365QOD- Day718

   “Exploitation vs. exploration” – big difference

While reading a story in Fast Company about brain scans of entrepreneurs I came across these two words.   The story says that (I have changed the formatting in order to emphasize the ideas)

“Our brains have two basic problem-solving strategies.

Exploitation means taking advantage of what you already know, concentrating deeply on a current task to optimize performance and efficiency.

Exploration means taking a step back from the task at hand to allow your mind to roam flexibly among alternatives”

In order to be successful as an entrepreneur a person/team must be able to switch between these strategies.  According to the article:

“Leadership in the age of flux calls for "ambidextrous" minds that can switch back and forth between the two strategies”

In my opinion the switching between the two types of problem-solving strategies is vital.  The article states this as:

“Successful decision-making isn't necessarily about doing more exploration than exploitation. It's in the timing--knowing when to shift between the two forms of thinking”

Often times a person might start with exploitation and more to exploration to realize that there are more opportunities left in exploitation.  This back and forth might occur several times before a new innovating improvement is created.

Today’s question is:

“Have you ever used these two strategies in your problem solving?”

The article can be found at

http://www.fastcompany.com/3004746/mit-brain-scans-show-entrepreneurs-really-do-think-different

365QOD- Day717

  “A mediocre person tells. A good person explains. A superior person demonstrates. A great person    

    inspires others to see for themselves."- Harvey Mackay

Many years ago I walked the French quarter section of New Orleans.  I ran across a sign that said something similar as to the difference between what average, above average, and great people focus on. 

The quote above resonated with me.  I believe that most of us managers are stuck between mediocre and good person.  We tell people what needs to be done.  If we have more time we might explain the details.  Usually this is where it ends.

I believe that the next level is easy to get to.  To be a superior you simply have to take additional time and demonstrate to the employee.  Most often this requires leaving the comfort of one’s office and going to the field.

In my opinion the great person level is one of quality.  Once you have told and explained to the person, taken them to the field and demonstrated, you must guide them to success on their journey.  But even that is not enough. 

Last step is to ask them to solve a more difficult problem that uses what you told, explained, and demonstrated as the base.  This allows the person to stretch and learn for themselves.  They in a sense become better than the source.

Today’s question is:

“What kind of person are you?”  

365QOD- Day716

“What if no one shows up?” – my question to myself

In my life I have met many people.  While working in several industries  I have  probably met/knew/worked with several thousands of people.  In addition, teaching courses for 18 years in several institutions exposed me to several thousand students.

So what?

I now live far from where I was born.  I am not where near where the majority of the people with whom I have worked with reside.  I no longer actively teach.

If I was to die, who would attend my funeral?  Majority of my own family is spread out all over the world: from US to Europe to China.  Same thing can be said about my students.

It is like the old saying, “If a tree falls down in an empty forest, does anyone hear it?”  Does it make a difference?

I am not depressed or being morbid.  It dawned on me that being away from majority of my contacts that there exists a possibility that a very small group would show up for my funeral. 

Today’s question is:

“Who would attend your send off?”

365QOD- Day715

“My teacher XYZ…” – Wayne Dyer

While reading Excuses Begone! I came across many lines of the form shown above.  Some of the people Wayne claims for his teachers were people that have lived many centuries ago.

The line made me think about the sources of information we use to accumulate our knowledge.  Just because a person is not physically in one’s life can one claim to have been taught by that person? 

I believe that Wayne is correct and wise.  If one influences us then they are our teacher.  It can be a single moment or many lessons.  If one reads several works by a person then definitively that person is your teacher.  You might not have acknowledged that person BUT they have instructed you.

The nice thing is that you can pick and chose the teachers you allow to teach you.  You are not limited to the ones that are physically near you.  Nor are you limited by when they lived.

Today’s question is:

“Who are your unacknowledged teachers?”

365QOD- Day714

“Consider your wake up call a blessing.  Your life, like my life, is finite.  It will end, and none of us can say when.  Do you want to die in the state you are in?  With dreams unrealized?  Negative habits firmly holding you back?”- from This Year I Will by M.J. Ryan

I am convinced that we place most of our limitation on ourselves.  Yes it is easy to blame the parents.  BUT after we become adults the choice to accept bad information given to us by others is our own choice.  AND with time we should be able to re-train ourselves to be the people we want to be.

I never said it was easy.  If you think it is tough then take a look at this video.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50138905n

I guarantee you that after viewing the video you will feel that you are not limited.

Today’s question is:

“What is stopping you?”

365QOD- Day713

“Whenever we bring something positive in ourselves into being, we come closer to living that greatness in all its dimensions.  No matter what new habit or dream we choose to cultivate, we’re also growing our souls.  For the process of change itself teaches patience, humor, resolve, gratefulness, tenacity, and compassion for ourselves.” – from This Year I Will

Imagine creating one great habit per month.  What would you do first? 

Or even better, who would you be at the end of the year alone? As the quote states, you would grow your soul.  You will learn many good habits and will become powerful. 

I am a believer that we are all on a journey to self-improve.  Sometimes the struggles are small and often they are mountains that we must climb.  The willingness to stretch and grow our souls should be a given.  

I also believe that most people never reach that level.    Most people just want their problems to go away.  I would rather out grow them.

Today’s question is:

“Can you change one thing per month?”

