People high in the Futuristic theme often looks 10-15 years down the road, or perhaps even further down the road. In one of my earlier article on the Futuristic Theme, I spoke about how having greater clarity of how the future looks like motivates those high in the Futuristic Theme.
Recently, I was reminded of this story that resonates with the Futuristic Theme:
A man came upon a construction site where three people were working. He asked the first, “What are you doing?” and the man replied: “I am laying bricks.” He asked the second, “What are you doing?” and the man replied: “I am building a wall.” As he approached the third, he heard him humming a tune as he worked, and asked, “What are you doing?” The man stood, looked up at the sky, and smiled, “I am building a cathedral!”
If you were to think about what you do (at work, at home or otherwise), which of the 3 people do you see yourself as? And what’s the resulting level of motivation that you experience with that perspective?
Motivating with Futuristic
A person who is Futuristic, because of his/her tendency to constantly peer into the future, is often able to see a grander picture compared to others. And just like the person who exclaimed “I am building a cathedral!” with a smile on his face, I would reckon that vision would have huge powers of motivating and propelling people to action.
But would a vision, in and of itself, be a sufficiently powerful force to instigate action?
What’s often more compelling is the creation of meaning. When we give people a big why together with a big vision, we create a powerful fuel capable of propelling people. One of the videos that I like is “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek, if you haven’t already watched it, take some time to watch it below:
3 Steps to Motivate with Futuristic
Try this if Futuristic is high for you:
- Build Bigger – Find ways to make that vision even bigger. It’s not about laying a brick, or building a wall, it’s about building a cathedral!
If you knew you could not fail, what would the future look like? - Create Clarity – Big visions are great, and can be made even better when there is clarity. How large is the cathedral? Where are the stained-glass going to be? What images will be reflected on the stained-glass? How will it feel like when one steps into that grand cathedral? How will the pipe organ sound when the majestic tunes bounce off its walls?What will you see, hear or feel when you arrive at that future?
- Make Meaning – People may not immediately see what’s important / meaningful about this vision. Create meaning, link it to the vision, and articulate it to others.What is meaningful about this vision, and how will you communicate it?
* Tip: Simon Sinek describes a great way to communicate in his TEDTalk
If the Futuristic theme is high for you, why not give it a try and see how it works out for you and post your experiences in the comments below.
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