Albert Einstein said: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
So true!
We just finished some planning sessions, and this lesson showed its relevance several times.
This is a message that bears repeating.
If you focus on what you do well that gives you energy and sparks your passion, the rest seems to take care of itself … and genius emerges.
Sometimes the answer is really simple.
Here’s a secret that most aren’t willing to hear or practice.
The biggest difference between where you are and the life you’ve always dreamed of is trumpeted in this video. Should you watch it? My advice, "Just Do It!"
Don't wait until all the conditions are perfect for you to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect. Just Do It!
Sometimes the answer is really simple.
Here’s a secret that most aren’t willing to hear or practice.
The biggest difference between where you are and the life you’ve always dreamed of is trumpeted in this video. Should you watch it? My advice, "Just Do It!"
Don't wait until all the conditions are perfect for you to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect. Just Do It!
Steve Jobs deserves credit. He is a world-class innovator and showman.
Despite what the cartoon says, there is not an app for that. Replacing Steve Jobs will not be easy. He was one of a kind.
His latest accomplishment is that he figured-out how to get everyone to eulogize him while he's still alive.
Brilliant.
To be fair, these may be the last years (or days) of Jobs' life. But, as HBR points out, if so, Jobs no doubt knew that something needed to change. Perhaps it really is time for Jobs to go home, as he put it, to a "wonderful family" and an "amazing woman" and re-reflect on a few of the provocative questions (slightly altered) that he posed to the world in his 2005 Stanford Commencement Address.
Here is the video.
Here are some of the questions he posed. (click here for the complete text version of the speech)
For almost four decades Steve Jobs has certainly tried his best to "put a ding in the universe."
If you are looking for more on Jobs' wisdom and insights, Umair Haque has a nice post on the Harvard Business Review site; it is called "Steve's Seven Insights for 21st Century Capitalists".
He highlights lessons that jumped out at him while looking through this compendium of Jobs quotes.
Here are two examples.
It Matters that it Matters. "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugar water — or do you want to change the world?" That's what Steve famously asked John Sculley. Translation: do you really want to spend your days slaving over work that fails to inspire, on stuff that fail to count, for reasons that fail to touch the soul of anyone?
Do the insanely great. "When you're a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you're not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it." We're awash in a sea of the tedious, the humdrum, the predictable. If your goal is rising head and shoulders above this twisting mass of mediocrity, then it's not enough, anymore, to tack on another 99 features every month and call it "innovation." Just do great work.
Those aren't the only lessons, nor probably the best lessons. There are lots to choose from.
Umair Haque challenges: Steve took on the challenge of proving that the art of enterprise didn't have to culminate in a stagnant pond of unenlightenment — and won. In doing so, he might just have built something approximating the modern world's most dangerously enlightened company. Can you?
What a great thing career he had. He ends his Stanford speech with a quote that sums it up well. "Stay Hungry … Stay Foolish."
Steve Jobs deserves credit. He is a world-class innovator and showman.
Despite what the cartoon says, there is not an app for that. Replacing Steve Jobs will not be easy. He was one of a kind.
His latest accomplishment is that he figured-out how to get everyone to eulogize him while he's still alive.
Brilliant.
To be fair, these may be the last years (or days) of Jobs' life. But, as HBR points out, if so, Jobs no doubt knew that something needed to change. Perhaps it really is time for Jobs to go home, as he put it, to a "wonderful family" and an "amazing woman" and re-reflect on a few of the provocative questions (slightly altered) that he posed to the world in his 2005 Stanford Commencement Address.
Here is the video.
Here are some of the questions he posed. (click here for the complete text version of the speech)
For almost four decades Steve Jobs has certainly tried his best to "put a ding in the universe."
If you are looking for more on Jobs' wisdom and insights, Umair Haque has a nice post on the Harvard Business Review site; it is called "Steve's Seven Insights for 21st Century Capitalists".
He highlights lessons that jumped out at him while looking through this compendium of Jobs quotes.
Here are two examples.
It Matters that it Matters. "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugar water — or do you want to change the world?" That's what Steve famously asked John Sculley. Translation: do you really want to spend your days slaving over work that fails to inspire, on stuff that fail to count, for reasons that fail to touch the soul of anyone?
Do the insanely great. "When you're a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you're not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it." We're awash in a sea of the tedious, the humdrum, the predictable. If your goal is rising head and shoulders above this twisting mass of mediocrity, then it's not enough, anymore, to tack on another 99 features every month and call it "innovation." Just do great work.
