Dreams of the Heart - Jaffer Ali - MediaBizBloggers

Keep your dreams closer to the fire of your heart than
to the brilliance of the mind.
--Ahmed Habib, Iraqi journalist

Today's offering was prompted by a post in my Twitter tweet stream. My writings have been misinterpreted as the work of a pessimistic mind. It caused me to reflect on how easily – and often - my best intentions are misconstrued.

But a thorough overview of the multitude of essays and articles I've penned reveals a style motivated more by poets and dreamers than by the sober realities of an industry steeped in "data reductionism" and spreadsheet-driven sensibilities.

Just as we experience in life and religion, there is a distinct clash of cultures that shapes our faith. On the spreadsheet side we see unbridled faith in data and technology; blind faith that transcends business as one hapless driver discovered recently when she followed her GPS directions right into Lake Michigan!

But there is a different, stronger kind of faith. It's a faith in ourselves that dwells within each of us. This is where our dreams come to be nurtured. And though their source and meaning continue to elude philosophers and philistines alike, our dreams express the very best within us when they come from the heart. Dreams are not corporeal. They are a simple matter of faith.

Those that misplace their faith in data and technology are like religious fundamentalists. They seek comfort and succor from empty ritual that neither inspires nor sustains our dreams.

The clash between dreams and data is as much a clash of words as it is a clash of wills. As is often the case with people of different religions, adherents of one tend to apply labels that marginalize the other. As a former devotee of data, I can attest to this language barrier.

Try speaking to a room full of spreadsheet-driven MBAs about your hopes and dreams. Watch them roll their eyes, and don't be surprised if one of them asks you for the numbers to support your hopes and dreams. Thoreau may have said, "Dreams are the touchstone of our character", but to quant fundamentalists, that which can't be measured for all practical purposes doesn't exist.

The older I get the less certain I am about anything, except that certainty is no longer a goal of mine, let alone a means to its own end. In fact I have embraced uncertainty. Instead of grinding away at minutiae that seeks to imprison me, I now devote more time gazing upward and seeking refuge among the stars. And as Van Gogh said, "The sight of the stars makes me dream".

For me it has been a long journey from blind faith in the numbers and science of what is to the far grander vision and art of what could be. Interestingly enough, as my heart's eyes opened, my business began flourishing in ways I could previously only imagine in my dreams.

On that note, let me end with one of my all-time favorite quotations:

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness
has genius, power, and magic in it. --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Jaffer is the CEO of Vidsense and as always is available to discuss this and any other topic for someone willing to engage in a serious discussion. This includes business, religion, politics or football. He can be reached at j.ali (at) vidsense (dotcom) or call him at 708-478-4500 ext. 105.

Read all Jaffer’s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at On the Other Hand... - MediaBizBloggers.

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