Further qualities of the Paradigmeer

Our Paradigmeers have shown they are people who think differently about how to bring fundamental change to people’s lives.  They have considered how the prevailing rules have stopped people making further steps toward improvement.  In many cases they conceived of the inconceivable. 

We can all dream.  How many of us are great inventors, designers, and coaches with a ground breaking idea?  How many of us have the mindset which will make our vision become reality?  If we are Paradigmeers then we believe we can ‘make it so’!  If not it is yet another unrealised pipe dream.

The Paradigmeers we have so far added to our Hall of Fame have all had these qualities.  Let’s add a couple of other factors to the discussion:

1. They have created opportunity
2. They have captured the spirit of their time

Without opportunity nothing can happen, but like a sparrow on your window sill, it may be there every day - did you notice it?  Paradigmeers create opportunities.  They become aware of a need to make something happen.  Maybe they don’t set out to find an opportunity to improve their world but something in them triggers the recognition that things could be much better.  Would Napoleon have risen to be Emperor of France if he hadn’t aged 24, seized the opportunity to shine as an artillery officer at the siege of Toulon in 1793?  If there had been no war at the time he is unlikely to have had the chance to show his talents and his name would have been consigned to obscurity.

Even with opportunity many Paradigmeers will have fallen by the wayside because they couldn’t gain support.  Clive Sinclair’s C5 is a great example.  His previous products like the ZX Spectrum computer struck the right chord and were a massive popular success.  Whereas, the world wasn’t ready for the C5 personal transport.  If Ghandi had been a fire-brand revolutionary would he have been as successful in bringing independence and democracy to India?  Violence was simmering with ethnic tension throughout the country yet by and large his influence brought about a peaceful transition or certainly a more peaceful change.

This raises the question; can we create the conditions for opportunities to arise?  If we can then Paradigmeers can thrive.  If you are to make your dreams become reality and bring about fundamental improvements, how can you capture the spirit of the day to gain support?  Or what qualities are needed to overcome adversity so that others too can realise what might be achieved and become followers.