From Behind The Chair

Crafting the Future Through Visionary Insight

December 31, 2023 Cory Wallace Episode 3

Ever wondered how visionaries like Elon Musk and Henry Ford imagined a world far different from their reality? Discover the essence of true visionaries in our year-end episode, where we strip down the layers to reveal what makes these individuals tick. We're not just musing over their achievements; we're dissecting the very fabric of their capability to see beyond the horizon, undeterred by the norms that limit the ordinary thinker. Delve into the minds that envisioned revolutions in transportation, technology, and social connectivity, and learn about the relentless drive that propels their ideas from mere thoughts to groundbreaking realities.

But what about the leaders who take these visions and turn them into collective triumphs? We celebrate the leaders who become the sinew and soul of visionary ambitions. Examine alongside us what it means to lead with integrity, passion, and the ability to inspire a team towards a common goal. From Nelson Mandela's fight against apartheid to Winston Churchill's wartime resilience, we reveal the traits that make a leader truly transformative. This isn't just a reflection on historical figures; it's a mirror showing us the potential within each of us to lead, to believe, and to actualize the visions that shape our world.

Speaker 1:

All right, thank you for tuning in for the last episode of 2023 from behind the chair. This is episode three and today's topic. I'm going to talk about visionary and a leader, and what does that mean to you? So, as we close out this year, I want you to think about what do you want to do for 2024? And I'm going to leave that right there. What is a visionary and what is a leader? What's their differences? Are they different? Can they be the same? So these are things that I'm going to discuss and I'm going to shed some light on.

Speaker 1:

So what is a visionary? A visionary is an individual who has an overwhelming urge for impactful change. They can see the future state of what can be and not what it currently is, and they don't care about breaking the rules. They go against social norms and constructs and one of my personal favorites they don't care about hurting your feelings. Think about that. They don't care about feelings. They care about bringing their vision into fruition, and there is a couple of well-known visionaries. The first one I'm going to talk about is Henry Ford, a Ford Motors. Nobody during his time was thinking about a gasoline operated vehicle. They were thinking about horse drawn carriages. So think about where his mind was at during that time and nobody believed him. And then, when he finally brought it into fruition, now look what we got. We got every kind of Ford. You can think of Ford Expedition, ford Explorer, ford F-150, ford Dually, ford Fusion. The list goes on and on, but you get the point of what I'm saying.

Speaker 1:

The second I'm going to talk about is Elon Musk. What, if I want to say, about a decade ago, a little bit over a decade, he was talking about electric cars. Everybody thought he was crazy. Now we got Tesla. Not only do we got Tesla, he also owns Twitter and SpaceX, and I think Twitter now is called X or something another like that, but correct me if I'm wrong. I apologize, but just think about that. He was thinking about electric cars when everybody was still on gasoline. Visionary. The third one I'm going to talk about is Mark Zuckerberg. He is the founder of what we know as Facebook. He wanted a social platform that was free for everybody to stay in contact with family and friends. Look where it's at now. Look how much is grown. Thanks so much.

Speaker 1:

Visionaries are individuals. These are people that are forward thinking. They have a very forward thinking perspective and they inspire others with their ideas and aspirations. Does that make sense? What I just said, see, inspirational, is different than aspirational. You can inspire someone to start, but you can't inspire them to finish. See, aspirational, not only do they start, they finish, they see everything to fruition. That's the difference.

Speaker 1:

Now we're going to talk about what is a leader. What is a leader? What is a leader to you? Because everybody's version of a leader is different. So think about that for a couple of seconds before I give you to break down what I think leader is.

Speaker 1:

So a leader is someone whose primary purpose is to align themselves with the mission or the vision. I'm going to say it again they align themselves with the mission or the vision. They possess vision, integrity and collaboration. Their sole objective is to manage, motivate and inspire the group or individual to believe in the vision and see it to fruition. So don't get it confused with a visionary. See a leader. Nine times out of 10, they believe in the vision and the mission, but they're not the originator of the vision or the mission. They don't originate it, it doesn't come from them, but they believe in it wholeheartedly and they'll fight to the death pretty much.

Speaker 1:

So here are some well-known leaders. You got Nelson Mandela. He was a revolutionary and political leader. He fought against the racist apartheid system in South Africa. So he was a revolutionary and political leader and I mean I don't really need to toot his horn too much. All you got to do is Google him and you'll see what he's done, what he's accomplished. But he's definitely a leader for sure.

Speaker 1:

Another one Winston Churchill. If you was born in the United States and you did American history, you know Winston Churchill. He led Britain to victory in the Second World War. And then, last but not least, martin Luther King. He was, in my book, to me personally, the greatest civil rights leader that ever lived. Look at what he endured, look what he went through. Listen to his speech, the one that he actually did a la carte. He didn't have that speech written around written down. I have a dream he did that a la carte. Don't take my word for it, just look it up. Now.

Speaker 1:

We talked about a visionary and a leader. So here's my question to you what is the difference or differences between a visionary and a leader? Take a pause for a couple of seconds to think about that, because, see, visionary and leader is kind of synonymous. It's kind of people kind of running together and you can do that. But you got to really know what you're talking about when you do that, when you really dig into it, dig it down to the bottom of it. So what's the difference? Well, I'm going to tell you right now, right off the rip a visionary, don't play by the rules. You ain't got to take my word for it. We got a couple through our history.