365QOD- Day712

“Habit is necessary; it is the habit of having habits, of turning a trail into a rut that must be incessantly fought against if one is to remain alive”- Edith Wharton

I read this quote last week and immediately remembered a series of three posts I wrote about eating cookies and failing.  Those three posts rank as some of my favorites.

Habits are nice if they are good habits.  BUT unfortunately we also tend to build bad habits.  Some are so instinctive that we do not even realize we are doing them.  It is the lizard brain in us. 

I have a bad habit of tearing the skin above my nails when I am stressed out of.  Most times I am not even aware that I am doing it.  At times it is so bad that I have to put a band-aid on my finger because I am causing myself pain.   The band-aid serves as a way for me to preventing the “trail into a rut”. 

Today’s question is:

“What is your band-aid?”

365QOD- Day711

"You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want."- Zig Ziglar

I have heard this expression many of times by Zig.  I believe it to be true.  

Do I follow it? Often times I create things that I believe are cool.  Maybe it is the Steve Jobs’ influence.  If it is cool then people will come.

The problem with this type of thinking is that it is self serving.  It is not asking, “How I am serve?”  It is asking, “How can I get served?”

Ultimately, financial success is tied to the “how may I serve?”  To truly serve we have to understand the needs of others and not only look to fulfill our desires. 

Today’s question is:

“Do you help other people get what they want?”

365QOD- Day710

"A real decision is measured by the fact that you've taken a new action. If there's no action, you haven't truly decided." - Tony Robbins

Man, we always want something.  Kids are really good at this game.  Their list of wants seems to grow and grow. 

But as adults we should know the difference between a need and a want.  We should always satisfy our needs and hopefully some if not most of our wants. 

The quote above puts a different spin on this.  I might believe something is a need or a want BUT I might not have decided that it is important enough for me to act on it.  And as the quote wisely teaches us, without the action taking us closer to the want or need we have not made a real decision.

I have to be willing to make a real decision that requires action AND I have to be willing to accept a loss in order to fulfill the need or want.  In my opinion, most people are not willing to accept a loss and that holds them back from the action. 

Want an example?  Many people stay in unhappy marriages because they are unwilling to lose what they have in order to get what they need.

Today’s question is:

“Have you taken an action in order to make a real decision?”

365QOD- Day709

“Be not afraid.  Fear is what stunts our growth, narrows our ambitions, kills our dreams.” Anna Quindlen

The other day I watched a Ted speech by Karen Thompson-Walker on fear.  It was a memorizing speech. It presented fear as stories we tell ourselves.

In the speech the presenter told the story of a ship that was struck by a whale of the coast of Chile.  The ship crew had three choices:

1. go to an island near by that was full of cannibals and get eaten
2. go to Hawaii but since it was the hurricane season they would die
3. go around the southern part of the continent but they would run out of supplies

So the crew did not want to get eaten and chose not to do option 1.  Option 2 was ruled out because it was certain death also. 

They chose option 3.  It was the story which induced the least amount of fear.   Interestingly enough they ran out of food and became cannibals.  They ended up becoming what they feared.

Today’s question is:

“What stories do you tell yourself to rule out options?”

365QOD- Day708

“Don’t do it the right way.  Do it the next way”- inspired by Jake Nickell Never stop making Ted speech

If there is a slogan in my life this would be it.  I create differently all of the time.  In the past when I instructed a course which I had instructed many times I would look for ways to make it different.

So what was different?  The first time I would teach a course I just wanted to make sure I covered everything that the students needed.  The second time I would cover almost as much as the first time BUT this time I would put emphasis on the key concepts a bit more. 

Now the third time magic would happen.  Third time I would not only cover everything, emphasize the key concepts, but in addition I would stress the application of those concepts. 

Fourth time and later I would emphasize more applications and adapt the course to the students.

Today’s question is:

“Do you look for the next way?”

365QOD- Day707

 “Incredible!” – my surprised expression

A few months ago I got a speeding ticket.  The funny part of this story is that I seldom go above the speed limit.  I have been told that I drive like an old man by many passengers.

In order for the ticket not to show up on my driving record I had to take a 6 hour on-line driving course and give Texas a copy of my driving record.  The course was very difficult to sit through and listen to. Often pop quizzes showed up and you had to supply the answer quickly.  BUT I did learn a lot.

One fact that I learned was that when angry our IQ (Intelligence Quotient)  level drops by 40 points.  So suppose by definition someone is average- 100 points on the IQ scale.  By getting angry their IQ level drops to 60 points.  This temporary drop places them at a mentally disabled level.

Why do you care?  First of all your IQ is your business.  BUT when you get angry your IQ level drops and it affects everything.  The longer you stay angry the more decisions you make that are poor.  This places you and others in danger. 

This drop in intelligence might not even have anything to do with driving.  It could affect your personal as well as professional life.  So when in a situation that you feel yourself getting angry, realize that by getting angry you are putting yourself in jeopardy and the best thing you can do is cool off in order to make better decisions.

Today’s question is:

“How do you stop yourself from getting angry?”

365QOD- Day706

“It is a little box inside a big box” – an attempt to explain an event

Most of us have had an experience when we go away somewhere and meet someone new.  While talking with that person we quickly establish that they know someone that we know or know someone who knows someone we know.  It is an interesting feeling.  You think to yourself that the world has 7 billion people and it should not happen. 

