Like it or not, change is an integral part of today's business climate. Those employees who embrace and initiate change will thrive, while those who complain and fear change may be headed for the unemployment line.
Employers feel strongly about the need to have employees who are successful change agents for their team and their organization as a whole. What exactly is a "change agent?" An agent is someone who represents the interests of another person or organization, and his or her job is to take care of business and make sure everything goes smoothly. Thus, a change agent helps take care of an employer's business by facilitating change.
Are you a change agent for your organization? Can others count on you to make sure things go smoothly? Do you continue to take care of business in the midst of change?
Although some employees have been conditioned to fear change, we must not lose sight of the fact that change is normal, and most of us will experience unpredictable changes in both our personal and professional lives. In the workplace, changes can occur as a result of new thinking, advances in technology, innovation and progress, knowledge and communication, as well as mergers, takeovers, layoffs, and downsizing. These organizational changes can directly affect our professional lives as well as our personal lives. They may also lead to feelings of sadness, frustration, grief, and anger, especially when jobs are lost or worse, when an entire organization ceases to exist. So let's discuss how we can make this normal life experience-change-as positive and beneficial as possible.
What's Wrong with Change?
Employers want commitment to change when it's necessary. Knowing that, then, why are so many people resistant to it? The number one reason is fear, although very few people are willing to admit it. None of us want to acknowledge that we doubt our ability to integrate new ideas, use new technology, or adapt to new organizations. We don't even want to think about what's ahead: new management, new ways of doing things, new terminology, new titles, and new job description. Fear can have several components:
1. Fear of the unknown: What will happen to my organization, my job, my life, as I know it now? How secure is my future?
2. Fear of not being in control: What should I do? Should I just wait around while they make decisions that could seriously affect my life?
3. Fear of being inadequate: I know how to do this job now, but will I be able to do it as well as they expect me to when everything has changed? And if I can't, what happens then?
4. Fear of moving outside your personal comfort zone: I've been doing my job this way for years, and I'm very good at it. Why do we have to change what has worked so well for so long?
No matter which category your fear falls in, one thing is for sure. The more we fight and resist the change, the more painful and frightening the changes will be. Resisting doesn't keep a new idea from taking hold; it simply makes the process longer and more painful. Change will happen no matter what. We will handle it better when we learn to move with the change-not against it. Plus, this is definitely not the time to drag your feet because managers are not inclined to take employees by the hand and lead them through the change process.
Communication is Key:
There is no doubt that employees often view change from a different perspective than their supervisors. Many employees believe that management doesn't understand their side of the story, and managers often feel it is the employees who don't understand why the change is necessary. This is why communication is so vital during any change circumstance.
It's been said that lack of communication is the number one reason why personal relationships can develop problems, and the same holds true for relationships between employers and employees. Change will require open communication on both sides. Unfortunately, fear has the power to freeze employees in their tracks and prevent them from expressing their ideas and opinions.
When faced with change we must always ask ourselves this important question: Does my resistance to change have anything to do with my own fears? That's a tough question and one that's not easy to answer honestly. It's natural to fear the unknown and lack of control. We know that we won't be quite as proficient at our tasks while we're in the process of learning to do things a new way. We know we will have to work a lot harder. Are we willing to let go of the present to embrace the future? We may not know what the future will bring, but we are responsible for what we bring to the future.
The Positive Side of Change
If you routinely describe your current job as boring, mundane, or menial, then perhaps a change is good for you. One of the most positive aspects of change is that it is never boring. On the contrary, it can create passion. And passion-and the excitement, creativity, and energy that accompany it-is the spark that keeps us going.
Passion could be called the charge for our life's batteries. Without that charge, it's hard to get our engines revved up. That igniting charge is sparked by the challenge of change-learning new things, meeting new people, growing as professionals, and taking risks that push us to reach our potential. None of that can happen unless and until we are willing to experience the fear that inevitably arises when we move out of our comfort zones. No risk, no fear; no fear, no passion; no passion, no fun.
If we want passion back in our lives, we must be willing to meet the challenge of change. What might that mean for you? Perhaps it might involve going back to school, learning how to work with a computer, working with a team, taking on new responsibilities, or redefining a career path. If you want to remain employable, you may have to change more than just your attitude and your reaction to change. You may have to change some of your ideas and goals to create a better future for yourself.
Embrace Upcoming Changes:
Many people are content to live their lives by playing it safe. If fear, pain, and hard work are prerequisites of change, it's easier to understand why some people are so dedicated to resisting it. They might be good at giving all the best-sounding reasons why this particular change is not right for the department, the organization, the team, or the customer. However, their underlying concern may be their fear about how the change will affect them-their job-their lives.
If you've been reacting negatively to change, it's important to modify your attitude and your behavior before it's too late. Think about what you really want. Comfort at all costs? The status quo? The good old days? If those are the aspects you desire-if that's what you're waiting for-then you will probably soon be out of a job. If, instead, you want challenge and welcome change, you will always be employable.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
ACHIEVING YOUR DREAMS by Jim Rohn
While most people spend most of their lives struggling to earn a living, a much smaller number seem to have everything going their way. Instead of just earning a living, the smaller group is busily working at building and enjoying a fortune. Everything just seems to work out for them. And here sits the much larger group, wondering how life can be so unfair, so complicated and unjust. What's the major difference between the little group with so much and the larger group with so little?
Despite all of the factors that affect our lives - like the kind of parents we have, the schools we attended, the part of the country we grew up in - none has as much potential power for affecting our futures as our ability to dream.
Dreams are a projection of the kind of life you want to lead. Dreams can drive you. Dreams can make you skip over obstacles. When you allow your dreams to pull you, they unleash a creative force that can overpower any obstacle in your path. To unleash this power, though, your dreams must be well defined. A fuzzy future has little pulling power. Well-defined dreams are not fuzzy. Wishes are fuzzy. To really achieve your dreams, to really have your future plans pull you forward, your dreams must be vivid.
If you've ever hiked a fourteen thousand-foot peak in the Rocky Mountains, one thought has surely come to mind "How did the settlers of this country do it?" How did they get from the East Coast to the West Coast? Carrying one day's supply of food and water is hard enough. Can you imagine hauling all of your worldly goods with you... mile after mile, day after day, month after month? These people had big dreams. They had ambition. They didn't focus on the hardship of getting up the mountain.
In their minds, they were already on the other side – their bodies just hadn't gotten them there yet! Despite all of their pains and struggles, all of the births and deaths along the way, those who made it to the other side had a single vision: to reach the land of continuous sunshine and extraordinary wealth. To start over; where anything and everything was possible. Their dreams were stronger than the obstacles in their way.
You've got to be a dreamer. You've got to envision the future. You've got to see California while you're climbing fourteen thousand-foot peaks. You've got to see the finish line while you're running the race. You've got to hear the cheers when you're in the middle of a monster project. And you've got to be willing to put yourself through the paces of doing the uncomfortable until it becomes comfortable and until you realize your dreams.
Despite all of the factors that affect our lives - like the kind of parents we have, the schools we attended, the part of the country we grew up in - none has as much potential power for affecting our futures as our ability to dream.
Dreams are a projection of the kind of life you want to lead. Dreams can drive you. Dreams can make you skip over obstacles. When you allow your dreams to pull you, they unleash a creative force that can overpower any obstacle in your path. To unleash this power, though, your dreams must be well defined. A fuzzy future has little pulling power. Well-defined dreams are not fuzzy. Wishes are fuzzy. To really achieve your dreams, to really have your future plans pull you forward, your dreams must be vivid.
If you've ever hiked a fourteen thousand-foot peak in the Rocky Mountains, one thought has surely come to mind "How did the settlers of this country do it?" How did they get from the East Coast to the West Coast? Carrying one day's supply of food and water is hard enough. Can you imagine hauling all of your worldly goods with you... mile after mile, day after day, month after month? These people had big dreams. They had ambition. They didn't focus on the hardship of getting up the mountain.
In their minds, they were already on the other side – their bodies just hadn't gotten them there yet! Despite all of their pains and struggles, all of the births and deaths along the way, those who made it to the other side had a single vision: to reach the land of continuous sunshine and extraordinary wealth. To start over; where anything and everything was possible. Their dreams were stronger than the obstacles in their way.
You've got to be a dreamer. You've got to envision the future. You've got to see California while you're climbing fourteen thousand-foot peaks. You've got to see the finish line while you're running the race. You've got to hear the cheers when you're in the middle of a monster project. And you've got to be willing to put yourself through the paces of doing the uncomfortable until it becomes comfortable and until you realize your dreams.
Whole-Hearted Devotion (December 21)
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.Colossians 3:23 (niv)
Experts spend a lot of time trying to figure out what makes people successful. They often look at people's credentials, intelligence, education, and other factors. But more than anything else, passion is what makes the difference.
Take a look at four truths about passion and what it can do for you as a leader:
1. Passion is the first step to achievement-Your desire determines your destiny. The stronger your fire, the greater the desire-and the greater the potential.
2. Passion increases your willpower-There is no substitute for passion. It is fuel for the will. If you want anything badly enough, you can find the willpower to achieve it.
3. Passion changes you-If you follow your passion-instead of others' perceptions-you can't help but become a more dedicated, productive person. In the end, your passion will have more influence than your personality.
4. Passion makes the impossible possible-Human beings are so made that whenever anything fires their soul, impossibilities vanish.
A fire in the heart lifts everything in your life. A leader with great passion and few skills always outperforms a leader with great skills and no passion.
Reference: The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, by John C Maxwell.
Experts spend a lot of time trying to figure out what makes people successful. They often look at people's credentials, intelligence, education, and other factors. But more than anything else, passion is what makes the difference.
Take a look at four truths about passion and what it can do for you as a leader:
1. Passion is the first step to achievement-Your desire determines your destiny. The stronger your fire, the greater the desire-and the greater the potential.
2. Passion increases your willpower-There is no substitute for passion. It is fuel for the will. If you want anything badly enough, you can find the willpower to achieve it.
3. Passion changes you-If you follow your passion-instead of others' perceptions-you can't help but become a more dedicated, productive person. In the end, your passion will have more influence than your personality.
4. Passion makes the impossible possible-Human beings are so made that whenever anything fires their soul, impossibilities vanish.
A fire in the heart lifts everything in your life. A leader with great passion and few skills always outperforms a leader with great skills and no passion.
Reference: The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, by John C Maxwell.
ESTABLISHING DREAMS AND GOALS by Jim Rohn
(Excerpted from Week Six of the Jim Rohn One-Year Success Plan)
One of the amazing things we have been given as humans is the unquenchable desire to have dreams of a better life, and the ability to establish goals to live out those dreams. Think of it: We can look deep within our hearts and dream of a better situation for ourselves and our families; dream of better financial lives and better emotional or physical lives; certainly dream of better spiritual lives. But what makes this even more powerful is that we have also been given the ability to not only dream but to pursue those dreams and not only to pursue them, but the cognitive ability to actually lay out a plan and strategies (setting goals) to achieve those dreams. Powerful! And that is what we will discuss in detail this week: How to dream dreams and establish goals to get those dreams.
What are your dreams and goals? This isn't what you already have or what you have done, but what you want. Have you ever really sat down and thought through your life values and decided what you really want? Have you ever taken the time to truly reflect, to listen quietly to your heart, to see what dreams live within you? Your dreams are there. Everyone has them. They may live right on the surface, or they may be buried deep from years of others telling you they were foolish, but they are there.
So how do we know what our dreams are? This is an interesting process and it relates primarily to the art of listening. This is not listening to others; it is listening to yourself. If we listen to others, we hear their plans and dreams (and many will try to put their plans and dreams on us). If we listen to others, we can never be fulfilled. We will only chase elusive dreams that are not rooted deep within us. No, we must listen to our own hearts.
Let's take a look at some practical steps/thoughts on hearing from our hearts on what our dreams are:
Take time to be quiet. This is something that we don't do enough in this busy world of ours. We rush, rush, rush, and we are constantly listening to noise all around us. The human heart was meant for times of quiet, to peer deep within. It is when we do this that our hearts are set free to soar and take flight on the wings of our own dreams! Schedule some quiet "dream time" this week. No other people. No cell phone. No computer. Just you, a pad, a pen, and your thoughts (you get to do this in the workbook exercises this week).
Think about what really thrills you. When you are quiet, think about those things that really get your blood moving. What would you LOVE to do, either for fun or for a living? What would you love to accomplish? What would you try if you were guaranteed to succeed? What big thoughts move your heart into a state of excitement and joy? When you answer these questions you will feel Great and you will be in the "dream zone." It is only when we get to this point that we experience what Our dreams are!