Speaker 1:

Ray Kroc is a good example of that. Ray Kroc of McDonald's the founder of McDonald's, the McDonald's brothers only saw a hamburger stand to feed the local community. Ray Kroc saw a franchise to feed America. He saw a franchise that can feed America. Think about that. That's damn forward. Thank you, if it isn't right. Also, speaking on Ray Kroc and his type of vision and his visionary, he didn't buy any means necessary. He didn't care who he had to step on. He lost his first wife. He didn't care, because that vision was greater than him. That says a lot. That speaks volumes, and you want to hang on to that? Okay.

Speaker 1:

Now with the leader. The leader is actually an excellent collaborator. Think about some of the greatest leaders in the world, or really the ones I just mentioned Great collaborators, why they have to be? Because they need the people that they're motivating or working with to believe in the vision or the mission. It has to be bigger than them. So they have to be great collaborators and really they're really great speakers, believe it or not. Motivators they got to be.

Speaker 1:

So here's is the second question that I'm going to pose Can a visionary and a leader be one and the same person? Think about that. Can it be one and the same person? Absolutely, they absolutely can. A visionary and a leader can be in the same person, be in the same individual. There's two basic types of visionary leaders and there is a third, but there's two basic fundamental types. The third one I'm going to speak on a little bit.

Speaker 1:

The first one I'm going to talk about is what you call a clariviant visionary. I fall into that category because, see, I pay attention to trends and patterns and I listen to problems and pains and I try to create solutions for those problems of pain. So basically, I position myself in the market or any situation to where I can bring the solution to the issue. Does that make sense? So, basically, when I or any other clarivariant visionary, we take strategic risks based on the information that we have gathered, that we see or we received or we heard or somebody brought to us. Does that make sense? Now here's another example of a clarivariant visionary, because I know a lot of you don't know who I am, but Reed Hasties. And for those that don't know who he is, he saw the shift from DVDs to online streaming and thus created Netflix. So think about that. He saw the market changing because, remember, blockbuster and Hollywood Video was all over the place. Now Netflix streaming. Ain't nobody leaving the house, ain't nobody going to Red Box to go pay for a DVD. And for those that are man, they behind the curve, aren't they? They need to catch up.

Speaker 1:

I am going to break down the second visionary leader, and that's a trailblazer, and really a trailblazer. The name speaks for itself. They create straight from their imagination. They don't go over market trends, they can care less about it. They don't go off for forecasting, they don't give a damn about it. They ain't forecasting nothing. They imagine whatever they want to make and they bring that vision to fruition, point blank, period. It can't be any simpler than that. An excellent, excellent, excellent example of that is Walt Disney. So if you know anything about geography on, walt Disney saw the need for an amusement park. A amusement park. Florida was not the best place to do that, but he didn't give a damn. He brought it to fruition. Now look at what Walt Disney has become from Florida. Look how far it's grown. Look how it's amassed. It's all over the place. He envisioned a theme park in the middle of Florida, and look where it's at now. It's not just in Florida, it's everywhere. So he's a trailblazer. He did that himself. So here's the point I'm driving home. Right Earlier in the podcast, I talked about 2024 as upon us.

Speaker 1:

So I want you to think about where you want to take your personal life, your spiritual life, your business life, your romance, whatever it is. I want you to think about how impactful you're going to be in 2024. But in order to do that, you got to figure out who you are. Are you just a visionary? Are you just a leader? Are you clairvoyant? Are you a trailblazer? Dig deeper into you so you figure out what it is you want to become and once you recognize and accept who you are, walk into it 100%. That one step, both feet, jump right into it like you jump into the pool. Don't hesitate, just go, because once you become transparent to yourself, nothing else is going to bother you. Does that make sense?

Speaker 1:

When you decide on what path you're going to take to build what it is you're trying to create, you're going to get a bunch of push back. People are not going to understand you. They're going to tell you you're crazy. Just know it's going to be some growing pains and just know you're not the only person that's went through that. I went through that and I still go through that, being a business owner, entrepreneur, author, podcast. I still go through that to this day, but, like Walt Disney, like Elon Musk, like Ray Kroc, like Nelson, I don't give a damn. I'm going to bring it to fruition and, for those that are for me, they'll be there for me after I brought my vision to fruition. That's just what it is and that's the mentality you have to take. You can't be apologetic for creating something for your life. That's what I'm saying.

Speaker 1:

So, in short, figure out what you want to do for 2024, how impactful you're going to be in 2024, because there is one fact that everybody has to face Death is around the corner. It may be today, maybe tomorrow, maybe next year. So you need to go after your dreams, your aspirations, your visions, whatever it is you're trying to bring to fruition as if is right on your doorstep. Because if you don't, you'll just be letting time pass you by. And anybody that knows me, I'm quick to tell you you can't reprint time. You can print some money you can reprint money for sure, but you cannot reprint time.

Speaker 1:

So why you have the time? Use it wisely, figure out who you are and walk 100% into that. Have an undying conviction for that, be laser focused on that. And the growing pains are going to come, but just go through them. It's no different than learning how to walk. It's no different than learning how to swim. It's no different than going to college, starting to do job, learning how to drive. Whatever Growing pains are in that they happen, there's no way around it, but you can get to the other side without growing through the pains.

Speaker 1:

So, with that being said, 2024 is going to be a great year. I love my even years. I don't know about you guys, but that's my thing, that's my jam. So I'm going to crush it and I hope you're going to crush it. And for those that are curious about who I am, I'm a clairvoyant, a visionary, and I think I said that earlier. But yeah, yeah, I see what I'm getting ready to do for next year. Man, I'm about to set a blaze, so be well and I see you in the new year. Take care.