Recently I went to an area in Miami that I absolutely love- Lincoln Road.  While looking at the new Tesla vehicle store my wife ran into someone she knew.  Afterwards she was surprised.  How can this be?

The way I explained it to her was the following: Imagine Miami as being a big box like the size of a room.  You have interests and places that you enjoy.  This is like a little shoe box inside that room.  Your fried by definition enjoys some if not all of the interests and places that you do.  So their shoe box is next to your.  It should be of no surprise that once in a while the two boxes run into each other.

Today’s question is:

“Have you run into someone you knew at an unexpected place?”

365QOD- Day705

“7 Up” – not the drink

Sunday morning I watched my favorite morning show- CBS Sunday Morning.  One of the stories that I saw was very interesting.

The story told of a young director who chose a group of 14 seven year olds.  He filmed them while asking them about their lives.  Seven year later he did it again.  Seven years later he did it again.  The documentaries go all the way until 56- the latest installment.

It was amazing to see how the lives of some of the people rolled out in front of you.  Some that had so much passion but later ran into big difficulties.  The 14 participant discussed some very painful things that happened to them during the last seven years.   

I could not take my eyes off the TV.  The segment made me think how difficult it is to participate at a close look inside one’s life.  What if you knew that in seven years someone will show up at your door and drill you about the last seven years? 

On the other hand it forces them to examine their lives.  Yes it is in front of everyone BUT at least they know they will account fro the good and the bad. 

Today’s question is:

“What would you share about your last seven years?”

365QOD- Day704

“Honey I love you half the time” – a dangerous sentence

If you wouldn't say this to your partner then why do we say it to life?  We often do things half-way and pull back.

I believe that we are holding back because we are afraid that our best effort might not be good enough.  What if we give it our all and we still do not get what we want?

Unfortunately, life has changed.  I heard this line the other day:

“…last century life was full of certainty and little change,

     this century life is full of little certainty and full of change.”

in the audio book Be Who you were Meant to be by ???

Not giving it all is no longer an option.  We have to fully engage in our life battles and challenges.  Without full engagement we will not succeed against the level of change that is coming.  In my mind it is better to fully engage and fail than to half-way engage and not know that you could have succeeded.

Today’s question is:

“How do you know when you give it your all?”

365QOD- Day703

"Vicis exspecto pro nemo"- a Latin expression

I am an observer.  I observe ads, commercials, t-shirts, tattoos, etc. I get a kick out of getting the joke or learning something new.

Recently while on the beach I saw a young lady who had this expression as a tattoo   Unusual to say the least.  

With the help of a search engine, I found out that the meaning of it is that "Time waits for no one".  It is a great reminder to live life to its fullest.   A wonderful reminder to the young lady and every one of us.

Lack of time probably ranks as one of the biggest excuses for not getting things done.  But remember that you can steal time from life by getting up early and achieving your dream.  You can do a lot of damage at 4 in the morning and no one will stop you.

Today's question is"
"What are you waiting for?"

365QOD- Day702

"Careoke" - my invention

While driving around I heard a song on the radio.  The radio did not register the song artist or tittle so I pulled out my cell phone and used Shazam to obtain the information.

A funny thing happened next.  After the song information was obtained the song lyrics started scrolling across the screen.  I could read them as I drove.

I thought to myself.  Wow!  Everyone thinks they can sing in the shower and in their car.  Immediately I connected these ideas and thought, "Why not at least have the lyrics show up on a 6" device above the center of the dash that would flash the lyrics so that they at least can get the words right?"  Imagine a trip across the country with everyone in the car singing songs.

So am I going to pursue it?  Heck no!  The idea is interesting and I believe someone will eventually do it.  I just offer it for taking.  It is not consistent with my brand or where I want to invest my time.

Today's question is:
"How do you chose what you will pursue?"  

365QOD- Day701

"Brilliant!"- my reaction to a painting

After writing 365 posts I organized them by topic and produced a book.  By making small daily investments I created a whole that is better than the pieces.  But the pieces still exist and contribute.

A week or so ago I walked into a gallery in Florida(one of my favorite things to do while on vacation) and saw a bunch of black and white large photographs.  So what?

Imagine a picture of Steve Jobs' book cover that has been divided in 500 boxes across(pixels) and maybe 1000 pixels vertical.  Someone then using image processing determined a number between  0(solid white) to 255(solid black) to represent the darkness level of each pixel.

That by itself is OK but what makes it brilliant is that they then took a classical masterpiece painting(Mona Lisa by Da Vinci, something by Rembrandt  etc.) and replaced that pixel with that image at that darkness level.

So from far away you see the original work and you are not impressed BUT when you get closer you see the sub-image appear.

Today's question is:
"Can a sub-part of your work be a masterpiece?"

365QOD- Day700

"1097" - a magic number

December was a great month for me.  I broke through the 1000 monthly visitors to my blog.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU  .....  I just can't say it enough

For a long time the blog went up and down and the most it hit was 600+.  So what made the difference?
I have my theories but the only thing I did different was to write each blog first thing in the morning.

I  did this instead of attacking my work or email first.  For me writing the blog posts(usually 10-15 minutes) is very therapeutic and fulfills my highest need to be creative.  By getting my creativity in first thing I felt great the rest of the day.  Come to think of it this is an awesome strategy.  By writing the posts first thing I filled my creativity bucket.