Write down all of your dreams as you have them. Don't think of any as too outlandish or foolish - remember, you're dreaming! Let the thoughts fly and take careful record.
Now, prioritize those dreams. Which are most important? Which are most feasible? Which would you love to do the most? Put them in the order in which you will actually try to attain them. Remember, we are always moving toward action, not just dreaming.
Here is the big picture: Life is too short to not pursue your dreams.
Someday your life will near its end and all you will be able to do is look backwards. You can reflect with joy or regret. Those who dream, who set goals and act on them to live out their dreams are those who live lives of joy and have a sense of peace when they near the end of their lives. They have finished well, for themselves and for their families.
Remember: These are the dreams and goals that are born out of your heart and mind. These are the goals that are unique to you and come from who you were created to be and gifted to become. Your specific goals are what you want to attain because they are what will make your life joyful and bring your family's life into congruence with what you want it to be.
One of the amazing things we have been given as humans is the unquenchable desire to have dreams of a better life, and the ability to establish goals to live out those dreams. Think of it: We can look deep within our hearts and dream of a better situation for ourselves and our families; dream of better financial lives and better emotional or physical lives; certainly dream of better spiritual lives. But what makes this even more powerful is that we have also been given the ability to not only dream but to pursue those dreams and not only to pursue them, but the cognitive ability to actually lay out a plan and strategies (setting goals) to achieve those dreams. Powerful! And that is what we will discuss in detail this week: How to dream dreams and establish goals to get those dreams.
What are your dreams and goals? This isn't what you already have or what you have done, but what you want. Have you ever really sat down and thought through your life values and decided what you really want? Have you ever taken the time to truly reflect, to listen quietly to your heart, to see what dreams live within you? Your dreams are there. Everyone has them. They may live right on the surface, or they may be buried deep from years of others telling you they were foolish, but they are there.
So how do we know what our dreams are? This is an interesting process and it relates primarily to the art of listening. This is not listening to others; it is listening to yourself. If we listen to others, we hear their plans and dreams (and many will try to put their plans and dreams on us). If we listen to others, we can never be fulfilled. We will only chase elusive dreams that are not rooted deep within us. No, we must listen to our own hearts.
Let's take a look at some practical steps/thoughts on hearing from our hearts on what our dreams are:
Take time to be quiet. This is something that we don't do enough in this busy world of ours. We rush, rush, rush, and we are constantly listening to noise all around us. The human heart was meant for times of quiet, to peer deep within. It is when we do this that our hearts are set free to soar and take flight on the wings of our own dreams! Schedule some quiet "dream time" this week. No other people. No cell phone. No computer. Just you, a pad, a pen, and your thoughts (you get to do this in the workbook exercises this week).
Think about what really thrills you. When you are quiet, think about those things that really get your blood moving. What would you LOVE to do, either for fun or for a living? What would you love to accomplish? What would you try if you were guaranteed to succeed? What big thoughts move your heart into a state of excitement and joy? When you answer these questions you will feel Great and you will be in the "dream zone." It is only when we get to this point that we experience what Our dreams are!
Write down all of your dreams as you have them. Don't think of any as too outlandish or foolish - remember, you're dreaming! Let the thoughts fly and take careful record.
Now, prioritize those dreams. Which are most important? Which are most feasible? Which would you love to do the most? Put them in the order in which you will actually try to attain them. Remember, we are always moving toward action, not just dreaming.
Here is the big picture: Life is too short to not pursue your dreams.
Someday your life will near its end and all you will be able to do is look backwards. You can reflect with joy or regret. Those who dream, who set goals and act on them to live out their dreams are those who live lives of joy and have a sense of peace when they near the end of their lives. They have finished well, for themselves and for their families.
Remember: These are the dreams and goals that are born out of your heart and mind. These are the goals that are unique to you and come from who you were created to be and gifted to become. Your specific goals are what you want to attain because they are what will make your life joyful and bring your family's life into congruence with what you want it to be.
Friday, December 30, 2005
LEARNING FROM EINSTEIN'S CREATIVITY by Ron White (editted)
One of the most famous quotes of Einstein is when he said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Einstein was putting value on creativity here. His theories and ideas were all about creativity. When he made a working boxcar for his son out of shoestring and some boxes, that was creativity. When he was down and out and needed money and posted an ad for tutoring lessons; that was creativity in making money.
Since Einstein accomplished some of the greatest thoughts of our time, an argument could be made that he was one of the most creative people of all time. You can know more about your product than anyone and have more degrees than anyone you know, but if you don't have a little bit of creativity to take advantage of what you have, then it is useless. Credentials and knowledge will do you little good if you lack the creativity to take advantage of them.
So you may ask yourself, "What is creativity?"
That is an excellent question -- let's go straight to the source to answer it. Einstein said, "CREATIVITY is seeing what other see and THINKING what no one else has thought."
Robert Kennedy said the same thing this way, "I look at things that are and I ask why? I look at things that never were and ask why not?" Robert Kennedy was talking about creativity, just as Einstein was.
So how do you do it? How do you model the creativity of Albert Einstein?
First of all, we need to address the idea of the limiting belief that you are not creative.
There is a prevailing belief that creativity is an inborn trait - you are either creative or you're not. Well, while creativity is an inborn trait, we are all born with a creative brain (your right cerebral hemisphere) and have many creative skills. Children are naturally curious and eager to explore the world around them and spend hours playing with toys, making up imaginary friends and pretend games. But as we get older, we begin to lose some of our natural creativity as we learn and use more left-brain thinking skills in school and at work. Research shows that our propensity to generate original ideas reduces from 90% at age 5, to 20% at age 7 and even further to 2% as adults! However, unless you have suffered brain damage in your right hemisphere or had it surgically removed, you still have a creative brain; so you are still creative. It's just that maybe you don't use your creativity skills as much as you used to.
Now for the good news! You can reawaken your creative brainpower.
What would Einstein tell you in regards to increasing your creativity? Well, we don't have to guess on that one, because he did tell us. He said, "The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."
Develop the curiosity of a child. Leonardo Da Vinci, who is said to be one of the greatest geniuses of all time, also had this creativity. I don't think that it is a coincidence that Leonardo and Einstein were both extremely creative and that so many years after their deaths we are still talking about them.
Let me give you a few of Da Vinci's credentials:
500 years ago he:
- drew blue prints for the worlds first helicopter
- drew blueprints for a submarine
- built an extendable ladder that is still being used by fire departments today
- built the world's first hydraulic jack
- built a rotating stage
- and 500 years ago he built a water powered alarm clock!
Those are some pretty amazing credentials if you ask me.
Curiosity might have "killed the cat" but it can help you think like a genius. Leonardo Da Vinci had a book of questions. In this journal of sorts he would write down questions as fast as they would pop into his head. He would write down questions such as:
why do birds fly?
why do they slow down as they land?
what do their feathers do?
The interesting thing is that he didn't worry about the answers. He simply wrote down the questions because he knew something about the power of the human mind. He knew the subconscious mind was powerful and if he wrote down the questions his subconscious mind would continue to work on the answers.
Creativity is defined by Webster as "creative ability or intellectual inventiveness." This is a skill that everyone has to some extent. There are ways to improve your ability to create and generate new ideas. Not everyone can be a great artist or a creative genius, but it makes sense to make the most of the potential we are given.
Brainstorming is an extremely good way at practicing creativity. A brainstorm can work with an individual or a group. This technique requires the generation of as many ideas as quickly as possible to solve a problem.
It does not matter how outlandish an idea might be, all ideas are written down. The ideas need to be written down, and a time limit should be imposed for accepting ideas. If this is a group brainstorm, an individual should be appointed as recorder to write down the ideas. If this is an individual project, the person should write as the thoughts come. Remember the less judgment of ideas the greater the number of ideas generated. Although many of the ideas may be unreasonable and ineffective, they may lead you to the idea that will really work. It is helpful to set a goal for the number of ideas you wish to generate. This will give you something to work toward, and may unleash the perfect solution.
Journal your thoughts for future use. This includes writing down dreams, insights, experiences, quotes, problems with friends, and any other information that is pertinent to you. This should have some kind of organization so you can look back on it periodically. You may find the answer to a problem in last month's dream, so remember to review these personal logs frequently. This system will compliment the complex subconscious mind, and allow you to retrieve from this boundless resource.
Allow your ideas to develop and follow through on them. It is said that a good idea is worth fifty cents, and the plan to implement that plan is worth millions of dollars. It has been said another way as well: Anyone who has ever taken a shower has had an idea. It is the man who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it that changes the world.
As you learn about creativity and the techniques that work best for you, a whole new world will open up to you. Creativity can be helpful in problem solving, dealing with people, and creating success in all areas of your life. Take the time to tap into your greatest power, the power of the imagination and increase your creativity in all areas of life.
Sometimes when we face a problem we struggle with our thoughts so much, our energy is spent. The stress that comes with this kind of problem solving also affects how we think. If the anxiety level becomes too high, parts of the brain will shut down and it is impossible to generate the ideas needed to deal with the problem. When faced with too much stress the mind goes into the "fight or flight" mode. This allows the mind to deal with only two alternatives, fighting the opponent or fleeing the danger.
You can avoid these mind numbing emotions by altering your environment. When you feel yourself getting stressed out or you begin losing your focus, walk away from everything for a change of scenery. Allow yourself to focus on another task. Some people, golf, juggle, or exercise to get away from their mind blocks. When you return to this important task, you will have shifted from your stressed out mind set to a new relaxed and ready to conquer attitude.
Blaise Pascal said, "Almost all of the problems of mankind arise from the inability to be alone with oneself in a room for any period of time."
Getting away from the problem allows your subconscious mind to problem solve, while your conscious mind is occupied with other things. Sometimes you will find the solution to your problem in your sleep. This is when the subconscious mind is most active. Basically, all your experiences and learnings are stored in this part of the brain. This is where your creativity gets turbo-powered. If you can tap into this force you will have creative powers beyond your wildest expectations.
Another good way to help your creativity is to read. That is right, read.
You see when you read your subconscious mind is automatically creating pictures whether you like it or not. So develop a passion for reading and watch your creativity increase. Both Einstein and Da Vinci were avid readers. Model this behavior and watch your creativity increase.
Einstein said that he would simply imagine it so and then go about to prove it. In other words the creative process occurred before the experiments.
Since Einstein accomplished some of the greatest thoughts of our time, an argument could be made that he was one of the most creative people of all time. You can know more about your product than anyone and have more degrees than anyone you know, but if you don't have a little bit of creativity to take advantage of what you have, then it is useless. Credentials and knowledge will do you little good if you lack the creativity to take advantage of them.
So you may ask yourself, "What is creativity?"
That is an excellent question -- let's go straight to the source to answer it. Einstein said, "CREATIVITY is seeing what other see and THINKING what no one else has thought."
Robert Kennedy said the same thing this way, "I look at things that are and I ask why? I look at things that never were and ask why not?" Robert Kennedy was talking about creativity, just as Einstein was.
So how do you do it? How do you model the creativity of Albert Einstein?
First of all, we need to address the idea of the limiting belief that you are not creative.
There is a prevailing belief that creativity is an inborn trait - you are either creative or you're not. Well, while creativity is an inborn trait, we are all born with a creative brain (your right cerebral hemisphere) and have many creative skills. Children are naturally curious and eager to explore the world around them and spend hours playing with toys, making up imaginary friends and pretend games. But as we get older, we begin to lose some of our natural creativity as we learn and use more left-brain thinking skills in school and at work. Research shows that our propensity to generate original ideas reduces from 90% at age 5, to 20% at age 7 and even further to 2% as adults! However, unless you have suffered brain damage in your right hemisphere or had it surgically removed, you still have a creative brain; so you are still creative. It's just that maybe you don't use your creativity skills as much as you used to.
Now for the good news! You can reawaken your creative brainpower.
What would Einstein tell you in regards to increasing your creativity? Well, we don't have to guess on that one, because he did tell us. He said, "The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."
Develop the curiosity of a child. Leonardo Da Vinci, who is said to be one of the greatest geniuses of all time, also had this creativity. I don't think that it is a coincidence that Leonardo and Einstein were both extremely creative and that so many years after their deaths we are still talking about them.
Let me give you a few of Da Vinci's credentials:
500 years ago he:
- drew blue prints for the worlds first helicopter
- drew blueprints for a submarine
- built an extendable ladder that is still being used by fire departments today
- built the world's first hydraulic jack
- built a rotating stage
- and 500 years ago he built a water powered alarm clock!
Those are some pretty amazing credentials if you ask me.
