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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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The more you struggle the less you achieve goals. Yet, failure can trigger better ways.

by Rick Baker
On Aug 30, 2013

When you take charge and command your willpower to deliver results you do not achieve those desired results.

[forced discipline of willpower does not bring success]

When your brain knows and understands it is in your long-term best interest to do something, more often than not you will not do that thing.

[intelligence doesn't motivate]
 

When you feel fear and stress, you will tend to either avoid action or take the wrong action.

[fear is, at best, a temporary motivator...and it often sends you in the wrong direction]

When you desire something intensely, more often than not you do not obtain it.

[desire on its own doesn't bring results]

So, what does work?

How does a person obtain goals?

How does a person succeed?

Successful people provide the answers. A study of successful people delivers the answers.

Here's what studying successful people confirms...

Successful people, people who are known for their ability to magnetize the support of others and achieve desired goals possess 3 things:

  1. Intelligence
  2. Self-control
  3. Drive
#1 - Successful people know Intelligence is a life-long process. It is a life-long process about people, about process, and about situations. Successful people are life-long learners. The day they stop learning is the day they stop being successful. Successful people place a high priority on self-knowledge and self-improvement. They apply their Intelligence toward self-development particularly in the areas of Self-control and Drive. In addition, successful people focus on their Talents until they become strengths. Successful people specialize and they stretch in the direction of their personal strengths. They vent their strengths. Successful people do not fear the intelligence possessed by other people: they seek out the best people and particularly people who possess strengths they do not possess. They are skilled at putting other people's strengths to use, ensuring their weakest areas are offset by others' strengths.
 
#2 - Successful people learn how to set aside immediate gratification and focus energy toward long-term goals. They have a Vivid Vision of the future and they place a high value on learning what actions will take them toward their goals and determining how to excel at the performance of those actions. They self-monitor. They learn how to avoid distractions. They tend to view 'failures' as temporary obstacles and learning experiences. Related to failures and obstacles, successful people possess the self-control to direct negative feelings toward positive changes - changes for the better. In other words, failures spark improved focus and greater commitment and failures energize. Successful people use self-control to build positive attitude and winning character by stopping Bad Habits, starting New Things, and creating Good Habits
 
#3 - Successful people are born with powerful internal drives...and they figure out how to keep those drives alive regardless of the pressure applied against them in the form of criticism from other people. They develop thick skin. The clearer their Vivid Vision the thicker their skin. Successful people have a burning internal drive to take action, build things, accomplish results, and to influence other people. At one point in their lives - perhaps when they are young, perhaps when they are in their 30's or 40's, perhaps as late as when they arrive at old age - this drive becomes focused on a single vision, which defines their goal. It is at that time that energy of their Drive, Intelligence, and Self-control blends to generate success.
 
When Drive, Intelligence, and Self-control blend and Focus with intensity on a clear Vision and Goal...only then does success have no choice but to arrive.
 
The good news is all of these things are available to most people.
 
All of these things are available to you.
 
Seek them out, package them, & put them to use.

Thought Tweet #802.5

by Rick Baker
On Aug 13, 2013

Thought Tweet #802.5 We have a choice: multi-task for mediocrity or focus for excellence. 

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Brain experts are telling us: The uptrend in multi-tasking, especially multi-tasking involving high-tech communication devices, is changing neural patterns strengthening some paths and weakening others. The neural paths that allow us to talk on the cell phone while surfing the web or creating s spreadsheet are strengthening while the neural paths that allow us to focus and concentrate are taking a back seat.

As this trend continues huge numbers of human beings will be able to do huge amounts of mediocre stuff.

We have a choice: we can choose to multi-task our way to mediocrity or we can focus & concentrate for work-performance excellence.

Put another way: we can choose to multi-task or we can choose to task-multi. [And major success only happens when w choose the latter.]

Tags:

Brain: about the Human Brain | Thought Tweets

Thought Tweet #797.5

by Rick Baker
On Aug 6, 2013

Thought Tweet #797.5 "I'm too busy." When you say that you inject yourself with a dose of stress.

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Your brain reacts when you say things like, "I'm too busy." and "I don't have time." When your brain hears you say things like that it, subconsciously, begins to work to help you out. Your brain knows time is a thing it cannot control. Your brain knows your body is a thing it can control. So, your brain works to control your body by providing it chemical and electrical changes to help it deal with the stress you are telling it you are under by saying things like, "I'm too busy." and "I don't have time." 

Self-stressing about time...now there's a destructive habit!

PS: Successful People Have More Time.

Thinking about Process...and Creativity

by Rick Baker
On Jul 25, 2013

All aspects of everything we do, whether creative or not, involve process. Thought involves process. Emptying a dishwasher involves process. Innovation involves process. Eating a chocolate bar involves process. Going to the moon involves process.

Not eating a chocolate bar, to the extent we do it with thought, involves process.

Creativity involves process – always.

On a micro scale: our bodies are laced with processes – electrical, chemical, and mechanical. On a macro scale:  the methods that put men on the moon were complicated processes.

Creativity and innovation are results of combinations of processes our bodies perform. That applies at the micro level and at the macro level.

I think that's an important point for a number of reasons.

