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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Thought Tweet #817.5

by Rick Baker
On Sep 3, 2013

Thought Tweet #817.5 The day you stop learning...that's the beginning of the end of construction & achievement. 

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Never before has life-long education been so essential...that's another consequence of living through the Future Shock era.

Tags:

Change: Creating Positive Change | Thinking as in Think and Grow Rich | Thought Tweets

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 810.5

by Rick Baker
On Aug 23, 2013

Thought Tweet #810.5 What things affect a person's ability to be accountable in business?

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

What criteria drive the need for accountability in business?

What things affect a person's ability to be accountable in business?

Many talk about the need for Accountability.

Few explain WHY? it is important; few explain HOW? it happens; few explain WHAT? things impact on the extent Accountability is important and whether or not Accountability happens.

Thought Tweet 809.5

by Rick Baker
On Aug 22, 2013

Thought Tweet #809.5 How do you know people are uncomfortable? How do you react when they are uncomfortable?

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

In my former business life, on occasion, I knew people were uncomfortable...mostly because I was the source of their discomfort. Sometimes I recognized people were in discomfort because they complained about some personal issue caused by something outside of work.

Much of the time I didn't recognize people were in discomfort. That was what happened because I don't have an empathy bone in my body (I've been assessed) and I did nothing to offset that lack of natural empathy.

So, without a conscious effort to better understand people's feelings, in general, I did little to react to let alone relieve other people's discomfort. In fact, I expanded their discomfort.

That was then and this is now.

Tags:

Change: Creating Positive Change | Emotions & Feelings @ Work | Thought Tweets

Thought Tweet #803.5

by Rick Baker
On Aug 14, 2013

Thought Tweet #803.5 I'm sure that slow-boiling the frog doesn't work. Business gurus got to stop feeding that nasty rumour.

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Here's the Wikipedia introduction: "The boiling frog story is a widespread anecdote describing a frog slowly being boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to significant changes that occur gradually."

What a bunch of hogwash thinking!

Business gurus should place disclaimers on their snake-oil metaphors.

Tags:

Change: Creating Positive Change | Humour | Leaders' Thoughts | Thought Tweets

Thought Tweet #803

by Rick Baker
On Aug 14, 2013

Thought Tweet #803 It takes two to tug-of-war...unless, of course, you choose to battle people in your head. 

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

It takes two to tango; it takes two to tangle; it takes two to tug-of-war.

And, more often than not, the two must bring an excess of emotion to escalate the situation.

***

Sometimes it only takes one to tango, tangle, or tug-of-war. We all are quite capable of dancing with and fighting with imaginary foes in our heads.

Tags:

Change: Creating Positive Change | Emotions & Feelings @ Work | Humour | Thought Tweets

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