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A philosophy on learning

by Rick Baker
On May 28, 2015

I believe the purpose of life is to learn.

I believe the reason for learning is growth, which takes form as the wisdom needed for personal development, the wisdom needed to understand and constructively interact with other people, and the comfort that comes with a confident relationship with self, others, and The Universe.

I believe the sequence of learning is important:

  • first, we must learn about self,
  • next, we must learn about other people, and
  • then, we must learn about the spiritual.

For most of us, perhaps for almost all of us, the order of learning is disrupted very early in our lives. Perhaps, for many or most of us the disruption starts the very instant we are born. Our learning is disrupted by well-meaning parents, our learning is disrupted by well-meaning figures of authority, and our learning is disrupted by other not-so-well-meaning people and by ignorant, self-serving, and malicious people.

The point is, the order of our learning is disrupted early in our lives.

So, we must at some point in our lives take responsibility for our learning.

Tags:

Beyond Business

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Creativity...what's right versus what's wrong?

by Rick Baker
On May 25, 2015

When creative people clash...

Here's a different view about creativity and what's seen to be right or seen to be 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. 

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When you annoy people, you don’t make money!

by Rick Baker
On May 20, 2015

When you run a company, from time to time, you may think your employees want to run the company their way. Perhaps, it isn’t that the employees want to run the company their way. Perhaps, they just don’t want the company run your way. In other words, they have differing views on how a company should be run and they think your approach needs to be changed.

When you are the leader of the company, that sort of employee feedback can be a very hard pill to swallow. When you are an entrepreneurial leader, creating the workplace for all those people, criticism can be a particularly hard pill to swallow. [Many entrepreneurs express this concern/frustration.]

Whether people want the company run their way or don't want it run your way amounts to a similar thing - criticism of the leader's methods. While for most people the natural reaction is to take offense to criticism, a better approach is to step back and figure out why your people object to your methods.

Whether you like it or not your people are annoyed with you. And their feedback is making that clear to you.

When you annoy people, you don’t make money!

When you don't annoy people, you have a chance to make money!

 

PS:  This isn't about who's right and who's wrong. It's about differing viewpoints and, depending on how you choose to view them, differing viewpoints are either opportunities to learn or sources of relentless frustration. [Perhaps, remembering "When you annoy people, you don't make money!" will help you make the right choice.]

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Criticism: Constructive Criticism is an Oxymoron | Entrepreneur Thinking

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When you annoy people you don't make money.

by Rick Baker
On May 18, 2015

Annoy people and don't make money.

Don't annoy people and make money.

Those are the two options.

Rarely is there any middle ground.

Rarely can you annoy people and make money. (Pee Wee Herman is one of the few exceptions.)

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Humour | INSPIRE PEOPLE - GROW PROFITS!

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Had it with Negativity?

by Rick Baker
On May 15, 2015

If you've had it with Negativity - Step Away from it & Step Up to a better place.

Negativity - yours and your tolerance for others - it's your choice.

Yes - we all have bad days and, from time to time, most of us take our bad-day frustrations out on other people. We all find ourselves in bad moods. Most of us, from time to time, feel the need to complain about everything from the weather to our next-door neighbour. These things happen because we have developed the habit of wanting things 'our way' and the habit of being discontented when things don't happen 'our way'.

Most of us want control...control of situations, control of other people, and self-control.

Isn’t it interesting that, often, we crave the ability to control others while, at the same time, we set aside increasing our self-control?

It seems to me improving self-control does more to expand our ability to influence other people positively than any other strategy.

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Emotions & Feelings @ Work | Influencing | Leaders' Thoughts

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In favour of Courage

by Rick Baker
On May 8, 2015

Courage is our company’s Key Value.

In summary, we have chosen Courage for our Key Value because:

  1. Courage enables Self-Knowledge and
  2. When it is backed by Courage, Self-Knowledge can be the foundation of most, if not all, other major values, traits, qualities, and attributes that contribute to character.

If our personal value systems are like dominoes then Courage must be the first domino of desirable character. When it comes to personal character, no other domino can take the place of Courage.

Dominoes fall in sequence… 

 Courage

Self-Knowledge

Self-Confidence

That domino sequence was simplified…in practice, it would be a more complicated sequence:

 Courage

Self-Knowledge

Self-Education

Self-Confidence

Here I mean ‘Self-Education’ in its broadest sense. It includes other dominoes like introspection and [if we want it to] autosuggestion [self-talk]. The main point is, when Courage is present Self-Confidence can grow. If we remove Courage then Self-Confidence cannot grow. Courage enables Self-Confidence. With dedication, Self-Confidence can be self-taught. Coaches can help us understand the dominoes but they cannot give them to us. We have to create our own dominoes and we have to use them regularly.

The process of developing Self-Confidence only works if it is backed by Courage.

***

Self-Confidence is a ‘great enabler’.

 

Courage is the ‘great enabler’. 

 

*** 

We may have different views about the routes the dominoes of personal character take.

But, we should agree Courage enables some very-positive things…

Action

 

Decisiveness

 

Enthusiasm

 

Faith

 

Hope

 

Inspiration

 

Leadership*

 

Optimism

 

Persistence

 

Self-Confidence

 

Self-Knowledge

 

 

***  

Considering all these dominoes linked to Courage, it is easy to see...

Courage enables positive Change  

***

 

Footnote:  In his 1937 classic, ‘Think and Grow Rich’, Napoleon Hill selected ‘Unwavering Courage” as the #1 attribute of Leadership. 


Originally posted on May 10th, 2008

Tags:

Values: Personal Values

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