Electronic Walkabout. No one should have to walk through life alone. We share the good times, the bad times, and the best times. Everyone needs a little direction now and again. And TC and Maddog are here To show you the way. A podcast where we talk about the important things in life. Come journey with us. The Electronic Walkabout.

Well, good afternoon, Maddog, and how are you this fine day?

I am doing excellent, sir. How are you?

Not too bad at all. If you were to look out the window in my office or studio, you would see the sun is shining. And when the sun shines, I always say it's my idea.

It's a little self serving, but that's self serving.

But you know as well as I do how much that they call them atmospheric rivers fall from the sky around here.

Yeah, I'm going to pretend that the next two days aren't like that.

Yeah, let's hope. Let's hope. Maddog. We're going to take our listeners on a journey to explore the importance of, of having visionaries in our lives. These are the leaders that set our way forward for the greater good of all. Now, when you hear the word visionary, you probably think of a great leader, someone who inspires through groundbreaking ideas, expertly communicated. Maybe it's Martin Luther King, Steve Jobs or Winston Churchill. So you see where I'm going with this, right? So this journey has one expectation, challenge to our listeners, to embrace their own ability as a visionary. Have you ever thought about that for a second?

I don't think I thought about that terms, not at all. I think, you know, we all kind of do it for our families, right? Like we have to provide something, you know, for our kids and stuff to maybe stay focused on or. So I think everybody in their own family unit as a parent is a visionary in a certain way.

Oh, I love, I love the way you kind of put that together with the family unit. That makes perfect sense because what it does is it, it really helps with that challenge that I have there because it doesn't matter what level, I'll say what level of being a visionary could or is or where, what, what you aspire to be. Literally the sky's the limit with. Right? So once you become comfortable actually embracing your, your own visionary ability, the next step is action. But guess what, we're going to save that for another podcast as that's all right. But first, as always, a thought for the day. We call it drinking the Kool Aid. When we buy into a leader's vision. Let's just hope it's not the flavor of the day.

It's not purple.

No. Do you remember those commercials?

Oh yeah, that big thing of Kool Aid and the Kool Aid came bursting through the wall and.

Yeah, I don't think you'd see something like that on TV these days.

No, no, the Kool Aid's still good, but it's different.

It's different. Kool Aid. Kool Aid. Right. So. Oh, off topic question. Is it Coke or Pepsi for you?

Pepsi. Oh, we have this internal fight in our family.

Oh really? Do tell.

We're kind of divided. Half and half. Got hardcore Coke. Dr. I turned Pepsi quail and I'm not saying I won't drink Coke, but if I had to choose one of the two, I'd choose Pepsi.

Do you feel guilty when you drink Coke?

Not at all.

Not at all. Okay.

But there's something for me, there is a memory for when I was younger when they used to sell pop or soda, if you're a US listener in glass bottles. And there was just something about a cold bottle of Pepsi that it's it, that flavor is burnt into my brain from when I was a kid and can is great, but I don't know what it was. It was just out of a glass bottle. So I, a Pepsi fan from that.

Point on, of course, you know what a Pepsi is. There's a, it's not a derogative term. It's. It's a term of an individual from Quebec. They call him a Pepsi. Did you know that?

I did not.

Yeah. As much time as you're spending in Montreal.

Yeah.

You see some research next.

I'm there next week.

Yeah. To say, hey, is it true they call you some of you guys Pepsi?

Am I going to get punched? Is it?

I'll leave that one for you.

Okay, well if I come back with a black eye, I will have learned.

Yeah. And when, when I was coming up with this off topic question, I was thinking about that, that old SNL skit with John Belushi and I believe Dan Aykroyd and they're in the diner, it's Pepsi, Pepsi cheeseburger, no Coke.

Oh, my wife quotes that one non stop.

So I thought, yeah, then. And because it was always like, oh, the new Pepsi generation or real Coke or the new Coke or whatever.

And that was a struggle for Coke. When they changed the recipe, there was a massive backlash. And then it was like, okay, we're gonna bring it back. It's cult classic.

Yes.

Well, and then Michael Jackson's hair caught on fire and there was it The Pepsi commercials.

Yeah, I think it was.

Yeah, yeah.

That's why he beat it.

Right. So where is that joke?

Yeah, yeah. Anyways, on topic question. Are visionaries born or are they made thoughts?

I think it could go either way. I think it's probably a little more rare to be born. Born as a visionary. I think maybe some life experience comes into play and then you learn possibly how to be one. But yeah, I'd say that learned would be more. More often than natural born.

Okay. So what makes a person a visionary is probably a good place to start, I don't think.