I had done the same thing with running at 4:30 in the morning in the past.  By getting my exercise in first I was able to feel physically better the whole day.  I felt like a thief stealing time from life.

The funny side to reaching this milestone was that Blogger made me humble by increasing the graph up to 2000.

Today's question is:
"What would you be willing to rise for earlier than anyone to accomplish?"

365QOD- Day699

"Why as many as 65%?" - my question to the TV segment

This being the beginning of the new year, people are still striving to achieve their new year resolution(s).  Well most of us.  By end of first week it is down to 75% and by end of January 40% will be on track.

The show I watched this morning showed that of the 45% of Americans that create a resolution only 8% achieve it at the end of the year.  BUT what was scary to me was the 65% group of the folks that did not have at least one new years resolution.

Why?  Well, I believe life tends to beat us up and the 65% have tried before and failed and are probably thinking, "what for?"  They have thrown in the towel.  The fight is over.

By not setting any goals then failure is not possible.  But the truth is that so is success.   I guess I value tenacity and grit to much.  If I fall then I must get up.  If I am heading into a bad situation then I have to figure out how to get a better result than bad.

Maybe I am naive but I expect failure as a given.  I expect that I will not succeed on the first try but have to nudge it a little each time to get a better result.  As a matter of fact I just got through reading a book on the Power of Failure.

In the end I would rather fail and grow then sit and give up.  But that is just me.  I fight to be in the 8%.

Today's question is:
"Have you given up the fight?"

365QOD- Day698

‘Why are you doing the work that you are doing?”- Scott Dinsmore TEDx Golden gate speech

This is a question that most of us fail to ask.  We get up in the morning and just plow through our day.  We exist but often do not thrive in the jobs we have.

Existence is nice.  It pays the bills but it does not fulfill our souls. 

I have been going through a 10 year plan exercise and I can tell you that what I currently do is not necessarily what I want to do long term.  It is a good job BUT it does not recharge me as other things in my life.  Importantly, it does provide an avenue for expressing my creativity.   This is my highest need in a job.

Today’s question is:

“Why are you doing the work that you are doing?”

365QOD- Day697

“If you want to find the secrets of the universe think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration” – Nikola Tesla

This statement can be thought of as crazy except it was made by a very special guy.  If you are to trace most of the electrical invention in 20^th century you will find a patent with his name on it.  He invented AC power, motors, radio,  wireless power, etc.

This is a guy who knew the resonant frequency of the Earth and claimed he could split the Earth in half.  If you look up some pictures and read some stories about  him you will be quickly realize he was so many years ahead of any one of his contemporaries.

So if he says the the secret of the universe lies in energy, frequency, and vibration, most likely he is correct.  How do we use it?  That is still unknown to me.

Today’s question is:

“Do you want to know the secrets of the universe?”

365QOD- Day696

"The only feeling is Love or lack of Love.  “Think of Love as if it is water in a glass and the glass is your body.  When the glass has a little water in it, it is empty of water.  You can not change the water level in the glass by waging war on the emptiness n order to rip out the emptiness.  The emptiness goes by filling the glass with water.  When you have bad feelings, you are empty of love.  So when you put love into yourself bad feelings are gone.” – Rhonda Byrne

I was driving when I heard this statement.  It was so powerful that I pulled to the side of the road and wrote it in a notepad.  It clearly explains all feelings.

If I feel bad about something, I can not change the something by continuing to feel bad about it.  I have to insert love in order to change it.  Love in this sense is some positive emotion such as:

Love

Gratitude

Passion

Excitement

Enthusiasm

Hope

Satisfaction

Today’s question is:

“How full is your glass?”

365QOD- Day695

“There are levels of feelings” – a message

While listening to the Power CD I heard the author describe the different levels of positive and negative feelings.

Positive (from highest to lowest)

Love

Gratitude

Passion

Excitement

Enthusiasm

Hope

Satisfaction

Negative (from lowest to highest)

Boredom

Irritation

Disappointment

Worry

Criticism

Anger

Hate

Envy

Guilt

Despair

Fear

After some thought I realized that the positive feelings slow things down and are low frequency in nature.  The Negative feelings accelerate our nervous system and are therefore high frequency in nature. 

I believe that we need to create a card with the positive feelings on it and to pull the card out several times a day and state out loud the positive cycle for each feeling:

I am [insert a positive feeling] for/by/because… [insert your response]

An example of a pocitive cycle is:

I am LOVED because

I am GRATEFUL for

….

I am SATISFIED by

Today’s question is:

“How many times a day do you need to go through the cycle to bring forth positive feelings?”

365QOD- Day694

“Life is not happening to you.  Life is responding to you” – Rhonda Byrne, Power

While listening to the Power book I heard this line and immediately paused the cd.  The book is authored by the same person who brought us the Secret. 

In the book she offers a formula for getting what you want out of life. 

1. Imagine(I) what you want

2. Feel(F) what you want

3. Receive(R) what you want

I believe that step 2.5 is Act(A) towards what you want.  Sitting and wishing will not make it happen.

Today’s question is:

“What are you IFARing?”

