"Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18, KJV). Jesus also taught that true leaders serve: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant" (Mark 10:43–45).
These ten stories about vision and leadership, retold in our own words, include dreamers who were told they could not succeed, a runner who refused to quit, a king who became a bridge, a father's costly choice and a people who lost their stories. Where popular versions have grown in the telling, we say so. Each ends with a takeaway for sermons or reflection.
Stories in this collection:
- "You Can't": Dreamers the Experts Doubted
- Think, Believe, Dream, Dare: Advice Attributed to Walt Disney
- Prickly Mountain Goats
- The Pyramids That Built Egypt
- "They Sent Me to Finish": John Stephen Akhwari
- His Father's Son: Butch O'Hare and "Easy Eddie"
- The Monkey King Who Became a Bridge
- Churchill's Vision: Adventurous but Not Impossible
- "We Have No Stories to Tell": The Bushmen of Schmidtsdrift
- Collective Wisdom: What Successful People Share
"You Can't": Dreamers the Experts Doubted
A popular list of stories, with corrections where the legends have outgrown the facts.
History is full of experts who were sure that someone else's idea could never work. Yet again and again, achievement came to people who refused to accept that verdict and said, in effect, "I can make it happen."
In fifteenth-century Florence, a huge block of marble from the quarries of Carrara was given to the sculptor Agostino di Duccio, who began work on it and then abandoned it. Another sculptor, Antonio Rossellino, was later engaged to continue, but he too gave up. For decades the awkward, half-worked block lay exposed to the weather. Then, in 1501, a young Michelangelo took it on. Where others had seen only a problem, he saw a figure waiting to be released. Over the next three years he carved from it one of the world's great masterpieces, the David.
Christopher Columbus is often included in such lists, with the claim that everyone else thought the world was flat. That part is a myth: educated Europeans had known for centuries that the earth was round. In fact, the experts who advised against his voyage were largely right about the distances involved; Columbus had badly underestimated the size of the globe. What the experts did not know was that a whole continent lay in between. Even so, his determination to sail when others hesitated is real, and in 1492 his three small ships crossed the Atlantic.
Popular versions also say that Thomas Edison discouraged Henry Ford's idea of a motor car. The truth is closer to the opposite. Ford was working for the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit, and his employers did offer him a promotion if he would give up tinkering with petrol engines. But when Ford met Edison himself in 1896 and described his engine, Edison is reported to have encouraged him to keep going. Ford's first vehicle, the Quadricycle, had no reverse gear, but he persisted, and the motor car changed the world.
Some tellings claim that experts told Marie Curie radium was impossible, and that even the Wright brothers' father laughed at their dream of flight. We have found no good evidence for the first claim, and the second is not true: Bishop Milton Wright supported his sons. Still, many journalists and scientists of the day were openly sceptical about powered flight, and the brothers persevered until their aeroplane flew at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in December 1903.
So as you read this by electric light, remember how many good ideas were once dismissed as foolish, and how much we owe to those who kept believing in what they had seen.
Takeaway: God often gives vision before he gives results. "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1). Don't let the experts have the final word on what God has called you to do.
Source: Popular illustration, corrected from historical sources.
Think, Believe, Dream, Dare: Advice Attributed to Walt Disney
A popular story; we have not been able to verify that it happened.
According to the story, an eight-year-old boy once came up to an old man who was standing beside a wishing well. The boy looked up into his face and said, "I've heard that you are a very wise man. I'd like to know the secret of life."
The old man looked down at the youngster and replied that he had thought about that question a great deal over his lifetime, and that the secret could be summed up in four words.
The first word, he said, is think. Think about the values you want to live your life by.
The second is believe. Believe in yourself, based on the thinking you have done about those values.
The third is dream. Dream about the things that could be, based on your belief in yourself and the values you have chosen.
The last word is dare. Dare to make your dreams come true, based on your belief in yourself and your values.
And with that, the story says, the old man, who was Walt Disney, told the little boy once more: think, believe, dream and dare.
Takeaway: Vision begins with values. For Christians, the values we live by come from God, and our boldest dreams are best dreamed in his presence (Proverbs 16:3).
Source: Popular anecdote attributed to Walt Disney; unverified.
Prickly Mountain Goats
One of the best-known characteristics of goats is their irritability. Whether or not that is true of every goat, it is certainly true of mountain goats in the Rocky Mountains. They are famously prickly with one another. If they come too close, they can wound each other with their sharp horns, and fights have sometimes proved fatal.
As puzzling as this behaviour seems to us, there is a reason for it. Mountain goats live high on rocky slopes where food is very scarce. If they lived crowded together in large herds, there would not be enough to go round, and many would starve. Keeping their distance helps them survive.
