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President-elect Trump can emerge as a transformative leader
In two interviews, Bob Woodward highlights how Trump governs by instincts, with both positive and negative outcomes.
Bob Woodward, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, gave two must-watch interviews on Nov. 7, one to Sarah Ferguson of ABC, and the other to Ari Melber on MSNBC. From these interviews, we learn that Trump governs by instincts. Woodward cites examples where instincts have served Trump well and where they have not.
Intuition and Emotional Excellence are Strongly Linked
Knowing something without the benefit of the five senses and the rational mind is instinct or intuition. Intuition is incredibly important in leadership, as it bestows upon the leader the capacity to discern truth from falsehood.
This capacity to discern truth from falsehood can be assessed. My guru, Gurumahan got correct answers to five consecutive true/false questions in our first meeting in 2011. Tests with others have revealed that emotional excellence plays a big role in one’s ability to get correct answers.
Emotional excellence refers to the capacity of an individual to remain centered in the face of the most extenuating circumstances. An individual with a high level of emotional excellence possesses abundant positive emotions at the exclusion of negative emotions. Emotional excellence has nothing to do with race, religion, gender, national origin, or political affiliation.
Intuition and emotional excellence are strongly linked. Gurumahan’s Universal Peace Foundation conducts a seven-day intuition enhancement yoga program for children in the age group of 6 – 12 wherein they learn to discern colors, read, write, draw, find a hidden object, etc., all blind-folded, implying that their intuition has shot up although intuition wasn’t specifically measured.
The success rate is 80 percent. Parents have told me that they have seen a jump in the children’s emotional excellence. Gurumahan once remarked these children are not likely to fall prey to addiction as adults.
Gurumahan possesses a high level of emotional excellence and a heightened intuitive capacity. But he recognizes the limitations of intuition. In 2015, he asked me to conduct a day-long Six Sigma training program for UPF personnel that he attended.
Who is to Convince Trump
The question is, who is to convince Trump that, as valuable as intuition is, emotional excellence must also be cultivated.
The pursuit of higher levels of emotional excellence is not an intellectual exercise. The required positive changes must come from within, and this requires an enhancement in the focus of attention with such practices as contemplation, meditation, and prayer. Since emotions can be measured, progress can be audited.
Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, may be such an individual. Trump calls him a genius. Musk is an exceptional entrepreneur, the richest person in the world, and a scientist. Musk has been tapped to head a new Department of Government Efficiency along with Vivek Ramaswamy in the incoming Trump administration.
There is another reason for confidence in the prospects of Elon Musk having a positive influence on Trump.
In a recent interview with Joe Rogan, Elon Musk proposed a theory that linked the colors that fast-food restaurants use in their businesses to the colors of the Indian system of chakras. Musk hastened to add, that this is just a theory.
Musk appears to have a heightened intuitive capacity and understands its limitations. His intuitive capacity appears to be enjoined by rational approaches to problem-solving. He seems to be open-minded and willing to think outside the box, or else he wouldn’t have spent time investigating the chakra system. It should be possible to convince Musk of the efficacy of the ideas and concepts in this article.
What is the Task
Emotional excellence is also correlated with performance, creativity & innovativeness, health & wellness, interpersonal relationships, and less discord and violence.
Enhancement in the focus of attention can also lead to discoveries. Type I discoveries connect the dots in the ocean of existing knowledge while Type II discoveries cannot come from existing knowledge. Both Type I and Type II discoveries may be required to solve intractable problems such as global warming, renewable energy, desalination, etc.
Embracing these ideas, President-elect Donald Trump can emerge as a transformative leader the likes of whom the world hasn’t seen in a thousand years. In ancient times, Valmiki transformed himself and eventually wrote the epic, Ramayana, so it is rare, but it is possible.
The author is Professor Emeritus in and former Chairman of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Louisville.
(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of New India Abroad)
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