This may sound like the familiar comedy presentation
"You may be a Redneck"
READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED
I have been thinking about the characteristics of a successful (value-added) life...
Despite the fact that I have dedicated a goodly portion of my life to understanding the components and characteristics that leads one to success...I know one thing!
Success is a difficult thing to define...
I can openly admit to the fact that I have been somewhat unsuccessful in clearly and accurately defining what success is...
Every time that I think that I "nailed" it down...it slips away!
...it is elusive...
...and rather than wasting any more of my time (and yours)... I decided that perhaps I would carve away at the whole thing of "life"...removing what success isn't...leaving us with a somewhat clearer understanding of what it possibly is!
What we do know is...
If a life isn't successful...
It is a life wasted!
Although not completely true...let's look at this in a simple binary fashion...
I call it the "net' perspective...
If a life contains more failures than successes...it is a waste...
If a life contains more successes than failures...it is not wasted...
Shifting Gears...
One of my favorite stories is about the unveiling of the statue "David." Michelangelo was asked, "How did you build such a beautiful statue?" To that he replied..."I did not build it...I started with a large amorphous block of marble and took away everything that wasn't David!"
Our lives are like that!
When we enter the world our options are infinite...and as we go along...we chop away at the possibilities...until we figure it all out!
Our hope is that by the time we unveil our masterpiece...it isn't too late!
The pursuit of understanding is often like that! It isn't about what we amass...but that which we chisel away...
As I think about it...isn't this scientific method?
Back on Track...
Let's chisel away...
Let's look at SOME of those things (actions, behaviors, characteristics) that cause us to waste a life!
If you think that you don't have anything to change...you may be wasting your life!
If you have stopped learning...you may be wasting your life!
If you have had a moment of aggressive nastiness...you may be wasting your life!
If you have put someone down...you may be wasting your life!
If you have ever bullied someone...you may be wasting your life!
If you are not striving to build a legacy...you may be wasting your life!
If you think that your failures are someone else's fault...you may be wasting your life!
If you are waiting for something to happen before you can start...you may be wasting your life!
If you don't take time everyday to reflect and show your gratitude...you may be wasting your life!
If you do not know what you need to be doing right now...you may be wasting your life!
If you haven't started doing something to get you closer to your goal...you may be wasting your life!
If you do not greet the day with love, excitement and anticipation...you may be wasting your life!
If you do not know specifically what your mission in life is...you may be wasting your life!
If people are not positively changed by being around you...you may be wasting your life!
If your speech contains anything negative or hostile...you may be wasting your life!
If you think that you have to stand up for your rights...you may be wasting your life!
If you have never failed...you may be wasting your life!
If everything comes easy...you may be wasting your life!
If you do not look for something nice to say to everyone you interact with...you may be wasting your life!
If you think you can have what you got and get what you want...you may be wasting your life!
If you are hanging with people who drain you with no return...you may be wasting your life!
If anything that you do is illegal...you may be wasting your life!
If you think that you are in control...you may be wasting your life!
If you have asked for leniency or an exception...you may be wasting your life!
If you have ever done less than you could have...you may be wasting your life!
If you think that anything in your past gives you license to do something today...you may be wasting your life!
If entitlement is a required component of your success equation...you may be wasting your life!
If you do not say "thank you" often during the day...you may be wasting your life!
If you have not been criticized for being too focused...you may be wasting your life!
If you have never asked for help...you may be wasting your life!
If you have never given help...you may be wasting your life!
If you can't remember the last time you couldn't wait for tomorrow...you may be wasting your life!
If you haven't wished that you could return to a younger time and done it over...you may be wasting your life!
If you are NOT thankful for everything that has happened to you...you may be wasting your life!
If today is not the "last of your past"...you may be wasting your life!
If you do not realize your own uniqueness...you may be wasting your life!
If you are living as if you have tomorrow...you may be wasting your life!
If you are not in control of your emotions...you may be wasting your life!
If you don't laugh a majority of the time...you may be wasting your life!
If you think yourself better than someone...you may be wasting your life!
If you say..."I am too old"...you may be wasting your life!
If you say..."I am too young"...you may be wasting your life!