Those aren't the only lessons, nor probably the best lessons. There are lots to choose from.
Umair Haque challenges: Steve took on the challenge of proving that the art of enterprise didn't have to culminate in a stagnant pond of unenlightenment — and won. In doing so, he might just have built something approximating the modern world's most dangerously enlightened company. Can you?
What a great thing career he had. He ends his Stanford speech with a quote that sums it up well. "Stay Hungry … Stay Foolish."
You don't need a formal setting to learn about leadership.
Derek Sivers gave this 3-minute talk at a TED conference.
You can watch a movement happen, start to finish, in under 3 minutes, while he points-out some of the lessons.
A leader needs the guts to stand alone and look ridiculous. But what he's doing is so simple, it's almost instructional. This is key. You must be easy to follow!Now comes the first follower with a crucial role: he publicly shows everyone how to follow. Notice the leader embraces him as an equal, so it's not about the leader anymore – it's about them, plural. Notice he's calling to his friends to join in. It takes guts to be a first follower! You stand out and brave ridicule, yourself. Being a first follower is an under-appreciated form of leadership. The first follower transforms a lone nut into a leader. If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark that makes the fire.
The 2nd follower is a turning point: it's proof the first has done well. Now it's not a lone nut, and it's not two nuts. Three is a crowd and a crowd is news.
A movement must be public. Make sure outsiders see more than just the leader. Everyone needs to see the followers, because new followers emulate followers – not the leader.
Now here come 2 more, then 3 more. Now we've got momentum. This is the tipping point! Now we've got a movement!
As more people jump in, it's no longer risky. If they were on the fence before, there's no reason not to join now. They won't be ridiculed, they won't stand out, and they will be part of the in-crowd, if they hurry. Over the next minute you'll see the rest who prefer to be part of the crowd, because eventually they'd be ridiculed for not joining.
And ladies and gentlemen that is how a movement is made! Let's recap what we learned:
If you are a version of the shirtless dancing guy, all alone, remember the importance of nurturing your first few followers as equals, making everything clearly about the movement, not you.
Be public. Be easy to follow!
But the biggest lesson here – did you catch it?
Leadership is over-glorified.
Yes it started with the shirtless guy, and he'll get all the credit, but you saw what really happened:
It was the first follower that transformed a lone nut into a leader.
There is no movement without the first follower.
We're told we all need to be leaders, but that would be really ineffective.
The best way to make a movement, if you really care, is to courageously follow and show others how to follow.
When you find a lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first person to stand up and join in.
—
Original video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA8z7f7a2Pk
Official transcript at http://sivers.org/ff
You don't need a formal setting to learn about leadership.
Derek Sivers gave this 3-minute talk at a TED conference.
You can watch a movement happen, start to finish, in under 3 minutes, while he points-out some of the lessons.
A leader needs the guts to stand alone and look ridiculous. But what he's doing is so simple, it's almost instructional. This is key. You must be easy to follow!Now comes the first follower with a crucial role: he publicly shows everyone how to follow. Notice the leader embraces him as an equal, so it's not about the leader anymore – it's about them, plural. Notice he's calling to his friends to join in. It takes guts to be a first follower! You stand out and brave ridicule, yourself. Being a first follower is an under-appreciated form of leadership. The first follower transforms a lone nut into a leader. If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark that makes the fire.
The 2nd follower is a turning point: it's proof the first has done well. Now it's not a lone nut, and it's not two nuts. Three is a crowd and a crowd is news.
A movement must be public. Make sure outsiders see more than just the leader. Everyone needs to see the followers, because new followers emulate followers – not the leader.
Now here come 2 more, then 3 more. Now we've got momentum. This is the tipping point! Now we've got a movement!
As more people jump in, it's no longer risky. If they were on the fence before, there's no reason not to join now. They won't be ridiculed, they won't stand out, and they will be part of the in-crowd, if they hurry. Over the next minute you'll see the rest who prefer to be part of the crowd, because eventually they'd be ridiculed for not joining.
And ladies and gentlemen that is how a movement is made! Let's recap what we learned:
If you are a version of the shirtless dancing guy, all alone, remember the importance of nurturing your first few followers as equals, making everything clearly about the movement, not you.
Be public. Be easy to follow!
But the biggest lesson here – did you catch it?
Leadership is over-glorified.
Yes it started with the shirtless guy, and he'll get all the credit, but you saw what really happened:
It was the first follower that transformed a lone nut into a leader.
