"Discontentment is the seed of change". Dr. Myles Munroe
Archemedes, a Greek mathematician spent all his life searching the unknowns to know more about them. It is said that after many years of searching he discovered the law of hydrostatics almost by accident. After going into his bathroom one day he perceived displaced water overflowing and what was a mystery became suddenly explainable to him.
Archemedes principle helps explain floatation and sinking of lighter and heavier objects in water, an understanding that is immensely necessary in the marine, aviation and many other fields of life. In excitement he came out running and shouting "Eureka!!", "Eureka!!", the Greek form of the English expression "I've found it!".
"Mystery is but another name for our ignorance; if we were omniscient, all would be perfectly plain". Tryon Edwards
All forms of civilizations on earth made some of contribution to knowledge. One of the most impactful was the Greek civilization. The civilization produced great teachers or philosophers who fortunately had the attitude of documenting their ideas. The library of Alexadaria was the most value asset of the civilization.
It is said that the roman Empire who overthrew the greeks empire destroyed everything but for their archives of intellectual capital.
So profound and refined were their thoughts that they became the foundation for formal education and governance accross the world.
Democracy was a Greek philosophy of leadership for mass of people. The concept was introduced by Plato and Socrates.
They wrote the idea but did not have the opportunity to use it.
The contributions of past and present thought leaders interact perfectly to birth the level of progress we see around the world today.
The interaction plays out beautiful in the legacies of invention.
Their deepest motivation and approach is an expression of what is humanly possible in thought leadership.
"A thought leader is an individual or firm that is recognized as an authority in a specialized field and whose expertise is sought and often rewarded". Wikipedia
Many individuals ever consider themselves capable of becoming thought leaders.
The big shot of this matter is that academic institutions provide the tools to individuals to enhance thought leadership. The implication is that you can evolve into a thought leadership outside the university campus.
Thought leadership is a personal and internal matter and everyone has a chance.
It begins when you put your best foot forward to "search the unknowns to know more about them".
We seem to know many things in the 21st century, but that is little compared to what will be known in the subsequent centuries should Jesus tarry.
What is yet to be known is already in existence. It's concealed.
The concealed matters in all fields including Arts, medicine, technology, agriculture, religion, commerce, politics, entertainment, mental sciences, education etc place a demand for thought leadership.
After studying the lives of thought leaders in arts, politics, technology,religion, education, medicine etc. I discovered certain footprints that seem to cut accross that may serve as a recipe for aspiring thought leaders;
1. Have a clear vision for your life.
Think of what motivated Thomas Edison to work 20 hours a day on most occasions as an inventor.
There are many things capable of accomplishments but when your energy is distributed across diverse fields it affects your output adversely and translate into less impact.
Thought leader like Bill Gates was clear about what he wanted to accomplish. From Harvard to IBM to Microsoft his motivation was one thing. " Computer Softwares".
Mark Zuckerberg started out with a project of making a platform where people can share their pictures and information(social media) across universities.
The unknowns and possibilities he discovered incrementally explains why Facebook, instagram and whatsapp are a big success.
King David was a politician who concerned himself much with defending and advancing the knowledge of God among Nations.
Time won't permit me to talk about Sir Isaac Newton, Nelson Mandela,Celine Dion, Emmanuela the comedian, Ravi Zacharias etc.
Some people have a taste for success in multiple fields. It's possible but you want to make sure you direct the right among of energy and momentum to break limits otherwise you will be just another master of none.
If you are in love with your career that may be a good starting point to develop yourself into a thought leader.
Some people pass through the University to study certain courses only to find out that their lifelong passion lies else where. Thats ok. At 65 Colonel Halan David Sanders made a hit with his business KFC.
Its never late to start doing the right thing when you find it.
What must be printed in your heart is the need to develop your personal leadership well and you are good.
For further reading, I recommend a book titled "the 4hour workweek" by Tim Ferris.
If you vision is a bit hazy and not crystal clear at the beginning dont worry. Start out with little clue of what your passion is and continue exploring the unknowns is that path. It will get brighter by day.
2. Develop an inquiring mindset
The glory of a thought leader is to uncover those matters which are concealed.
To know what lies ahead of us in any field we look back into the past 100years to see where we came from.
It is easy to mystify what we do not understand. The truth is that when you mystify something it shuts down your potential to uncover those matters. You cannot uncover what you mystify.