365QOD- Day693

"You only get one shot. People might not ever understand that, but at the end of the day it's not their life. You can't let anybody else dictate how they want your life to be," he said. "I only have one shot to play and do something that I love. Not everybody is blessed and have an opportunity to do what they love.
"So I want to do it the best that I can and I'm going to take everything in I can to get what I can out of the NBA. Which, for me, is winning a championship," he added. "So if I have to play on another team or do whatever I have to do to get one, that's my goal. This is my passion, so I'll continue to fight."  - Dwight Howard

Can you blame a guy for pursuing his passion to win?  Maybe we need to learn from him.

In recent history of the NBA when a major star gets traded the home team fans feel like they are owed something.   In reality they are observers and the players are living these lives out. 

I lean more toward Dwight’s point of view.  You have to have a passion for the work you are doing and feel that you can win.  Life is too short to play on bad teams.

Today’s question is:

“Do you feel the passion for what you do for a living AND are you on a winning team?”

365QOD- Day692

“There are no problems to be solved just more truths to be revealed” –advice given to Jeff Van Dyke by a friend

Have you ever had the experience when you just do not get a concept?  Someone is trying to explain something to you and you are just not seeing it.  They try again and again but you still do not see it.

Maybe there is a spark from something they said OR a momentary pause and all of a sudden BAAM! you see it.  It was obvious and right in front of you. 

BUT now that you have seen the solution to the problem, you are left to wonder why you didn’t see it before.  It is so obvious now.  It is a truth that has been revealed. 

Onto another problem… without a pause we move on and except it as the norm.  Maybe a better attitude is to sit and marvel at the new truth and find other areas where it can be applied. 

Today’s question is:

“How do you capture truths learned?”

365QOD- Day691

“TWA should be TFWA” – my observation

Long time ago I heard a quote that your

Thoughts lead to Words

Words lead to Actions

Actions lead to Habits

And

Habits become your destiny

So TWAHD is the way I always remembered it.  While listening to the Power CD I concluded that feelings are the main reason why the Thoughts and Words do not become actions. 

If your feelings about something are not strong enough to move towards action then the feelings will win and you will not take the action.  Now the secret is to get those feelings to align with your Thoughts and Words. 

How?  Well, by spending time understanding why something is important to you and how important it is to you vs. other things in your life.  If you want to move a mountain BUT you are fond of sitting in front of a TV then the mountain will not get moved.

Today’s question is:

“How do you get your feelings to align with your Thoughts and Words?”

365QOD- Day690

“Whatever you can imagine exists… Creation is only the projection into form that which already exists”- Shrivan Bagavatan

This quote is very powerful.  If I can imagine something then it exists.  It exists somewhere. 

But how do we bring that reality into form?  I believe that you still need actions.  Just because I visualize myself driving a 100k car does not mean it will just pop out in front of me.  My actions of doing things to get that car, i.e. working at a wage that can afford the car,  must support the imagination.

Today’s question is:

“Do you know of another way to bring projection into form?”

365QOD- Day689

“The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. While the realist adjusts the sails.” – Unknown

I believe that the more adaptive we are the most likely we are going to get to the end that we wish to get to.   To me being adaptive means having more than one way to accomplish any given task.

Once you accept the idea that you can be adaptive then the only challenge is to find the best tool for that task. 

Today’s question is:

“How adaptive are you?”

365QOD- Day688

 “He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.” -Harold Wilson

There are many gifts in a cemetery:  gifts never given to their intended receivers, gifts of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual nature.

Why?  People ran out of time? Nope… they did not have the ability to change. 

If you say something is important BUT you can not get yourself to do it then it is not important. 

Yes you can tell a good story justifying why you did not get it done BUT in the end you were unable to ‘change’ yourself into doing it.

Today’s question is:

“How do you handle change?”

365QOD- Day687

“Leadership is not a job. It is a responsibility.” -Lee Cockerell

I agree that I have a responsibility to the teams I lead.  They need to know the goal that we are working towards.  In addition, they need to know the resources that are available and the schedule.

After the goal, resources, and schedule are given then I need to move out of the way and let the team use their imagination to exceed my expectations.  Just get out of the way!

BUT the quote is clear. Just because I get out the way, the responsibility to lead is still mine.  I have to nudge them along and encourage their progress.

Today’s question is:

“How do you lead?”

365QOD - Day684v2

"breathe"- some advice

Well the world did not end yesterday.  That is a good thing since most of us have unfinished business.

Now that we got a second chance, what will you do with it?  Will you contact people with whom you would have spent your last moments.  Will you become more daring? Will you push towards that goal?

Today's question is:
"What will you do with your second chance?"

365QOD- Day686

“Historically, good men with poor ships have fared better than poor men with good ships.” -George Patton

It is foolish to believe that if we are given more then we would achieve more.  There is no guarantee that that will happen. 

Most of us believe that if we were just luckier then our problems will look so much smaller. 

It is not the size of our problems that is the problem.  It is the size of our desire to be bigger than our problems.  We simply want the problems to go away.

In reality, problems are always replaced by similar and often bigger problems.  Our size does not change without an effort.

Today’s question is:

“How do you become bigger than your problem?”

365QOD- Day685

“The biggest risk in life….is not taking one”

Play it safe…  That must be what our ancestors thought would get them through life.  As long as they did not get eaten by some beast they were around to continue existing.