If you can impart a little bit of wisdom, a little bit of inspiration, a little bit of direction, you kind of mix all those up and it, it gives people something to either believe in or follow. And this goes, this goes far.

Where did you get that from? Because that's what. I'm going to read something here afterwards. I love what you're saying. I just.

Because I think about it in different ways. There's religious leaders.

Yes.

There's political leaders, there's military leaders. They're all vastly different, but they all kind of march to the beat of the same drum. Right. They're providing some knowledge and learning. They're providing some, you know, guidance and direction. And then maybe just. They're just charismatic and they, you know, can. And you can't exclude Hitler out of that. And this is not from a he. The way that obviously he spoke, people obviously believed in it, whether it was, you know, out of fear or not. But there's just. Dictators, I think, are somewhat visionaries to people that will drink said Kool Aid.

Yeah. And it's unfortunate with that Kool Aid that the, the harm. And I say harm. That's probably an understatement. The grief, the, the whatever the result of that.

Yeah.

Charismatic. Oh, for sure.

Definitely not condoning anything or supporting it. It's just more of a, you know, you've got these, these leaders and, and, and some of the people following them see them as such. So. So, yeah, I'm just saying there's all different types.

Oh, yeah, for sure. So now, like I said, I'm going to read something here and I'm almost wasting my time because I think you said it better yourself. But visionaries are positive and hopeful people to start with. They don't take things personally and understand that everyone has good in them. That is a hard thing to do, to look at someone and say, where's the good in that individual? Because there's some bad people there. Are they Encourage others to have their vision and help others without expecting something in return.

Yeah, and it's, yeah, and they're all over. And, you know, I think we learned by our parents, you know, if our parents are guiders and inspiring to you and stuff like that, maybe that's your first taste or maybe you had a teacher that you really just, when they spoke, you just held on to every word and believed what they said. So I think if you're exposed to a lot of different people like that, then you might absorb a lot of those traits and then start practicing yourself. So that's why I say there's to be born as a natural leader. I don't know if that's really, I.

Don'T, I don't know. Well, you might have a foundation, but I mean, when we talk about personal growth in the, in the context of being a visionary, you, you have to, you have to learn from someone else, I think either through experience or, or, or mentorship. Because when you think about when, when we, I, I don't know when they, they threw it out in the business world that you needed a, a mentor. But if you, if you wanted, let's say, the best mentor in the world, wouldn't that be a visionary? Wouldn't that be the.

Because you're, you're believing in them and you're, you're wanting to learn and, and grow from them. So absolutely, I think that would.

So. And, and I, I'm personally going to have a hard time answering this question, but is there anybody comes to mind that you've come across that you would consider a visionary that somewhat has inspired or put their best foot forward that would say, hey, I like what you got going on there. I'm going to hop aboard there. I'm going to follow that and I'm going to see this come, come to an end?

I personally can say, no, not one person, but I can say I've been exposed to a lot of individuals that have given me little glimpses into possibly parts of being a visionary. Maybe not the whole piece. Like, I can't say this one person inspired me to do all these things, but it might be through work. I worked for Guy and he inspired me to be a good leader because I felt good every time I went to work or it was this parent because they made me feel really good when I talked to. So, and then that's, I think, you know, to your previous point, that's how you build possibly yourself to, or somebody builds themselves to be a visionary because of, they've learned things and they've been able to grow from it and, and I would assume hopefully that they just want to impart and share that wisdom with others.

For sure, for sure. And like I said, I'm still having a hard time with this.

So then you let me flip it a different way, just narrow it down to work. Was there anybody through your career that you looked at that it could be an inspired you or taught you a whole lot of things that you didn't know, but there was a piece of them that you looked up to that you wanted to learn from?

Oh for sure. And I made a habit of doing that. Like I would, like literally didn't matter where I was going, I'd find that individual that was, I'd call them the guru in 1, 1, 1 skill set or another and get to know them and, and learn as much as I can from them, sponge as much as I could from them or someone that a couple people that come to mind that literally you don't, you don't, you don't know them before you, you walk to the door with this job and before you know it, not only are you learning from them, they're your friend as well. So there's, and that's the best of both worlds. And, and you know, it's funny, I'm thinking about it every, every once in a while and I get a message from my brother, he says, you know, like I always look up to you, you know, and I'm thinking, you don't know what effect you have on people like you don't you, when you talk about visionaries. And I'm thinking, well I don't, I don't know what you're looking up at. I'm just a guy like everybody else.

But he might be looking at it from a dad standpoint, from a, you know, from a work standpoint. But you know, and don't kid yourself, you teach a lot of courses so there's people that are looking to you and pulling those pieces from what you're imparting and adding into their arsenal. So, but if you, if you don't come in from us at it from a self serving standpoint and you're truly just really trying to help and you know, build other, that's, I think how you kind of get into that light.