It can be the same with people. Often other people's behaviour puzzles us, and sometimes it is downright offensive. They can be cold, prickly, irritable and harsh. Yet if we take the time to look, we usually find there are reasons why they are like this. Perhaps they have been badly hurt themselves. Perhaps they are carrying great stresses that we know nothing about. Whatever the cause, there is usually a reason behind the prickliness.
Unlike mountain goats, however, human beings are not made to live apart. It is not healthy for us to keep everyone at the end of our horns. Perhaps we need to look honestly at our own prickliness, and to reach out with patience and love to those whose sharp edges keep others away.
Takeaway: Leaders who understand people look past behaviour to the hurt behind it. "Be kind and compassionate to one another" (Ephesians 4:32).
Source: Adapted from information in Jeffrey Masson and Susan McCarthy, When Elephants Weep.
The Pyramids That Built Egypt
The pyramids of the Giza Plateau are among the most famous structures in the world. When they were built, more than four and a half thousand years ago, they meant far more than royal tombs. They represented the dignity and power of the king, and the belief that he would live on as a god in the afterlife.
Building a pyramid was therefore a national project. Archaeologists believe that much of the work was done not by slaves, as was once assumed, but by organised crews of labourers, supported by households and communities across Egypt that sent workers, grain and other food.
The final step was to place a capstone, which some historians believe was covered in gold or another precious metal, at the very top of the pyramid. It signalled that the great work was finished, and it is easy to imagine the celebration as the nation saw its shared task completed.
Some scholars have suggested that, in this sense, it was the pyramids that built Egypt rather than the other way around. The great projects drew the country together in the service of one monumental goal, and helped shape the organisation of the state itself.
We can learn from this. Unity comes from a shared vision and a common purpose. There were great differences among all those Egyptian workers, just as there are great differences among us. But when people focus together on a common task and goal, the unity and the achievements that follow can be great.
Takeaway: The church is united not by sameness but by a shared calling. "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3).
Source: Based on information in Egypt Revealed magazine and archaeological studies of Giza.
"They Sent Me to Finish": John Stephen Akhwari
It was the Olympic Games in Mexico City, 1968, and the marathon was one of the last events. The stadium was packed and buzzing as the first runner, Mamo Wolde of Ethiopia, entered the arena. The crowd erupted as he crossed the finish line to win the gold medal in 2 hours, 20 minutes and 26 seconds.
Far back in the field was another runner, John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania. He had not trained at Mexico City's high altitude, and he had been left well behind the leaders. At around the 19-kilometre mark there was jostling for position among the runners, and Akhwari was knocked down. He fell heavily, badly wounding his shoulder and dislocating his knee.
Officials and medical staff might have expected him to retire from the race. Instead, with his leg bandaged, he picked himself up and kept going, hobbling, jogging and walking for more than twenty kilometres more.
Long after the winner had finished, and with darkness falling, Akhwari finally entered the stadium. Most of the crowd had gone home. Those who remained watched as he limped slowly around the track, and as he neared the end they rose to cheer him across the finish line. He was the last of the 57 runners who completed the race; many others had dropped out.
Afterwards a reporter asked him why he had not simply given up, since he had no chance of winning. Akhwari's reply has become one of the most famous lines in Olympic history: his country, he said, had not sent him 5,000 miles to start the race. They had sent him 5,000 miles to finish it.
Takeaway: Leadership and faithfulness are proved at the end, not just the start. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7).
Source: 1968 Olympic Games records; reported on the Sydney 2000 Olympics website.
His Father's Son: Butch O'Hare and "Easy Eddie"
A true story, though some popular details have grown in the telling.
Let me tell you two stories about two men from Chicago.
Story number one. Chicago's O'Hare International Airport is named after one of the city's most famous heroes. Edward "Butch" O'Hare was a United States Navy fighter pilot serving on the aircraft carrier USS Lexington early in the Second World War.
On 20 February 1942, about ten weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Lexington was operating in the South Pacific when a formation of nine Japanese bombers was spotted heading straight for the carrier. Most of the ship's fighters were already engaged or out of position. O'Hare and his wingman were among the only pilots who could intercept, and his wingman's guns soon jammed.
That left Butch O'Hare, flying a Grumman F4F Wildcat with a limited supply of ammunition, between the bombers and the thousands of sailors on board the Lexington. He dived into the attack. The crew watched from the deck as he made pass after pass at the bombers, whose gunners were firing back at him.
O'Hare was credited with shooting down five of the bombers and badly damaging a sixth before they could reach their bomb release point. The rest of the attack was beaten off by other American aircraft and the ship's guns. His Medal of Honor citation described his action as one of the most daring, if not the most daring, single action in the history of combat aviation. President Franklin D. Roosevelt presented the medal to him, and he became the Navy's first fighter ace of the war.
