"All men of action are dreamers". --James Huneker
"Dreams are the touchstones of our character."--Henry David Thoreau
I love these quotes because I totally buy into them. The idea of being a man of action is really well...manly. Initiative is action, is proactive, is a self-starter not a reactionary. Character and what our dreams consist of go hand in hand. You cannot separate them. Ask a guy about what he dreams about, what he wants his life to look like, and you will discover his character. Dreams without character, is just selfish ambition and there is nothing special about that.
Having a vision gives a man a plan of action. Action for the sake of action is pointless. Developing a vision for what you want your life to look like gives guidance to your action. The vision can be adjusted but a man with no vision for themselves is lost. All he does is wonder what happened. Like all those dads on TV sitcoms. They never have any vision they just react to their wives(to stay out of trouble), react to their children(when was the last time you saw a TV dad provide appropriate leadership?) and take no initiative only do what they are told because they are almost always seen as incompetent. Show me a passive man and I will show you a person who has settled for OK.
Being a man of action with a vision is a man who is going to do something about what's on his heart. That is a whole person. When choosing to be involved in a relationship, men need to match their vision to the person they want to develop a relationship with. If the woman's values/vision match then you got yourself a team that can accomplish much. That is the best pairing for being good parents too. But if a man has vision but it does not match what's in his heart, you have a misguided man. Misguided men can have all the action in world, and all the vision in world but if the heart(character), is not involved or stuffed down, then you have project oriented guys who see accomplishment as their guide not heart/character. And as we know from the distant past, and present, much can be accomplished but very little has any value.
See most US Presidents, CEO's, most professional athlete's and musicians.(Just my opinion)
Vision and action, though, need to be nurtured and affirmed. Advice to the women...don't try so hard to change your man. You just might be sucking the life out of his vision and action. Security is important, but so is vision of things you cannot see yet. Uncertainty breeds either fear/courage or action/paralysis. A woman who trusts her man's plan, gives him opportunity to see his and her vision come to pass. Fear of failure is a killer. Constantly reminding someone of mistakes made in the past is like throwing water on the fire of their vision and action.
Single men, develop your vision of what you want your life to look like. If you can't articulate it, then you have no vision. Being rich, being famous, having power over people is not what I would consider a vision. A vision is what you see yourself being and doing in the future. Specific. If you desire to be married, then what is your vision for your marriage? What would you do for your wife? What kind of things would you plan for the both of you to do? What kind of things would you want to be able to talk about without yelling at each other? If you desire to be a father, then what kind of father would you want to be? Specifically, what skills, values and ideas would you want to give/impart to your children? How would you like for them to see you?
Vision and action. Character and teamwork. No man is an island. Be a difference maker, a man of action and vision, because the world needs more men like that.
Shawn
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