Our modern world is no different.  We can continue to manage. The idea of thriving is a modern idea and one available to us that a few hundred years ago would only been available to royalty.

We eat better than royalty from the past.  We have greater luxuries than even they had.  But are we taking risks to thrive? No.  Most of us are still only existing.

Today’s question is:

“How do you know you are thriving?”

365QOD- Day684

“Rough waters are truer tests of leadership. In calm water every ship has a good captain.” —Swedish proverb

I recently had an interesting experience.  I was the captain of two ships.  One maneuvered in calm waters.  It needed gentle nudges to keep it moving forward.

The other ship was faster, larger, more hectic, more out of control.  The potential was greater but so were the troubled waters. 

When given a choice as to which I wanted to captain in the future, I chose the second.  To me it was obvious that I would grow more and truly test myself.  I will be stretched.

Today’s question is:

“Do you chose the difficult route by default?”

365QOD- Day683

“Life is more accurately measured by the lives you touch than by the things you acquire” - unknown

We tend to hoard stuff.  The other day after church I sat in a church hall and had a discussion about the effects the last hurricane had on people in Galveston. 

The lives of many of the people there were affected greatly.  I asked them what they deemed most important that they took it with them.  The answer was that they went through a hurricane level 3 that barely dropped any rain so when this hurricane level 1 came through they thought it to be a non-event.  So most of them packed a couple of days worth of clothes.  The island was not accessible for two weeks after the hurricane.

Rest of the conversation focused on the way people behaved and how they did things for each other that in the past they might not have done.  They became better humans by having to go through a inhumane experience.  Things were replaceable but people could not be replaced so easily.. 

Today’s question is:

“If you had to leave your home quickly, what would you pack?”

365QOD- Day682

“Winners get UP, losers sit in the road of life and B****”- unknown

Wow! I have been on both sides.  There have been times when I dusted myself off and got up to continue the fight. 

At other times I did not like what was happening when I got hit by change and I bitched and bitched.  I just could not get myself up.  I was knocked out cold(figuratively).

What made the difference as to when I got up and when I stayed down?  How important success in that sub-area of life was the main difference.   Often times the energy wasted by bitching could have been better used to constructively move ahead but often it was not.

Today’s question is:

“What makes you get UP?”

365QOD- Day681

 “Leadership is the art of achieving more then the science of management says is possible”  -Gen. Colin Powell

Anything that can be done can be done scientifically or artistically.  Consider Apple.  They make beautiful products and they tend to make them artistically.

Microsoft on the other hand makes devices scientifically.  The new Windows phones will be dead on arrival.  No one I know wants a windows based cell phone.  I had one for 5 years and would not buy another.   It was great when I had it but my new phone is years ahead of it.

To me the quote states that passion comes from doing things artistically.  Once people are passionate they will be moved towards action.

Today’s question is:

“What do you do artistically?”

365QOD- Day680

“Balance is Bunk there is no such thing it cannot be achieved. If you had balance you would work 12 hour days and be off for 12 hours, work 3.5 days a week etc… You get my point you should strive for Rhythm of life not balance.”- Unknown

I used to live a balanced life.  Man!... I remember those days.  I used to monitor my days very closely and made adjustments to get to a balanced state. 

My definition of balanced life was one in which I expended energies in

Physical

Spiritual

Emotional

Mental

Focus

Urgency

Discipline

Etc…

At the end of each day, I would look at the opportunities presented by the day and consider how well I did to accomplish this balanced state.  I re-shuffled the priorities for next day and worked on improving the results in all areas that were important to me.

The quote above claims that you can not live a balanced life.  I completely agree.  The author of the quote calls it “Rhythm”.  Yup!  I would call it rhythm in many areas that we expand energies towards.  In other words, we are talking about the same thing.

Today’s question is:

“Do you have Rhythm in your life?”

365QOD- Day679

“Your reaction chooses it”- Unknown source

We tend to be very reactive.  We even want to storm off when we are mad.  At times we choose to ignore what we do not want to deal with.  BUT in the end we end up having to deal with what is in front of us. 

So what can we do?  We can choose the reaction.  I like to respond instead of react.  To me a response is a thought out reaction.  By thinking through your response, you control what happens next.  Ultimately we come out ahead when we control then when we are controlled.

Today’s question is:

“Do you choose your reactions?

365QOD- Day678

“People are PETS?” – my reaction to what I heard

While listening to the Power CD I heard this statement.  It made me pause until I heard the definition of PETS.

PETS= Personal Emotional Trainer

People in our lives come in two flavors: easy OR difficult to get along with.  The easy ones are… well “easy”.  You tend to work on same wavelength and everything seems to go smoothly.

The difficult ones are… well “complex”.  They tend to push us and are continuously abrasive.  BUT the interaction does not need to be fruitless.

The idea of thinking of complex people as PETS is very good.  Consider them guides that will change something inside you.  They will make adjustments that maybe need to be made.  After all, none of us are perfect.

Today’s question is:

“How will you use your PET?”

365QOD- Day677

" Julie Bowen Actress, mother of three, and failed perfectionist" - title of advice chapter

Failed Perfectionist.  What a combination of words!  Lately, I have noticed a few two word combinations that could have been used for website names. Cool combinations.

I do not believe that I have ever been a perfectionist.  I have make attempts to make something the best I can BUT I always felt it could be improved.

