Discovering & Nurturing Possibilities to Transform the World

The wise and awesome Kevin L. Jackson enlightened me to a crazy dilemma in my life. After some conversation Kevin explained (rightly) how I had been viewing life as a puzzle in which I had to find all the pieces. Hey, I was good at solving puzzles. Kevin suggested life is a mystery. Makes sense and has really freed up my mind to live richer.

Just read this piece in Leaders by Warren Bennis & Burt Nanus

“Managers, for the most part, deal with a mental process known as problem solving. Problem solving involves a problem, a method, and a solution that follows from the problem and method. A creative mental process occurs when neither the problem nor the method, let alone the solution, exists as a known entity. Creativity involves a “discovered problem,” one that needs to be worked out from beginning to end. The highest form of discovery always requires problem finding. This is very like identification of a new direction or vision for an organization. This is the difference we noted earlier between leaders and managers; it is the difference between routine problem solvers and problem finders.”

Thanks Kevin, I am now solving mysteries.

I believe God continually shows me the value of my life by the people He allows me to cross paths with. One of the grandest paths I have traveled is with my mentor, Dr. W.B. (Bill) Jones Jr. Always an adventure in learning with each spoken word. Bill has a heart as big as Texas.

I liken it to some other mentor pupil relationships.

Elijah mentor to Elisha

Saul mentor to David

Socrates mentor to Plato

Aristotle mentor to Alexander the Great

Dr. Jones is as fine as the mentors mentioned (but I have a long way to go to approach the pupils). One of the attributes of Bill is that he continues to actively learn. Bill is an example of the principle of receive, retain, release. This principle/cycle is in all life. Think through something as simple as eating. Receive, retain, release: break any part of the cycle and you have trouble.

Bill has received an astonishing amount of knowledge and wisdom. He retains (and uses) it wonderfully and brings it full circle by lovingly releasing what he knows in word and deed.

Delivering a prepared speech at Toastmasters one evening I opened with the question, “Who has seen the movie Apollo 13?” Everyone nodded in acknowledgment except Bill. I had to stop and ask him about this and he answered, “I was there.” See what I mean?

Socrates had it right when he stated “The unexamined life is not worth living.” I am truly blessed as I exam my life.

Picture a lifetime ago in 2003 when I penned ‘Discovering and Nurturing Possibilities to Transform the World’ as my position (in 8 words). The wonderful and talented Jacquie Shillis helped tremendously in this endeavor through wordsmithing, encouragement and believing.

A recent post on DailyLit by Tom Peters speaks volumes to get us excited to answer ‘What are you standing for?’ (and yes, I learned 8 words or less from Seth Godin).

We have the privilege to be the only person who can fulfill the adventure before us. Please be sure to allow folks like Jacquie to contribute to your success. Remember the Japanese Proverb; “None of us are as smart as all of us.”

• You beat 50 percent of the people in America by working hard.
• You beat another 40 percent by being a person of honesty and integrity and standing for something.
• The last ten percent is a dogfight in the free enterprise system.

A.L. Williams ‘All You Can Do is All You Can Do’

Interested in winning? Need a leg up on the competition? Have a desire for greatness? What would you loose by trying this magic formula for winning?

Which one do you have? Are you leading? Can you stay excited through oppressive circumstances? Is your bag packed for the next adventure? Have you forsaken grudges and complaining?

A great modern day philosopher, George O’Kelley (he reminds me of Will Rogers) shared this insight with me concerning people. “Some people have a starter button and some people have a pull rope.”

We can name folks in each catagory and might even reach down to find a pull rope some days. When that happens just pull it faithfully and benefit from the workout. We might even ask for assistance pulling it.

Have fun using your starter button.

My world was transformed with the (true) understanding of Mahatma Gandhi’s clear statement; “Be the change you want to see in the world.” For too long I ‘knew’ what needed to be changed and was on a crusade to bring it about. I was met with limited success but nothing close to the level of mental anguish. The wisdom & understanding have set me free to attain new heights, to enjoy like never before.

I bet Gandhi was familiar with Socrates and this morsel; “Let him that would move the world, first move himself.” Really derived pleasure when reading this recently. Couple this with another wise saying from Socrates; “Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for.”

