In the recent interview of Bill Clinton by Fox News Sunday (watch video), he talks about the advantages and disadvantages of being an ex-president as he attempts to bring about positive change, and compares the power of an ex-president to that of a president. A president has the military might and political might to force change, whereas an ex-president does not. Former President Clinton and Former Vice President Gore have both been taking on projects to cause positive change in the world after leaving office. And, while I’ve seldom been inspired by any politician (as their primary strategies are typically positionary ones), I am often quite inspired by the paths taken by ex-presidents.
Gore, for example, may be doing more as an ex-politician to cause the kind of change he seeks with our relationship to the environment than he perhaps ever could have done as president. To add context to this comment, I’d mention these points:
1) a political victory is often short-lived as the opPosition usually becomes sufficiently inspired to fightback and undo what you’ve done.
2) while we can use political power to force others actions, we cannot force their minds and hearts
3) often forcing a person’s behavior can result in a myriad of rebellious actions which undermine the values of all involved.
I say it’s time to look at how much we turn to politics to make positive change happen in this world. What if we as civilians took much more of the time that we spend in building and defending our political positions, and instead built visions that called us into heroic action to be the change?
Visionaries such as entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs have over the last century solved all kinds of personal and social ills, not by forcing anyone but by creating a better alternative for people to freely choose.
How can we harness our own power to be the change and recreate our world? Comments most welcome!
When you watch the video of Fox News interviewing former President Bill Clinton, think about the prescious time we *all* waste as we operate from our positions. Then please post your comments on this topic:
Think about all the time we waste attacking and defending, the time we waste preparing to defend and promote our positions, etc. This is a much, much bigger issue than the topic in the video. How much time do you and I spend in this positionary game? (And please, no posting of your position about whether Clinton did enough or not to get Bin Laden, as that has nothing to do with our evolution from the Positionary Mind of the Past to the Visionary Mind of the Future, which is one of our primary focuses here at VisionForce.com.)
People take their seats. It’s good vs. evil, evil vs. good, or evil vs. evil–depending on your position. As with any good matchup, everyone has an opinion. That’s what it is so exciting about life, right? To be visible, to be seen, to be acknowledged–and so we take a position and express it. We may not do it with words, yet we do it. We wear the colors of the team we favor, or at least we sit in their section… if nothing else, we have our critique of the other side, our inner Charles Barkley… or of the game itself.
But for our experience to truly be fun, for most of us, it needs to be psychologically safe. So what we need from our position is a good enough reason to make it ok to sit on the sidelines… or if we are on the field, we need a reason to be ok with dirty tactics. And a colorful enough critique of the game, of our opponents or of any who dare play will do. If they are all evil or foolish enough in our eyes, we’re safe on the sidelines (or safe playing dirty) and the game will be fun to watch.
Hot dogs!! Get your hot dogs here!!
It’s Chavez vs. Bush for the future of the world! The crowd roars! Each fan shouting their opinions, judgments, complaints–from their safe and confortable positions. The Bush supporters shout this, the Chavez supporters shout that, other sides are cheering and shouting… there are “We’re number one” foam fingers every where… and quite a few middle fingers to boot.
For from a position, not only are we seen, we are safe–comfortable. No, not from the attacks of others. It’s never about what others think of us, ultimately. It’s what we think of ourselves. The trick is we must limit who we listen to, because our critics might have us face the painful reality about ourselves. And so, we take a seat on the sidelines of life, content to watch as our world falls apart.
Sounds a bit gloomy, but think about it. You have criticisms of the other side. No doubt you’ve concluded a few things about their character. And from your position of judgment, you expect them to step forward from their position and cause the change you recommend? While you sit safely behind your own judgments, not daring to expose your humanity or see that of the other? The funny thing is how we get all worked up, angry, animated, frustrated… and we think we are taking a stand as we berate the other side and argue against their position. Allthewhile they can’t hear us. They hear only our judgment, and are thus validated in their own judgments of us.
Popcorn anyone?
I just recently got the following email from an ally I call, Ronin, after the masterless samurai of feudal Japan. The ronin were those who’d been trained in the Samurai warrior life of honor, self-mastery, fearlessness, etc. as loyal protectors and servants to a master, and were then set free. Ronin literally means cast upon the waves.
Ronin authored a book after his Vision Force Boot Camp experience and is frustrated that the world does not yet know the power of the Vision Force technology. After he saw our recent promo page for Visionary Mind he was even more frustrated. Here’s part of his email to me:
I am more convinced than ever that the next level for you must be showing, rather than telling.