If you are thinking that none of these apply to you...you may be wasting your life!
If you didn't think "I can add more to this list"...you may be wasting your life!
IF YOU READ THESE BULLETS AND DID NOT THINK..."I HAVE SOME THINGS I CAN ADD TO THIS LIST"...
IF YOU READ THESE BULLETS AND DID NOT THINK..."I HAVE SOME THINGS I CAN CHANGE ABOUT ME"...
Let's start with a simple test/example...to see what you are capable of!
Interesting?
We think of ourselves as being so aware of the world around us...but...
Look at how much you are incapable of...
How much is going on around us...that we are oblivious to!
This sets the stage for some interesting thoughts!
Let's start with what you heard...
You heard every tone...right?
I bet...NOT!
You are limited by your auditory acuity...
You miss a lot of sound (data) because you lack audio acuity!
You lack the ability to detect it...
You hearing has been desensitized!
Much of the sound spectrum...you (we) could not and in many cases...NEVER... hear!
Guess what?
...The same holds true for every other of your (our) senses...
Our eyes can only see a narrow portion of the electromagnetic spectrum (visible light)...but there is a lot more electromagnetic energy (data) that we can't perceive with our eyes!
(That's right...data is conveyed by energy!)
As a result...we have other senses to detect other portions of the electromagnetic spectrum...
I could go through every sense...but I think you get the picture!
1 -Hearing - Sound
2 - Sight - Light
3 - Smell Chemical composition of air
4 - Taste - Chemical composition of solids/liquids
5 - Touch - Heat and pressure
6 - Kinesthetic - Positional (muscular)
7 - Vestibular - Gravity
Yes 7 senses...not 5!
Many people have been taught that there are 5 senses...but there are 7 distinct senses!
Yet because each only detects a narrow portion of the spectrum we miss data!
Now let's go back to our original thought...
There is a lot of data that we receive...and are totally oblivious to the fact that it is there!
Let's go outside the box...
If there is stuff that we can't sense because our senses have been desensitized...there may be a ton of stuff happening around us that no one can "sense" because there is no sense organ for it!
Many will argue that the senses that we have are those that we needed to get to where we are...and that all of the other stuff going on is frivolous...
I totally agree!
My point is that thinking that we have all the data important to truth is narrow...in fact our truth is as narrow as our senses are limited!
Have we considered that "Truth" is not contained within our limited data sources...but a sum total proposition of all of the data!
The entire energy spectrum!
Advanced Science...
Physicists have spent years studying energy and some of them...postulating multiple dimensions...
Sadly...we'll never be able to see them...feel them...hear them...because our senses are incapable of detecting them...
Something to consider...what physicists are calling multiple dimensions may just be energies that we can not detect!
an interesting thought...but it is just that...
Does it matter?
Let's go back to an argument that I mentioned earlier...
The Expanding Universe...
When I was in 3rd grade...and going through our science book...one chapter was about the stars! We were studying astronomy!!!!...While we were doing our lessons...my teacher told us that scientists believe that the universe is expanding...
A little boy (me) sitting in the back of the room asked, " Isn't the universe really considered everything?"
To that the teacher answered ..."yes"
"So if it is expanding...what is it expanding into?"
She looked at me but did not answer...
"Because if it was everything...then it had to be expanding into itself which was already the universe...which means that it isn't expanding..."
To that the teacher corrected me and said, "the universe is expanding into nothing..."
I think that she hoped that I would shut-up!
But I kept at it...and she finally put an end the "fruitless" discussion by telling us that this is what the book (data) tells us and we simply have to accept it until scientists find (see or hear) something different!
In other words...
It doesn't matter!
Expanding knowledge...like the universe...
When I think about data being energy...it takes me to this thought...
Knowledge is infinitely vast!
Knowledge is constantly growing...expanding...
What is it expanding into?
Itself?
LOL!
Does it matter?
I think so!
Attempting to expand knowledge is useful,,,
...when it's application is of benefit...
But what is of value...and what is frivolous?
There may be a message in our "growing older" experience...related to that fact that we as humans become desensitized...over time...
Perhaps this is the crux of wisdom...a desensitization to extraneous and frivolous data...