O'Hare was promoted to lieutenant commander and became a national hero. Sadly, he did not survive the war. On the night of 26 November 1943, while leading one of the US Navy's first night-time fighter attacks from an aircraft carrier, his plane was lost in the Pacific. In 1949 Chicago's Orchard Field airport was renamed O'Hare International Airport in his honour, and today a restored Wildcat like the one he flew is displayed in one of its terminals.
Story number two. Some years earlier, a lawyer known as "Easy Eddie", Edward J. O'Hare, had become a business partner of the notorious Chicago gangster Al Capone. Eddie had made a fortune representing the inventor of the mechanical rabbit used in greyhound racing, and he ran dog tracks in partnership with Capone's organisation. The races were widely believed to be fixed, and when dog racing faced legal trouble, Eddie moved into horse racing.
Eddie also used his legal skills on behalf of the mob. He was clever and well connected, and he helped keep the gang's business interests running smoothly. He was very good at it, and he grew very rich, with a fine house, expensive cars and all the comforts that money could provide.
There was another side to Eddie, though. He was a father who loved his children dearly. He gave them everything money could buy, sent them to good schools and spent time with them. But there was one thing his money could not buy them: a good name.
Eventually Eddie turned against Capone and quietly helped federal investigators. The information he provided assisted the government in convicting Capone of tax evasion in 1931, and Capone was sentenced to eleven years in prison. The popular version of the story says Eddie did this so that his son could be accepted into the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Historians have suggested other motives as well, and we cannot be sure exactly what was in his heart. What is clear is that his son did go to Annapolis.
Eddie paid a terrible price. On 8 November 1939, about a week before Capone was released from prison, Eddie was shot dead as he drove his car through Chicago. Popular tellings say the police found in his pocket a short poem about the clock of life: it is wound only once, no one knows when its hands will stop, so the present moment is the only time we truly own.
By now you may be wondering what these two stories have to do with each other. The answer is simple. Butch O'Hare was Easy Eddie's son.
Takeaway: A father's courage to change can shape a child's future. It is never too late to turn from wrong and choose what is right, whatever it costs (Proverbs 20:7).
Source: Adapted from Illinois Police and Sheriff's News archives; historical records of the O'Hare family.
The Monkey King Who Became a Bridge
Adapted from the Mahakapi Jataka, an ancient Buddhist tale.
Once upon a time there was a kingdom of monkeys, ruled by a very large and very wise monkey king. The monkeys lived in a grove of mango trees that grew beside a river, and they enjoyed a constant supply of the delicious fruit.
One day the king noticed that a castle was being built downstream. Fearing what might happen if humans discovered the mangoes, he ordered his monkeys to pick every fruit from the trees. They obeyed, and gathered every mango except one, which was hidden behind a bird's nest.
Some time later that last mango fell into the river and floated downstream. The human king who lived in the new castle was bathing in the river when it drifted past. He picked it up and, after his chief minister assured him it was safe, tasted it. He was so delighted that he resolved to find more, and set out with his soldiers to search for the trees.
When the human king found the mango grove, he also found the monkeys. The monkeys would gladly have shared the fruit, but the king would not share. Wanting every mango for himself, he ordered his soldiers to drive out and kill the monkeys.
When the monkey king heard this, he knew sadly that the day he had feared had come. The soldiers chased the monkeys through the forest until they reached the edge of a deep ravine. The king knew that if he could get his subjects to the other side, they would be safe. But the gap was too wide for them to leap.
So the monkey king stretched his own huge body across the gap, gripping one side with his hands and the other with his feet, to form a living bridge. One by one his subjects scrambled across his back to safety. As they ran over him, he grew more and more bruised and exhausted, but he held on. Weaker and weaker, he still did not let go until the very last monkey had crossed. Then he collapsed.
The human king had watched the whole scene from a hillside. He was so moved by the monkey king's sacrifice that he ordered his men to climb down and rescue him. They found the monkey king barely alive and brought him back, and the human king called his best physicians to care for him.
When the monkey king regained consciousness, the human king asked him, "You are their king. Why did you suffer and give your life for them?"
"Because I am their king," the monkey king replied. And with those words, he died.
Takeaway: Christian leadership is measured by sacrifice, not privilege. Jesus, our King, gave his life for his people: "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13).
Source: Adapted from the Mahakapi Jataka.
Churchill's Vision: Adventurous but Not Impossible
Winston Churchill was one of the great leaders of the twentieth century. Even today, his wartime speeches to the British people can send shivers down the spine. In 1940 he promised that Britain would not flag or fail, that it would fight on the beaches, in the fields and in the streets, and that it would never surrender. He urged the nation so to bear itself that, if its empire and commonwealth lasted a thousand years, people would still say, "This was their finest hour."
Churchill was a man of great vision and determination, and his story teaches us at least two things about vision.
