In a world where emotions often get the best of most people, introverts who lead with intelligence have an advantage.
Intellectuals have spearheaded the most significant advancements and innovations known to humankind in the last few centuries.
Now, more than ever, the world has become a thinking person’s domain.
And intelligence has to be used strategically and intentionally as a secret weapon.
The diminution of the value of formalized education with the upsurge of entertainment seems to suggest a losing battle for intellectually-driven introverts.
As marketer Seth Godin would say, “It’s a race to the bottom.”
With societal inundation with entertainment and sports, what makes superior intelligence a secret weapon?
In a world filled with ignorance, how exceptional is intelligence?
It can be argued that introverts developed the tools for the proliferation of societal chaos, although unintentional.
They built the structures that transformed the world for the enlightened and allowed mayhem by troglodytes.
Software and social media innovations are often the brainchildren of introverts.
Many introverts have become puppet masters as they weave their surreptitious web.
They often hide in the shadows of these online tools.
Knowledge Leader Editor said:
Some introverts are now able to portray a lifestyle they don’t even have. Overextending themselves on social platforms is now a regular occurrence. Are they to blame for a superficial society made up of selfies and overly exaggerated reality? Apps like Instagram and Snapchat propel this behavior with filters, lighting adjustments, and the ability to retake photos until you get the “perfect” one (p. 1).
Knowledge Leader Editor further stated:
Hiding behind a screen allows an introvert to release their inner ambition and feel more comfortable and confident in what they have to say without the pressure of confrontation. Are introverts utilizing social media as an indirect way of communicating? (p. 1)
It stands to reason that intellectually-driven introverts create systems and processes that are extensions of themselves and meet the unmet needs of society.
Suppose Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg represent the highest form of intelligence. In that case, their societal contribution is a blueprint for redesigning the world.
Whereas extroverts live out loud with platforms and software developed by introverts, introverts use these same instruments to quietly recreate society in their image.
I have an introverted friend who is a filmmaker in Hollywood. He puts words into people’s mouths through scriptwriting and carves out a role within a movie for himself.
How do introverts influence people?
One of the challenges earlier in my life was my overly trusting nature. I would take people’s words and actions at face value. My blind spot was the inability to see people for who they were instead of how I wanted them to be.
This led to my disappointment and disillusionment.
A college professor once told me that when you are educated, you can hone in on the motivations and thinking of others. Still, they cannot necessarily do the same in return.
Quickly assessing people is a skill many introverts develop once they determine that idealism may be detrimental to long-term success.
Introverts can influence people by transforming emotionally-driven interpretations of human nature into objective and observable assessments based on facts.
Such convictions can be a double-edged sword.
Would I use my assessments to wreak havoc on society or positively influence society in mutually beneficial ways?
My choice was the latter, but not for purely altruistic reasons.
I would use existing platforms and software to focus on the impact and outcomes I wanted to manifest within specific audiences.
I could search for like-minded individuals with similar challenges and create the best practices for overcoming these challenges.
I wanted to see more scholarly and intellectual pursuits in society to countervail the inundation with entertainment. My objective was to usher in a new Age of Reason.
The process of introspection, research, reading, and synthesis allows introverts to solve problems at advanced levels.
Our superpower is to dissect problems, discover resolution benchmarks, and triage execution recommendations.
Consequently, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos can be used to offset the influence of mindlessness and mere entertainment.
The introvert aims to become a thought leader to become more influential in shaping societal goals and directions.
This idea is what I desire to pursue.
If we want to put our words in other people’s mouths, current tools allow us to do so while remaining anonymous if we choose.
A mass movement can be formed with one individual creating the illusion of massiveness.
This process can be done by:
- Determining the problem that bothers you the most.
- Assessing who else is impacted by the same problem.
- Discovering where like-minded individuals congregate online.
- Developing objective and anecdotal analyses to address the problem.
- Creating a branded platform that provides solutions to the problem.
- Establishing consistency and repetition in content creation continuously.
To wage war against ignorance and shortsightedness requires dispassionate relentlessness.
Loudness is an impediment.
In a scene with Denzel Washington in the movie “American Gangster,” he says, “The loudest person in the room is the weakest person in the room.”
The world is a thinking person’s domain. And introverts have created the means to make the world what we desire.
Our secret weapon is our intelligence and will to win.
If we are to win, it must be a race to the top.
Are you willing to run?
—Shawn Bosch
Reference
Knowledge Leader Editor (2015, Sept. 2). How technology and social media empower the introvert. Colliers Knowledge Leader. Retrieved from: https://bit.ly/3bZMawA.