Excerpt from Conversations for Power and Possibility
by Darlene Chrissley, MCC
(MMC guest Master Coach & blogger)
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” Anne Frank
As I write this book, the world is changing everywhere I look. Old industries and institutions are disappearing and new ones are being born every minute. Look what the digital revolution has done to the music and book and newspaper industries, what the mobile revolution is doing to the way we work and shop and stay connected. Change can result in feelings of fear, grief and confusion. But as the old order passes away, dreams that seemed impossible in the past, may now be ripe for action.
Our times call out for leadership – the ability to see new possibilities and the determination to capitalize on them in order to realize a better future.
I love the word realize; and I’m suspicious of those who caution us to be realistic. Both words come from the same root verb, to be real. To be realistic is to conform to what already exists. To realize is to bring something from the realm of imagination and give it form in the physical world. Leaders respect the realistic, but understand that reality is a dynamic state, always in a state of flux. What has seemed real enough in the past may pass away, to be replaced by a new reality that is just coming into existence. The greatest gift of the leader is the ability to be able to realize a better world than the one they inherited. We can all exercise this kind of leadership, in our families, workplaces, and communities. When we do, we experience ourselves as powerful players rather than pawns in the game of life.
The most important decisions you will make in your life are about how you will choose to relate to the world. Do you see yourself as powerful or powerless to impact it? Do you see the course of history as something that just moves along, dictated by fate, or as something that responds to human choices and actions? Do you believe it is possible to make a difference? Is it possible, through your actions, to change or influence the world?
What if the world we live in, the social and economic world anyway, is born in our imaginations and created through the stories we tell and the conversations we have?
I imagine a world where people are confident in their own power to influence the world, committed to using that power to make a positive difference, and focused on the opportunities that exist to make it so. I see a world where conversations are places where new ideas are born and nurtured, new possibilities explored, tested and developed. I see a world where our conversations build us up and make us stronger, more powerful both individually and collectively that we would otherwise be.
Three morals in this story:
The world is always in a state of flux.
Change opens up new possibilities.
You are more powerful than you know.
Yours with creativity and imagination,
Darlene
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Darlene Chrissley is a writer, speaker, and professional master coach. She works with individuals and organizations across North America and Europe, teaches at Adler International Learning, and writes a popular blog about living with creativity and imagination, one day at a time.
www.darlenechrissley.com