So if you strive for the perfection and you fail, have you truly failed?  Most likely the result is great. So what?
Did you learn and could you make it a little better? If you can then even though it is not perfect it can get closer to perfection.  Perfection is like the horizon.  You can see the horizon BUT never reach it.

Maybe it is the engineer in me.  We think good enough for all practical purposes is good enough.  I can not think of any design I have come up with that reached the level of perfection.  There is always something that you can live with but fails the perfection test.

Today's question is:
"So what if it isn't perfect?"

365QOD- Day676

"12/12/12 at 12:12"- cool date

I noticed this date and wanted to remember where I will be at the instant.  By luck, I was stuck in a meeting.

So a date that had meaning became meaningless to me. Unfortunately later on, I heard some bad news that made the day memorable.

I also noticed that 9000 couples actually got married today in order to remember it as unique.  Cool for them.

Today's question is:
"Was 12/12/12 memorable for you?"

365QOD- Day675

"Fill up on every experience life has in store.  It's your life, and it's right in front of you.  You can't save it for later, so get down to cleaning your plate and licking your fingers.  Taste what life has to offer. Savor it. Enjoy the feast!"- Rosario Dawson

Feast on your life! Savor it!... Hell most of our lives are lived so busy that we do not ever chew it.  We just swallow it.  All this and we do not even simply taste it.

To me the only way to do the things that she advises is to include the pause between things.  To say stop for a minute and think about what you just went through.  It is easy to say BUT very difficult to continuously repeat.

Today's question is:
"Are you enjoying your life feast?"

365QOD- Day674

"Extend to each person no matter how trivial the contact, all the care and kindness, understanding and love you can muster and do it without thought of any reward.  Your life will never be the same"- Og Mandino

In post 673 I talked about giving away control.  Another guideline of how we should deal with others is given above.


Always:
1. Extend to each person no matter how trivial the contact, all the care and kindness
2. understanding and love you can muster
and
3 do it without thought of any reward.

The reward is that your life will never be the same

Today's question is:
"Do you extend all of these towards all spirits you contact?"

365QOD- Day673

"It is not about the other person" - Unknown

This is a great reminder.  If we make it about the other person then we have just given away our power to change the situation.  Because if it is about the other person then they have total control.

Maybe we need to remind ourselves that IT IS ABOUT ME!  Not in an ego driven way but firmly asserting that we must have control in order to change the situation.

The unfortunate truth is that we want it to be about the other person.  Then they can be the reason.  The reason for us not getting what we want or need.  Never operate from a position of giving away control.

Today's question is:
"How do you remind yourself that it is about you NOT the other person?"

365QOD- Day672

"Everybody dies BUT not everyone lives" - T-shirt slogan

What makes a life memorable?  We are all born and we all die.  The middle is what makes it memorable.

But most of us live very un-memorable lives.
We get up at the same time.
We drive the same path to work.
We work on repetitive tasks.
We eat lunch at the same time.
You get the point.

So what makes it memorable?  It has to be different.  Different can be good or bad BUT it has to be different than other days.  Maybe going to a new place?  Maybe meeting new people? Maybe attempting to do something you have never done?  A simple rule:  if you will not remember the moment several years later as if it happened yesterday then it is not memorable?

Today's question is:
"Will you remember this moment several years later as if it happened yesterday?"

365QOD- Day671

"Just because I told you my story I did not invite you to be a part of it"- Bucket list the movie

The Bucket List is a great movie about two unlikely characters who become friends.  They decide to pursue a list of activities before they die.  Since they are dying there is urgency in getting their list done.

To me the movie was very good because it taught many lessons.
First that you can become friends with very unlikely people.
Second that even unlikely friends could pursue common goals.
Third that the journey might not always be easy.
Fourth that you can always make up with people you have wronged.
Fifth that maybe telling people details of your life does invite them to be a part of it.
and many more.

Today's question is:
"What unlikely source can you draw a lesson from?"

  

365QOD- Day670

"The key to happiness is simple, show people your true self whether they accept it or not, don't feel trapped because you made a decision...you have a right to change your mind if you're not comfortable, never settle, and most importantly, trust your instincts." ~ Michael Baisden

It seems so simple.  Be yourself and either you will be accepted or you won't.  

The line.. you have the right to change your mind if you are not comfortable is great advice.  How many times have you felt uncomfortable when making a bid decision?  Well, maybe it is wrong for you?  Trust your instincts.

Today's question is:

"What is your true self?"

365QOD- Day669

"The 30 second rule" - John Maxwell idea

I was listening to an audio book in my truck and heard the rule.  The 30 second rule is to compliment the person you are speaking with within the first 30 seconds of the conversation.  You are to search for something to compliment in the person.

How?  You are to do it one of three ways:
1. attention
2. appreciation
3. affirmation

Will it come off as phony?  It might if it is not genuine.  I do believe that it will have an effect on the people you come in contact with and especially the ones you lead.  It is worst testing to see the results you achieve.

Today's question is:
"Will you test the 30 second rule?"

365QOD- Day668

"Organized is overrated" - Anonymous

I watches a story on TV today that talked about Amazon's ability to fulfill orders.  In case you missed it, Amazon ships more than books.

In the story it mentions a few interesting facts.  One was that the warehouse had 1.2 Million square feet.  Impressively huge!

