“If thinking men are few, they are for that reason all the more powerful. Let no man imagine that he has no influence. Whoever he may be, and wherever he may be placed, the man who thinks becomes a light and a power.” – Henry George, Born Sep. 2, 1839.
Most people hate to think.
Some even find it painful. Even the ones who are good at it often find it a burden and a curse, and seek respite from an overactive mind…
But I digress. For most, they simply avoid it because then they don't have the burden of responsibility that comes with having thought things through.
If you think, then you must make your own opinions.
You must incept your own ideas.
You must decide your own goals and courses of action.
You develop predictions of what is to come.
You cultivate understanding of what is needed to face likely obstacles and pitfalls.
It's a lot of work to be a thinker.
But if you can manage it, it's so rare a skill that you can profit mightily from it.
Because you DO form your own opinions. You DO have your own ideas. And you DO create your own goals and courses of action…
And since you're not just letting someone else do all your thinking for you, you end up innovating. Discovering new territory. Finding new shortcuts through uncharted wilderness where others fear to tread.
Not because you're a creative genius, but simply because you are a unique individual, with unique memories and skills and experiences and no one else would think to solve a problem in the exact way you would.
And that information and insight and experience are VALUABLE.
People will pay such as us to do their thinking FOR them.
So get good at it.
Crunch.
Compare.
Contrast.
Criticize.
Curate.
Provide QUALITY opinions, ideas, and processes back into the market.
They need them. They need you.
It's a big responsibility. Charge accordingly.
Perhaps the best quote to come out of this Church led by the Hon. Fr. Collin.
Thinking is a burden. No one wants to do it. Not even the guy on the Bank 800 help desk. Leadership comes from thinking.