What do you know in your bones to be true about humanity and the Earth—despite all reason?
If you're an innovator, this truth is more than an idea. It's a vision that pulses through your body. You see potential in a world unraveling. You see beauty where others see brokenness. And that vision is your unique contribution.
What is a Visionary Innovator?
Innovators are not just creators or leaders. They are seers. You hold a vision so deeply that it often feels like part of your DNA. While others may focus on fixing broken systems, you're imagining something new entirely.
But here’s the truth many don’t say out loud: your vision won’t always unfold the way you expect. It may shape-shift, evolve, or feel out of reach. That doesn’t mean you’re lost. It means something more aligned may be waiting to emerge.
The Evolution of a Vision: My Story
I’ve been carrying a vision for over 40 years. It has taken many forms—sometimes bold and crystal clear, other times more subtle and quiet. I’ve come to understand that some visions are bigger than a single lifetime. They evolve with us. They shape the way we serve, love, and lead.
Back in the 1980s, as a seminary student at Princeton, I knew I wasn’t called to a traditional church. I didn’t want to lead Sunday services in pews and recite hymns. For me, faith meant action—bringing the sacred into real life by seeking justice and uplifting community.
But the institutional structures around me didn’t support that vision. I was trying to reimagine something ancient—and in doing so, I eventually left Christianity altogether as my beliefs evolved.
Decades later, the nonprofit I founded became the very “church” I had once envisioned. Now, as a mentor for young professional innovators at the intersection of spiritual depth and social change, I see my vision once again transforming. That’s the nature of visionary work. It keeps unfolding.
Innovation Always Involves Risk
To bring something truly new into the world is to walk into the unknown. Innovation is vulnerable. It invites attention, resistance, and sometimes rejection. That can feel terrifying.
Here’s the paradox: many innovators carry a deep fear of being seen. This fear can lead us to unconsciously build lives that feel safe, but actually stifle our creativity and growth.
This is the Shadow side of being an innovator. But embedded in that Shadow is also the seed of Mastery.
The Shadow vs. the Mastery of the Innovator
Common Signs of the Innovator's Shadow:
Feeling like you’re “selling yourself” to survive—compromising your true gifts to avoid rejection.
Creating environments where you're always needed, but never challenged.
Staying small to stay safe—resisting the risk of transformation.
Suppressing your creative voice due to fear of judgment.
Signs You’re Stepping Into Mastery:
Evolving a skill to the point where you break the rules and birth something new.
Creating beyond what exists—you’re not improving the old, you’re inventing the future.
Letting creativity flow freely, without editing or apology.
Taking bold action before the full picture is clear—trusting your inner compass.
How to Embody Your Vision Daily
True innovation isn’t just an idea. It’s an embodied state. You don’t chase your vision—it comes through you. Here’s a practice I return to every morning:
Write it down. Even if it feels vague or bold or unrealistic. “I want to make a difference in the world” is enough.
Speak it aloud. Your body will feel the resonance. Your nervous system will shift.
Ask inwardly: Who can I be today to serve this vision? What action is mine to take?
Drop it into stillness. Let it root deep within the quiet center of your being.
This isn’t just mindset work. It’s manifestation. It's the daily act of aligning with a vision that already exists in the field of infinite possibility—God, Source, the Quantum Field. Call it what you will.
You Are Not Here to Improve the World -- You're Here to Reimagine It
The path of the innovator isn’t about fixing what’s broken. It’s about revealing what’s possible. You’re not here to build a better version of the old world. You’re here to create something that’s never existed before.
Hold your vision gently. Speak it. Live it. Risk for it. The world needs what only you can bring.
A version of this essay first appeared on my Substack: Soul Work for a Changing World. Visit to explore more essays, videos and reflections on living your soul's purpose and creating meaningful change. 
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