“A part of whole-brain thinking includes learning to trust what Emerson called the ‘blessed impulse,’ the hunch, the vision that shows you in a flash the right thing to do. Everyone has these visions; leaders learn to trust them.
I want to remind you here of something Norman Lear said regarding the profound
influence that Emerson’s Self-Reliance had on his growth as a leader: ‘Emerson talks about listening to that inner voice and going with it, all voices to the contrary. I don’t know when I started to understand that there was something divine about that inner voice—I certainly didn’t in high school, college, or even in young manhood—but somewhere along the line, I appreciated that, too. How is it possible that as a writer I can go to bed a thousand times with a second act problem and wake up with
the answer? Some inner voice. To go with that—which I confess I don’t do all the time—is the purest, truest thing we have. And when we forgo our own thoughts and opinions, they end up coming back to us from the mouths of others. They come back with an alien majesty. . . . So the lesson is, you believe it. When I’ve been most effective, I’ve followed that inner voice.’
Following the ‘blessed impulse’ is, I think, basic to leadership. This is how guiding visions are made
real.” – Warren Bennis from
On Becoming A Leader
Favorite gems for your
inspiration:
- “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”
- “If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the universe against me.”
- “What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness.”
- We must trust ourselves. We must have the strength to rely on what we believe to be true. And...Emerson tells us we
MUST (!!!) also know that having this trust in ourselves is *NOT* easy. Having the self-reliance to trust ourselves, to not conform, is a courageous, heroic act.
Leaders trust their blessed impulse. Do you?
(And, most importantly: What is it whispering (shouting?) in your ear right.this.moment?)
