Visionary Genius

One definition of genius is someone who sees things that other people don’t see. In a word, the visionary genius. The person who looks around and recognizes possibilities that are invisible to everybody else. This may sound great, but being a visionary genius isn’t exactly an easy life! More often than not, the world isn’t eager to accept the new realities that the visionary genius proposes. Throughout history, visionaries have been laughed at or ignored or sometimes even imprisoned or killed. But they are the ones who have really made progress possible -- not just on the material level, but also in how we think and feel and experience life as a whole.

The purpose of visionary thinking is to give you the experience of thinking in dimensions that are outside your ordinary mental experience. Thoughts on the scale of the very large and the very small. Some of these ideas may have seemed pretty outlandish -- but they may be less outlandish than you think.

What if you found a digital camera on a deserted island? Does it prove that someone else was on the island, or whether the camera could have assembled itself? Actually, this is a hypothetical situation that has been discussed for more than 200 years. In its original form, the found object was a watch rather than a camera. The fact is, the complexities and apparent coincidences of life at the molecular level are infinitely more detailed than a camera or a watch. Yet here we are. Were we, in effect, able to assemble ourselves -- through trial and error -- because of the vast amount of time that was available? Or was there -- is there -- somebody else on the island? I don’t have the answer. I just want you to know that it’s a question that’s taken seriously, even though it may have seemed very far out when you first heard it. That’s often the way it is with visionary ideas.

According to the so-called “many worlds theory,” infinite numbers of alternative universes are constantly being created in order to account for every possibility. This is based on the visionary principle that everything that’s possible must eventually take place. Is the many worlds theory ridiculous? Does it sound like the idea for Groundhog Day, the film starring Bill Murray? Well, it is the premise for Groundhog Day. But it’s also an idea that’s taken very seriously in theoretical physics and cosmology. In fact, it’s generally accepted as the best explanation for how the universe -- or the many universes -- actually operates.

In the past hundred years, and maybe even for all time, there’s one person who really represents the essence of the visionary genius -- Albert Einstein. Not only did Einstein think like a visionary genius, he even looked like one, with the flowing white hair and the melancholy eyes that seem to see everything. I assure you, without Einstein there would have been no Yoda in Star Wars or no Doctor Emmett Brown, the time travel inventor in Back to The Future. Of course, without Einstein lots of things would be very different.

ARTICLE TAGLINE FOR DR. TONY ALESSANDRA

Dr. Tony Alessandra has authored 13 books, recorded over 50 audio and video programs, and delivered over 2,000 keynote speeches since 1976. The ideas in this article, and many others, are adapted from Dr. Alessandra's book, The Sales Professional's Idea-A-Day Guide (Dartnell). If you would like more information about Dr. Alessandra's books, audio tapesets and video programs, or about Dr. Alessandra as a keynote speaker for your group, call (800) 222-4383 or visit his website at http://www.alessandra.com.

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