Curiosity might have "killed the cat" but it can help you think like a genius. Leonardo Da Vinci had a book of questions. In this journal of sorts he would write down questions as fast as they would pop into his head. He would write down questions such as:
why do birds fly?
why do they slow down as they land?
what do their feathers do?
The interesting thing is that he didn't worry about the answers. He simply wrote down the questions because he knew something about the power of the human mind. He knew the subconscious mind was powerful and if he wrote down the questions his subconscious mind would continue to work on the answers.
Creativity is defined by Webster as "creative ability or intellectual inventiveness." This is a skill that everyone has to some extent. There are ways to improve your ability to create and generate new ideas. Not everyone can be a great artist or a creative genius, but it makes sense to make the most of the potential we are given.
Brainstorming is an extremely good way at practicing creativity. A brainstorm can work with an individual or a group. This technique requires the generation of as many ideas as quickly as possible to solve a problem.
It does not matter how outlandish an idea might be, all ideas are written down. The ideas need to be written down, and a time limit should be imposed for accepting ideas. If this is a group brainstorm, an individual should be appointed as recorder to write down the ideas. If this is an individual project, the person should write as the thoughts come. Remember the less judgment of ideas the greater the number of ideas generated. Although many of the ideas may be unreasonable and ineffective, they may lead you to the idea that will really work. It is helpful to set a goal for the number of ideas you wish to generate. This will give you something to work toward, and may unleash the perfect solution.
Journal your thoughts for future use. This includes writing down dreams, insights, experiences, quotes, problems with friends, and any other information that is pertinent to you. This should have some kind of organization so you can look back on it periodically. You may find the answer to a problem in last month's dream, so remember to review these personal logs frequently. This system will compliment the complex subconscious mind, and allow you to retrieve from this boundless resource.
Allow your ideas to develop and follow through on them. It is said that a good idea is worth fifty cents, and the plan to implement that plan is worth millions of dollars. It has been said another way as well: Anyone who has ever taken a shower has had an idea. It is the man who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it that changes the world.
As you learn about creativity and the techniques that work best for you, a whole new world will open up to you. Creativity can be helpful in problem solving, dealing with people, and creating success in all areas of your life. Take the time to tap into your greatest power, the power of the imagination and increase your creativity in all areas of life.
Sometimes when we face a problem we struggle with our thoughts so much, our energy is spent. The stress that comes with this kind of problem solving also affects how we think. If the anxiety level becomes too high, parts of the brain will shut down and it is impossible to generate the ideas needed to deal with the problem. When faced with too much stress the mind goes into the "fight or flight" mode. This allows the mind to deal with only two alternatives, fighting the opponent or fleeing the danger.
You can avoid these mind numbing emotions by altering your environment. When you feel yourself getting stressed out or you begin losing your focus, walk away from everything for a change of scenery. Allow yourself to focus on another task. Some people, golf, juggle, or exercise to get away from their mind blocks. When you return to this important task, you will have shifted from your stressed out mind set to a new relaxed and ready to conquer attitude.
Blaise Pascal said, "Almost all of the problems of mankind arise from the inability to be alone with oneself in a room for any period of time."
Getting away from the problem allows your subconscious mind to problem solve, while your conscious mind is occupied with other things. Sometimes you will find the solution to your problem in your sleep. This is when the subconscious mind is most active. Basically, all your experiences and learnings are stored in this part of the brain. This is where your creativity gets turbo-powered. If you can tap into this force you will have creative powers beyond your wildest expectations.
Another good way to help your creativity is to read. That is right, read.
You see when you read your subconscious mind is automatically creating pictures whether you like it or not. So develop a passion for reading and watch your creativity increase. Both Einstein and Da Vinci were avid readers. Model this behavior and watch your creativity increase.
Einstein said that he would simply imagine it so and then go about to prove it. In other words the creative process occurred before the experiments.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
POTENTIALIZE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES by Mark Victor Hansen
I remember watching the movie "Dead Poet's Society" when it was first released in the theatres. Robin Williams's character is a professor who wants his students to think for themselves, so he makes them stand on top of their desks to view things in a different way. That really stuck with me.
When you think about it, people hardly ever look at the world through their own eyes. They get their information filtered through the eyes of others, whether they're the eyes of the media, politicians, friends or family. But what looks like one thing to someone may look totally different to someone else. To really see what's going on in the world, to see what opportunities exist for us, we have to see the world through our own eyes in our own way.
We all need to recognize and potentialize opportunities when we see them. What do I mean by potentialize? When something has potential it has power, it expresses possibility, it is influential and effective.
As we go through each day we should be on the lookout for any situation that expresses possibility. Any situation. To attain the success you desire you have to recognize possibility everywhere and then stretch and flex your mind to create million-dollar ideas. And you're not limited to just one. The more you practice seeing the possible in daily life, the better you will become. Then you take those small possibilities and potentialize them and create great monetary abundance. (or non monetary abundance, depending on your needs)
We all have the ability to potentialize opportunities and create phenomenal physical/emotional wealth. And the amazing thing is that there are multiple possibilities for potentalizing in every situation! Just because someone comes up with a new way to do something doesn't mean that there isn't yet another way to do it. We have each been blessed with individual characteristics and abilities that no one else has. We each have our own special way of doing things. And that means we each have the ability to potentialize in our own unique way.
'Be grateful for your problems, for they stimulate an 'I-can-solve-it' new attitude.'
When you think about it, people hardly ever look at the world through their own eyes. They get their information filtered through the eyes of others, whether they're the eyes of the media, politicians, friends or family. But what looks like one thing to someone may look totally different to someone else. To really see what's going on in the world, to see what opportunities exist for us, we have to see the world through our own eyes in our own way.
We all need to recognize and potentialize opportunities when we see them. What do I mean by potentialize? When something has potential it has power, it expresses possibility, it is influential and effective.
As we go through each day we should be on the lookout for any situation that expresses possibility. Any situation. To attain the success you desire you have to recognize possibility everywhere and then stretch and flex your mind to create million-dollar ideas. And you're not limited to just one. The more you practice seeing the possible in daily life, the better you will become. Then you take those small possibilities and potentialize them and create great monetary abundance. (or non monetary abundance, depending on your needs)
We all have the ability to potentialize opportunities and create phenomenal physical/emotional wealth. And the amazing thing is that there are multiple possibilities for potentalizing in every situation! Just because someone comes up with a new way to do something doesn't mean that there isn't yet another way to do it. We have each been blessed with individual characteristics and abilities that no one else has. We each have our own special way of doing things. And that means we each have the ability to potentialize in our own unique way.
'Be grateful for your problems, for they stimulate an 'I-can-solve-it' new attitude.'
7 KEYS FOR JOYFUL LIVING! by Chris Widener
Here are some thoughts for finding and experiencing joy in your life. If there were one thing I could wish upon my family, friends and the readers of this Ezine, it would be joy in everything they do!
Know your purpose. Nothing will bring you joy more than knowing what it is that you are about on this earth. Not knowing brings sadness, wondering, fear and lack of fulfillment. Above all, find out what your unique purpose is here on this earth - then fulfill it! As you do, you will experience joy!
Live purposefully. This is a follow up to number one. It is one thing to know your purpose, but then you need to live according to that purpose. This is a matter of priorities. Let your actions and schedule reflect your purpose. Don't react to circumstances and let them cause you to live without your purpose fully in site. Living without your purpose will cause frustration. Living purposefully will bring you deep satisfaction and joy!
Stretch yourself. Don't settle into the status quo. That will leave you unfulfilled. Always look to stretch yourself. Whatever you are doing, stretch yourself to do more! Stretching yourself will break the limits you have set for yourself and will cause you to find joy in your expanded horizons!
Give more than you take. It brings happiness to accumulate. It brings joy to give away. Sure, getting the car you worked hard for will bring you a sense of satisfaction and even happiness. But it won't bring you joy. Giving something away to the less fortunate will bring you deep, abiding joy.
Surprise yourself and others too. The words here are spontaneity and surprise! Every once in a while, do the unexpected. It will cause everybody to sit back and say, "Wow, where did that come from?" It will put a little joy in your life, and theirs.
Indulge yourself sometimes. Too much indulgence and you are caught in the happiness trap; looking for the next purchase, celebration, etc., to bring you a little "happiness high." But if you will allow yourself an infrequent indulgence as a reward for a job well done and a life well lived, you will appreciate the indulgence and experience the joy of it.
Laugh a little - no, a lot! Most people are just too serious. We need to laugh a little - no, a lot! Learn to laugh daily, even if you have to learn to laugh in bad situations. This life is to be enjoyed! The next time you go to the movie rental store, get a comedy and let loose! Let yourself laugh!
Joy can be yours! Look for it, pursue it and enjoy it!
Know your purpose. Nothing will bring you joy more than knowing what it is that you are about on this earth. Not knowing brings sadness, wondering, fear and lack of fulfillment. Above all, find out what your unique purpose is here on this earth - then fulfill it! As you do, you will experience joy!
Live purposefully. This is a follow up to number one. It is one thing to know your purpose, but then you need to live according to that purpose. This is a matter of priorities. Let your actions and schedule reflect your purpose. Don't react to circumstances and let them cause you to live without your purpose fully in site. Living without your purpose will cause frustration. Living purposefully will bring you deep satisfaction and joy!
Stretch yourself. Don't settle into the status quo. That will leave you unfulfilled. Always look to stretch yourself. Whatever you are doing, stretch yourself to do more! Stretching yourself will break the limits you have set for yourself and will cause you to find joy in your expanded horizons!
Give more than you take. It brings happiness to accumulate. It brings joy to give away. Sure, getting the car you worked hard for will bring you a sense of satisfaction and even happiness. But it won't bring you joy. Giving something away to the less fortunate will bring you deep, abiding joy.
Surprise yourself and others too. The words here are spontaneity and surprise! Every once in a while, do the unexpected. It will cause everybody to sit back and say, "Wow, where did that come from?" It will put a little joy in your life, and theirs.
Indulge yourself sometimes. Too much indulgence and you are caught in the happiness trap; looking for the next purchase, celebration, etc., to bring you a little "happiness high." But if you will allow yourself an infrequent indulgence as a reward for a job well done and a life well lived, you will appreciate the indulgence and experience the joy of it.
Laugh a little - no, a lot! Most people are just too serious. We need to laugh a little - no, a lot! Learn to laugh daily, even if you have to learn to laugh in bad situations. This life is to be enjoyed! The next time you go to the movie rental store, get a comedy and let loose! Let yourself laugh!
Joy can be yours! Look for it, pursue it and enjoy it!
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Being Before Doing - by John C. Maxwell
Live right, and you will eat from the life-giving tree. And if you act wisely, others will follow. Proverbs 11:30 (cev)
I believe people tend to think of leadership only in terms of action. But leadership is so much more than just that. Leadership is not just something you do; it's something you are. And that's one of the reasons good leaders have such strong magnetism. People are attracted to who they are.
All leaders desire results, but being must precede doing. To achieve higher goals, you must be a more effective leader. To attract better people, you must be a better person yourself. To achieve greater results, you must be a person of great character. A common problem occurs when a leader's real identity and the desired results don't match up. But when leaders display consistency of character, competence, and purpose, it makes a powerful statement to the people around them-and it draws those people to them.
If you desire to do great things with your life, then seek to become a better person and a better leader. Nothing great can be achieved alone. Any task worth doing requires the help of others. And if you want to attract good people, you've got to become a better person yourself. If you're willing to do that, then you can leave the results to God.
From the book: "The 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader's Day" by John C. Maxwell
I believe people tend to think of leadership only in terms of action. But leadership is so much more than just that. Leadership is not just something you do; it's something you are. And that's one of the reasons good leaders have such strong magnetism. People are attracted to who they are.
All leaders desire results, but being must precede doing. To achieve higher goals, you must be a more effective leader. To attract better people, you must be a better person yourself. To achieve greater results, you must be a person of great character. A common problem occurs when a leader's real identity and the desired results don't match up. But when leaders display consistency of character, competence, and purpose, it makes a powerful statement to the people around them-and it draws those people to them.
If you desire to do great things with your life, then seek to become a better person and a better leader. Nothing great can be achieved alone. Any task worth doing requires the help of others. And if you want to attract good people, you've got to become a better person yourself. If you're willing to do that, then you can leave the results to God.
From the book: "The 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader's Day" by John C. Maxwell
Sunday, September 04, 2005
How to hanle Conflict
DON'T LET CONFLICT KEEP YOU FROM SUCCESS by Chris Widener
Anytime you are making ground and moving toward success, there will inevitably be the opportunity for conflict. That is just a fact of life. You put two people or more in a group and there is potential for conflict - and conflict, improperly handled, can destroy your ability to continue on and achieve your goals.
