Day 14 of Tribes – a Group Blogging Project and I am already challenged. I probably would not have gone to 27dinner last night which in essence is a Tribe itself. Last night was a dyno jump for me; jumping out of my shell and meeting and networking with new people who share a similar passion in technology and media as I do.
Today we head into a journey about taking a risk, taking a leap of Faith; but that been the strongest thread throughout the book so far – it has been for me.
‘Leap of Faith’; attributed to Søren Kierkegaard. Funny? Close your eyes and leap? I think not; there is still a lot of intellect and reason that goes into such an act. As it was for Chris Sharma who most likely practiced with a mattress first – for many times, and for Carey Hart who performed the first ever Freestyle Motocross BackFlip. In both cases they trusted themselves, had faith in themselves, but essentially only took that Leap of Faith after much thought and practice. But this is not completely about the act as it is about being consistent in the vision. Both Carey and Chris persisted in their vision to the point where their vision was accepted by their tribe or their vision caused the creation of a tribe.
… one person with a persistent vision can make change happen, …
But my question is why do it? Why take the so called Leap of Faith, why put in all the effort and intellect into taking the risk?
Maybe it is for something you believe in, a principle, a problem that you would like to see addressed, or an outcome that you want to achieve. Either one; you would need to have a belief or faith in your vision.
Seth says that it is suicidal to be a leader, to act like a heretic without faith. Most definitely insane; continually doing the same thing but expecting a different result
(sounds like the definition for religion?). A heretic needs faith that what he/she persists in will bring about the result being strived for.
I can’t help but think of the churches out there that have really gone against the grain; against what was supposed to be the tried-tested-true methods, churches like lifechurch.tv that had to make huge amounts of effort and monetary investment get off the ground. They must have had a huge amount of faith, yet not faith alone – persistence.
So here are a few challenges:
- Are you stuck in an insane way of doing things that you should leap out of?
- Is there something that you believe in yet do not persist in for fear of failure?
- Is there a heretic that you are resisting that you should be following?
[Rock Climbing Photo by *strider*]
[BackFlip Photo by jurvetson]
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Phillip,
Thanks. This was a thoughtful post with good questions. I feel like a heretic that is still working on a following. It gets hard sometimes to remain persistent after the ideas that make you a heretic. Sometimes I feel like I need to give up and follow someone else, but God doesn’t seem to let go of me in that regard. It’s awkward.
Mike…
I really enjoyed that, I think sometimes we get so caught up in our own decisions that we forget our place in the tribe and the impact that we have.
Thanks for the reminder that i am part of something bigger.
Fee
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I would not follow a person whole goal was just to be famous – I might be drawn to someone because they are famous but a bad motive like that will prove to be a major FAIL because it contradicts and apposes the egos of the tribe – how can they have the same shared interest if it is about making the ‘leader’ famous. That leader will fail.
I think it was James Dobson who once spoke about the ups and downs of life and that it was cyclical – I don’t think that one could very productive if you were always trying to be productive – sometimes you need a break. Maybe this is true with being a leader, being a heretic. That there is a case for a break without loosing momentum so that when you come back you come back refreshed and eager.
This sometimes works for me in programming.
yes – if you are brave enough to be honest about the fact that you are resisting
Boy, it’s hard to get back with the program after being gone for several days. I’ve been keeping up with reading.
Mike — I’m with you. I, too, often feel like just giving up. What’s the purpose of being a heretic if no one listens? Or, if they listen, don’t care?
Then someone comes along, asks the right question and off I go – being heretical again. God won’t let me leave. I can only pray that this time that someone will not just listen, but hear.
That brings me to what really stood out in today’s reading, “Great leaders don’t try to please everyone.”
In one way or another we all want to please others. But, if we are take that leap of faith, we will ruffle a few feathers. In fact, some people won’t like us because of it.
We must first please God, then please those we love, then ourselves. Anyone else we please becomes our tribe.