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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Sales Tweet #200

by Rick Baker
On Apr 22, 2011
Sales Tweet #200 The other day favourite client Mr. Kaye asked Ernest Seller, “If I throw a stick, will you leave?”
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
That Mr. Kaye is always making wise cracks at Ernest. But, deep down, Mr. Kaye knows he can not teach an old dog new tricks. For example, Ernest thought the ‘chasing stick’ comment was funny. So he responded by asking Mr. Kaye, “What did the dog get when he multiplied 4 by 7?” Mr. Kaye said, “I don’t know, what did the dog get when he multiplied 4 by 7?” Ernest replied, “The wrong answer”.

Tags:

Ernest Seller | Thought Tweets

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Little Voices, ANTs, Biases, and Robbins

by Rick Baker
On Apr 21, 2011

Most normal people hear little voices.

Their little voices talk to them constantly.

Most people ‘hear’ that little voice in their heads.

For most people, the little voice sounds like their own voice.

For other folks, the voice may come from just in front of their face, in front of the place where the top of their nose connects with the spot between their eyes. Apparently, for some folks [and this is rare] the voice comes from another place…like in front of their chest or in front of the pit of their stomach.

Regardless, a natural part of the human condition is having that little voice. Some, perhaps most people, consider the little voice to be their guide – the voice of their conscience.

Most people – most normal human beings – hear their little voices chatter negatively throughout the day…their little voices are saying negative this and saying negative that…over and over and over….all day…every day. Their little voices feed them a continuous string of negative thoughts.

Dr. Daniel Amen calls negative thoughts ANTS

ANTs = Automatic Negative Thoughts1

For example, Dr. Amen describes 2 of these ANTs as:

  • ANT 4 [red ant]. When the little voice delivers this ANT it tries to make us believe we know what other people are thinking even when they have told us what they are thinking Mind Reading ANT
  • ANT 7 – the Labeling ANT. When the little voice delivers this ANT it tries to make us place labels on ourselves and other people

These ANTs contribute to our biases.

Bias2 = a: bent, tendency b: an inclination of temperament or outlook; especially: a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment: prejudice c: an instance of such prejudice

In a prior Thought Post3 I wrote:

People are biased and make a fundamental attribution error

In summary, when the bias is at work we judge like this:
  • When other people do poorly we blame their behaviour [ie, we blame them]. However, when other people do well we give credit to the situation.
  • We do the exact opposite when it comes to judging ourselves.

I believe Tony Robbins4 recognized these sorts of biases. He recognized many people get upset when things do not go their way. He recognized even he, a well-experienced motivational educator who knew better, got upset from time to time in response to other people’s actions. He decided to create a tool to help himself and other people get over this negative thinking….get to a much better way of thinking and get to a much better way of communicating.

Tony Robbins called his tool the ‘Reality Check tool’. He describes that tool in his audio CD ‘Live With Passion’.

The tool contains a list of 7 questions we can ask ourselves when we feel upset with/about another person. The tool contains value: I recommend the audio CD.

Wrapping up…

That’s how Little Voices, ANTs, Biases, & Robbins fit together.

The great news is we can ‘CHANGE FOR THE BETTER’.

Here’s a link to introduce more thoughts on this topic…

 

PS: that link takes you to my 1st effort at creating an educational video….one take…with my son Jack doing the production, direction, and camera work. That experience is a fond memory.

  

Footnotes:

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Put Your Best Brain Forward

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Sales Tweet #199

by Rick Baker
On Apr 21, 2011
Sales Tweet #199 Ernest Seller loves trees. His love of trees started when he was in pre-school…there’s a story…
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
When Ernest was a tiny boy in pre-school his teacher Miss Bella asked him, in a very calm and soft voice, “Ernie, what’s the outside of a tree called”. Ernest replied, “I don’t know Miss Bella…will you tell me?” Miss Bella, again in her calm and soft voice said, “Bark, Ernie, bark”. Ernest replied, “Bow wow, bow wow”. Ernest was very fond of Miss Bella…he still loves trees.

Tags:

Ernest Seller | Thought Tweets

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BHAGs ain’t for everyone!

by Rick Baker
On Apr 20, 2011

The graph below shows the way Goals and Self-Esteem are correlated.