"To become (kings and) masters of our lives and our environment, we must develop an enquiring mind, not just to probe, but, more importantly, to understand".- Dr. Mensa Otabil(overseer: Int'l Central Gospel Church)
In order to maximise your potential, you must determine to uncover everything that is concealed in your personal life, career or business that serves as a barrier to your progress and your industry.
3. Become a learning machine.
Thought leadership requires inquiring minds and inquiry requires learning and relearning.
Whether you are in the Arts, health, agriculture or tourism, software etc you need to become a learning machine that is best fit for your nature of skill.
Let's look at thought leadership like a race to find out what really works.
The secret is that you must have the Perspiration to speed up to the front liners or current thought leaders to find out what has been uncovered or accomplished so far under the subject.
These give you a possibility of critiquing and advancing your findings or thoughts, personal experiences and experiments.
Learning is like listening to what other people are doing and saying. Thought leadership is like acting as an a judge by giving your own ruling and choosing your style and path head on.
Your learning must be extensive. A good awarness of the existing trends and practices put you in a better place to improve upon the status quo.
You can follow good coaches that can help you find your path. The following options are available for that; Books,youtube videos,podcasts, social media pages and groups etc.
The goal is not to be the best in the subject in the whole world or to become the richest person in your locality, but to convince and impact positively on a good number of people with your ideas and innovations. That's what makes learning interesting.
Self-made billionaire Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s long-time business partner, captures this truism in the following quote:
"Without Warren Buffett being a learning machine, the record would have been absolutely impossible. The same is true at lower walks of life. I constantly see people rise in life who are not the smartest, sometimes not even the most diligent, but they’re learning machines. They go to bed every night a little wiser than when they get up.”
After many years of research i have come to accept that the best strategy for developing ones talent or feeding ones passion in his or her craft is deliberate and purposeful learning and practice.
4. Position yourself as an expert.
Majority of people think too highly of experts that they forget that they are experts themselves who are waiting to be revealed.
The understanding of the term expert has been shaped largely by the four walls of our classrooms and lecture halls. Those walls have been collapsed by the advent of internet and social media but the mindset is yet to leave many people.
To some, an expert must be someone with a certain level of academic qualification from a highly recognized university in your locality or the world. While is is true it applies to a limited sphere of life.
High quality instructions which otherwise should been captured and studied at the university is now available publicly and from the original authors for interested people.
Thought leadership is no longer entirely at the mercy of a council of "experts" in some institution or country. It's the other way round. One works to eventually become a thought leader and get acknowledged by those institutions regardless of whether you passed through one or not.
The fact is that human desires are too varied to be captured and regulated in an academic curriculum. Think of the millions of tik tok followers that many creative young people are influencing. How about youtube ? Facebook, Twitter self made millionaires not to mention instagram.
Billionaires like Bill Gates could not get the label as thought leaders left to academic criteria because they never got qualified for one.
Think of the Harvard professor called David J Malan; he has developed a great authority teaching CS50 and other computer programs to millions of students around the world.
He has positioned himself as a global authority in his field with probably much influence than his colleague professors.
Here is a report on his success.
If your ideas and innovations are meeting the needs of people they will listen to you and your advice in the field of knowledge becomes more respected than others.
People are craving for real success and inspiration. So your certificate, skin colour, gender, family background, financial standing, the looks of your face etc. are of less appeal.
Think for a moment. Reading this now you may not know me but you are interested in the idea that will enhance your life. That the new normal for thought leadership.
There is a limitless possibility to become a thought leader in your field.
You don’t have to have an authority to start out as a thought leader nor do you have to be an expert.
You’ll develop your authority and be seen as an expert along the line when you start.
Here are some stepping stones to consider.
Find a suitable medium for communicating your ideas.
Foremost use your Job as a sand box for your ideas and initiatives provided it is relevant to your organization.
If you are comfortable with writing and organizing your thoughts, then you need a blog like this. You can create one for free here
If you are comfortable with speaking or performance then you need youtube,Facebook, instagram, tik tok, or Twitter account. Record and publish.
Make special arrangements for live performance and presentations. Exhibitions and other forms of gatherings that give you the real life exposure.
Starting out requires alot of patience. So do not get preoccupied with building a huge following instantly. Just do what you love. You may not need a huge following to achieve your vision. Keep that in mind.
There is no better motivation than doing what you love. The right audience will find you.
Finally you will need to maintain a deliberate and persistent learning habit. Success in thought leadership is a work of passion with Perspiration.
May the world be different because you walked the surface and made a deep impression on the hearts of people.
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