This is true in many areas of life, from the boardroom to the schoolroom. It can happen in marriage and it can happen between friends and business associates. And when conflict goes bad, success doesn't happen. The good news is that conflict can be healthy and can actually move you closer to success. Success is based on relationships and relationships offer the chance of conflict, so to get success, you must master conflict. So with that in mind, here are some ideas for handling conflict.
A. When you are the one who is confronting the problem with someone else:
1. Don't assume. Don't assume the worst. Don't assume that they meant what you think they did. Don't assume they know any better. Don't assume they did it on purpose. The fact is that most of the time our assumptions are incorrect and all our assumptions do is cause us to get out of a deeper hole.
2. Ask questions. Since you can't assume anything, you must begin your confrontation by finding out the facts as that person sees them. Here are some questions to ask: What was your intention in saying or doing that (Maybe they had good but misguided intentions)? What were the thoughts behind those words or actions (Maybe they actually have a well thought out position that you hadn't thought of)? Are you aware of how that might have been perceived (Maybe they just missed how that would be seen. Everybody is entitled to blow it)?
3. Tell them how you perceive things, or how you feel, rather than what they did. It is never good to start out with telling somebody, "You did this!" Instead, you can say something like, "I feel like your action may have been better if you would have..." Or, "I think that the way that came across may have been..."
4. Deal with one issue at a time. If they battle back a bit, you may be tempted to say, "Well, that isn't all! As a matter of fact, a number of us here think that you also need to work on..." If there is another issue, then deal with it at a separate time. Too many conflicts go around and around and don't end up solving the original issue. Stick to one point and see it through to understanding.
B. When someone is confronting you:
1. Don't take it personally. Worst-case scenario, you blew it. But that doesn't make you a bad person. So don't act like they have accused your character (unless they have, in which case you should try to get the conversation back to the facts). When we take things personally we become even more protective and we tend to become defensive and in the end escalate the conflict even more.
2. Don't counterattack. This gets back to dealing with one issue at a time. Don't try to justify or hide from the conflict the person has with you by showing him or her their problems. If they have a problem, great, talk about it later. Don't muddy the waters with debate about who is better, or as the case may be, less guilty. As hard as it may be, let the conversation run its course until it is solved.
3. Ask for some time to give it objective reflection. One way to stop conflict from escalating is simply to ask for time to consider it. Most of the time when people confront us, we had no idea it was coming. Our natural tendency is to fight out of reaction. If we go and think about it, we can be objective and approach the situation objectively, or at least more so.
4. Set a time to get back with them and discuss the issue. Let the person know that you take their concern seriously and that you want to deal with it in a timely manner. Set a time, no more than three days away, to get back together. You will keep from reacting, and they may even find that they had confronted too soon themselves.
C. Either way:
1. Keep your eye on the big picture. Is this the hill you want to die on? Determine how important this issue really is. Most things simply aren't worth getting too upset about, or so upset that the relationship breaks down. Is a productive business relationship worth sacrificing over the fact that you partner wears too much cologne or their spouse talks loudly at parties? Of course not, but some people go to war over those things. Is your husband worth giving up on because he leaves his underwear on the floor? Now, for the sake of argument, the reverse is true: The other person could wear less cologne or pick up their underwear, because that is an easy way to make the other person happy. Ask yourself if this is really a big deal. If it is, proceed.
2. Always respect the other person as a person. No matter what they have done, they are a person of value and deserve to be treated that way. They are not summed up and defined by their mistake. They have hopes and dreams, fears and worries, strengths and weaknesses. Take some time to picture them outside the office, playing with their kids or doing something fun. This will personalize your issue and keep you from going overboard.
3. Be solution oriented. Whatever you do, don't focus on the problem. Ask yourself and the other person to approach the issue with the idea that you are both working for a solution that will be mutually beneficial. Rather than ask, "Why in the world did you do that stupid thing? What were you thinking?" Ask, "Okay, what is done is done - what can we do to fix this again?" That is much more productive. The goal is to get things going again, not continually punish the other person.
Conflict doesn't have to end in a bad way. In fact, it can cause you to develop a deeper and more trusting relationship with the person you have had conflict with. So the next time you have to confront, or you are being confronted, follow the advice above and you will be much further along toward getting through your conflict in a positive way.
Anytime you are making ground and moving toward success, there will inevitably be the opportunity for conflict. That is just a fact of life. You put two people or more in a group and there is potential for conflict - and conflict, improperly handled, can destroy your ability to continue on and achieve your goals.
This is true in many areas of life, from the boardroom to the schoolroom. It can happen in marriage and it can happen between friends and business associates. And when conflict goes bad, success doesn't happen. The good news is that conflict can be healthy and can actually move you closer to success. Success is based on relationships and relationships offer the chance of conflict, so to get success, you must master conflict. So with that in mind, here are some ideas for handling conflict.
A. When you are the one who is confronting the problem with someone else:
1. Don't assume. Don't assume the worst. Don't assume that they meant what you think they did. Don't assume they know any better. Don't assume they did it on purpose. The fact is that most of the time our assumptions are incorrect and all our assumptions do is cause us to get out of a deeper hole.
2. Ask questions. Since you can't assume anything, you must begin your confrontation by finding out the facts as that person sees them. Here are some questions to ask: What was your intention in saying or doing that (Maybe they had good but misguided intentions)? What were the thoughts behind those words or actions (Maybe they actually have a well thought out position that you hadn't thought of)? Are you aware of how that might have been perceived (Maybe they just missed how that would be seen. Everybody is entitled to blow it)?
3. Tell them how you perceive things, or how you feel, rather than what they did. It is never good to start out with telling somebody, "You did this!" Instead, you can say something like, "I feel like your action may have been better if you would have..." Or, "I think that the way that came across may have been..."
4. Deal with one issue at a time. If they battle back a bit, you may be tempted to say, "Well, that isn't all! As a matter of fact, a number of us here think that you also need to work on..." If there is another issue, then deal with it at a separate time. Too many conflicts go around and around and don't end up solving the original issue. Stick to one point and see it through to understanding.
B. When someone is confronting you:
1. Don't take it personally. Worst-case scenario, you blew it. But that doesn't make you a bad person. So don't act like they have accused your character (unless they have, in which case you should try to get the conversation back to the facts). When we take things personally we become even more protective and we tend to become defensive and in the end escalate the conflict even more.
2. Don't counterattack. This gets back to dealing with one issue at a time. Don't try to justify or hide from the conflict the person has with you by showing him or her their problems. If they have a problem, great, talk about it later. Don't muddy the waters with debate about who is better, or as the case may be, less guilty. As hard as it may be, let the conversation run its course until it is solved.
3. Ask for some time to give it objective reflection. One way to stop conflict from escalating is simply to ask for time to consider it. Most of the time when people confront us, we had no idea it was coming. Our natural tendency is to fight out of reaction. If we go and think about it, we can be objective and approach the situation objectively, or at least more so.
4. Set a time to get back with them and discuss the issue. Let the person know that you take their concern seriously and that you want to deal with it in a timely manner. Set a time, no more than three days away, to get back together. You will keep from reacting, and they may even find that they had confronted too soon themselves.
C. Either way:
1. Keep your eye on the big picture. Is this the hill you want to die on? Determine how important this issue really is. Most things simply aren't worth getting too upset about, or so upset that the relationship breaks down. Is a productive business relationship worth sacrificing over the fact that you partner wears too much cologne or their spouse talks loudly at parties? Of course not, but some people go to war over those things. Is your husband worth giving up on because he leaves his underwear on the floor? Now, for the sake of argument, the reverse is true: The other person could wear less cologne or pick up their underwear, because that is an easy way to make the other person happy. Ask yourself if this is really a big deal. If it is, proceed.
2. Always respect the other person as a person. No matter what they have done, they are a person of value and deserve to be treated that way. They are not summed up and defined by their mistake. They have hopes and dreams, fears and worries, strengths and weaknesses. Take some time to picture them outside the office, playing with their kids or doing something fun. This will personalize your issue and keep you from going overboard.
3. Be solution oriented. Whatever you do, don't focus on the problem. Ask yourself and the other person to approach the issue with the idea that you are both working for a solution that will be mutually beneficial. Rather than ask, "Why in the world did you do that stupid thing? What were you thinking?" Ask, "Okay, what is done is done - what can we do to fix this again?" That is much more productive. The goal is to get things going again, not continually punish the other person.
Conflict doesn't have to end in a bad way. In fact, it can cause you to develop a deeper and more trusting relationship with the person you have had conflict with. So the next time you have to confront, or you are being confronted, follow the advice above and you will be much further along toward getting through your conflict in a positive way.
Integrity 101 #1
"Integrity" seems to be an interesting word lately, it keep popping-up around me. From friend's talk about his concerns at work, or chitchat in the cafe discussing the recent news, etc, all seems to be rooted in the word "integrity".. So it's only befitting when I read the Daily Devotional email from John C. Maxwell, which I found it interesting, and share it in my blogger.
Are You a Whole Person?
by John C. Maxwell
A person with integrity does not have divided loyalties (that's duplicity), nor is he or she merely pretending (that's hypocrisy). People with integrity are "whole" people; they can be identified by their single-mindedness. People with integrity have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. Their lives are open books. V. Gilbert Beers says, "A person of integrity is one who has established a system of values against which all of life is judged."
Integrity is not what we do, so much as who we are. And who we are, in turn, determines what we do. We are all faced with conflicting desires. No one, no matter how "spiritual," can avoid this battle. Integrity is the factor that determines which desire will prevail. We struggle daily with situations that demand decisions between what we want to do and what we ought to do.
Integrity establishes the ground rules for resolving these tensions. It allows us to predetermine what we will be regardless of circumstances, persons involved, or the places of our testing. It frees us to be whole persons no matter what comes our way.
God hates cheating in the marketplace; He loves it when business is aboveboard. Proverbs 11:1 (The Message)
[Taken from Daily Devotional by John C. Maxwell]
Are You a Whole Person?
by John C. Maxwell
A person with integrity does not have divided loyalties (that's duplicity), nor is he or she merely pretending (that's hypocrisy). People with integrity are "whole" people; they can be identified by their single-mindedness. People with integrity have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. Their lives are open books. V. Gilbert Beers says, "A person of integrity is one who has established a system of values against which all of life is judged."
Integrity is not what we do, so much as who we are. And who we are, in turn, determines what we do. We are all faced with conflicting desires. No one, no matter how "spiritual," can avoid this battle. Integrity is the factor that determines which desire will prevail. We struggle daily with situations that demand decisions between what we want to do and what we ought to do.
Integrity establishes the ground rules for resolving these tensions. It allows us to predetermine what we will be regardless of circumstances, persons involved, or the places of our testing. It frees us to be whole persons no matter what comes our way.
God hates cheating in the marketplace; He loves it when business is aboveboard. Proverbs 11:1 (The Message)
[Taken from Daily Devotional by John C. Maxwell]
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
WHY WEIGH, COUNT AND MEASURE? by Jim Rohn
Three key words to remember: weigh, count and measure. Now why weigh, count and measure? To see what your results are from your activity, your attitude and your philosophy. If you find that the results are not to your liking there are only three places to look. Your philosophy needs to be fine-tuned; your attitude needs to be strengthened or your disciplines need extra skill. But that's it. Activity, attitude and philosophy create results.
Now on results I teach that life expects you to make measurable progress in reasonable time. But, you must be reasonable with time. You can't say to someone every five minutes, how are you doing now? That's too soon to ask for a count. Guy says, "I haven't left the building yet, give me a break!" Now you can't wait five years - that's too long. Too many things can go wrong waiting too long for a count to see how you're doing.
Here are some good time frames:
Number one - at the end of the day. You can't let more than a day go by without looking at some things and making progress. Old Testament says - if you are angry; try to solve it before the sun goes down. Don't carry anger for another day. It may be too heavy to carry. If you try to carry it for a week, it may drop you to your knees. So some things you must get done in a day.
Here's the next one - a week. We ask for an accounting of the week so we can issue the pay. And whatever you've got coming that's what you get; when the week is over. Now in business there are two things to check in the course of the week. Your activity count and your productivity count. Because activity leads to productivity we need to count both to see how we're doing.
