A Light That Blinds
By David Shrum | Ascend Leadership & Development
This week I was walking out to my car to head to the gym as part of my morning routine. The air was cool, and as I walked out from under the roofline of our covered patio, I looked up at the sky and what I saw caused me to take a deep cleansing breath.
Living in the suburbs, you don’t get a horizon blanketed with stars and constellations. But you do get a scattering of stars—just enough to remind you about the beauty of the creation you live in.
As I looked up, I thanked God for another day. And right then, my moment was abruptly interrupted by a brilliant white light that flooded my vision and blinded me to everything I had just been admiring.
At first I thought, what a tragedy—a moment ruined by an unwelcome guest.
But then it hit me. That interruption came from something I had installed myself—our floodlight camera. It had done exactly what it should have done: sensed motion and light up the night.
When I put it in, it was to deter any potential bad actors from doing anything untoward. I never once thought about how the floodlight might ruin a quiet morning when I was feeling especially contemplative. But as it occurred to me in the moments to come, it was actually a perfect object lesson for what I’d been thinking about all week.
Vision and Vigor
Since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, I’ve been reflecting on his life, his mission, and the impact he had.
Of course, I can’t help but think of his wife Erika, his family, and friends who are grieving. But what also keeps coming back to me is this: here was a man who went after what he believed.
From a young age, he had a vision for what he was called to do, and he chased it with vigor.
You might not agree with his ideology, but if you listen to the people who knew him best, they’ll tell you—he was relentless in his pursuit of the mission he felt God had set before him.
His producer and friend, Andrew Kolvet, told a story on a podcast about a meeting they had two weeks before his murder. They were setting goals for TPUSA’s 1,200 high school chapters and Charlie Kirk threw out an ambitious goal of hitting 35,000 high school chapters.
Andrew Googled how many high schools there were, taken aback by the staggering goal. He seemed more than pleased to throw some water on the lofty goal informing his friend and boss that there are only 23,000 high schools in the U.S… So Charlie “settled” for 15,000. That’s a 12X goal.
What if we lived like that?
What if each of us carried a vision that produced that kind of urgency and passion.
At 18 years old, Charlie dropped out of college with $10,000 and built an organization that, by 2024, was bringing in $85 million in revenue. By all accounts, it played a huge role in shaping the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
To those who loved and admired him, his work occurs as providential. To those who despised his work, it occurred destructive. But to me, it’s a lesson in how we could all live—with vision, with urgency, and with relentless pursuit of the mission that may feel impossible.
What Blinds Us
So what if, like stepping into that brisk morning, we lifted our eyes to the sky and really cast our vision upward? What if we searched for the star that stirs something deep in us and then pondered what the impact of achieving the impossible would mean for our lives, and the lives of those we love?
What thrilling vision for our lives would create true passion? The kind of passion that makes the vision worth suffering for. The kind of passion that forces us to stop, examine, and align our mindset—and who we are— with the version of ourselves that has achieved that thrilling vision.
But here’s the danger: sometimes the very things we’ve put in place for our own security—the “floodlights” of our life—end up blinding us to what’s out there.
Those things have assuredly worked for us in the past. They may even have protected us. But they can just as easily keep us from seeing who we’re truly called to be—or the mission we’re supposed to pursue with persistence and love.
The challenge is creating space and curiosity that allows us to notice when the lights we’ve installed are actually blinding us from the thrilling vision we are meant to pursue.
One way I have done this is by working with great coaches who powerfully help me examine a vision that produces passion, mindset aligned to calling, and strategy built on integrity.
I believe the solution is creating and protecting a space in our lives where we can commune with our Creator and see, as He sees. Free from the stories, filters, and limiting beliefs (the floodlights) we’ve adopted over the years. Instead adopting His story for our lives and living into it completely.
What if we all lived with the same vigor as Charlie Kirk—seeing clearly where we believe God has called us, refusing to settle for small stories, and pursuing our vision with urgency. What would be possible for ourselves, our families, and our teams?