Perhaps we lack certain senses because there is no need for certain pieces of data...
Perhaps we should learn to do what we can with what we have!
Perhaps many of the additional senses that we lack have gone the course of our appendix...
...which is a remnant of some organ we had in the past...but no longer serves a function...
WAIT...physiologists have discovered that the appendix does serve a function!
It is a place that reserves the beneficial bacteria from our intestinal tract...in the event that we get sick and discharge or kill the bacteria that resides in our intestines...the bacteria reserve in our appendix recharges us!
It is something...Darn...just when we were thinking that it was useless!
...that new data...consequently led to information (interpretation) and insight!
We knew that it was there...but our interpretations and tribal knowledge said it was useless...
Our real benefit came when we did more with what we already had!
A lesson...raw data...leads to information and when properly interpreted it leads to insight!
Our goal is to do the most with what we have...before we attempt to move forward!
Maximize it!
But then again...
Does it matter?
Whether we knew what an appendix did or not...did not make the appendix function or function better!
The Narrow View and Arrogance...
The biggest risk that we run as human beings is that we accept what we sense as fact and reject everything else...because we don't sense it...
"I'll believe it when I see it or hear it with my own ears..."
Just because you can't hear it doesn't mean that it is not there!
It just means that it is below the threshold of your perception or to go a bit deeper...our understanding!
It is our own weaknesses...that which aids and abets "deception..."
Let's think about this and apply the potential arrogance in an effort of science...
The search for extra-terrestrial life...
Scientists are looking for planets rotating stars...at a distance that would create earth-like conditions...
It is our narrow and arrogant understanding of fact that lies at the foundation of this effort...
Perhaps we are a rarity and that life abounds in a vacuum full of radiation...the void of space itself!
Perhaps in the real world...liquid water affects the abundant life like molten rock affects us!
One may argue that we would have found it if life like that existed...
maybe yes...maybe no!
Definitely not if we were not looking for it!
The space around the earth could be filled with life...like our oceans abound...and that life could be significantly more intelligent than us!
Why do I say that?...because it has nothing to do with us! LOL!
We have allowed our narrow view to limit our search and perception!
Doe it matter?
Expectation theory...(kind of...)
Psychological studies show that people see what they expect to see...or believe that they should see!
The mind plays some terrible tricks on us!
People see things that aren't there...
...and miss things in plain sight!
Some may argue that we are simply doing the best we can with what we have...
But why do we allow the data/information of others influence us?
It may be that we subconsciously recognize the fact that we can not acquire all of the knowledge important to us and depend (default) to the information of others for the sake of efficiency...
...just like lemmings do! LOL! (BTW Lemmings do really stupid things!)
Seriously, it may be that we are not independent and we would desire...but more like ants and bees...whose synergistic (I hate this concept...LOL) is apparent in the ability of the hive/colony to be more than the sum total of the hive/colony members...
The critical nature of this concept is that it totally depends on trust (ants and bees have trust? I believe so!) and specialization (credible "trustworthy" information).
If there is a risk that "IF" the individual conveying the information is inaccurate...the entire hive/colony suffers...perhaps to its demise...
We need to recognize this risk even in our own activities...
Although we are not structured as an insect hive or colony...we still run the same risks as they do when we blindly accept information...or lack information!
Mass hysteria...caused by misinformation...or even hype...can lead us down a path detrimental to our society...
Hype campaigning...can cause voters to divert to the wrong conclusions...and elect the wrong individuals!
This scares me!
Inaccurate news reports...
"Remember the Maine!"
Causes wars!
This scares me!
In a sense...we are a hive or a colony...and we have to protect our existence at our core!
Does it matter?
I believe that it does!
Other Senses...
Scientists have found that pigeons have the ability to sense the earth's magnetic field!!!
Although they have yet to say it...this is another sense!
Why do I call it a sense?
Because they use it to find home!
AND it works every time!
Scientists have found that Hammerhead Sharks can sense life buried in the sea floor!!!
This one they have called another sense!
Why?
Because that is how they find food!
AND it works every time!
What is important about these discoveries is that it confirms that there is other senses...
Many would argue that if there were other senses...we would have found them...