Together we can transform the world.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish Artist and Painter. 1881-1973) had something there we should learn from. Compare what he declared with this statement from Anatole France (French Writer, member of the French Academy and Nobel Prize for Literature in 1921, 1844-1924) “When a thing has been said and well said, have no scruple; take it and copy it.”

We reach new heights by building. Build on Anthony Robbins’ proclamation; “If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you’ll achieve the same results.”

Really opens up a lot of new growth. The clock is ticking.

Decided to poke my head in to the thrift store around the corner this evening for some reading material (my Daily Drucker was packed today while I was not looking). Picked up A.L.Williams’ All You Can Do is All You Can Do. After two chapters there are no limits we can not over come.

Two ‘Unwritten Laws’
1. Life will give you whatever you’ll accept.
2. Life will turn out the way you see it turning out.

I’ll bet we can do a lot more by the end of the book.

Take this step from Robin Crow in the section on ‘Achieving the Unachievable’ in Jump and the Net Will Appear to bump your life up a notch or three. Here is the step:

“But this next chapter adds another key element. It’s a trait that will make the difference in whatever you set out to do. It’s the ability to consistently move forward toward your goals each and every day. It’s the ability to follow through. It’s the ability to take action even when you’re unsure, to be willing to trust that your net will appear. This is where faith comes in.”

Robin states it another way; “Your success in business will always be in direct proportion to your ability to take action.”

Need some ideas for building this step into a habit? Take action by getting involved here.

You guessed it, Robin Crow again. Here is a great quote from an unlikely source.

“Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of a genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.” ~ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Robin starts the section on ‘Living an Abundant Life’ with this gem. Abundance awaits you in Jump and the Net Will Appear. Is today your day?

Each of us has a higher calling which we are richer when working toward fulfilling. Robin Crow once again is spot on describing it in Jump and the Net Will Appear;

“Perhaps our purpose here on earth is to help one another learn and evolve, bringing us closer to God, closer to each other. By learning to sacrifice we experience wholeness. This mission lasts a lifetime. We must never stop learning how we can help others in meaningful ways. We must never stop uncovering the depth of our relationship with God. This is our Higher Calling. Have you ever witnessed a child who won’t share a soft drink with her parent who just bought it for her? I was recently with someone whose child did just that. The father smiled and said, ‘She just doesn’t get it yet.’ That’s the way it is with us humans. So many people receive incredible blessings and then refuse to share them. They fear someone might take it all back or that there won’t be enough. Maybe God is thinking, ‘They just don’t get it yet.’ The reason that we don’t share enough, give enough, help others enough, or love enough is simple - fear. Hey, sorry it’s so simple, but it is that simple. It’s our human fear of not getting our fair share, of not having enough. It’s a mindset of scarcity.”

Four post down for more on mindsets in Pumped Up.

It is OK to not fully understand the destination but please enjoy the journey.

Do you have 5 years of experience or 1 year of experience 5 times? I often asked this of fellow professionals in a life-or-death profession. Can you be counted on or are you a ‘poser’? Revisited this in Jump and the Net Will Appear, where Robin Crow says; “We all know people who spend their lives denying the lessons put before them. Others embrace each lesson and turn them into stepping-stones, building a path that leads to their dreams.

You are wisely  investing in your life as you embrace some of the growth sure to flow from the lessons you glean here.

What are you standing for?

“People live by two basic philosophies: the philosophy of abundance, where anything is possible, and the philosophy of scarcity, where we look at everything through fearful eyes.”

Forgot how wonderfully Robin Crow gently leads us to a better life through Jump and the Net Will Appear. Read it now and pass it on for changex2. You will be jazzed and the one you hand this masterpiece to will be indebted.

Really a (very) small price for greatness. You are called to greatness. Have you paid your dues today?

Understanding this (revealing) concept will move you ahead in your realm of life. Roger Von Oech shares in Expect the Unexpected; “More recently, American biologist Leigh Van Valen was inspired by the Red Queen character from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass. (She’s the one who runs hard but never gets anywhere because everything else in the landscape is also running. As she tells Alice, “It takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place!”) Van Valen used the Red Queen as a metaphor for his evolutionary principle that regardless of how well a species adapts to its current environment, it must keep evolving in order to keep up with its competitors and enemies who are evolving. Thus the “Red Queen Effect”: do nothing and fall behind, or run hard to stay where you are. (This is also found in business, new technology development, and arms races.)”

Reading helps you run faster so you do not fall behind.