Friday, July 25, 2008

THE EBENEZER EFFECT

In essence, from the application perspective, the Ebenezer Effect boils down to a simple exercise in writing your own personal eulogy.

The term was coined by Matthew Cossolotto, a success coach, in his book, 'Habitforce: How to Kick the Habits of Failure & Adopt the Habits of Success'.

In an earlier post, I have mentioned about the author, with regard to his exposition of Failure Traps vs Success Tracks.

According to the author, "I recommend that you sit down & take stock of your life. It helps to project yourself into the future & imagine what people are likely to say about you after you're gone. Think of your written eulogy as a 'mission statement' for what you want to accomplish, what kind of person you aspire to be, & how you want to be remembered. It establishes what's most important to you & sets your life's course in the right direction . . . before it's too late.'

Apparently, the author has got his inspiration for the Ebenezer Effect from Charles Dickens classic novel, 'A Christmas Carol'.

Personally, I have not read the original novel, but have seen the movie of the same name, starring George C Scott, during the eighties or so.

In fact, I have also seen two spoof movie versions on cable television in recent months, including 'Scrooged' with Bill Murray as a TV station executive, & 'The Haunted Mansion' with Eddie Murphy as a real estate agent.

According to the story in the movie, Ebenezer Scrooge (George C Scott) was introduced as a hard-nosed, single-minded & uncaring businessman who hated Christmas in Victorian London.

After a day in which he was approached for donations to charities, invited to Christmas eve dinner by his nephew, & did a bit of business at the Exchange, he arrived home to see the image of his late business partner, Jacob Marley (Frank Finlay) on the door knocker.

Jacob's ghost soon visited him & announced the coming visit of three spirit: the Ghost of Christmas Past (Angela Pleasance), the Ghost of Christmas Present (Edward Woodward), & the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-come (Michael Carter).

The three spirits took Scrooge on a journey of discovering the true meaning of Christmas.

When the Ghost of Christmas yet-to-come transported him to a scene just after his own funeral, he endured the painful truth of what people really thought of him. Then he had a shocking rendezvous with his own morality when he saw his engraved name on his own tombstone. It was an alarming but valuable wake-up call for the curmudgeon.

Scrooge exclaimed to the spirit: "I'm not the man I was. I will not be that wretched creature any longer."

He was indeed transformed & woke up the next morning, Christmas Day, a changed man.

That's the power of the Ebenezer Effect.

The author urges all of us who want to jump start & sustain positive change in our lives to learn from Scrooge as a role model.

The author adds further:

“Remember, the eulogy you write today isn't etched in stone. And it probably won’t be delivered anytime soon.

You can always go back to the document periodically and make some edits, add new goals or even remove things that no longer apply. The key is to get something on paper that reflects your long-term goals, heartfelt values, and deepest principles. Those things shouldn't change very much over time. This exercise helps you get clear about your major priorities and values and keeps you on track.


Think of it as your personal mission statement. It gives you a sense of purpose by setting your life’s course in the direction you want it to take. Then it’s your job to make those things happen.”

Frankly, I had played a variation of the foregoing exercise before, during the nineties. I was given a line diagram showing a tombstone. I was then asked to write my own personal epitaph.

To paraphrase the author:

“Writing your own eulogy might strike some people as a bit morbid. But I think this exercise helps to focus the mind on long-term goals & on big questions about your life’s purpose. It’s much better to get a jump on this way ahead of time."

TODAY'S Q2P (QUESTIONS TO PONDER)

What if my mirror could speak?

If I could ask my mirror anything, what would it be?

inspired by Chapter I of the book, 'The Imagination Challenge: Strategic Foresight & Innovation in the Global Economy', by Alexander Manu

TODAY'S VIP (VERY IMPORTANT POSE)

"The single greatest reason why otherwise talented people get stuck in mid-career is because they believe that the same rules that applied for the first part of their careers still apply. They don't.

You have to master a much subtler set of rules. You'll need to learn how to acquire the global perspective your peers lack, when and how to deliver bad news, when to take a shot at your rivals and when to be gracious, and, most important, how to handle the many new influences on your [career] trajectory . . .