Second fact, and the one that caught my ear, is that they do not shell items in specific spots.  They just put it anywhere it can fit.  So when items are received they are placed anywhere they fit and the system knows what it is and where it is.  When items are ordered, a person goes and retrieves it from the shell, places it in a box which size is specified by the system, and it goes out in a specific truck, and specific flight to get to you.

The idea of just shoving items into a place that it can fit is amazing.  No need to worry order if you have a system to retrieve what you need easily.  The only cost to amazon is that the people have to go find it.  You would think that automating the process would be better.  I am sure Jeff Bazos has crunched the numbers and decided that this is better.

What is hard to get my mind around is that their strategy is to use chaos to serve their clients in orderly fashion.  The size of the business might be the reason it works.  This is opposite of what one would believe the strategy should be for extremely large fulfillment centers.

Today's question is:
"How much order is really needed in your life?"

365QOD- Day667

"A lot easier..." - my thought

I believe that all of us have within us million dollar ideas.  We just need to execute them.

Often times these ideas and not executed because of the old excuse of not having money.  And at times the ideas need a large sum of money to get it to happen.

In recent years venture capitalists(VC) have invested in startups in order to provide money for the business to grow.  Well, getting a meeting with VCs is difficult and you have to know people to get anywhere.

The other day I read a story in USA Today about AngelList where people can get funding.  The story told of Deena Varshavskaya who got offers of 500k for her business idea.  Her business is a "Pinterest-like social media outlet where users create collections of products they like from online stores"

The point is that anyone, anywhere in the world, can get access to capital through this site.  Talk about scary.  It should scare us Americans into action to create a better idea and to be able to sell that idea.

Now there is one less excuse...

Today's question is:
"If you had access to infinite resources, what would you accomplish?"

365QOD- Day666

"Post 666.... very scary" - my thought

A year ago on Dec 4th I ran a 13.1 mile race over a bridge in LaPorte.  It kicked my butt.  I passed out twice after the race.  My blood pressure dropped too low because of the high humidity and my body working so hard to cool me down.

Today I will run this year's version of this race.  First thought I had was that amazingly one year has passed since the race.  During the race I did not take in any Gatorade and only stuck to water.  Big mistake.  My plan this year is to do both.  I will have my .5L water bottle with me BUT also at times take in a cup or two of Gatorade to replenish my electrolytes.

What else..

I ran 12 miles last weekend on Saturday and on Sunday ran on an inclined elliptical for an hour and the same on Monday.  So I feel ready for the bridge incline.

I also plan to eat an orange before the race and drink a little coffee.  This is to help with any drop in sugar.

Lastly I plan to smile the whole race.  My body was tense and I will just relax into the race and not worry about my time.  Maybe I should not wear a watch? And I will rest on Saturday before the race.

The moral of the story is that I have made many changes to my routine.  These will reduce the risk of passing out BUT they will not eliminate it.  I do not operate from a position of fear.  I confront my fears and today will not be any different.  I have modified as many things as I can think of for the race to be a success.  Success is defined as a race done around 2 and a half hours without any medical issues afterwards.

Today's question is:
"How do you modify your results into ones that you want?"

UPDATE: I ran the race.  It was a hot humid day.  At mile 10 through the race my left calf started twitching and cramping.  It forced me to walk the last 3 miles.  I did finish and got my two medals: one for the race and one for the series.  Back to the drawing board....

365QOD- Day665

"A 'still-face' experiment... is one in which a mother is asked to sit with her four-month old infant facing her and when signaled, to stop interfacing with her child.  This 'still' phase in which no verbal or nonverbal signals are to be shared with the child is profoundly distressing.  

For up to three minutes, the child attempts to engage the now non-responsive parent in a bod for connection.  At first the child usually amps up her signals, increasing smiles, coos, eye contact.  But after a period of continuing non-response, she becomes agitated and distressed, her organized bids for connection melting into signs of anguish and outrage.  She may then attempt to soothe herself by placing her hand in her mouth or pulling on her clothes.  

Sometimes the researchers or parents call off the experiment at this time, but sometimes the experiment goes on until the infant withdraws, giving up in a kind of despondent collapse that looks like a melancholic depression.  These stages of protest, self-soothing, and despair reveal how much the child depends upon the attuned responses of a parent to keep her own internal world in equilibrium"  - Daniel J. Siegel Mindsight book

I recently picked this book up and unfortunately did not finish it.  The passage above helped me visualize this experiment.  It also made me think about how this applies to business.  Is there an equivalent 'still-face' experiment in the work place?

I believe that often the 'worker-bees' try to get the attention of management about the perceived wrongs with the workplace.  They attempt to engage their leaders.

Initially the response is there but over time I believe that the 'still-face' effect occurs.  The leader withdraws to handle other problems and the employees feel ignored.  The workers protest but they are ignored continuously.  The workers self-soothe by complaining to each other.  This brings them down even further.
Lastly, the culture of the group is destroyed and the group enters a depression.  They become grumpy without remembering why they are grumpy.  When pushed a little they tend to bring forth a barrage of complains. This time the difference is that the initial desire to improve the workplace is replaced with venom towards the leader.

I believe that the same phenomenon exists in all relationships between people: parenting, marriage, friendships, etc.

Today's question is:
"Have you been guilty of a still-face?"