"Picture Pages": The Power of Visualization

We’ve all heard the phrase “seeing is believing.” And I agree. However, this sentiment applies to our imagination as well. In fact, I believe that we think in pictures more than most realize. And the more crystalized an image-story becomes in our minds, the more we stamp it as true. Case in point, the Wright Brothers didn’t need to see an airplane first to know that flight was possible by man. Which is why the phrase “whether you think you can or can’t, your always right” exists.

A simple example of the power of pictures is how so many people are impressed with the number of analogies I’m able to quickly access to help make some aspect of music more relatable to them. And like the gears of a car engine or manual watch, I see music as an extremely clear series of interlocking parts. Which in turn makes it easy for me to see its reflection in so many other seemingly non-related things. It’s really no different than recognizing your own reflection in a reflective surface, regardless of how distorted the image may be. Another example of how this idea plays out in music for me is when I’m getting set up for a gig. Many times people have wondered why I seem slightly disconnected to everyone around me when I’m either getting ready to head to a gig, or am in the middle of getting set up at the gig. And the answer is simple. As a growth oriented person, I’m always working on some concept. But before it’s baked into my DNA, I have to actively think about it to access it. So what might come across to any onlookers as anti-social behavior is actually me running through a “pre-flight” checklist to ensure that I still remember what I need to do to execute it. Another way to say it is that I’m trying to convince myself that the analogy that I’ve chosen to help me access said concept is as stable as I think it might be. So once I find the right analogy, and have played this picture-narrative out in my head enough times to believe I’m right, I can then stop actively thinking about said idea without the fear that I’ll forget how to access it when I need it.

The reason why I’m highlighting this idea of pictures is because I believe the idea is undervalued. When you think about the nature of meditation, or escaping to nature to find peace and quiet, you’re doing so because you’re seeking clarity on an issue or set of issues. And in doing so, you’re forced to sort through the vast catalogue of images/memories in your brain to assemble like a jigsaw puzzle that’ll hopefully reveal an objective picture of reality. Which, of course, means that as we absorb new information, will require us to reassemble the order of our picture-narratives so that they reflect a new version of reality that makes sense to us. Therefore, the gold that’s to be mined from this post is that if the lives we live are reflective of the choices we’ve made, and will continue to make, then the filter by which our decisions are distilled constitute the order of these picture-narratives. In short, every time we rearrange the order, we change the design of the filter, and ultimately the trajectory of our lives. Hence the power of visualization.

Suggested Takeaway’s…

a) When you change the way you look at the picture-narratives in your head, you change the way you look at reality (for better or worse). *Hint: always take an impartial stance when doing so.

b) The strength of our decisions is only as good as the filter we distill them through. So focus on inspecting the filter more than the thought itself.

c) Believe it or not, research and development (R&D) is simply the physical stress testing of picture-narratives. In other words, the continual challenging of thesis’s.  

The Power of Death

When talking about life balances, I always bring up the point that no one ever runs a marathon without knowing how long it is first, as when you know the distance and the date of the race, the process of reverse engineering becomes much easier. That said, when people are given news about how much time they have left to live, what we tend to see is a brief moment of depression followed by an intense desire to finish their race with an elevated sense of purpose. And so it’s within this space of intentional living that we most often notice the power of death on full display.

As we know, the lives we lead are reflective of all our past decisions (good, bad, and indifferent). And when it comes to decision types, the only two that exist are made in the name of one-off experiences (instant gratification) and habits needed to support an outcome, like finishing a marathon (delayed gratification). Well, when I look at successful people who live life on purpose, one of the things they all have in common is a healthy respect for death, as just like running a marathon, it gives them the ultimate context for decision making.

The funny thing about death is that while we know it’s certain, we still react to it when someone dies as if we never saw it coming EVER. Death isn’t an issue of “if,” it’s an issue of “when.” And given that we see it fit to steward the attention of our youth towards a focus on getting the right grades for the eventual right job, one would think that a serious conversation about their eventual death would also be introduced at some point. After all, isn’t balance predicated upon establishing two end points? Where you are and where you want to be? Or in this case, where you’re going to be? But every time someone passes away, so many people are continually caught with their pants down, paralyzed by both the shock of the loss and the logistical process that’s to follow in reconciling the legal affairs of the dearly departed. But just imagine the world we’d get to live in if we prepped our youth with a preliminary understanding and respect for the end-game. Just imagine how it might affect the mental filter by which they make important life decisions through. After all, if you already understand the process of the end game, and have an idea as to how you want it to play out, I can’t imagine that you’d do anything to potentially compromise that vision you’ve created for yourself. And since you can’t value what you don’t understand, it’s hard for me to imagine that a discounting of the value of time can still yield an elevated sense of self worth. Meaning, if we don’t see the value in searching for our own intrinsic worth, then I can’t imagine that we’d bother to accord the same benefit to anyone else.