First, a visionary path is not always a matter of clear-cut choices. At the very time Churchill was strengthening the nation's resolve with his speeches, some senior figures in government believed Hitler could not be beaten. In May 1940, as France was collapsing, members of the War Cabinet debated whether Britain should explore a negotiated peace. Churchill argued that the country must fight on. Vision often means choosing a hard road while respected voices urge an easier one.
Second, visionary paths often begin with wild ideas. A former official who had worked with Churchill at the Home Office earlier in his career recalled that, once a week or more, he would arrive with some adventurous or impossible scheme. But after half an hour's discussion, something would emerge that was still adventurous, but no longer impossible.
Leaders need both: the courage to stand firm against discouraging voices, and the humility to let bold ideas be tested and shaped by others.
Takeaway: Godly vision is both bold and teachable. "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed" (Proverbs 15:22).
Source: Based on a New York Times review of Roy Jenkins, Churchill, 11 November 2001.
"We Have No Stories to Tell": The Bushmen of Schmidtsdrift
The San people of southern Africa, often called the Kalahari Bushmen, became famous around the world through the 1980 film The Gods Must Be Crazy. Their recent history, however, has been sad. Over the last century much of their land, and with it their traditional way of life, has been lost.
One of the saddest settlements was at Schmidtsdrift in South Africa. There two San peoples, the !Xun and the Khwe, had been resettled. Like many indigenous communities whose way of life has been destroyed, many had become dependent on government payments, and for some, alcohol and drugs had become a way of numbing the pain of dislocation and loss.
The leader of the !Xun traditional council, Mario Mahongo, longed for his people to rediscover their spirit. But, he told a visiting journalist, the problem was that they had lost their stories.
Much of their culture had disappeared, he explained. In the past, mothers and fathers would go out into the bush and come back to tell the others what they had seen. Those stories were passed on around the fire. But now no one went out and did anything, so there were no stories to tell the children. The people had nothing to pass on.
We can learn from this sad tale. The stories we pass on shape and define us. They show us the way forward and give us meaning, direction and values. A community that loses its stories loses part of its soul. For Christians, the story told in the Bible, and the stories of God's faithfulness in our own lives, become the defining stories we must keep telling.
Takeaway: Leaders are storytellers who pass on faith. "We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord" (Psalm 78:4).
Source: Scott Higgins; based on reporting in National Geographic, February 2001.
Collective Wisdom: What Successful People Share
A story told in Australia; we have not been able to verify its details independently.
Imagine this. You are 22 years old. You did well at school and went on to university. You worked so hard that, even before you finished your degree, you landed a plum job at a merchant bank. You keep working hard, and life looks good.
Then one day your boss calls you into the office and tells you that the firm has decided to let you go. Your work isn't good enough, he says, you're a bit too different, and you don't fit in with the others.
According to the story, that is what happened to a young Australian named Brett Kelly. His world caved in. It was the first time anything in his life had gone seriously wrong. He lost confidence in himself, lost all sense of purpose and direction, and slipped into a routine of getting up late, watching the Midday television show and wasting the afternoons.
Then, the story goes, the show's host, Kerri-Anne Kennerley, turned his life around without ever knowing it. Watching her day after day, Brett noticed her passion for her work, how obviously she enjoyed what she was doing and how much energy she drew from it. That's what I want, he thought: that kind of energy, that kind of passion. But how could he find it? Where could he learn that kind of success?
He did not know, but he reasoned that people who had succeeded in their chosen fields probably did. So he drew up a list of prominent Australians he admired, from rock musician Peter Garrett, to political leaders such as Bob Hawke and Jeff Kennett, to the broadcaster HG Nelson. His plan was to interview them, discover their secrets and publish the interviews in a book.
When he had finished the interviews, Brett was startled by what he had learned. He had always assumed that success in work and life came from skill and talent, and so he had chased qualifications, skills and experience. Instead he found that the one thing all these people had in common was the ability to build high-quality relationships.
Talent and training matter, of course. But it is worth pausing on that lesson. Most of us can name the mentors who believed in us, the colleagues we trusted, the friends who stood by us in hard times and the teams that achieved more together than any one of us could alone.
The title of his book? Collective Wisdom.
Takeaway: No leader succeeds alone. God made us for relationship, and wise leaders invest in people. "Two are better than one" (Ecclesiastes 4:9–12).
Source: Story as told about Brett Kelly's book Collective Wisdom; unverified.
Final thoughts
A block of marble, a wishing well, prickly goats, a golden capstone, a runner who would not quit, a father's costly choice, a king who became a bridge, a wartime leader, a people without stories and a book about relationships. Together they show that true vision looks beyond what others see, and true leadership serves.
For further reading, Sopranu summarises John Maxwell's The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and reviews Simon Sinek's Start With Why.
What vision has God given you, and whom is he calling you to serve as you pursue it?
More stories you may like:
These stories are retold in our own words for teaching and reflection. Sources are credited under each story.
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