People need to see your technology in action. Even testimonials from bootcamp attendees are still telling rather than showing.
I am convinced that you need to test yourself, throw yourself into situations where the conflict, emotions
or stakes are high. Film it all and keep what works, and improve the format each time.You, trying to describe your technology in terms of what it is not and in metaphors is like the great Musashi trying to describe his sword technique (without a sword in his hand) to people who don’t understand anything about swordmanship.
How far could he really get with words? But film him with a sword, and better yet, show him in action with others, and even if they no nothing about technique, the power and mastery of Musashi will be captured and demonstrated. They will feel it in their gut.
It also ties into your desire for being transparent. Get used to being recorded. Bring the bootcamp into every interaction.
Look for opportunities to film a couple of bootcamp challenges for yourself each week. Expect that it won’t
be perfect. But get the raw footage and figure out how you can edit it together to show something about the process and interaction itself.All for now.
Jim
Well, Ronin, I feel ya brother! And, we have started with video–today. I’m exhausted after a day in the film studio, where we filmed footage for DVDs that we intend to include with future Visionary Mind packages. After that it’s video blogging, and raw video footage of Vision Force in action as we travel to do work with change agents, visionaries, organizations and people in conflict!
(We’re going to include the DVDs retroactively to all who’ve paid the $197 price, and there are only 13 left at that price as of today.)
Who doesn’t understand the principle that you don’t negotiate with terrorists? By negotiating, you validate and encourage more terrorist action. That’s a pretty sound principle.
So, apparently George Bush is not negotiating with or even talking to the Iranian “regime,” or President Ahmadinejad, as the Iranians “sponsor terrorism” and are part of the “Axis of Evil.”
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/19/bush.un/index.html
This is by no means a simple situation. There are many factors to take into consideration. However, the situation is a great example of why Positionary tactics no longer work in today’s world, and why it is time for some new ideas about how we interact with each other as human beings.
If ever there were a time to talk, would it not be *before* we enter into a crisis situation and were at war or on the brink of war? If ever there were a time to rebuild trust, open channels of communication and cooperate, would now not be the time?
Yes, Bush has stated his Position that he will not negotiate with terrorists (or those who sponsor them) and he will not hold talks with Iran until they have verifiably suspended their uranium enrichment program. He has dug himself into quite a corner in an attempt to impose his solution on Iran. Submit, follow and obey–or else.
I’ll come back to that in a minute. First, what is the greatest concern among the most violent opponents of the US in the middle east? Is it that they oppose Western culture? Is it that they fear America? Is it that they want to kill Americans or Christians simply because we are nonbelievers? Is it because they oppose US military presence or policies in the region?
Leaders on either side can explain the actions of the Bush administration’s declared enemies any way they want. But doesn’t it really come down to one thing? The greatest operational value of Positionaries worldwide. More important to all of us than freedom, peace, prosperity, security or anything else is one thing.
Pride. Or more specifically our image in others’ eyes. US policy in the Middle East humiliates its opponents. And they’ll die for their pride or their “honor.”
If this were so, would you expect Iran to halt it’s nuclear program in response to Bush’s threats? Iran backs down and they look like cowards. The fight and they maintain their pride.
Bush backs down and he looks like an indecisive coward…to his enemies and opponents AND to his supporters.
Now, am I suggesting that Bush is only enforcing his position, because he is prideful? No, and here’s the problem. There is a belief (with a lot of supporting evidence) that if Bush backs down, they other side will see it as a sign of weakness and attack more.
Good people use positionary tactics, because they see no other way. In fact, they often believe they’ve “tried” other approaches, and those approaches haven’t worked.
Alas, trying never works. Trying is usually a person’s attempt to prove that their original fears and judgments were right. “See, I tried. They are evil. I told you they’d react that way.” (We can see how well “trying” works in our marriages, once we’re convinced the our spouse just is a certain way.) Trying is what you do when you lack the vision or the moral courage to take a stand. Thus, trying is a Positionary tactic, just as intimidation and ultimatums generally are.
But it’s not as if we can blame the Positionary. From a position, there is no vision. Yet we all too often assume the other person can see what we see and just chooses not to act the way we believe is morally right. This, to us, proves they are just immoral, amoral or… “Evil.”