My mentor taught me that success is a numbers game and very early he started asking me my numbers. He asked, "How many books have you read in the last ninety days?" I said, "Zero"; he said, "Not a good number." He said, "How many classes have you attended in the last six months to improve your skills?" And I said, "Zero." He said, "Not a good number." Then he said, "In the last six years that you've been working, how much money have you saved and invested?" I said, "Zero" and he said, "Not a good number." Then here's what he said, "Mr. Rohn, if these numbers don't change your life won't change. "But" he said, "If you'll start improving these numbers then perhaps you'll start to see everything change for you."
Success and results are a numbers game. John joins this little sales company. He's supposed to make 10 calls the first week just to get acquainted with the territory. So on Friday we call him in and say what? "How many calls?" He says, "Well." You say, "John, 'well' won't fit in the little box here. I need a number." Now he starts with a story. And you say, "John, the reason I made this little box so small is so a story won't fit. All I need is a number because if you give us the number we're so brilliant around here we could guess the story." It's the numbers that count. Making measurable progress in reasonable time.
Here's the best accounting. The accounting you make of yourself. Don't wait for the government to do it; don't wait for the company to do it. But you've got to add up some of your own numbers and ask, "Am I making the progress I want and will it take me where I want to go now and in the future?" You be the judge!
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
Now on results I teach that life expects you to make measurable progress in reasonable time. But, you must be reasonable with time. You can't say to someone every five minutes, how are you doing now? That's too soon to ask for a count. Guy says, "I haven't left the building yet, give me a break!" Now you can't wait five years - that's too long. Too many things can go wrong waiting too long for a count to see how you're doing.
Here are some good time frames:
Number one - at the end of the day. You can't let more than a day go by without looking at some things and making progress. Old Testament says - if you are angry; try to solve it before the sun goes down. Don't carry anger for another day. It may be too heavy to carry. If you try to carry it for a week, it may drop you to your knees. So some things you must get done in a day.
Here's the next one - a week. We ask for an accounting of the week so we can issue the pay. And whatever you've got coming that's what you get; when the week is over. Now in business there are two things to check in the course of the week. Your activity count and your productivity count. Because activity leads to productivity we need to count both to see how we're doing.
My mentor taught me that success is a numbers game and very early he started asking me my numbers. He asked, "How many books have you read in the last ninety days?" I said, "Zero"; he said, "Not a good number." He said, "How many classes have you attended in the last six months to improve your skills?" And I said, "Zero." He said, "Not a good number." Then he said, "In the last six years that you've been working, how much money have you saved and invested?" I said, "Zero" and he said, "Not a good number." Then here's what he said, "Mr. Rohn, if these numbers don't change your life won't change. "But" he said, "If you'll start improving these numbers then perhaps you'll start to see everything change for you."
Success and results are a numbers game. John joins this little sales company. He's supposed to make 10 calls the first week just to get acquainted with the territory. So on Friday we call him in and say what? "How many calls?" He says, "Well." You say, "John, 'well' won't fit in the little box here. I need a number." Now he starts with a story. And you say, "John, the reason I made this little box so small is so a story won't fit. All I need is a number because if you give us the number we're so brilliant around here we could guess the story." It's the numbers that count. Making measurable progress in reasonable time.
Here's the best accounting. The accounting you make of yourself. Don't wait for the government to do it; don't wait for the company to do it. But you've got to add up some of your own numbers and ask, "Am I making the progress I want and will it take me where I want to go now and in the future?" You be the judge!
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
THE "BEN FRANKLIN METHOD" FOR WINNING PEOPLE OVER by Bob Burg
So often in this ezine we talk about giving before getting, and that is certainly a very important aspect of helping a person to feel comfortable with you, and want to do for you. Whether in social relationships or sales, being the first to reach out is an extremely effective human relations strategy, as well as just a generally nice way to be. But we learn from one of America's more well-known founders, Benjamin Franklin, how taking the opposite approach can have excellent results as well.
In his book, "Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and Other Writings", the inventor, statesman, and diplomat tells of an incident with a man who opposed his being re-chosen as Clerk of the General Assembly of the Pennsylvania House. Although he did manage to keep the office, Ben knew that this person, whom he described as "a gentleman of fortune and education with talents that were likely to give him, in time, great influence in the House," could be trouble later on. He aimed to insure that didn't happen by making, of an enemy, a friend.
Let's let Ben tell us how he did it:
"I did not, however, aim at gaining his favour by paying any servile respect to him, but after some time took this other method. Having heard that he had in his library a certain very scarce and curious book, I wrote a note to him expressing my desire of perusing that book and requesting he would do me the favour of lending it to me for a few days. He sent it immediately - and I returned it in about a week with another note expressing strongly my sense of the favour. When we next met in the House, he spoke to me (which he had never done before), and with great civility. And he ever afterwards manifested a readiness to serve me on all occasions, so that we became great friends, and our friendship continued to his death.
"This is another instance of the truth of an old maxim I had learned, which says, 'He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another than he whom you yourself have obliged.' And it shows how much more profitable it is prudently to remove, than to resent, return, and continue inimical proceedings."
Understand that both ways work (giving first and getting first); it's just a matter of judging the method that will work best depending upon both the situation and the other person involved. Either way, what Ben said in his final sentence makes a whole lot of sense. To paraphrase: We're better off making a friend than keeping an enemy.
Have an awesome WINNING WITHOUT INTIMIDATION week!
Note: never disrespect to the kindness a person have given to you, you may need more from them than you anticipate :D
THE BILLIONAIRE'S STRATEGY FOR SUCCESS by Brian Tracy
The key principle of success discovered by the world's richest man and how you can use it in your own life.
John Paul Getty became the richest man in the world by practicing a few basic principles of risk-taking and reward throughout his life.
In this newsletter you will learn his key insight to risk reduction and success and how you can apply it to any decision you have to make. You learn a series of additional ideas that can help you to make better decisions and reduce the risks associated with success.
How To Assess A Decision
Whenever John Paul Getty was considering a business decision, he would ask, "What's the worst possible thing that could happen in this situation?"
Then, when he was clear about the worst possible outcome, he focused all his attention on making sure that it didn't happen.
You should apply this technique to every risk situation or investment you ever make.
The Billionaire's Strategy for Success
Remember Murphy's Law: "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong." There are several secondary laws to Murphy's Law, such as "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong at the worst possible time" and "Of all the things that can go wrong, the most expensive thing will go wrong at the worst possible time."
Another sub law is "Everything takes longer than your best calculation." In advising businesspeople, I suggest that they take their very best estimate of break-even for any business venture and then triple it to arrive at a more realistic number. Whenever businesspeople follow this advice, they are amazed to find that, in spite of their best initial calculations, it indeed takes about three times longer than they thought it would to start making money.
Always Add A Fudge Factor
Another sub-law is "Everything costs more than you can possibly anticipate in advance." In minimizing risk in any venture, always add a "fudge factor" to account for the degree of uncertainty. Whenever I do a business plan, I always add 20 percent to the total of all costs that I can identify, to come up with the probable cost. Anything less than this, whether in business or your personal life, is likely to be an exercise in self-delusion and open you up for some unhappy surprises.
Once you have identified the worst possible things that could go wrong, make a list of everything that you could do to offset these negative factors. Engage in what is called "crisis anticipation." Look down the road, into the future, and imagine every possible crisis that could arise as the result of changing external circumstances.
Be Intensely Realistic
Men and women who have achieved a high level of success are intensely realistic. They do not put their trust in luck. They carefully calculate every possible risk, and then think about what they would do should it occur. They always have a backup plan in case things do not go as they wish them to. They have a "Plan B" and options to that plan that take all kinds of variables into consideration.
Do The Things You Fear
One of the very best ways to develop your ability to take intelligent risks is to consciously and deliberately do the things you fear, one step at a time.
A very good way to overcome the fear of risk taking is to set clear, written, measurable goals for yourself, and then to review those goals regularly.
When you have clear goals and plans, and you continually work on them and evaluate your progress each day, you will see what you're doing right and how you could improve your performance. You'll feel more competent and capable and better about yourself. You'll become more thoughtful and reflective and willing to take on even greater challenges. You'll feel like the "master of your fate and the captain of your soul." And your likelihood of success will become greater and greater.
Action Exercises
Now, here are three steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, take any worry situation in your life today and ask, "What is the worst possible thing that could happen?" Then go to work to make sure it doesn't occur.
Second, look into the future in your life and determine the worst things that could happen. Engage in "crisis anticipation" regularly and continually be taking steps to guard against them.
Third, work from clear, written goals and detailed plans. Review them regularly. Consider alternatives and always look for ways to increase the likelihood of your success.
Note: well, I am not 100% on the author this time, but on some cases, he got a strong points which may have a wisdom in it. so i just publish it here for you to judge. don't shoot the messanger :D
John Paul Getty became the richest man in the world by practicing a few basic principles of risk-taking and reward throughout his life.
In this newsletter you will learn his key insight to risk reduction and success and how you can apply it to any decision you have to make. You learn a series of additional ideas that can help you to make better decisions and reduce the risks associated with success.
How To Assess A Decision
Whenever John Paul Getty was considering a business decision, he would ask, "What's the worst possible thing that could happen in this situation?"
Then, when he was clear about the worst possible outcome, he focused all his attention on making sure that it didn't happen.
You should apply this technique to every risk situation or investment you ever make.
The Billionaire's Strategy for Success
Remember Murphy's Law: "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong." There are several secondary laws to Murphy's Law, such as "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong at the worst possible time" and "Of all the things that can go wrong, the most expensive thing will go wrong at the worst possible time."
Another sub law is "Everything takes longer than your best calculation." In advising businesspeople, I suggest that they take their very best estimate of break-even for any business venture and then triple it to arrive at a more realistic number. Whenever businesspeople follow this advice, they are amazed to find that, in spite of their best initial calculations, it indeed takes about three times longer than they thought it would to start making money.
Always Add A Fudge Factor
Another sub-law is "Everything costs more than you can possibly anticipate in advance." In minimizing risk in any venture, always add a "fudge factor" to account for the degree of uncertainty. Whenever I do a business plan, I always add 20 percent to the total of all costs that I can identify, to come up with the probable cost. Anything less than this, whether in business or your personal life, is likely to be an exercise in self-delusion and open you up for some unhappy surprises.
Once you have identified the worst possible things that could go wrong, make a list of everything that you could do to offset these negative factors. Engage in what is called "crisis anticipation." Look down the road, into the future, and imagine every possible crisis that could arise as the result of changing external circumstances.
Be Intensely Realistic
Men and women who have achieved a high level of success are intensely realistic. They do not put their trust in luck. They carefully calculate every possible risk, and then think about what they would do should it occur. They always have a backup plan in case things do not go as they wish them to. They have a "Plan B" and options to that plan that take all kinds of variables into consideration.
Do The Things You Fear
One of the very best ways to develop your ability to take intelligent risks is to consciously and deliberately do the things you fear, one step at a time.
A very good way to overcome the fear of risk taking is to set clear, written, measurable goals for yourself, and then to review those goals regularly.
When you have clear goals and plans, and you continually work on them and evaluate your progress each day, you will see what you're doing right and how you could improve your performance. You'll feel more competent and capable and better about yourself. You'll become more thoughtful and reflective and willing to take on even greater challenges. You'll feel like the "master of your fate and the captain of your soul." And your likelihood of success will become greater and greater.
Action Exercises
Now, here are three steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, take any worry situation in your life today and ask, "What is the worst possible thing that could happen?" Then go to work to make sure it doesn't occur.
Second, look into the future in your life and determine the worst things that could happen. Engage in "crisis anticipation" regularly and continually be taking steps to guard against them.
Third, work from clear, written goals and detailed plans. Review them regularly. Consider alternatives and always look for ways to increase the likelihood of your success.
Note: well, I am not 100% on the author this time, but on some cases, he got a strong points which may have a wisdom in it. so i just publish it here for you to judge. don't shoot the messanger :D
ABANDONMENT IS TREMENDOUS by Charlie "Tremendous" Jones
There just isn't time to do all you want to do and all that you need do. It is easy for us to teach abandonment to others, but the leader knows the price of abandonment, beginning with his own thought processes.
What do you think about? Let's go a step further, what do you talk about? Someone once said that little people talk about things, medium sized people talk about people, and big people talk about ideas. Which kind of people do you like to be around?
How are your reading habits; how many books have your read this year, how many are you reading now, how many of the ideas you've received from the books have you shared? The power of a single book at the right time in a life is unlimited.
The leader leads the way, showing that leaders are readers. You should not only keep a flow of books for yourself, but give them away. Paperbacks are inexpensive and popular. I share a book list that points out the books that have been the most influential of my life.