Now we can say...with confidence...
THERE ARE OTHER SENSES!!!
and they can serve a beneficial function!
We often reject the thought because we don't have them!
Think of all of the money we'd save on GPSs if we had the pigeon sense...LOL!
Senses and Truth...
A Pigeon's truth is different from ours because it has different and/or additional information...
A Hammerhead Shark's truth is different from ours because it has different and/or additional information...
But how do we know what their "truth" looks like?
We really can not know what they feel like...
Why?
Because we lack that sense!
We are oblivious to the energy that they sense and feel...
even how it feels!
What responses it drives...
As a result...
We have to convert "truth" into something that we can understand!
The weird thing is that for us is to understand that which we can not sense...it must be converted into data that we can see or hear or taste or touch or feel...and so on!
We do not know what their sense really is like!
We do not know their reality!
Real pigeon and shark "Truth" is lost in translation!
This important aspect of data and translation must be fully grasped in order for us to understand what we really know as "truth"
At best what we know is limited...
More often...we are functioning under some delusion!
Yet we are functioning!
Does it matter?
I do not know!
Searching for an answer...
What matters is recognition...
Recognition of the limitations of our perception...and the data that it provides...
Recognition of the fact that there is massive amounts of information that we are incapable of capturing...
Recognition that we remain a hive or colony and that misinformation can have dire adverse effects on our very existence...
Recognition of the fact that people use misinformation to "hype the hive" and misdirect us for their own selfish reasons! (perhaps the "hypers" had misinformation to begin with!)
These recognitions limit our definition to truth to simply "that which works...for us...right now"
The elements of this definition are very important...
1 - How well it works or serves us...
2 - How broadly serves us (how big "us" is)
3 - How long the "truth" provides elements 1 & 2
Let's push this a little further before we close for the weekend!
Since our senses are limited and we can be misinformed by others...
Your truth is limited to you as an individual...
It is what makes you function...survive and thrive!
You (we) no more...have the right to push our truth on another as they have on you (us)...because of the "risk" or limitations of what we know...
Those who claim to be aware or hold more knowledge or enlightened may be just the opposite...
...we need to be keenly aware of this fact...and not fall prey to them...or act like them...
If there is a time for it to be "all about you" it is with this concept and this concept only!
In a way this is simply mental rambling...done simply to open some doors of deeper thought...
From a "Day to Day" perspective...Rocks don't change... ...much...
I once read a quote that said...(poorly quoted...but you'll get the point), "If you aren't getting better...you are getting worse..."
At first I disagreed with that statement...because there are many people that are phenomenally great at being stable as if their life's motto is... "same old - same old"
That is to say that they definitely aren't getting better...AND they definitely are not getting worse!
And they were (are) happy!
But as I thought deeper into this topic...I had to ask...
Is not getting better...bad?
So deep in thought, was I, that I was not watching where I was walking and low and behold...I stubbed my toe...on a rock!
Not really...but it made me smile!
So let's go back to "the rocks!"
Rocks don't change much from day to day...
They are a great "standard of stability"
If there was such thing as a picture of "same old/same old" it would be a rock...
I can say that except for geologists...for everyone else...
Rocks are boring...
AND DEAD!
BUT WAIT!
I bet that you are asking..."Didn't you just write about the fact that a rock could be conscious?"
Yes I did..."but I did not say that consciousness required life!
This leads us to an interesting thought about apathy!
Apathy requires consciousness of the situation...but it includes inaction!
A rock by definition is simply the "epitome of apathy!"
It just sits there...no matter what the situation may be...
Apathetic people (those who lack action) are the same...
They are nothing more than rocks!
What an interesting thought!!!
Rocks are boring...
AND DEAD!
Change and life...
There are so many interesting and technical definitions of life...
My perspective on the definition of life changed when I thought about providing value to the world around us...rather than just the standard definition of life which includes:
The ability to reproduce...
The ability to self-sustain...
The ability to grow...
What I have concluded is that the standard definition of life is VERY self-serving...but I had to ask...
Is that living?
HUH?
Is there a difference between Life and Living?
It the difference distinct (black or white)...or is it just different shades of grey?
Levels of life...