Really, if you oppose Bush, do you think he sees any other real alternative? Do you suppose he sees a peaceful alternative, but simply wants more power, control and has greedy, evil motives? If so, then you are just as positionary about him as he is about the “Evil” Iranians–or about your party, group or type.
On all sides are human beings. Human beings with children. Human beings with consciousness and conscience. Labelling the other side “Evil,” whether you place that label on Bush, Osama, Ahmadinejad, Nasrallah or someone else is a sorry ass (excuse my French, but I think it’s appropriate) cop out, and an excuse to act without conscience.
What this world needs are people who are willing to risk even the esteem of their supporters and colleagues to stand for values that they hold to be more important than how they look in other’s eyes. People who are willing to stand for something greater, much like the stand that former Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat took when he broke ranks with all other Arab nations to sign a peace accord with Israel.
It was the belief of Arab Nations that the only way to deal with Israel, viewed as a rogue regime and a symbol of Imerialism, was through force and threat of force. Al-Sadat took a stand in the face of his fears and the judgments of others. There was something worth standing for.
This is the stand that as yet Bush, Ahmadinejad, and other leaders are unwilling to take.
I am quite sure that to the reader who is not very familiar with alternatives to Positionary tactics, the direction proposed here may seem half-baked or naive. A short blog post does not lend itself to presenting a “well-done” new alternative. Yet, such alternatives are being developed by visionaries all over the world. (VisionForce.com is currently building an on-line lab for all of us.)
Really, we cannot go back to the days when one group could rule the world by force. It’s a positionary mind that attempts to find The right or true group or idea (position), then get behind it and try to force the world to conform. Those who will survive, thrive and become mankind’s greatest benefactors will have visionary minds.
This seems like an appropriate time to plug Visionary Mind, a visionary’s trusty rusty compass in the world of the future.
Can you see how both Bush AND Ahmadinejad are standing for something? The problem is how our stands devolve to positions, and our positions then fail to inspire the change and honor the values we originally stood for.
Post your comments below.
Imagine, if all the American colonialists could have watched Patrick Henry deliver his famous speech via web cam:
“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”
Our red coated friends from across the pond might have high tailed it back to their ships and sailed home without a fight.
Never before in history have we had so many powerful tools at our fingertips, tools which individuals can be use to communicate, organize, unite, mobilize, etc. Never before have we had so much access to information and education. People worry about technology’s ability to give governments’ greater control, but what about the new power and liberty such technology delivers to the individual? I believe it far out paces the increasingly snoopy eye of the government.
Several in the VisionForce community have begun setting in motion plans to use tools such as video blogging to share their stories, their vision and the actions they’re taking to be the change they seek, and to change the world.
Imagine… training young people from China, Africa, India and all over the world in the ways of the visionary for free–straight from a web cam! That and more is just around the corner. Shhhhhh….
Leave it to a lawyer! Oh my… I know that’s stereotypical. And to be fair, in principal, being a lawyer is one of the most noble professions there is. Yet, in our positionary world, many if not most lawyers, especially trial lawyers, simply waste their times creating and defending positions–at everyone’s expense.
Here’s the story of a lawyer, who, well-trained in the art of position-taking has sat in jail for 11 years to defend his position. Again, to be fair, this man may be telling the truth–that he has no power to access his money, but it is more plausible that he’s simply defending this position (his pseudo-pride).
I am sharing this not to attack or prejudge this man, but to offer yet another example of our positionary world. Supposing this man is playing his position game, what values are most important to him? Even if he holds his financial wealth as a higher value than his personal freedom, it’s quite arguable that being a free man for the last 11 years would have earned him more financial wealth than sitting in jail and hanging onto what he’s got.
We see this all the time in divorces, don’t we? A net destruction of values in order to preserve an illusion of being right or better than the other. We’d rather defeat our opponent, someone we’ve shared a lot of our lives and dreams with–and often even children, than do what’s in our best interest. Many times we’d rather die than give up our position.
Is it not time to evolve from positionary to visionary? Who’s ready to lead the way in their life? What’s worth standing for to give up your position?
Post your comments below.
I shared my feelings in an email to several of our lists yesterday. Funny, the only negative responses I got were from men. This one was typical:
“Yes! You are a Sap!! Now don’t send me your crying a** s**t anymore!!!” (asterisks added)
Of course, we only email people who subscribe themselves to our lists. And this fella was subscribed to one of our “Warrior” lists, so he was probably wanting to get emails that made him feel more… well… manly! LOL
Ok, this leads me to a great point. There is, especially in the West, a blind spot for many of us guys… and it’s not just guys as many women share this.