So again, the value of rearticulating death in this way is that it can create a beautiful watershed moment where all of our priorities in life are suddenly made clear, as we’re never closer to life than when we’re on the precipice of death. And when we learn to see the power of death in this way, it becomes easier to see the value of applying it to all of the micro aspects of our lives, such as seeking to embrace the continual death of old ideas that no longer serve us.

Suggested Takeaways…

a) The power of death is reflected in our ability to gain instant clarity for how we want the narrative of our lives to read leading up to our own passing.      

b) The life we lead is reflective of all the good, bad, and indifferent decisions we’ve ever made. And since the suffix -cide means “to kill”— which gives clarity to words like suicide, homicide, pesticide, and insecticide—the word decide means “to kill an opposing idea.” Therefore, good decisions are the ones that are in supportive alignment with how we want the end to play out.  

c) The degree to which we’re able to appreciate life is to the degree that we can respect and appreciate the serendipities of death.

Myths & Philosophies: The Birthing of a Constitution

When people say that they’re not rule followers, that’s not to be taken literally. What they’re really saying is that the only rules they see fit to adhere to are their own, as we’re all following a framework of some kind. That said, when two or more musical frameworks/philosophies are at odds with each other, friction on the bandstand becomes the most visible. Therefore, the only way to reach a sense of equilibrium is to balance enough perspectives against as many objective truths as possible.

Like the framing of our constitution, our sense of reality is representative of philosophies that were once distilled from a set of “tribal myths.” So until I can fully explore the myths and subsequent philosophies of another musician, I’m compelled to suspend my judgement of their capacity until I have this important information. In fact, a perfect illustration of this idea gone awry can be summed up by the 1984 decision by the Portland Trailblazers to draft Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. The philosophy that all centers should be over a certain height was driven by the myth that if they are tall, it increases the chances that they’ll be able to make and block shots easier when closer to a basket, in addition to grabbing rebounds easier. In other words, the idea that the success of a team should hinge around the position of a center is the myth. But clearly this concept isn’t an exact science, as MJ would go on to dominate the sport from the position of a guard. So because their philosophical calculations didn’t allow them the flexibility to identify other useful key performance indicators (KPI) for MJ’s growth potential, the Trailblazers passed on one of the greatest basketball players ever in exchange for a guy who would be riddled with a number of injuries.

In bringing this back to music, my experiences over the years have taught me to be cautious of being overly certain about the growth potential of others, as there have been a few people that have really surprised me with what they’ve been able to bring to the table over time, which I could have never predicted if my philosophy on permanence was too ridged. And in each of those surprising instances, my decision to keep them close always came after I had gained more clarity behind the myths of their philosophies. Which in turn gave me an idea as to how open their mindset was to entertaining other philosophies. So to paraphrase a quote by the great saxophonist Kenny Garrett, “I don’t need someone who’s at my level. I just need someone who’s trying to go where I want to go. I can teach them the rest of what they need to know along the way.” And as we know, it’s not uncommon to hear of a student eventually surpassing the abilities of their teacher.

Suggested Takeaways…

a) Our sense of reality will always be representative of philosophies that have been distilled from a series of “tribal myths” from somewhere. So without the knowledge of the “myths” of another, our ability to comprehend and communicate effectively will always fall short to some degree.

b) Everyone is a rule follower, even if it is one’s own rules that are being followed. However, unlike our nation’s constitution, our internal constitutions haven’t exactly undergone the same level of scrutiny by the minds of as many critical thinkers. Not to mention, our personal constitutions aren’t accessibly on display for all the world to understand us better either. So if we can’t imagine there not being a well-defined constitution to help guide the culture of all organizations, why not apply this idea to our personal lives?

c) To have an expanded view of all key performance indicators helps to hedge against any bias we may hold towards one’s growth potential if at first they don’t appear to comfortably fit the framework of our wisdom (i.e. Michael Jordan).