Vision vs Reaction
"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others."
Jonathan Swift was not short on vision, the Irish satirist, essayist, poet, politico and priest from the 1700s was best known for writing Gulliver's Travels.
Being able to see or imagine what is not there is an art in itself.
Imagination allows one to stare at a blank canvas, knowing that something great will happen on it.
Invisibility is what makes the creative process so interesting for creatives (and probably so frustrating for those who just can't visualize it).
Michelangelo illustrates this process best - as we know he started simply with a block of marble and then began chipping away everything that was not David.Vision of the invisible allowed him (and us) to remove the marble (the clutter) to reveal the masterpiece (the idea).
That is the creative process; chip away everything that is not the idea.
THE COUNTERPART OF 'VISION' IS 'REACTION'
'Reaction' has its merits as a survival mechanism, but it should not rule the creative process.
In fact 'reaction' is the antithesis to that process (and to 'vision').
Vision leads us and is the very essence of action.
Reaction or re-action is a follower of action.
It does not lead.
Re-action does not exist without vision to provide the initial 'action' to re-act to.
To be visionary in business can catapult a company into the future.
Being a reactionary in business can kill a company.
Reaction might appear to be quick and efficient, but that is just a disguise and will not always bring the desired result.
At the end of the day we should all aim to be a visionary and not a reactionary.
Richard Branson said it the best, "don't think what's the cheapest way to do it, or the fastest way to do it…think 'what's the most amazing way to do it'."
Jonathan Swift was not short on vision, the Irish satirist, essayist, poet, politico and priest from the 1700s was best known for writing Gulliver's Travels.
Being able to see or imagine what is not there is an art in itself.
Imagination allows one to stare at a blank canvas, knowing that something great will happen on it.
Invisibility is what makes the creative process so interesting for creatives (and probably so frustrating for those who just can't visualize it).
Michelangelo illustrates this process best - as we know he started simply with a block of marble and then began chipping away everything that was not David.Vision of the invisible allowed him (and us) to remove the marble (the clutter) to reveal the masterpiece (the idea).
That is the creative process; chip away everything that is not the idea.
THE COUNTERPART OF 'VISION' IS 'REACTION'
'Reaction' has its merits as a survival mechanism, but it should not rule the creative process.
In fact 'reaction' is the antithesis to that process (and to 'vision').
Vision leads us and is the very essence of action.
Reaction or re-action is a follower of action.
It does not lead.
Re-action does not exist without vision to provide the initial 'action' to re-act to.
To be visionary in business can catapult a company into the future.
Being a reactionary in business can kill a company.
Reaction might appear to be quick and efficient, but that is just a disguise and will not always bring the desired result.
At the end of the day we should all aim to be a visionary and not a reactionary.
Richard Branson said it the best, "don't think what's the cheapest way to do it, or the fastest way to do it…think 'what's the most amazing way to do it'."