Intelligence, imagination, and cunning are all required here - but not underhandedness . . . I don't believe you need to be devious to succeed. In fact, I think being excessively political is a mistake."

from the book, 'Executive Warfare: 10 Rules of Engagement for Winning Your War for Success', by David D'Alessandro;

Thursday, July 24, 2008

RAPID RECAP: SHARPENING THE SAW

Stephen Covey offers 4 dimensions of our nature that we need to consistently renew:

1) PHYSICAL:

- exercise, nutrition, stress management;

2) MENTAL:

- reading, writing, planning, visualisation;

3) SOCIAL:

- service to others, empathy, synergy, intrinsic security;

4) SPIRITUAL:

- value clarification & commitment, study, meditation;

QUESTIONS TO PONDER:

- how am I doing in each area?

- am I spending enough time sharpening my saw in each area?

- what area needs more of my attention right now?

SPOTLIGHT: RELEASE YOUR TALENT IN THE REAL WORLD

I have spotted this moving bus ad with the apt caption this morning along Jurong West Avenue I.

TODAY'S VIP (VERY IMPORTANT POSE)

"I can honestly say that I was never affected by the question of the success of an undertaking. If I felt it
was the right thing to do I was for it regardless of the possible outcome."

(Golda Meir, 1898-1978, Israel's first woman Prime Minister & founder of the State of Israel;)

DEVELOPING PERSONAL RESILIENCE

Here's a link to a belated article by Roger Pearman, author of 'Enhancing Leadership Effectiveness', in the Inc.com website.

It's still relevant today, despite the transpiration of time, as he is talking about how to bounce back from challenging situations.

I like his idea of doing a perspective audit.

POWER VOCABULARY: VAKOGEM

Vakogem is a term coined by Ted Ciuba, a maverick entrepreneur, who rewrote the original classic 'Think & Grow Rich' by Napoleon Hill, to bring the book up-to-date to the 21st century in terms of language, cases & other references.

He entitled it, 'The New Think & Grow Rich'. It is pertinent to point out that the book is not sanctioned by the Napoleon Hill Foundation.

The above term denotes the various sensory impressions, including visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory, gustatory, emotion & movement.

According to him, in order to empower your goals, when you are making affirmations or present tense visualisations, you should imagine them with the vakogem.

It makes sense, as the brain cannot the tell the difference between a real & a reel (or imagined) experience.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

TODAY'S VIP (VERY IMPORTANT POSE)

"Most people give in to their baser instincts, thinking more of short-term pleasures & gains than the kind of sustained self-restraint required in order to practice what is good & reject what is bad."
attributed to former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad;

PRAGMATIC INSIGHTS FROM THE EXPERTS

"Most people live lives of quiet desperation because they've never learned to manage their minds & emotions."

~ Omar Perius, peak performance coach;

I fully concur. That's why I have always been fascinated by the brain/mind paradigm.

Ever since the late sixties or maybe early seventies, I have been trying to learn & understand the intricacies as well as idiosyncrasies of the human mind.

Navigating the complexities of the human mind, through trials & errors, as applied to my own personal as well as professional life, so to speak.

My set up of a strategy consulting outfit, 'Optimum Performance Technologies', & a small retail store, 'The Brain Resource', (plus a newsletter, 'Left-Brain/Right-Brain Newsletter') during the early nineties has served as physical outgrowth of my planned learning journey.

For me, the most productive learning experiences came from the brain/mind models of Edward de bono, Roger Sperry, Paul MacLean, Karl Pribram, Marian Diamond, Richard Bandler & John Grinder, Kenneth & Rita Dunn, Howard Gardner, Katherine Benziger, Ned Herrmann, & Dudley Lynch, just to name the major influences.

From the perspective of understanding the emotional equation, I am grateful to Anthony Robbins for his brilliant writings about pain avoidance & pleasure acquisition, although I must also credit Daniel Coleman, too, for my understanding of the power of emotional intelligence.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

TODAY'S VIP (VERY IMPORTANT POSE)

"The opportunity for innovation lies at the intersection of difference. Change happens at the verge where something & something different meet."

(Joel Arthur Barker, futurist)

MAKING DISTINCTIONS: INFORMATION & IDEA

"The telephone book is full of facts [or information], but it doesn't contain a single idea."

attributed to Mortimer J Adler, 1902-2001, professor, philosopher & educational theorist;

NOTES FROM MY SCRATCHPAD

To change your life:

1) Start immediately;

2) Do it flamboyantly;

3) No exceptions;

~ William James