The 4 Powers Leaders Turn to in Times of Challenge

When things seem to be falling apart around us, we can start to feel powerless.

In times of great challenge, however, leaders throughout human history always turn to 4 proven powers - and all are available to us to leverage, right now.

Who determines whether civilizations rise or fall?

We do.

No matter what the circumstances, across all the major civilization collapses throughout human history ...

... New York Times best-selling author Jared Diamond (Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed) found that it was humanity's reaction to those circumstances - the choices they made in response - that determined whether the civilization went on to overcome and thrive, or to collapse:

“… even in a harsh environment, collapse isn’t inevitable, but depends on a society’s choices.”

Civilizations Rise & Fall

Preceding those societal choices, however, is the Primary Power identified to determine a civilization's success - across the most pivotal challenges of our time and times past:

Imagination.

How important is imagination at this time in our world?

Take a look:

Of the four principle failures that led to the disaster of 9/11, the U.S. 9/11 Commission prioritized as Number One the failure of “imagination” - citing the lack of imagination and a “mindset that dismissed possibilities” on the part of the U.S.

Remarkably, the 9/11 Commission also noted that the imagination of the Al Qaeda mastermind, Al Qaeda’s innovative network, and its use of technology made this small terrorist group “more globalized than we (the U.S.) were,” the 9/11 Commission concluded that, for the U.S:

“It is therefore crucial to find a way of routinizing ... the exercise of imagination.”

In a similar way, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore says: “[Climate change is] a moral issue because it affects the survival of human civilization. It’s a challenge to our moral imagination to understand that we could actually be affecting the entire planet.”

Moral authority - means a choice that is good for all - a higher choice that harms no one, and instead, works for all - for the greater good of everyone.

In facing the greatest challenges of our time - climate change, racism, pandemic, terrorism, nuclear threat, poverty - it is our imagination, envisioning new, expanded possibilities that will lift the future for everyone, and co-creating the change we wish to see - that great leaders tap into times of challenge.

This means each one of us can make a difference.

Your ideas, your unique genius, and your choices matter.

Finally, these creative shifts of mind and environment affect the future, as reductions in diversity and creativity also have been found to be a trigger in the collapse of civilizations.

To affect these global issues, not only must we tap the full creative abilities of every human being, but also foster the “openness, diversity and tolerance” critical for creative talent to thrive in any society, notes Richard Florida, author of The Flight of the Creative Class.

Notice how many global crises we face involve "a moral issue," and require our moral imagination.

One could argue - all of them.

The 4 Powers Leaders Turn to in Times of Challenge:

* Imagination

* Choice

* Moral Authority (Greater Good)

* Diversity

Take a look:

Civilizations Rise & Fall - Genesis of Genius

SPARK Genius Question of the Week:

How might we come together with “openness, diversity and tolerance," to imagine and co-create a future that nurtures and serves the highest potential in every human being?

The future is not fixed.

You have a powerful role to play - by contributing your gifts, your genius, your imagination.

To discover more, be my guest for my SIGNATURE GENIUS Workshop - www.MyGeniusWorkshop.com.