Life exists on many levels...perhaps it would be easier to envision a continuium...
It is the "rating system" that we could use to segment and stratify (classify) each individual entity!
Let's create one!
The possibilities are endless...so I get to pick one!
Let's use a standard of "Value"
Value...we'll define as "positive contribution to the world, outside of the "living entity"
On one end of our spectrum we then have a life that is totally self-serving...that contributes to the world around it!
We call them parasites and predators...
AND...
On the opposite end of the spectrum...we have life that is totally altruistic...
We often call that type of life "food"
As we ponder this concept...we realize that the extremes are purely theoretical...
There is a "value proposition" involved in all life...
It is the answer to the question...
"What does the world get...for what the entity took from it?"
I know that this is boring...but stay with it for a little bit longer! LOL!
It is just logical that "Most" of life resides around the center of our rating system...
AND...
That value is dynamic and relative...meaning that at any time something can be valuable to the world around it...and then suddenly become valueless!
ALSO...
Something valuable in one part of the world may actually be detrimental in another part!
DUH!
An epiphany of the utterly obvious!
Enough of the "value" discussion!
What to do? What to do?
Earlier in our discussion we contemplated the difference between "life" and "living"
An interesting concept to note is that the "value" can not be determined or defined by the "entity" for itself...
"Value" is determined by the world external to the "entity"
Which means that what it provides to the outside world is of greater value than what it takes in value from the world...
It is a "net cost" thing!
Success (for those aspiring for it and rather loosely defined) is the point at which the world receives more value than it gives for the entity's presence!
In order to be a "valuable" entity...one must continually strive to add value that is either equal to or increasing or changing...(the latter preferred)...
Do you see where we are going?
Time for a commercial break!
What is this world coming to?
What ever happened to Common Courtesy?
When did Common Sense become a trait to be avoided?
Good questions!
We may have the answer for you!
Back in the days of yore...
Common Courtesy was simply expected...
Common Sense was a trait that everyone strives for...
Then came excuses...
Like...
"...OH...he is just angry...he loses control and common courtesy falls by the wayside..."
"...they are teenagers...everyone knows that all teenagers lack common sense..."
I bet you can think of hundreds of these excuses that licensed individuals to be discourteous...or just plain STUPID!
What we have realized that "excuses" and the universal acceptance of them is a fatal disease!
Excuses must be avoided at all costs...lest you fall victim to this terrible pangenic disease!
Disease you ask?
What are the symptoms...
The first symptom is that people tend to lose their hearing and eyesight!
They begin to fail to see bad things going on around them...
The second symptom is lethargy...(some experts have called this "political correctness")
Their reactions are delayed to a point that that any response to the detrimental behaviors around them are meaningless...
The third symptom is apathy...
The infected give up totally...take on a rock-like appearance...and retreat into total non-effectiveness...
Rock-like?
ROCKS ARE DEAD!
This message has been brought to you by the association for the elimination of rock-like apathy!
Success and Living...
If we strive for success...we are by definition striving to go beyond life to living!
Success (and we all know it) is temporal...and volatile...
Success (value) of one moment can be totally "value-less" the next...
Success over a period of time is simply "maximizing" the number of moments that value has been added to the outside world...relative to what has been received!
If we pursue success we are always "taking it to the next level"...
Doe this make sense?
Excuses for failure simply add explanation...but do not create value...
That is just common sense!
This is more than common sense...
It is a commitment...and obligation!
To our entire existence...but more importantly...to every moment...
...we need to take it to the next level and the next and the next!
Let's revisit our "Common" theme before we close for the weekend...
Speaking of taking it up a level or three...there is something that (I think) needs to become a level again!
I hope that you agree!
We joke about common courtesy and common sense being oxymorons...
We are guilty of letting it become that!
Most of psychology and sociology agrees that individuals have a tendency to perform to the expectations of the world around them...
If an individual does not display common courtesy...or exhibits common sense...it is because it is not expected...
The lack of either is not a genetic issue...
It is the result of the world around them...(their world)...becoming apathetic to less than desirable behaviors...
We can change this...
How?
By first modeling and then expecting common courtesy and common sense from those around us!
