Know the Unknown - Tao of Clear Mind and Leadership

Good leaders are clairvoyant. They seem to know the unknown.

In fact, it is the quality of reading the future that sets good leadership apart from the bad. People look to leaders for direction. The better a leader can know the future, the better his following.

What about you? Are you a visionary leader?

You may say that you can be one, if you have a crystal ball to gaze into the future. But where on earth can you find the crystal ball.

Search no more! The crystal ball is right above your two shoulders. It is in your head. Good leaders are no sorcerers. They see the world in their minds’ eyes just like you and I. If they can see the future with clarity, so can you!

Of course, they have done something better than most, which enables them to be clairvoyant.
They have clear mind!

Nurture and sharpen your mind. You will be as clear sighted.

Tao is about clear mind.

From the perspective of Tao, clear mind happens with tranquility. It is like reflection of water. Water that is stirred cannot reflect clear image; a mind that is disturbed can not see things in perspective. The water has to be settled and calm for you to see a clear reflection; your mind has to be unruffled to reflect a vision for the future.

So the first step towards clear mind is tranquility.

With tranquility, you are more in tune with orders of the universe.

Then, jump out from yourself. Look at the matter not as your usual self, see it from the mind of an external you. Stay detached from the present. Cast your mind to the future -- a month, a year or years ahead -- before looking back to the present.

In the process, you may have new insights for the future that astound you.

Even if the quietude lasts only a split second, it makes a world of difference. This is how the sedate tai chi wards off mighty blows of enemies double his size. In fact, the more pressing the decision is, the more you‘ll need to resort to tranquility.

We all have a crystal ball in us. Our sights for the future however are often marred by our ego, our eagerness and our desires. The moment when we are in tranquility, the moment when we can let go and stay detached, our vision for the future emerges. Under such circumstances, we are more able to read the future not because of any magic power, but for the readiness to accept the laws of nature, and stay close to the reality.

It is just like what Lao Tzu says in his timeless classic Tao Te Ching:

"If you can empty your mind of all thoughts
your heart will embrace the tranquility of peace.
Watch the workings of all of creation,
but contemplate their return to the source.

All creatures in the universe
return to the point where they began.
Returning to the source is tranquility
because we submit to Heaven’s mandate."