That'S such a hard thing to do. I mean, I think it's, I think it's pretty easy to come up with. I think an idea that you think is going to be, I'll say revolutionary. It's another thing altogether to inspire people to see the good in that idea and saying, hop on, hop on board that, that train and, and see where it takes us and take it, take the train to the finish line where there's nothing but success and everybody enjoys success.

Yeah, for sure. It's just how you go about it is probably the, the ethical question.

So. For sure, for sure. Yes. What are a few traits that you might want to focus on to develop yourself as a visionary? Any thoughts on that at all?

Just do you think people set out to be visionary or do you think it kind of, it just how they, they operate or how they act or how they feel? Right. Like, I don't, I would never look at it go. I want to have people follow me and da, da, da.

You know what I mean? But if it's a. I, I like the question you asked. Let's, let's play around with that for a pitch and we'll go back to my question because on a previous podcast, you know, we talk about, about being alert to what's in our environment and, and I'm just, just wondering if I, is it a goal to be a visionary? To start with, I'm not, I'm not so sure it is. To start with, it might be as simple as, hey, I got an idea, come with me, let's play kind of thing and, and see where it takes you. And then because of that, like, I mean, there's something good or fantastic that comes from it and really you inspire others to be visionaries as well. So can we call it a byproduct maybe? For sure. Yeah.

That's a good way to coin it.

Yeah. But if, if I were to all of a sudden say, hey, I, I'm. Let's just take it from a personal growth and because of the personal growth, it might equal, let's say having some characteristics of being a visionary, whether, whether you're a successful visionary or not. Yeah, that's, and that's totally going to be persons specific. Yeah. And we already already talked a little bit about having some charisma and, and how that somehow kind of has influence with respect to being a visionary.

I think if you try and be a visionary, you're going to lose, lose the purpose of it. Right. Because if I'm like, I want to be a visionary, that's something that I want to gain and I want to achieve. I think visionaries just kind of maybe impart wisdom and knowledge others as opposed to solidify who they are to a point.

Okay, so let me, let me ask It a different way then. If. If my emotional intelligence is, let's say, high in the radar, does that make me a good visionary?

I think it would have people be a little more willing to listen and potentially follow you because you are, you know, a little more caring, a little more understanding. Right. As opposed to dictator. Like, where it's like, this is how you should think or this is why you should think. Oh, okay. No, I'd rather not.

What about having an imagination? For sure. Does that help you make.

Absolutely. You know, because if you can help people think outside the box by way of your thinking outside the box, it may help them look at solving problems differently or dealing with their relationship differently.

What about being persistent?

Yeah. Yes. Yeah.

It's.

I had a boss that told me a long, long time, you know, in sales, he's like, it is a consistent, persistent effort. And I have burnt that phrase into my brain. My teams get annoyed with it because I say it over and over, but it's true. Like, if. If you want to be good at something, it's not a flash in the pan.

No, no.

Not a try.

Yeah.

And you've got to try and you'll fail. And you pick yourself and you keep trying. You have to be persistent. So, yes, persistence is key.

Okay, so you've already answered one of my questions, but this. I'm going to add one more thing to the equation based on the persistence is courage and optimism together.

Yeah.

Good qualities for sure.

And if you throw all of those things together, I think that in totality is what makes an overall visionary. It's not single segment. It's not one or two things. There's a whole lot. You have to think outside the box. You have to be empathetic. You have to be able to connect with people. You have to have charisma. Like, it takes all those things.

It sounds like having all those things might just suck the wind out of you.

Yeah. But I think if you're coming at it from you've gotten to that point because you wanted to make yourself a better person, it's probably not as hard.

I agree with you there. So, I mean, you've kind of already alluded to this next question, but does failure play a part in becoming a visionary or not?

I think so, because there's some resilience there. There's. To your point about persistence, if you fail and give up, did you learn anything? Are you able to show others what to get from it? I myself have claimed bankruptcy. Tw. Not ashamed. I've. I went through. Made some dumb Decisions. Did I let that define me? No, but. So I was persistent about trying to get back on the horse and be better. So I'd like to think in that regards for my, at least my kids, that they've seen that, that, you know, you can be down at a certain level that doesn't define who you are. You have to have that vision to get better and consistently work at it. Failure, I think helps the process and.

It, I like the way you say that. It helps the process because someone, something like failure, someone might take that as being a negative thing. Sure.

But I call it an expensive learning lesson.

Oh yeah, I'm sure. For sure. What about legacy? Do visionaries care about this or is it simply a byproduct?

