find it, believe it, obey it and convert or compell others to believe it–or at least obey it. Short of converting everyone to your worldview, as a positionary thinker, your next best option is forcing others to obey. If you have trouble with this and you have a moral problem killing them, you might try to compromise with them first. If you have more of a moral problem compromising with them, you try to kill them.

We can see the disastrous effects of positionary thinking around the world in politics, religion, education, parenting, romantic relationships, business and more.

In today’s divisive world of growing complexity and accelerating change, an “enlightened” positionary thinker sees compromise as a virtue. Such a thinker believes that it’s best if we all just give up a little bit of our position in order to have more peace and progress, and learn to tolerate each other.

There is a quantum leap from the position level of consciousness to the vision level of consciousness. And this generation will be known by our willingness to rise to this level of thinking, or not.

The vision level of consciousness is nondualistic, integrated, holistic, creative and primarily motivated by a force that we’re all familiar with, but to which we give different names.

This level of consciousness, as I see it, is not some esoteric state of enlightenment or greatness, given to or attained by a chosen few. It is available to all of us, regardless of our views.

Whatever your religious or spiritual beliefs, you can approach yourself, others and the world at the level of position or the level of vision. At the level of position, everything that you are trying to stand for is compromised and most often seems beyond your reach. People can’t hear what you’re saying, you are virtually powerless to inspire the other side. At the level of vision, everything you stand for is honored and seems to be within the realm of the possible. People can hear you, see who you are and you have power to come together to “make the impossible happen.”

Indeed, at the level of vision, the human mind’s capacity for creative thinking, problem solving and invention is much more accessible. Whereas at the level of position, we can usually see few alternatives, but convert, compel, compromise or kill.

In the realm of the hard sciences, we are relatively unencumbered by a positionary consciousness. Things like physics, chemistry and biology are relatively impersonal, and thus we are open to use the full power of our minds to understand these domains and create technologies such as satellites, cell phones and aids medication. Operating on the level of vision in these domains is generally much easier, although still problematic (Scientists subscribing to different theories often form positions, and then become limited in their thinking. Those who move beyond them usually come from new paradigms unburdened by the psychological limitations of those clinging to a long-held and time-honored position).

In the realm of economics or business, where we market our technologies to create wealth, some of us operate at much higher levels of vision. These are the entrepreneurs, the social entrepreneurs, the wealth creators. (For many of us, this realm is more personal and thus our thinking is more on the level of position, thus limiting our access to our natural creative capacities).

It is the realm of the softer (and softest) of sciences that we find positionary thinking most evident and pervasive. Indeed, our conspicuous impotence in this more personal realm has bred atrocious results, which we’ve quite shamelessly come to accept as the norm.

Growing crises with addiction, depression, suicide, domestic violence, lawsuits, overpopulated prisons, ecological disruptions, pollution, terror, war, genocide, hate crimes, corruption, etc., are the disastrous results of thinking at the level of position.

Defining the problem as “some people are believing or following the wrong doctrine” is positionary thinking. This kind of thinking leads to even more of the problems we complain about, as we ostracize, humiliate and antagonize “the other side”–or the opposition–the opposing position. They fight back and retaliate to defend their position, and the world we all share grows increasingly worse. This level of grossly irrational thinking is the norm at the level of position.

Globalization is one of the modern dynamics threatening and shaking the instutions of position level thinking that have controlled individuals for centuries. Most threatened are fundamentalist religions and people in positions of unquestioned authority. No longer are so many of the masses willing to simply follow and obey.

Indeed, no longer are individuals so willing to blindly accept some authority or ruling majority’s pronouncement of good and evil, and then be “good” followers. More and more of us are coming to see the great feat of our generation is to go beyond what positionary leadership deems to be good follower behavior, and rise to greatness.

Our task is to be willing to risk the esteem of those we deem to be our moral authorities or peers, to stand for a world that really works for all of us. Robert Kennedy’s words seem more appropriate now than ever,

“Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital, quality for those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change.”

The shift in thinking is one that awaits each of us as individuals. It lies before us as the moral imperative of our time. Who will we be now and tomorrow? Will we rise to a new level of thinking–a new level of consciousness?

The question is not just one for our leaders. No, each of us must choose to be the visionary leader we’ve been waiting for. Our personal failure to meet this challenge, is not just a matter of being able to live together in peace as a global community. No, it’s a very personal matter.

The challenges that we face within ourselves and the suffering that we experience can be shown to be but symptoms of position-level thinking as well. Greater inner peace, inner power, vision, natural passion, honor, courage and love are available to the person who thinks on the level of vision–or to one with a visionary mind.

This shift I speak of is a subtle one, yet one that changes (and I say WILL change) everything.

That’s why I’m so excited that our new home study program, Visionary Mind: Experience Your Call To Greatness is complete and available to the world. One day, perhaps, maybe one of these packages will find it’s way into the hands of the world’s leaders. In the mean time, though, let’s get it in the hands of our future leaders. That’s you, right?

Post your comments.

Power To Stand: A Course In Greatness – many of you reading this have signed up to be beta-testers of this on-line course we’re creating here at VisionForce.com.  But as you may have noticed by now, it’s not really a course, per se.  It has no real beginning or ending.  There is no way to complete it.  There’s not even a way to tell where you are in the course!

The name, course, itself implies that it will take you from point A to point B. There are some problems we see in calling it a course.  Here are of the problems we see,

a) many people take a course, learn some new ideas and then move on–as if they really understand the concepts presented.  Courses you may have taken in school aim to teach you a set of ideas.  The course is generally considered complete when the student has learned the concepts, meaning he/she either 1) knows the concepts or 2) understands the concepts (or both).

1) we generally say we “know” a concept as soon as we are able to recall it from memory.  A friend starts telling you about somethiing you already read in a book, and you say, “Yeah, I know that.”  He stops explaining and you stop questioning.
2) we generally say we “understand” a concept as soon as we have gained a little familiarity with it.  A friend explains a new concept from a book, and we relate it to a similar concept we’ve already learned.  “I understand,” you say.  He stops explaining and you stop questioning

There is a grave error or blind spot in this approach, especially if our objective is to affect the student’s character, decision-making process or behavior.  If we’re learning math, science or history, that’s one thing.  If we’re learning concepts to change our behavior and habits in life, then maybe it would be helpful to have a new definition of what it is to “learn” something.

Just because you can recall a concept from memory and talk intelligently about it–or even use it in your everyday language–it does not mean you’ve integrated the concept into your mind in a way that affects your behavior.  The Power To Stand “course” is not intended to just put forward some interesting concepts.  No, the concepts themselves can change your life and change the world.

In a Positionary world, it’s enough to teach the “right” or “true” ideas and make the student follow and obey.  In a world of visionaries that approach is quite obviously backwards. What we’re up to here at VisionForce is building a world of visionaries, and creating the tools that make that world possible.

Soon, we’ll share more about the new way we are thinking about our on-line “courses.”

Comments?