 

Moving from left to right along the curve, the key points are:

  1. When Self-esteem is low it is difficult to set goals...so Goals, if any, are weak and don’t cut it
  2. When Goals are weak and they don’t ‘test the mettle’ Self-esteem tends to suffer and drop
  3. When Self-esteem is ‘normal’ people are comfortable setting Goals [some thrive on it]
  4. When Self-esteem is ‘normal’ it tends to increase with the challenge of the Goals
  5. When Self-esteem is at a peak Goals can be challenging…they can be ’stretch’ Goals
  6. When Goals become too challenging Self-esteem starts to drop, sometimes it plummets
  7. When Goals become unrealistic Self-esteem can quickly drop below ‘normal’ levels…and stay there
  8. BHAGs ain’t for everyone!


          

 

Conclusion: the concepts of success-consciousness are not for everyone. For many, it is better to set short-term stretch Goals, encouraging the use of  S.M.A.R.T. goals than to use that ‘word’ BHAG.

Tags:

Entrepreneur Thinking | Goals - SMARTACRE Goals | Thinking as in Think and Grow Rich

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Sales Tweet #198

by Rick Baker
On Apr 20, 2011
Sales Tweet #198 Entrepreneurs have a desire to create and build things of value.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
This is one of the 3 traits of entrepreneurs…they are born with this trait. While they may not know the trait exists or what value they want to create or what they want to build, the trait is there. The details of what/when/how are recognized when they present themselves to the innate desire.

Tags:

Entrepreneur Thinking | Thought Tweets

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Time, Self & Action Management

by Rick Baker
On Apr 19, 2011
While listening to audio book 'The Now Habit At Work’, it occurred to me the words time management may be stalling people.
 
I mean, most people can not manage time nor would they even try to manage time. Time is a concept. Time is a concept most people either take for granted or don’t think about. Time is a concept most people don’t want to dwell on let alone manage.
 
When we use the words 'time management' we are not speaking accurately.
 
And, we may be stalling people, which, of course, is the exact opposite of our goal.
 
I am not saying people may be consciously aware we are stalling them.
 
I am saying, when other people experience us using that word combination – time management – maybe we are setting off a subconscious reaction that causes them to stall.
 
Regardless, I think that word combination is just plain wrong. Few human beings have the ability to manage time. Maybe some monks or yogis probably can manage time? Perhaps Albert Einstein could manage time? [He knew a lot more about time than most of us.] We hear stories about people who face extreme danger and, somehow, their subconscious mind slows time for them. Or, at least, they manage to cram a huge amount of indelible perception into a small amount of time. Maybe those are some examples of time management? There are other examples like that...if they are examples of time management then time management is rare.
 
So, for most people the words 'time management' set a confusing ‘bar’. Maybe that bar is set too high or maybe that bar doesn’t make sense at all. I think it is the latter.
 
So, we need to use other words when we want people to ‘manage their time’.
 
We could use self-management but that is not ideal because that’s a broad topic that goes beyond the ‘management of time’.
 
From now on, I intend to use the words ‘action management’. That’s what we want to do and that’s what we want other people to do. We want to manage our actions.
 
Back to that audio book, 'The Now Habit At Work’…
 
It mentions 'strategic cramming', i.e., leaving some things to the last minute. I like that strategy because it is a way to Procrastinate For Success. I believe you can build 'action strength' by using methods like strategic cramming. You can - and at least some of the time you should - intentionally refrain from doing tasks until the very last minute. Then, when you [finally] do the task you should concentrate, focus, and expedite your action. Build this strength. It is a valuable strength.
 
Teach yourself you can do it – teach yourself you can handle last-minute crunches.
 
This is a sample of Procrastinate For Success.  Methods like strategic cramming help you gain skill (concentration) and it help you gain something more important - confidence. When we Procrastinate For Success that skill and the benefits it provides snowball...the more you do it the better you get at it.
Maybe your skill will become so great you will want to leave everything to the last minute?
 
Maybe you will be a Master of Procrastinate For Success?

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Change: Creating Positive Change | Hero Worship | I'm too busy! - I don't have time!

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