I think it's byproduct because again, I think a true visionary doesn't do something in a self serving manner. But if it stays and other people learn from it for a long time and they cement their place, I don't think that's a bad thing at all.

Okay, okay. Can we teach our kids to be visionaries?

I think all of those traits that we talked about, I think you can help impart into your kids and teach that way. But I don't think there's a. And of course if you went, I'm sure to chapters and look, there'd probably be a How to become an effective visionary or how to become an effective leader.

But I'm just hoping it has picture.

This is a color by numbers, like what's the deal there? But yeah, life experience plays into it a lot of stuff.

Crazy question. Is it ever too late to learn how to be a visionary?

Absolutely not. No. But again, like I, I struggle with, it's almost like achieving a title, you know what I mean? Like, I don't know if that can be done that way.

No, I think you're right. It's, it's, it's weird because I mean, it kind of leads to one of the questions I had, like why do we not see more visionaries? Or maybe they're out there and we just don't see the, the goodwill that they've kind of spread about. Yeah, I know.

And I think that maybe people do look for it in certain parts of their life. Like maybe if you're religious and you go to church, maybe you're looking at that church leader as your visionary because they're imparting scripture and good feelings and they're great at speaking to big audience. Then maybe you go to work and you're looking for like a financial Leader that can, you know, educate you and show you better planning for the future. I think it's, it's almost segmented. Right. Because I don't know if there would be ever one person that can cover all those things.

Yeah. The full meal deal. Yeah.

Right.

That would be very challenging getting back. That would certainly suck the wind out of you.

Yeah. For sure.

You'd have to somehow. And I'm just wondering if you're a visionary, maybe you get your batteries recharged when you, when you find that success at the end of the day and say okay, this, this was good. I can't wait till the next vision hits me while I'm. Yeah. At 2 o' clock in the morning. And I think we can also, we.

Can all be visionaries in specific things. But yeah. I struggle with the all being visionary. That one person.

That might be a little scary. Yeah. The truth. But I mean at the end of the day, keep in mind what the challenges to the listeners to somehow find their own inner visionary. And I like the way that you went down there and say, well what about at home? Let's start it kind of start at home first and see what kind of vision I would have for my family. Yeah. And that can. That the possibilities are endless with that too. But if you can somehow impart that that would be.

And you know, maybe that's just being a good parent and if your kids look up to you and say, you know what, I want to be like my mom or my dad because I, I love the way that they raised me, you could, that could easily be a visionary as a parent because you've inspired somebody else to do well.

I would just hope that a lot more people spend more time and kind of explore what a visionary is and, and maybe take one of those qualities they have and run with it and continue to develop themselves. But unfortunately that music is telling us that this episode has come to an end. But remember, anyone can be a great visionary by following a few easy steps.

You too can be a visionary.

Be aware of your surroundings, where it be business, community or a new trend. It's really keeping your eyes and ears open, keeping your ears to the ground to figure out what's happening out there. When you see something that seems to be trend like just dig a little deeper, dig a little deeper there and you'll start seeing some of these little changes. And really, really what we're talking about is finding that relevant information that really there's a wave that's going to start. And if you can see that wave Beginning. And I guess that's part of the challenge. A lot of people don't see the wave. No, they did hit, they just got hit by the tsunami. That's what happens. Right. That's a good way to think it's true and begin to put it all together and say, hey, wait a second, there's something important happening here, something positive. I want to make sure that everybody knows about this. Which really takes the next step is you've got to take some action or it's all for naught. And as soon as I hear that, take for action, you know that, that great idea that someone had 10 years ago but didn't take any action, but 10 years later that same idea came to life and it was a great idea.

That's a shoulda, coulda, woulda. Yes.

And like anything, the more you practice this process, the more confident you'll be in with developing your vision visions and seeing them come to fruition. Keep in mind what we talked about with respect to failure as well.

Don't be afraid of failure.

No, no.

You got to embrace it. I think in any aspect of this whole visionary, as long as it's coming from a good place and you're trying to impart betterment into others, you can't go wrong.

You can't go wrong. No, I, I totally agree with you. And so I'm just going to end this with a quote. Action. Action without vision is only passing time. Vision without action is merely daydreaming. But vision with action can change the world. Love it. I like that one. Nelson Mandela.

My buddy Nelson.

Yes, yes. I truly want to read his book one day. Yes, for sure. Any other thoughts?

No, no. I, I, I really enjoy going down these rabbit holes because it definitely makes me think of things from taking a step back and looking at things and it, you can only better yourself by learning.

There you go. And that's one to grow on for sure. Remember the challenge and remember to take advantage of the moment before the moment takes advantage of you. To learn more about Ewalkabout, please Visit us at eWalkabout. Cat Sam.