The leader is constantly learning to abandon the things that come naturally, like DISCOURAGEMENT. Discouragement is, without a doubt, the most expensive luxury we can afford. When I become wealthy, I plan to get discouraged for a week at a time, but I can't afford but a few minutes a day right now. Most people I know must really be wealthy now, for all the discouragement they seem to be enjoying. Sometimes I'm asked if I ever get discouraged, and I reply, "Yes, often." But I never let anyone know about it, because if I allow you to know how discouraged I am, you'll become discouraged, you'll discourage me more than I am, and I can't hardly stand how much I have now. So abandon discouragement and all the other attitude killers as you become the leader you are meant to be!
Tremendously,
Charles "T" Jones
What do you think about? Let's go a step further, what do you talk about? Someone once said that little people talk about things, medium sized people talk about people, and big people talk about ideas. Which kind of people do you like to be around?
How are your reading habits; how many books have your read this year, how many are you reading now, how many of the ideas you've received from the books have you shared? The power of a single book at the right time in a life is unlimited.
The leader leads the way, showing that leaders are readers. You should not only keep a flow of books for yourself, but give them away. Paperbacks are inexpensive and popular. I share a book list that points out the books that have been the most influential of my life.
The leader is constantly learning to abandon the things that come naturally, like DISCOURAGEMENT. Discouragement is, without a doubt, the most expensive luxury we can afford. When I become wealthy, I plan to get discouraged for a week at a time, but I can't afford but a few minutes a day right now. Most people I know must really be wealthy now, for all the discouragement they seem to be enjoying. Sometimes I'm asked if I ever get discouraged, and I reply, "Yes, often." But I never let anyone know about it, because if I allow you to know how discouraged I am, you'll become discouraged, you'll discourage me more than I am, and I can't hardly stand how much I have now. So abandon discouragement and all the other attitude killers as you become the leader you are meant to be!
Tremendously,
Charles "T" Jones
Monday, August 15, 2005
WE GOT PROBLEMS by Ron White
One of my friends is in the Navy. He recently shared a story with me that I thought had implications for the business world. The story he relayed was of a uniform inspection.
A few days before an upcoming inspection, he found a cover (or hat) that is normally white but this one was light blue. It was obviously a gag and being sold in the store on base. He bought it and then placed it in his locker. On the day of the inspection, he was getting ready with a friend and he opened up his locker and acted surprised. He said, "Oh No!" His friend could sense the distress in his voice and urgently asked, "What's wrong?"
Without saying a word, my friend pulled the light blue hat out of his locker and held it up. The sailor he was playing the joke on instantly stated, "We got problems." My friend did his best to contain his laughter and let the prank go on as long as he could.
What is the lesson here? What did the sailor say when he thought his fellow sailor was about to fail the inspection? He said, "WE got problems." Not, "YOU got problems." You see, this sailor saw a problem in his unit as his problem.
John Maxwell tells us that if we have been with a company for longer than one year every problem in our department is our problem. Don't sit around and wait for problems to be solved because it isn't currently your problem. I assure you of this, if you allow problems to go unchecked because you believe it is not under your job description, eventually the problem will grow and it will become your problem. At this point, solving the problem is going to be a greater challenge.
Remember...It is about team work. If your co-worker has a problem then..."We got problems."
A few days before an upcoming inspection, he found a cover (or hat) that is normally white but this one was light blue. It was obviously a gag and being sold in the store on base. He bought it and then placed it in his locker. On the day of the inspection, he was getting ready with a friend and he opened up his locker and acted surprised. He said, "Oh No!" His friend could sense the distress in his voice and urgently asked, "What's wrong?"
Without saying a word, my friend pulled the light blue hat out of his locker and held it up. The sailor he was playing the joke on instantly stated, "We got problems." My friend did his best to contain his laughter and let the prank go on as long as he could.
What is the lesson here? What did the sailor say when he thought his fellow sailor was about to fail the inspection? He said, "WE got problems." Not, "YOU got problems." You see, this sailor saw a problem in his unit as his problem.
John Maxwell tells us that if we have been with a company for longer than one year every problem in our department is our problem. Don't sit around and wait for problems to be solved because it isn't currently your problem. I assure you of this, if you allow problems to go unchecked because you believe it is not under your job description, eventually the problem will grow and it will become your problem. At this point, solving the problem is going to be a greater challenge.
Remember...It is about team work. If your co-worker has a problem then..."We got problems."
Monday, July 18, 2005
TAPROOT OF TRUST by Stephen R. Covey
Efforts to empower employees and to align systems will be forever frustrated in cultures of low or no trust.
I have long advocated a natural, gradual, day-by-day, step-by-step, sequential approach to personal and organizational development. My feeling is that any product or program whether it deals with losing weight or mastering skills that promise "quick, free, instant, and easy" results is probably not based on correct principles. And yet virtually all advertising uses one or more of these words to entice us to buy. Small wonder many of us are addicted to "quick fix" approaches.
In this article, I suggest that real character and skill development are irrevocably related to natural laws and governing principles; when we observe these, we gain the strength to break with the past, to overcome old habits, to change our paradigms, and to achieve primary greatness and interpersonal effectiveness.
Of course, we do not live alone on islands, isolated from other people. We are born into families; we grow up in societies; we become students of schools, members of other organizations. Once into our professions, we find that our jobs require us to interact frequently and effectively with others. If we fail to learn and apply the principles of interpersonal effectiveness, we can expect our progress to slow or stop.
And so we must also acquire the attitudes, skills, and strategies for creating and maintaining trustful relationships. In effect, once we become relatively independent, our challenge is to become effectively interdependent with others. To do this, we must practice empathy and synergy in our efforts to be proactive and productive.
Very early in my life, at age twenty, I was assigned to manage the work of others and to train men and women more than twice my age in the principles and skills of effective management and leadership. It was a humbling, frightening experience.
Like me, most people once on their own soon find themselves in some sort of "management" position. Often these responsibilities come before we are ready for them. But we learn by doing and by making mistakes, and overtime we gain some degree of competence and confidence.
When we become leaders of organizations, we encounter a whole new set of problems. Some of these are chronic others acute. Many are as common to Fortune 500 companies as they are to families, small businesses, and volunteer groups: certain conditions of organizational effectiveness apply across the board.
No leader can afford to forget that personal and organizational integrity are closely intertwined. Nor can any leader afford to lose sight of the mission and shared vision the constitution of the corporation.
Personal Dilemmas
Throughout history, the most significant breakthroughs have been breaks with the old ways of thinking, the old models and paradigms. Principle-centered leadership is a breakthrough paradigm a new way of thinking that helps resolve the classic dilemmas of modern living: How do we achieve and maintain a wise and renewing balance between work and family and between personal and professional areas of life in the middle of constant crises and pressures? How do we adhere to simplicity in the thick of terrible complexity?
How do we maintain a sense of direction in today's wilderness where well developed road maps (strategies and plans) are rendered useless by rapid change that often hits us from the blind side?
How do we look at human weakness with genuine compassion and understanding rather than accusation and self-justification?
How can we be genuinely happy for the successes and competencies of another?
How do we replace prejudice (the tendency to pre-judge and categorize people in order to manipulate them) with a sense of reverence and discovery in order to promote learning, achievement, and excellence in people?
How can we be empowered (and empower other people) with confidence and competence to solve problems and seize opportunities without being or fearing loose cannons?
How do we encourage the desire to change and improve without creating more pain than gain?
How can we be contributing members of a complementary team based on mutual respect and the valuing of diversity and pluralism?
Where do we start, and how do we keep recharging our batteries to maintain momentum for learning, growing, and improving?
Management Dilemmas
How do we get our people, the culture, aligned with the strategy so that everyone in the organization is as committed to the strategy as those who formulated it?
How do we unleash the creativity, resourcefulness, talent, and energy of the vast majority of the present work force whose jobs neither require nor reward such use?
How do we clearly see that the dilemma of whether to play tough hardball to produce a bottom line or to play softball to "be nice" to people is based on a false dichotomy?
How do we serve and eat the lunch of champions (feedback) and then the dinner of champions (course correction) within the context of the breakfast of champions (vision)?
How do we turn a mission statement into a constitution the supreme guiding force of the entire organization instead of a bunch of nebulous, meaningless, cynicism-inducing platitudes?
How do we create a culture where management treats employees as customers and uses them as local experts?
How do we internalize the principles of total quality and continuous improvement in all our people at all levels of the organization when they are so cynical and fatigued from the disillusionment in the wake of all the past programs of the month?
How do we create team spirit and harmony among departments and people who have been attacking, criticizing, contending for scare resources, playing political games and working from hidden agendas for years?
Perhaps you have asked yourself one or more of these questions as you have grappled with real-life challenges in your personal life and in your organizations. As you gain an understanding of the basic principles of effective leadership, you will be empowered to answer these and other tough questions by yourself. Without this understanding, you will continue to use hit-and-miss, seat-of-the-pants approaches to living and problem solving.
Four Levels, Four Principles
Principle-centered leadership is practiced from the inside-out on four levels:
1) personal (my relationship with myself);
2) interpersonal (my relationships and interactions with others);
3) managerial (my responsibility to get a job done with others); and
4) organizational (my need to organize people to recruit them, train them, compensate them, build teams, solve problems, and create aligned structure, strategy, and systems).
Each level is "necessary but insufficient," meaning we have to work at all levels on the basis of certain master principles.
Trustworthiness at the Personal Level.
Trustworthiness is based on character what you are as a person and competence, what you can do. If you have faith in my character but not in my competence, you still wouldn't trust me.
Many good, honest people gradually lose their professional trustworthiness because they allow themselves to become "obsolete" inside their organizations. Without character and competence, we won't be considered trustworthy. Nor will we show much wisdom in our choices and decisions. Without meaningful on-going professional development, there is little trustworthiness or trust.
Trust at the Interpersonal Level.
Trustworthiness is the foundation of trust. Trust is the emotional bank account between two people, which enables two parties to have a win-win performance agreement. If two people trust each other, based on the trustworthiness of each other, they can then enjoy clear communication, empathy, synergy, and productive interdependency. If one is incompetent, training and development can help. But if one has a character flaw, he or she must make and keep promises to increase internal security, improve skills, and rebuild relationships of trust. Trust or the lack of it is at the root of the success or failure in relationships and in the bottom-line results of business, industry, education, and government.
Empowerment at the Management Level.
If you have no or low trust, how are you going to manage people? If you think your people lack character or competence, how would you manage them? When you don't have trust, you have to control people. But if you have high trust, how do you manage people? You don't supervise them they supervise themselves. You become a source of help. You set up a performance agreement so they understand what's expected. You overlap their needs with the needs of the organization. You have accountability, but they participate in the evaluation of their performance based on the terms of the agreement. People are empowered to judge themselves because their knowledge transcends any measurement system. If you have a low-trust culture, you have to use measurement because people will tell you what they think you want to hear.
Alignment at the Organizational Level.
If you have a low trust culture with a control style of management, you will have a hierarchal organization with small spans of control. You will resort to "go-fer" delegation and prescribe and manage methods. Your information system will gather immediate information on results so you can take decisive corrective actions. Your motivation system will be the carrot-and-stick. Such primitive systems may enable you to survive against soft competition, but you are easy prey for tough competitors.
If you have a high trust culture, your organization can be very flat and extremely flexible with large spans of control. Why? People are supervising themselves. They are doing their jobs cheerfully without being reminded because you have built an emotional bank account with them. You've got commitment and empowerment because you have built the culture around a common vision on the basis of certain bedrock principles, and you are constantly striving to align strategy, style, structure, and systems with your professed mission (your constitution) and with the realities out there in the environment (the streams).
My challenge is this: when you find something out of alignment, work on it developmentally at all four levels from the inside out on the basis of the four master principles.
Dr. Covey is the author of several acclaimed books, including the international bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.© 1996, 2005 Covey Leadership Center and FranklinCovey. All rights reserved.
I have long advocated a natural, gradual, day-by-day, step-by-step, sequential approach to personal and organizational development. My feeling is that any product or program whether it deals with losing weight or mastering skills that promise "quick, free, instant, and easy" results is probably not based on correct principles. And yet virtually all advertising uses one or more of these words to entice us to buy. Small wonder many of us are addicted to "quick fix" approaches.
In this article, I suggest that real character and skill development are irrevocably related to natural laws and governing principles; when we observe these, we gain the strength to break with the past, to overcome old habits, to change our paradigms, and to achieve primary greatness and interpersonal effectiveness.