There is no movement without the first follower.
We're told we all need to be leaders, but that would be really ineffective.
The best way to make a movement, if you really care, is to courageously follow and show others how to follow.
When you find a lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first person to stand up and join in.
—
Original video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA8z7f7a2Pk
Official transcript at http://sivers.org/ff
In my experience, managing attention is harder than it seems.
Let's start with something easy … Do nothing for 2 minutes.
Here is a link to a website that will let you try to do that.
Focus can be pretty fragile if it isn't a conscious choice.
OK, Let's Try Something a Little More Challenging.
Controlling your body by doing nothing is one thing; but, controlling your mind is something else altogether.
To get a sense about this, here is a seemingly easy challenge … simply listen to a favorite song.
The challenge is how you can truly do that without losing focus and having other thoughts intrude (for example, without thinking about your to-do list or other songs that you like, or who you're going to meet with later in the day, etc.)? For me, the answer was not that long.
Sometimes it feels like modern life causes attention deficit disorder.
Attention Deficit Can Be Dangerous If You Aren't Aware of It.
Yet, losing focus while trading, in business, or even during a simple conversation – can have serious consequences.
When you are not aware of your focus, I bet it wanders. Mine does; I get distracted easily.
It didn't take long for me to realize that this happened to me while talking to my wife, while listening to a telephone call, even when ordering food at a restaurant. How can I lose focus on the waitress while I was ordering? Apparently, quite easily.
How about you? When you're listening to someone talk to you, are you really listening to them – or are you checking e-mail, texting, browsing a website, watching TV, playing a game, or thinking about what you're going to say?
Be honest with yourself; how often are you fully present? For me, the answer was not nearly enough.
Practice Mind Control.
Try listening to one song with your full attention and focus.
Now, imagine how different a conversation with someone important to you would be if you were consciously aware of your intent for them to experience being heard the whole time they were speaking to you.
Maybe it is easier to recognize how different it is for you when someone is truly present and focused on you when you talk with them?
If you want to explore more activities like this, pick up a copy of Dianne Collins' book "Do You QuantumThink". It has dozens of clever ways to wake back up and operate on a higher level.
In my experience, managing attention is harder than it seems.
Let's start with something easy … Do nothing for 2 minutes.
Here is a link to a website that will let you try to do that.
Focus can be pretty fragile if it isn't a conscious choice.
OK, Let's Try Something a Little More Challenging.
Controlling your body by doing nothing is one thing; but, controlling your mind is something else altogether.
To get a sense about this, here is a seemingly easy challenge … simply listen to a favorite song.
The challenge is how you can truly do that without losing focus and having other thoughts intrude (for example, without thinking about your to-do list or other songs that you like, or who you're going to meet with later in the day, etc.)? For me, the answer was not that long.
Sometimes it feels like modern life causes attention deficit disorder.
Attention Deficit Can Be Dangerous If You Aren't Aware of It.
Yet, losing focus while trading, in business, or even during a simple conversation – can have serious consequences.
When you are not aware of your focus, I bet it wanders. Mine does; I get distracted easily.
It didn't take long for me to realize that this happened to me while talking to my wife, while listening to a telephone call, even when ordering food at a restaurant. How can I lose focus on the waitress while I was ordering? Apparently, quite easily.
How about you? When you're listening to someone talk to you, are you really listening to them – or are you checking e-mail, texting, browsing a website, watching TV, playing a game, or thinking about what you're going to say?
Be honest with yourself; how often are you fully present? For me, the answer was not nearly enough.
Practice Mind Control.
Try listening to one song with your full attention and focus.
Now, imagine how different a conversation with someone important to you would be if you were consciously aware of your intent for them to experience being heard the whole time they were speaking to you.
Maybe it is easier to recognize how different it is for you when someone is truly present and focused on you when you talk with them?
If you want to explore more activities like this, pick up a copy of Dianne Collins' book "Do You QuantumThink". It has dozens of clever ways to wake back up and operate on a higher level.
“The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire, not things we fear.”
Here is a great nugget from Brian Tracy, who is a master at taking the complicated and breaking it down into simple easy steps.
Watch "How to Focus: If You Could Achieve 1 Goal In 24 Hours".
If you could only accomplish one goal, yet it would only take 24-hours to achieve, which goal would have the greatest positive impact on your life?
What a great question! After you answer it, set a deadline to accomplish that goal … and (here's the important part) do something to work on it, or take you towards it, every day.
