“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action. And because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.”
~ Martha Graham;
1. How can I honor the rhythms of the seasons of my life?
2. What does it cost me when I don’t try new things?
3. What seeds are calling for attention in my life right now?
4. How high is my inner “wanter” dial turned up? What would happen if my “wanter” were turned up fully?
5. What is creativity? How many different (and creative) ways can I define it?
6. What is the alternative to living a joyful life?
7. Where am I experiencing envy in my life right now?
8. What assumptions am I making when I feel envious?
9. How is this a useful concept: There is no failure, only feedback?
10. There is no failure in falling down. The only possible failure is in not attempting to get back up. What is the gift in falling down?
11. Where in my life am I mislabeling life experience and learning as failure?
~ from the Life & Space Tips of Dr Katherine Morris;
"The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, & the solution comes to you, & you don't know how or why."
~ Albert Einstein;
I have captured the following snapshots of the Fedex ad from Monday's issue of 'The Straits Times', Home Page, front page, for a specific purpose.
Can you see the arrow?
The lesson from this exercise:
Opportunities are often right in front of you. The question is whether you can see them.
As America's most prolific inventor Thomas Edison once said:
"We often miss opportunity because it's dressed in overalls and looks like work"
In other words, problems = opportunities!
As I was rereading consultant Karl Albrecht's 'The Northbound Train: Finding the Purpose, Setting the Direction, Shaping the Destiny of Your Organization', the following advice caught my personal attention again:
Every (change) leader needs bifocal vision.
Accordingto him, it's the ability to perceive accurately things happening further out toward the horizon that will inevitably affect our enterprise, as well as the ability to focus on the more immediate, pressing events in our environment.
This ability to see the faraway field as well as the nearby field, & to deal comfortably with both is relatively rare. Indeed it is often not easy thing to do, even for the brightest managers.
However, I believ it can be learnt & improved with practice.
To me, this assertion fromthe author resonates in many ways with what creativity guru Edward de bono has often encouraged us to do: to adopt fluidity of perception as well as multiple perceptions in our view of the world at large.
In a nut shell, to constantly enhance our perceptual sensitivity to what's happening in our environment.
In fact, strategically & tactically, perceptual sensitivity is the "driving force" behind creativity & innovation. More precisely, behind opportunity scanning, where the horizon contains all our possibilities as well as uncertainties.
Naturally, all these wonderful insights also remind me of what innovation strategist Wayne Burkan, also author of 'Wide Angle Vision: Beat Your Competition by Focusing on Fringe Competitors, Lost Customers, & Rogue Employees', has often talked about "splatter vision". I have already covered this subject at length in several earlier posts of this weblog.
What do I have to do today to be ready for an uncertain tomorrow?
[inspired by Peter Drucker]
In Singapore, the Elecronic Road Pricing (ERP) has proven to be quite a successful system implemented by our government since many years ago to curb the traffic congestion in the city area during peak hours.
Today, to the chagrin of motorists, who are already the most heavily taxed in the world, more ERP gantries have been erected by our government in recent years, even inside the restricted area to regulate the traffic flow in the inner city, besides the major expressways on the outskirts.
The above traffic sign is just one of those ERP warning signs to remind motorists already inside the restricted area to stay within the zone.
Unfortunately, the ERP has created a self-imposed mental block in, sad to say, the minds of a lot of professional people.
I recall, when I was still running 'The Brain Resource', located just inside the Central Business District, zoned as a restricted area under the ERP policy, many of my customers often used the ERP as the deciding factor to enter the city during peak hours in those days.
In other words, the ERP became a self-imposed regulator of their overall mobility, instead of pursuing what they actually wanted to do, e.g. visiting a cold prospect during early hours of the day.
Unconsciously, from the way I see it, inconsequential cost considerations took precedence over life &/or business priorities.
From a larger perspective, just imagine the ramifications of staying put in the comfort zone for the rest of our lives, & unwilling to take the risks of moving out.
On the other hand, the foregoing musing also reminds me of the wonderful writings of change strategist James O'Toole: the extreme difficulties of overcoming the 'Ideology of Comfort & the Tyranny of Custom'.
No wonder, life is a never-ending game, with which we have to constantly deal with dilemma & paradox.
“One can’t stand forever on the shore. At some point, filled with indecision, skepticism, reservation & doubt, you either jump in or concede that life is forever elsewhere.”
– Arthur Miller;
"And now you have joy?"
"I do indeed."
"And how did you get it?"
"I chose it, admitted it into my life, then I celebrated its arrival in my heart. I made my celebration so loud and boisterous, I prohibited all gloom from attending the celebration."
~ Calvin Miller;
Here's the link to an interesting blogpost, organised in a Q & A format, on the importance of 21st century skills, as outlined in the book, '21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times', by two educators, Berrie Trilling & Charles Fadel.
In a nut shell, the foregoing book, accompanied by a DVD, vividly illustrates the critical skills needed to survive & thrive in a complex & connected world:
• Learning & innovation skills (critical thinking, problem solving, creativity & innovation);
• Digital literacy skills (information, media & technology literacy);
• Life & career skills (initiative, self-direction, leadership & adaptability);
[Readers can also pop into the corporate website of the US-based Partnership for 21st Century Skills (the leading advocacy organization focused on infusing 21st century skills into education by bringing together the business community, education leaders, & policymakers), whose skills acquisition framework is the basis of the foregoing book.]
The company's laundry business as envisioned on their truck is certainly an exemplar of the day-to-day pursuit of quality & excellence.
Reflecting from a personal perspective, the pursuit of excellence is largely a question of believing in your capabilities & fully committing yourself to your growth & development.
Excellence, irrespective of whether it is sports, school, the performing arts, business or your profession, begins with a dream or goal to which you bring commitment, persistence & focus. At some point, you have to say to yourself:
"Hey, I want to be really great at this endeavour. I am going to do everything I can to be as good as I can be. I am making this endeavour a priority in my life."
To be your best, you must live this commitment, stay persistent & continue to focus on stretching your current limits.
Commitment, persistence & focus guarantee success.