Of course, we do not live alone on islands, isolated from other people. We are born into families; we grow up in societies; we become students of schools, members of other organizations. Once into our professions, we find that our jobs require us to interact frequently and effectively with others. If we fail to learn and apply the principles of interpersonal effectiveness, we can expect our progress to slow or stop.
And so we must also acquire the attitudes, skills, and strategies for creating and maintaining trustful relationships. In effect, once we become relatively independent, our challenge is to become effectively interdependent with others. To do this, we must practice empathy and synergy in our efforts to be proactive and productive.
Very early in my life, at age twenty, I was assigned to manage the work of others and to train men and women more than twice my age in the principles and skills of effective management and leadership. It was a humbling, frightening experience.
Like me, most people once on their own soon find themselves in some sort of "management" position. Often these responsibilities come before we are ready for them. But we learn by doing and by making mistakes, and overtime we gain some degree of competence and confidence.
When we become leaders of organizations, we encounter a whole new set of problems. Some of these are chronic others acute. Many are as common to Fortune 500 companies as they are to families, small businesses, and volunteer groups: certain conditions of organizational effectiveness apply across the board.
No leader can afford to forget that personal and organizational integrity are closely intertwined. Nor can any leader afford to lose sight of the mission and shared vision the constitution of the corporation.
Personal Dilemmas
Throughout history, the most significant breakthroughs have been breaks with the old ways of thinking, the old models and paradigms. Principle-centered leadership is a breakthrough paradigm a new way of thinking that helps resolve the classic dilemmas of modern living: How do we achieve and maintain a wise and renewing balance between work and family and between personal and professional areas of life in the middle of constant crises and pressures? How do we adhere to simplicity in the thick of terrible complexity?
How do we maintain a sense of direction in today's wilderness where well developed road maps (strategies and plans) are rendered useless by rapid change that often hits us from the blind side?
How do we look at human weakness with genuine compassion and understanding rather than accusation and self-justification?
How can we be genuinely happy for the successes and competencies of another?
How do we replace prejudice (the tendency to pre-judge and categorize people in order to manipulate them) with a sense of reverence and discovery in order to promote learning, achievement, and excellence in people?
How can we be empowered (and empower other people) with confidence and competence to solve problems and seize opportunities without being or fearing loose cannons?
How do we encourage the desire to change and improve without creating more pain than gain?
How can we be contributing members of a complementary team based on mutual respect and the valuing of diversity and pluralism?
Where do we start, and how do we keep recharging our batteries to maintain momentum for learning, growing, and improving?
Management Dilemmas
Principle-centered leadership will also help you to resolve the classic managerial and organizational dilemmas: How do we maintain control, and yet give people the freedom and autonomy they need to be effective in their work? How can we have a culture characterized by change, flexibility, and continuous improvement and still maintain a sense of stability and security?
How do we get our people, the culture, aligned with the strategy so that everyone in the organization is as committed to the strategy as those who formulated it?
How do we unleash the creativity, resourcefulness, talent, and energy of the vast majority of the present work force whose jobs neither require nor reward such use?
How do we clearly see that the dilemma of whether to play tough hardball to produce a bottom line or to play softball to "be nice" to people is based on a false dichotomy?
How do we serve and eat the lunch of champions (feedback) and then the dinner of champions (course correction) within the context of the breakfast of champions (vision)?
How do we turn a mission statement into a constitution the supreme guiding force of the entire organization instead of a bunch of nebulous, meaningless, cynicism-inducing platitudes?
How do we create a culture where management treats employees as customers and uses them as local experts?
How do we internalize the principles of total quality and continuous improvement in all our people at all levels of the organization when they are so cynical and fatigued from the disillusionment in the wake of all the past programs of the month?
How do we create team spirit and harmony among departments and people who have been attacking, criticizing, contending for scare resources, playing political games and working from hidden agendas for years?
Perhaps you have asked yourself one or more of these questions as you have grappled with real-life challenges in your personal life and in your organizations. As you gain an understanding of the basic principles of effective leadership, you will be empowered to answer these and other tough questions by yourself. Without this understanding, you will continue to use hit-and-miss, seat-of-the-pants approaches to living and problem solving.
Four Levels, Four Principles
Principle-centered leadership is practiced from the inside-out on four levels:
1) personal (my relationship with myself);
2) interpersonal (my relationships and interactions with others);
3) managerial (my responsibility to get a job done with others); and
4) organizational (my need to organize people to recruit them, train them, compensate them, build teams, solve problems, and create aligned structure, strategy, and systems).
Each level is "necessary but insufficient," meaning we have to work at all levels on the basis of certain master principles.
Trustworthiness at the Personal Level.
Trustworthiness is based on character what you are as a person and competence, what you can do. If you have faith in my character but not in my competence, you still wouldn't trust me.
Many good, honest people gradually lose their professional trustworthiness because they allow themselves to become "obsolete" inside their organizations. Without character and competence, we won't be considered trustworthy. Nor will we show much wisdom in our choices and decisions. Without meaningful on-going professional development, there is little trustworthiness or trust.
Trust at the Interpersonal Level.
Trustworthiness is the foundation of trust. Trust is the emotional bank account between two people, which enables two parties to have a win-win performance agreement. If two people trust each other, based on the trustworthiness of each other, they can then enjoy clear communication, empathy, synergy, and productive interdependency. If one is incompetent, training and development can help. But if one has a character flaw, he or she must make and keep promises to increase internal security, improve skills, and rebuild relationships of trust. Trust or the lack of it is at the root of the success or failure in relationships and in the bottom-line results of business, industry, education, and government.
Empowerment at the Management Level.
If you have no or low trust, how are you going to manage people? If you think your people lack character or competence, how would you manage them? When you don't have trust, you have to control people. But if you have high trust, how do you manage people? You don't supervise them they supervise themselves. You become a source of help. You set up a performance agreement so they understand what's expected. You overlap their needs with the needs of the organization. You have accountability, but they participate in the evaluation of their performance based on the terms of the agreement. People are empowered to judge themselves because their knowledge transcends any measurement system. If you have a low-trust culture, you have to use measurement because people will tell you what they think you want to hear.
Alignment at the Organizational Level.
If you have a low trust culture with a control style of management, you will have a hierarchal organization with small spans of control. You will resort to "go-fer" delegation and prescribe and manage methods. Your information system will gather immediate information on results so you can take decisive corrective actions. Your motivation system will be the carrot-and-stick. Such primitive systems may enable you to survive against soft competition, but you are easy prey for tough competitors.
If you have a high trust culture, your organization can be very flat and extremely flexible with large spans of control. Why? People are supervising themselves. They are doing their jobs cheerfully without being reminded because you have built an emotional bank account with them. You've got commitment and empowerment because you have built the culture around a common vision on the basis of certain bedrock principles, and you are constantly striving to align strategy, style, structure, and systems with your professed mission (your constitution) and with the realities out there in the environment (the streams).
My challenge is this: when you find something out of alignment, work on it developmentally at all four levels from the inside out on the basis of the four master principles.
Dr. Covey is the author of several acclaimed books, including the international bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.© 1996, 2005 Covey Leadership Center and FranklinCovey. All rights reserved.
Friday, July 08, 2005
THE ANT PHILOSOPHY by Jim Rohn
Over the years I've been teaching children about a simple but powerful concept - the ant philosophy. I think everybody should study ants. They have an amazing four-part philosophy, and here is the first part: ants never quit. That's a good philosophy. If they're headed somewhere and you try to stop them; they'll look for another way. They'll climb over, they'll climb under, they'll climb around. They keep looking for another way. What a neat philosophy, to never quit looking for a way to get where you're supposed to go.
Second, ants think winter all summer. That's an important perspective. You can't be so naive as to think summer will last forever. So ants are gathering in their winter food in the middle of summer.
An ancient story says, "Don't build your house on the sand in the summer." Why do we need that advice? Because it is important to be realistic. In the summer, you've got to think storm. You've got to think rocks as you enjoy the sand and sun. Think ahead.
The third part of the ant philosophy is that ants think summer all winter. That is so important. During the winter, ants remind themselves, "This won't last long; we'll soon be out of here." And the first warm day, the ants are out. If it turns cold again, they'll dive back down, but then they come out the first warm day. They can't wait to get out.And here's the last part of the ant philosophy. How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter? All that he possibly can. What an incredible philosophy, the "all-that-you-possibly-can" philosophy.
Wow, what a great seminar to attend - the ant seminar. Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can.
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
DEVELOPING A GREAT CHARACTER by Brian Tracy
Being the Best in Every Area:
What is character? Your character is the degree to which you live your life consistent with high, life-enhancing values. A person who lacks character is one who compromises on higher order values in favor of lower order expedience, or who has no values at all. Your adherence to what you believe to be right and true is the real measure of the person you have become to this moment.
Define what "Excellence" Means to You:
Let us say that one of your values is "excellence." Your definition of excellence could be, "Excellence means that I set the highest standards for myself in everything I do (define what?). I do my very best in every situation and under all circumstances (be specific). I constantly strive to be better in my work, and as a person in my relationships (itemized). I recognize that excellence is a life long journey and I work every day to become better and better in everything I do." (update your list from time to time)
Organize Your Actions:
With a definition like this, you have a clear organizing principle for your actions. You have set a standard by which you can evaluate your behavior. You have created a framework within which you can make decisions. You have a measuring rod against which you can compare yourself in everything you do. You can continually grade your activities in terms of "more" or "less." You have a clear target to aim at and organize your work around.
Notes: text in italics are additional comments
What is character? Your character is the degree to which you live your life consistent with high, life-enhancing values. A person who lacks character is one who compromises on higher order values in favor of lower order expedience, or who has no values at all. Your adherence to what you believe to be right and true is the real measure of the person you have become to this moment.
Define what "Excellence" Means to You:
Let us say that one of your values is "excellence." Your definition of excellence could be, "Excellence means that I set the highest standards for myself in everything I do (define what?). I do my very best in every situation and under all circumstances (be specific). I constantly strive to be better in my work, and as a person in my relationships (itemized). I recognize that excellence is a life long journey and I work every day to become better and better in everything I do." (update your list from time to time)
Organize Your Actions:
With a definition like this, you have a clear organizing principle for your actions. You have set a standard by which you can evaluate your behavior. You have created a framework within which you can make decisions. You have a measuring rod against which you can compare yourself in everything you do. You can continually grade your activities in terms of "more" or "less." You have a clear target to aim at and organize your work around.
Notes: text in italics are additional comments
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Jangan berkata "tidak" sebelum Anda pernah mencobanya
Seorang pembuat jam tangan berkata kepada jam yang sedang dibuatnya. "Hai jam, apakah kamu sanggup untuk berdetak paling tidak 31,104,000 kali selama setahun?"
"Ha?," kata jam terperanjat, "Mana sanggup saya?"
"Bagaimana kalau 86,400 kali dalam sehari?"
"Delapan puluh ribu empat ratus kali? Dengan jarum yang ramping-ramping seperti ini?" jawab jam penuh keraguan.
"Bagaimana kalau 3,600 kali dalam satu jam?"
"Dalam satu jam harus berdetak 3,600 kali? Banyak sekali itu" tetap saja jam ragu-ragu dengan kemampuan dirinya.
Tukang jam itu dengan penuh kesabaran kemudian bicara kepada si jam. "Kalau begitu, sanggupkah kamu berdetak satu kali setiap detik?"
"Naaaa, kalau begitu, aku sanggup!" kata jam dengan penuh antusias.
Maka, setelah selesai dibuat, jam itu berdetak satu kali setiap detik. Tanpa terasa, detik demi detik terus berlalu dan jam itu sungguh luar biasa karena ternyata selama satu tahun penuh dia telah berdetak tanpa henti. Dan itu berarti ia telah berdetak sebanyak 31,104,000 kali.
Ada kalanya kita ragu-ragu dengan segala tugas pekerjaan yang begitu terasa berat. Namun sebenarnya kalau kita sudah menjalankannya, kita ternyata mampu. Bahkan yang semula kita anggap impossible untuk dilakukan sekalipun.
Jangan berkata "tidak" sebelum Anda pernah mencobanya. (Anonim)
:: Mr. Suryadi, a friend of mine who send me the article you read before, have this saying in the signature of his email "You never know if You can Fly, unless you spread your " Wings.", reminding us to exhaust our effort to test our abilities to seek the border of your potentials, because if you miss that opportunity, you may feel the same way as Les Brown put it in the following passage:
Promises of Youth - Les Brown
An elderly man, in the final days of life, was lying in bed alone. He awakens to see a large group of people clustered around his bed. Their faces are loving, but sad. Confused, the old man smiles weakly and whispers, "You must be my childhood friends, come to say good-bye. I am so grateful."