If creativity happens without process then processes do not influence creativity. In addition, anyone who believes he or she can teach or learn creativity is a wrong-thinker.

Clearly, there is much evidence to confirm creativity involves processes and in the absence of processes there can be no creativity. The same applies to innovation, (which is part of a process that starts with curiosity and creativity). Perhaps the strongest proof of this is the fact that the human body relies upon electricity to exist. Without micro electrical processes our brains and bodies would cease to function let alone be creative. From that micro level, moving from inside to outside, we can see much evidence that creativity relies on other processes. As one next-step-out example, we must eat to fuel the electrical processes that energize our bodies and our brains. As an example of another-step-out, our brain cells rely on blood flow. Without blood flow our brain cells quickly die…taking our ability to think creatively with them. So, our brain processes rely on our heart processes.

As another step out toward macro – the neurons in our brains operate under processes. (see for example, Ray Kurzweil's recent book 'How to Create a Mind') These neuronal processes are (at least) guided by our DNA. DNA is all about process. (see Richard Dawkins' recent book 'The Magic of Reality')

Our senses deliver perceptions to our brains and our brains house that information…for future use. Human beings learn through a process of perceiving, storing, recognizing patterns, retrieving, etc. And, creativity relies on all those processes.

Here's a different view about creativity vis-à-vis right and wrong: creativity is not about right and wrong. If it can be summed up in one word, creativity is about 'new'. People have different perceptions…because people are different.

When people perceive and think the same way and accept a situation, there is little ability to experience creativity. When people perceive and think different ways and accept a situation, creativity has a much easier time presenting itself. When people judge others as wrong, the likelihood of creativity arising or evolving into invention or innovation drops. When people accept others as being different and are OK not judging the differences as right or wrong, minds tend to be more open to new ideas…and creativity, invention, and innovation have an opportunity to flourish. 

Thought Tweet #780

by Rick Baker
On Jul 12, 2013

Thought Tweet #780 Beware those vagrant thoughts. [Unless, of course, you want to waste a lot of time.]

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Vagrant thoughts find their home in the endless mental chatter that flows through our minds. 

Vagrant thoughts make up much of our mental chatter.

Some of our thoughts meet the criteria for statutory vagrancy - they are intentionally unproductive and [call it] allergic to gainful employment.

Yet, somehow, vagrant thoughts manage to camp out in our minds. They take centre stage when we pay attention to them. They swell when we feed them. They are super-contagious, even able to infect and sour our attitude toward others and life.

Yes, vagrant thoughts are super-powerful. As one example, vagrant thoughts overrule our common sense and convince us we can read other people's minds and motives while, at the same time, they confuse us about our own minds and motives.

Vagrant thoughts confound.

Beware those vagrant thoughts.

Tags:

Brain: about the Human Brain | I'm too busy! - I don't have time! | Thought Tweets

2 Simple Tools: 1 for Thinking, 1 for Action....both for Communicating.

by Rick Baker
On May 10, 2013

Edward de Bono is one of my heroes. In my opinion, he is the world's greatest creative thinking educator.

I have written about Edward de Bono and his 'Six Thinking Hats'...'Six Thinking Hats' is an extremely helpful tool for sorting out your thinking and for communicating with others about thinking.

Here's a picture-summary:

Edward de Bono's 'Six Thinking Hats'

 

 

I have a de Bono section in my library. My goal is to collect and red all his books. That's a challenge because he has been prolific, writing well over 50 books. I have just completed reading de Bono's 'Six Action Shoes', (1991). 'Six Action Shoes' is an extremely helpful tool for sorting out your actions and for communicating with others about actions.

Here's a picture-summary:

Edward de Bono's 'Six Action Shoes'

These thinking and action tools provide excellent ways to Seek Simple....a Spirited Leaders' philosophy. When thinking can be summarized in 6 ways...that's seeking simple. When action can be summarized in 6 ways...that's seeking simple. And, that's why Edward de Bono is so amazing. He has been able to unleash his genius [and help others do the same] because he is the master in simplifying before choosing how to think, simplifying before choosing how to act, and knowing when and how to be creative. In other books, he illustrates exactly how to be creative. [Our recent thought post 'Taking Curiosity to Creativity' contains de Bono's signature contribution - lateral thinking.]

Now, Seek Simple is one of Spirited Leaders' core philosophies...another is:

Business Contains Only 3 Things: People, Process, & Situations

Much has been posted about People, Process, & Situations.

Now we will show how Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats and Six Action Shoes can be incorporated.

Business Contains Only 3 Things: People, Process, & Situations. 

Here's the picture...


A snapshot in time during your business day - that's what we mean by Situations. That snapshot will contain people [at least 1, you] and it will contain process [at least 1, your thinking]. Process either involves People or machines/mechanisms/tools [designed by People]. For the time being, let's concentrate on the Processes performed by People. There are only 2 types of Processes performed by People: Thinking and Action. If we embrace de Bono's tools, the Processes performed by People have 12 components: 6 ways of thinking and 6 ways of taking action.

In any Situation, People can decide which of the 12 things they will perform.

Here's the picture...

 

Those are good questions to ask!

[That's Seeking Simple and finding it.]

[That makes for one very Good Habit.]

Copyright © 2012. W.F.C (Rick) Baker. All Rights Reserved.