It’s a relationship to emotions, specifically tearful emotions as weakness. To make this association (even if just subconsciously) is to deny yourself access to one of mankind’s greatest powers.
There are, to be certain, many displays of emotion that are evidence of weakness. The child throwing a tempertantrum, because he can’t get his way, for example, is a prime example. The child, exaggerating his situation, as if he is a helpless victim who deserves our pity is… well, pitiful.
When adults display tears and emotions in this way, it is by our cultural standards, quite pitiful even shameful.
We usually learn that such displays of tears are seen as weak, so we learn to convert our feelings of inferiority, victimization and weakness to anger and agression–without the tears.
You can see this in non-tearful tempertantrums of the teenager… as well as in the adult teenagers, as often displayed by the angry macho male type.
Now, of course, anger can be a useful emotion. But it’s interesting how displays of such non-tearful tempertantrums are often viewed as acceptable responses to circumstance, while tearful, poor-me responses are not.
In many cultures, rallying in the streets in fits of rage, is not only acceptable but something to be proud of. I can’t help but wonder, what our world would be like, if such displays of anger were viewed by the majority of “alpha males” as pathetic, weak reactions. Yet, many of our most visible “alpha male” types in sports, politics, Hollywood, religion, etc. commonly display such pitiful, weak responses in life… which elicit the respect (or fear) from many of their peers and those who emulate them.
(I believe there will come a day when we come to see any such “positionary” reactions to circumstance as weak and shameful… and we’ll see humanity elevate ourselves to
much higher standards of behavior and interaction. To what I’d call visionary standards.)
Personally, I’d be very embarrassed if I reacted to life’s situations the way many macho male types do. For most of them, there simply is no visible third alternative. It’s either be a wuss or take control and force your view, your will, your position on others.
I’d feel like a reactionary wuss if I wrote someone the kind of tempertantrum-type email I got from the fella who sent the email quoted above.
From the world of the positionary, there just don’t seem to be many real ways to access power other than forcing your position on others.
Let’s look specifically at how the macho male type can access more genuine power.
At intense levels, feelings such as sadness, love, joy and honor all produce tears in humans. What these three emotions share is a deep connection to values–to what things mean to you. Your son is born and you feel such immense joy that tears come to your eyes. Your son dies and you feel such immense sadness that tears come to your eyes. Any time you get present enough to how much your son means to you–how much you love him–there will be tears.
The more we cut off access to our feelings (for example, to avoid a display of tears), the more we cut off access to our power.
Think for example of the person at the funeral who is weeping at the loss of his son , who has never really gotten present to how much his son means to him,… until he was gone forever. What a tragedy. Had he gotten present to his intense love for his son, while his son was alive, he would have done and said many things differently. This power to make different choices and take different actions was unavailable though, because the man did not want to feel his feelings.
A man may love his wife, yet the less present he gets to the feeling of love, the less he will act and speak in a way that honors the value of that relationship.
Here’s where honor, the feeling, comes in.
Love and honor are almost indistinguishable, and often felt at the same time. Love arises from being present to what someone (or something) means to you–feeling deeply connected to and valuing someone (or something).
Honor is a deeper cut at love. It has to do with not just getting very present to a value and it’s worth to you; but getting present with your choice to honor that value in the face of challenge. Honor can also be felt as you see others in this light.
Honor is an incredibly powerful emotion. It’s a uniquely human phenomena, because it requires a level of self-consciousness not possible to animals. It’s what’s at the root of the range of heroic actions we see in the world that we refer to as the “human spirit.” What inspires a person to face incredible criticism and even risk to his/her own life? Most often, it’s a feeling that is born from getting present to what is worth standing for. It’s a uniquely human emotion called honor. And it’s far different than pride or happiness.
The feeling of honor is literally a “force” of consciousness that can be accessed at will. In our new product called, Visionary Mind, honor is one of the two natural forces of consciousness that are practically cut off from us as we grow up. The other is vision.
Visionary Mind explains both of these forces in some detail and shows how these natural forces of self-guidance are short-circuited through our relationships with authority growing up. It also shows how that conditioning still guides us today in our moment to moment choices through VisionForce’s proprietary Inner Conflict Diagrams and models. Then, Visionary Mind gives you simple exercises that give you the powerful experience of both honor and vision. You come to experience these as guiding forces in your day to day life, and watch the new actions you take. You simply show up in a heroic way in relation to what is most important to you in life. (If you haven’t gotten that program, get it shipped to your door today.)