Moving closer, the tallest figure gently grasps the old man's hand and replies, "Yes, we are your best and oldest friends, but long ago you abandoned us. For we are the unrealized hopes, dreams, and plans that you once felt deeply in your heart, but never pursued. We are the unique talents that you never refined, the special gifts you never discovered. Old friend, we have not come to comfort you, but to die with you."
Les BrownI Believe in YouCompendium, Inc.
http://www.concentric.net/~Conure/youth.shtml
"Ha?," kata jam terperanjat, "Mana sanggup saya?"
"Bagaimana kalau 86,400 kali dalam sehari?"
"Delapan puluh ribu empat ratus kali? Dengan jarum yang ramping-ramping seperti ini?" jawab jam penuh keraguan.
"Bagaimana kalau 3,600 kali dalam satu jam?"
"Dalam satu jam harus berdetak 3,600 kali? Banyak sekali itu" tetap saja jam ragu-ragu dengan kemampuan dirinya.
Tukang jam itu dengan penuh kesabaran kemudian bicara kepada si jam. "Kalau begitu, sanggupkah kamu berdetak satu kali setiap detik?"
"Naaaa, kalau begitu, aku sanggup!" kata jam dengan penuh antusias.
Maka, setelah selesai dibuat, jam itu berdetak satu kali setiap detik. Tanpa terasa, detik demi detik terus berlalu dan jam itu sungguh luar biasa karena ternyata selama satu tahun penuh dia telah berdetak tanpa henti. Dan itu berarti ia telah berdetak sebanyak 31,104,000 kali.
Ada kalanya kita ragu-ragu dengan segala tugas pekerjaan yang begitu terasa berat. Namun sebenarnya kalau kita sudah menjalankannya, kita ternyata mampu. Bahkan yang semula kita anggap impossible untuk dilakukan sekalipun.
Jangan berkata "tidak" sebelum Anda pernah mencobanya. (Anonim)
:: Mr. Suryadi, a friend of mine who send me the article you read before, have this saying in the signature of his email "You never know if You can Fly, unless you spread your " Wings.", reminding us to exhaust our effort to test our abilities to seek the border of your potentials, because if you miss that opportunity, you may feel the same way as Les Brown put it in the following passage:
Promises of Youth - Les Brown
An elderly man, in the final days of life, was lying in bed alone. He awakens to see a large group of people clustered around his bed. Their faces are loving, but sad. Confused, the old man smiles weakly and whispers, "You must be my childhood friends, come to say good-bye. I am so grateful."
Moving closer, the tallest figure gently grasps the old man's hand and replies, "Yes, we are your best and oldest friends, but long ago you abandoned us. For we are the unrealized hopes, dreams, and plans that you once felt deeply in your heart, but never pursued. We are the unique talents that you never refined, the special gifts you never discovered. Old friend, we have not come to comfort you, but to die with you."
Les BrownI Believe in YouCompendium, Inc.
http://www.concentric.net/~Conure/youth.shtml
Friday, June 03, 2005
A Story about Eagle, Turkey & Opportunity
Konon di satu saat yang telah lama berlalu, Elang dan Kalkun adalah burung yang menjadi teman yang baik. Dimanapun mereka berada, kedua teman selalu pergi bersama-sama. Tidak aneh bagi manusia untuk melihat Elang dan Kalkun terbang bersebelahan melintasi udara bebas.
Satu hari ketika mereka terbang, Kalkun berbicara pada Elang : "Mari kita turun dan mendapatkan sesuatu untuk dimakan. Perut saya sudah keroncongan nih!". Elang membalas : "Kedengarannya ide yang bagus". Jadi kedua burung melayang turun ke bumi, melihat beberapa binatang lain sedang makan dan memutuskan bergabung dengan mereka.
Mereka mendarat dekat dengan seekor Sapi. Sapi ini tengah sibuk makan jagung, namun sewaktu memperhatikan bahwa ada Elang dan Kalkun sedang berdiri dekat dengannya, Sapi berkata : "Selamat datang, silakan cicipi jagung manis ini".
Ajakan ini membuat kedua burung ini terkejut. Mereka tidak biasa jika ada binatang lain berbagi soal makanan mereka dengan mudahnya. Elang bertanya : "Mengapa kamu bersedia membagikan jagung milikmu bagi kami?".
Sapi menjawab : "Oh, kami punya banyak makanan disini. Tuan Petani memberikan bagi kami apapun yang kami inginkan".
Dengan undangan itu, Elang dan Kalkun menjadi terkejut dan menelan ludah. Sebelum selesai, Kalkun menanyakan lebih jauh tentang Tuan Petani.
Sapi menjawab : "Yah, dia menumbuhkan sendiri semua makanan kami. Kami sama sekali tidak perlu bekerja untuk makanan".
Kalkun tambah bingung : "Maksud kamu, Tuan Petani itu memberikan padamu semua yang ingin kamu makan?".
Sapi menjawab : "Tepat sekali!. Tidak hanya itu, dia juga memberikan pada kami tempat untuk tinggal."
Elang dan Kalkun menjadi syok berat!. Mereka belum pernah mendengar hal seperti ini. Mereka selalu harus mencari makanan dan bekerja untuk mencari naungan.
Ketika datang waktunya untuk meninggalkan tempat itu, Kalkun dan Elang mulai berdiskusi lagi tentang situasi ini. Kalkun berkata pada Elang : "Mungkin kita harus tinggal di sini. Kita bisa mendapatkan semua makanan yang kita inginkan tanpa
perlu bekerja. Dan gudang yang disana cocok dijadikan sarang seperti yang telah pernah bangun. Disamping itu saya telah lelah bila harus selalu bekerja untuk dapat hidup."
Elang juga goyah dengan pengalaman ini : "Saya tidak tahu tentang semua ini. Kedengarannya terlalu baik untuk diterima. Saya menemukan semua ini sulit untuk dipercaya
bahwa ada pihak yang mendapat sesuatu tanpa imbalan. Disamping itu saya lebih suka terbang tinggi dan bebas mengarungi langit luas. Dan bekerja untuk menyediakan makanan dan tempat bernaung tidaklah terlalu buruk. Pada kenyataannya, saya menemukan hal itu sebagai tantangan menarik".
Akhirnya, Kalkun memikirkan semuanya dan memutuskan untuk menetap di mana ada makanan gratis dan juga naungan. Namun Elang memutuskan bahwa ia amat mencintai kemerdekaannya dibanding menyerahkannya begitu saja. Ia menikmati tantangan rutin yang membuatnya hidup. Jadi setelah mengucapkan selamat berpisah untuk teman lamanya Si Kalkun, Elang menetapkan penerbangan untuk petualangan baru yang ia tidak ketahui bagaimana kedepannya.
Semuanya berjalan baik bagi Si Kalkun. Dia makan semua yang ia inginkan. Dia tidak pernah bekerja. Dia bertumbuh menjadi burung gemuk dan malas. Namun lalu suatu hari dia mendengar istri Tuan Petani menyebutkan bahwa Hari raya Thanksgiving akan datang beberapa hari lagi dan alangkah indahnya jika ada hidangan Kalkun panggang untuk makan malam. Mendengar hal itu, Si Kalkun memutuskan sudah waktunya untuk minggat dari pertanian itu dan bergabung kembali dengan teman baiknya, si Elang.
Namun ketika dia berusaha untuk terbang, dia menemukan bahwa ia telah tumbuh terlalu gemuk dan malas. Bukannya dapat terbang, dia justru hanya bisa mengepak-ngepakkan sayapnya. Akhirnya di Hari Thanksgiving keluarga Tuan Petani duduk bersama menghadapi panggang daging Kalkun besar yang sedap.
Ketika anda menyerah pada tantangan hidup dalam pencarian keamanan, anda mungkin sedang menyerahkan kemerdekaan anda...Dan Anda akan menyesalinya setelah segalanya berlalu dan tidak ada KESEMPATAN lagi...
Selalu ada keju gratis dalam perangkap tikus - Pepatah kuno
Satu hari ketika mereka terbang, Kalkun berbicara pada Elang : "Mari kita turun dan mendapatkan sesuatu untuk dimakan. Perut saya sudah keroncongan nih!". Elang membalas : "Kedengarannya ide yang bagus". Jadi kedua burung melayang turun ke bumi, melihat beberapa binatang lain sedang makan dan memutuskan bergabung dengan mereka.
Mereka mendarat dekat dengan seekor Sapi. Sapi ini tengah sibuk makan jagung, namun sewaktu memperhatikan bahwa ada Elang dan Kalkun sedang berdiri dekat dengannya, Sapi berkata : "Selamat datang, silakan cicipi jagung manis ini".
Ajakan ini membuat kedua burung ini terkejut. Mereka tidak biasa jika ada binatang lain berbagi soal makanan mereka dengan mudahnya. Elang bertanya : "Mengapa kamu bersedia membagikan jagung milikmu bagi kami?".
Sapi menjawab : "Oh, kami punya banyak makanan disini. Tuan Petani memberikan bagi kami apapun yang kami inginkan".
Dengan undangan itu, Elang dan Kalkun menjadi terkejut dan menelan ludah. Sebelum selesai, Kalkun menanyakan lebih jauh tentang Tuan Petani.
Sapi menjawab : "Yah, dia menumbuhkan sendiri semua makanan kami. Kami sama sekali tidak perlu bekerja untuk makanan".
Kalkun tambah bingung : "Maksud kamu, Tuan Petani itu memberikan padamu semua yang ingin kamu makan?".
Sapi menjawab : "Tepat sekali!. Tidak hanya itu, dia juga memberikan pada kami tempat untuk tinggal."
Elang dan Kalkun menjadi syok berat!. Mereka belum pernah mendengar hal seperti ini. Mereka selalu harus mencari makanan dan bekerja untuk mencari naungan.
Ketika datang waktunya untuk meninggalkan tempat itu, Kalkun dan Elang mulai berdiskusi lagi tentang situasi ini. Kalkun berkata pada Elang : "Mungkin kita harus tinggal di sini. Kita bisa mendapatkan semua makanan yang kita inginkan tanpa
perlu bekerja. Dan gudang yang disana cocok dijadikan sarang seperti yang telah pernah bangun. Disamping itu saya telah lelah bila harus selalu bekerja untuk dapat hidup."
Elang juga goyah dengan pengalaman ini : "Saya tidak tahu tentang semua ini. Kedengarannya terlalu baik untuk diterima. Saya menemukan semua ini sulit untuk dipercaya
bahwa ada pihak yang mendapat sesuatu tanpa imbalan. Disamping itu saya lebih suka terbang tinggi dan bebas mengarungi langit luas. Dan bekerja untuk menyediakan makanan dan tempat bernaung tidaklah terlalu buruk. Pada kenyataannya, saya menemukan hal itu sebagai tantangan menarik".
Akhirnya, Kalkun memikirkan semuanya dan memutuskan untuk menetap di mana ada makanan gratis dan juga naungan. Namun Elang memutuskan bahwa ia amat mencintai kemerdekaannya dibanding menyerahkannya begitu saja. Ia menikmati tantangan rutin yang membuatnya hidup. Jadi setelah mengucapkan selamat berpisah untuk teman lamanya Si Kalkun, Elang menetapkan penerbangan untuk petualangan baru yang ia tidak ketahui bagaimana kedepannya.
Semuanya berjalan baik bagi Si Kalkun. Dia makan semua yang ia inginkan. Dia tidak pernah bekerja. Dia bertumbuh menjadi burung gemuk dan malas. Namun lalu suatu hari dia mendengar istri Tuan Petani menyebutkan bahwa Hari raya Thanksgiving akan datang beberapa hari lagi dan alangkah indahnya jika ada hidangan Kalkun panggang untuk makan malam. Mendengar hal itu, Si Kalkun memutuskan sudah waktunya untuk minggat dari pertanian itu dan bergabung kembali dengan teman baiknya, si Elang.
Namun ketika dia berusaha untuk terbang, dia menemukan bahwa ia telah tumbuh terlalu gemuk dan malas. Bukannya dapat terbang, dia justru hanya bisa mengepak-ngepakkan sayapnya. Akhirnya di Hari Thanksgiving keluarga Tuan Petani duduk bersama menghadapi panggang daging Kalkun besar yang sedap.
Ketika anda menyerah pada tantangan hidup dalam pencarian keamanan, anda mungkin sedang menyerahkan kemerdekaan anda...Dan Anda akan menyesalinya setelah segalanya berlalu dan tidak ada KESEMPATAN lagi...
Selalu ada keju gratis dalam perangkap tikus - Pepatah kuno
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