Are you naturally curious? Are you passionate about potential? Have a near-constant stream of ideas for improving your life, your company, or your community? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re likely a visionary. And that’s amazing news because being a visionary is a real-life superpower!
What do you mean by “superpower?”
I’m a visionary and used to think that everyone experienced the world the same way that I did. I knew we all had different experiences. However, I was sure that everyone else could see the endless potential in what surrounded them the same way I could.
Boy, was I mistaken.
Being able to envision a future that’s different and better than your current situation, possessing the drive to move towards that, actively selling others on your ideas — these are rare visionary qualities. You are the exception, not the rule! That’s what makes being a visionary a superpower.
Are there other qualities that visionaries have?
Yes! As an entrepreneur and coach, I’ve seen the following traits in many visionaries.
If you’re a visionary, you’re more likely to:
- Constantly take in information. Whether it’s reading, listening to podcasts, or networking with others, you’re always gathering data. This creates fertile ground for your vision. Because you’re absorbing new information daily, it’s easy for you to connect the dots and strike quickly at just the right moment.
- Be on a spiritual journey. Most of the visionaries I’ve met are connected to something bigger than themselves, for example, God or the universe.
- Communicate with energetic passion. It takes infusing an idea with emotion to sell it to those who need to hear it. You won’t grab your audience with a monotone presentation full of tedious details. Of course, that sort of data is valuable when it comes to making your vision a reality but not when expressing the potential of an idea.
- Have faith in the possibilities. Visionaries are not plagued by needing to know exactly how something will happen but have the confidence to believe that it can be done. People with vision often believe to figure out the “how” along the way.
- Constantly seek change, improvement, and the path less taken. Visionaries are not afraid to go against the grain or be in flux. You understand that these conditions are inevitable to create a better world.
- Oddly fueled by the non-believers. People might tell you you’re crazy, but you believe in possibilities and don’t give up when faced with differing viewpoints.
- Delight in rigorous physical activity. I know I need rigorous physical activity to feel aligned, grounded, and clear-headed. You can gain a lot of clarity during high-intensity exercise.
- Keep going. Visionaries have a massive amount of endurance to lead and drive entire teams, organizations, and communities. This is not an easy task to keep up with, and some of us do it for a lifetime.
How did I get this power?
Visionary tendencies often take root early in our lives. At its core, vision is the ability to see a reality that differs from the one laid out in front of you. Many children who grow up to be visionaries often face a situation that was less than ideal, something that they wanted to escape from or improve upon to create a better life for themselves. Of course, everyone’s past experiences vary, but adversity can become fuel for change, allowing you to develop motivation and resiliency early in life. These are key characteristics of any successful visionary.
What are my weaknesses?
Just like any fictional superhero, visionaries still have weaknesses. In fact, the irony is that our greatest strengths, when left unchecked, can become our downfalls as well. As people with a flair for big ideas, visionaries can often be impulsive, uncommitted, and unfocused due to their insatiable need to improve everything. Without direction, a passion for change can result in dreams with no follow-through, manic busyness, and a multitude of unfinished projects.
Visionaries benefit from having analytical people behind them to help with the “how” of what it will take to accomplish a vision. Without the support of others who can keep the visionary grounded, there’s always the chance that they will float off into space, never to finish another project again. So, while visionaries create the ideas that shape the future, there’s usually a huge support system behind them that assists with execution.
In my book #KeepGoing, I teach others who aren’t natural visionaries how to create a vision in their life, and how to help natural visionaries get grounded and stay focused.
