God says, ‘One can chase 1000, but two can put 10,000 in flight’. That does not make sense in mathematics but it is the power of subtle connections.

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ozniak was an unassuming genius with electronics and circuit boards. Left to himself without a subtle connection in Steve Jobs, the world would be a totally different place from what we know it today. It took the genius and the instinct of Steve Jobs to realize the impact of Steve Wozniak’s work would be in the world. Even then, there is no way Steve Jobs could have predicted the immense impact that Apple could have in the world. Jobs was the subtle connection.

The connection between the two Steves was actually incomplete. When the two were buddies earlier on in school, no one would have predicted their need for another subtle connection. Even them, they did not know at that moment that they will need this one more connection in order to launch their genius into the world. That connection needed subtlety in instinct, and that is what Mike Markkula applied when he invested $ 250,0000 in their startup.

I could stop there and say “the rest as they say is history:, but that was not it all. Other subtle connections were needed in order to revolutionize the music industry (at least its distribution), the mobile phone industry, the applications development industry, the smartphone industry and the online shopping industry.

I do not have time to talk about the subtle connections in the lives of other people but I can mention each of them that used them:

• Abraham Lincoln
• Oprah Winfrey
• Barack Obama
• Nelson Mandela
• Bill Gates

What’s A Subtle Connection?

Let’s define what a subtle connection is. First, we have to know that not all connections can be subtle. Second, we have to know that at times, in fact, most of the times, we might not even be in control of making these subtle connections. As we shall see, the best we can do is to deploy our best. Therefore, a subtle connection is that unforeseen connection with another visionary that multiplies the impact, productivity and maturity of your vision to its total fruition. Like I said, you do not go out there looking for these kinds of connections, they just come your way. In fact, these connections are not necessarily human. They could also be events, companies, corporations, groups, and so on. Chances are that the greatest advancement you ever made in your life is not because of merit, but because of a subtle connection. Check out your life and give me feedback on this one.

The truth is that we all need these subtle connections in our purpose pursuit for the following reasons.

1. Not everyone has everything

You know the adage, “No man is an island?” I have seen this acutely in Kenyan politics. The politicians will be opponents in this decade, bitter ones at that, but strange bedfellows in the next. The fact is that you and I do not have everything we need to make it in life all around us. In fact, one of the most interesting and fatal pursuit in life is the pursuit of independence. Life is structured in such a way that I will always need people and connections in order to see the full extent of my potential. I do not have everything needed to make Life Signatures a success. That is why I will need a subtle connection.

2. Everything is connected to everything

The world is like the brain of a woman. The woman’s brain is a mess of connections. That is why a woman remembers every remotely unrelated incident and applies it to the most unconnected event at the moment. Married people will understand this. The thing is that God made the world in such a way that the most remote event in the world has an impact to the rest of it. Scientists have even gone ahead and called this “The butterfly Effect”. That is why I have said that nothing you go through in life is wasted. Every pain, every “wasted year”, every “unproductive spell” of your life is not a waste in anyway. If you keep deploying yourself, all these dots will start connecting and coming alive.

3. Everyone has their unique strengths waiting to be complemented

In his book, “What’s Your Genius?”, Jay Niblic puts is succinctly. He says that we are blind in some areas and we need help there. He talks about the Head, the Heart, and the Hands. Steve Wozniak was blind in the heart and the hands (probably), and that is why the subtle connection of Steve Jobs made Apple what it is. My point is that I could be so strong in an area but very weak in others. That is why again, we need not to force our kids to take courses “Because that’s where the money is”. As long as they feel deep inside their hearts that they must take that course because it matters to them, then let’s allow them (even as we guide them). At the back of our minds, let’s leave the rest to the subtle connection. But here is the caution: Subtle connections do not work on lazy, lackadaisical, and passionless people.

4. It is part of God’s Genius to make things in parts

I think the greatest genius in creation is to subdivide everything in parts. Today even in manufacturing, parts are what make a whole. If we were to create something from scratch as a whole, it would be cumbersome. I am yet to see the success of 3D printing for that matter. Creating things in parts makes life legally and indisputably interdependent. God says that two are better than one because they have a better return for their efforts.

5. You cannot see the full extent of your idea alone

No matter how clear your vision is, you will not see the full extent of its impact alone initially. Individually, you can only see that far, even if what you have seen is great. But it takes others to bring other aspects and dimensions of the vision to the table in order to build something worthy of world-wide impact. That is where subtle connections come in.

There is so much to share about this topic. In the next post, we shall deal with 6 ways a subtle connection will boost you and what you need to do to get it. Stay tuned.