Love can have you do great things. Add honor to the equation and you’ll do much greater things–naturally.
Mr. macho is cut off from these heroic dynamics and is guided much more by positionary dynamics such as fear and pseudo-pride. He can, for example, feel good about himself by making himself look somehow superior to another. Pseudo-pride is a poor substitute for genuine honor.
It’s an honor-yielding vision that drives a Gandhi or MLK to make the impossible happen. It’s an honor-yielding vision that drives many great inventors, entrepreneurs, and social innovators. It’s the feeling of honor that often has parents make incredible sacrifices for their children–without experiencing it as a compromise.
The shift from a positionary mind to a visionary mind is what I see is next (and Now!) for human beings. It’s a fundamental shift in the way we relate to ourselves, our values, our responsibility and each other. And it’s what we’re all about here at VisionForce.com.
The “alpha male” of the future will be an inspired visionary, not a macho positionary.
Women, are more likely, as I see it, to be making this shift first, as they tend to have more access to feeling their emotions and thus feeling the powerful emotion of honor.
Here’s a video from one woman’s experience of vision and honor.
Who will lead the way? Women? Men? Does it matter? What about you? Who will lead your family, your community? Post comments below.
To get the complete Visionary Mind home study program shipped to your door, go here.
“Not I,” cries the emerging visionary, as he dives off the edge of the bridge.
For some, life is an escape from the big questions. Perhaps even for most, to seriously question one’s fundamental conclusions about one’s self and the world is akin to bungee jumping from a tall bridge with an untested cord. For these people, jumping up and down on solid ground with a bungee cord attached to their feet, or watching someone else bungee jump, is about as close as they’ll ever get.
Psychologically, this is the extent of how daring most of us early 21st century humans are when it comes to questioning the intellectual ground we walk on. We have no safe tools to leap from the bridge, and so we dare not risk the survival of our psychological identity by inquiring deeply into the nature of things and ourselves.
Indeed, life to this point has been a battle of idealogical positions. We’ve each managed to survive by finding solid footing and holding our ground. To leave the ground we stand on is anything but safe–and anything but fun… without the right tools that is.
Beginning with a new on-line course, tentatively called, Visionary Thinking, VisionForce will present tools for the visionary thinking.
Have you ever thought about the psychological dynamics behind your thinking processes? What, for you, makes one answer more valid than another? Or one question more valid than another? Consider that we all have thinking habits, which we are not conscious of, that guide our thinking. Trying to become a truly visionary thinker without questioning these hidden processes is akin to someone trying to become a champion golfer without questioning their golf swing, taking lessons or getting coaching. Up until now, the visionary thinkers have been those born with the both the “talent” and the “luck” of an environment that developed that talent.
What might VisionForce have to offer the sport of Visionary Thinking? We have thinking tools that might just make this game so fun that visionary thinking eventually becomes “the next big thing.” A sport anyone can become proficient in. Visionary Thinking is not what is taugh inside our on-line programs or our first-level boot camp. Those programs awaken and evolve you as a visionary, and give you tools to continue your evolution, but what we are talking about here is something altogether different. Tools for thinking about your thinking. Ways to see your visionary “golf swing,” and learn concepts and skills to improve your score.
The impact of such thinking tools on your life (and the future of the world) could be enourmous. But without such tools, not only can such a game be as scary as bungee jumping with unproven equipment (so scary that we never even seriously consider doing it, thus avoiding the fear), but it’s not fun either.
Modules for this new course are in the works as we speak, and we’ll be looking for beta-testers. Oh, and our new home for visionary beta-testers is coming very, very soon (and yes, it’s free.). Are you interested? Post your comments and questions below.
Yes, we’re building a robust on-line member area for visionaries… and, yes, it’s free. However, our home away from home is a place in cyberspace called… shhhhh…. Zaadz. It’s a social networking site for people like you who are up to changing the world. Brian, the man behind the curtain at zaadz (actually, there is no curtain at zaadz), is pioneering some amazing things over there. Go see for yourself and play with us.
You can blog, network, learn, evolve, play and live inside of a world of conscious people there. And if you don’t immediately find “your kind of people there,” create them! Invite your conscious friends, family, coworkers and playmates. After you check it out, leave a comment about your experience below.
Everything here is made possible by our Patrons!