The introduction to one of my classes begins with the following picture and a "Psycho-Geography" question...
This question really checks your geography/history intelligence...
The funny thing is although nearly everyone really knows the answer...YET the majority get it wrong!
Here's the question: What was the tallest mountain on earth before Sir Edmond Hillary found Mount Everest?
What do you remember from your elementary school geography classes?
Dig deep...the answer is there!
Many people tell me that they do not remember anything from those lessons...
Some will (in frustration) tell me that this information does not matter...
In reality...the information does not matter...BUT...
What matters is what you response teaches you!
What is the answer?
Mount Everest...
Hillary did not create the highest mountain...he only discovered it!
Before he discovered it...it was the highest mountain on earth and remains the highest to this day!
OK...I am proud of you! You knew the answer!
When this question was first posed to me...I allowed my ego to make it necessery for me to dig into my cranial archive of mountain names!
I listed probably 20 or more earlier known mountains...
My "academic arrogance" clouded my interpretation of the sentence and my perception of the real world...or at least my answer...
I learned an important lesson about interpretation and perception from that experience...
What we accept as fact often clouds our ability to see the real truth!
Do you know what I mean?
Shifting gears...kind of!
Early in the 20th century...Albert Einstein looked at the world a bit differently...and from his perspective proposed the "Special and General Theories of Relativity." This was sparked by his inability to use Newtonian physics to reconcile how he saw the universe...things just didn't look right!
Newtons "laws" especially related to gravity had been accepted as the way to see the universe for over 200 years! It was time tested, seldom challenged...and nearly grounds for a charge of scientific blasphemy or heresy if something contrary was proposed.
It didn't take much looking for him to find an alternative explanation for what he "found"!
The scientific community was intrigued by his discovery...but refused to accept it until it was tested, confirmed, retested and verified! Finally the day came and it was announced in newspaper headlines around the world..."THE UNIVERSE HAS CHANGED"
The fact of the matter was...the universe DID NOT change...it had been operating under those laws since its creation!
Gravity always warped the universe's fabric...we just didn't see it that way
Light always acts a certain way...we just didn't see it that way
Matter has always acted a certain way...we just didn't see it that way
The way that it was seen was a matter of generally accepted interpretation which dorve the science communitys' perception....
But what the scientists were seeing based upon their assumptions was not real...although everything that they saw was real!
Confusing?
When Einstein was asked about the "laws" he created...he admonished his interviewers with..."I did not make those laws" I only found them!
He realized that man creates nothing...only finds it!
What we accept as fact often clouds our ability to see the real truth!
Lesson Learned!
Unless things have changed since I went to bed last evening...mankind does not possess the ability to create anything...
In our arrogance we may think that we do...but the fact of the matter is...we only have the ability to discover the hidden gifts and laws with more clarity than our predecessors...
We only have the ability to take what we have found and put them into unique, useful and valuable combinations...
We are simple creatures...that are totally restricted to cause and effect!
We may think ourselves different...but we cannot affect immutable laws...just discover them...
True genius arises when a law (relationship) is discovered and we can apply that knowledge consistently...to a predicted outcome!
This in fact goes beyond genius into a realm that we call "wisdom"...
Although our knowledge grows on a continuous basis...knowledge alone has no value if it narrows or filters our vision...causing to miss seeing the mountain that stands before us!
Newton was good...his explanation served humanity well for 2 centuries...
Einstein was better...his explanation will serve humanity well into the 21st century...
Knowledge is good...but the downside of it is that we often accept is as fact and overlook some brilliant gems...
What we accept as fact often clouds our ability to see the real truth!
Someone is watching you!
Shifting gears...
Have you ever had that feeling that you were being watched?
Do you drive differently when a police officer is behind you or beside you?
Do you act one way when with certain people and differently when with others?
Answering "YES!" to any of those questions is part of the explanation (definition) of consciousness...
What I think is interesting is that we retain the right of consciousness to ourselves...In our narrow view of existence we believe that inanimate objects such as rocks or even simple living organisms lack consciousness...
Given that narrow perception...it follows that...
Atoms do not have consciousness...they are the building blocks of our universe...
...and it follows that sub-atomic particles do not have consciousness either...
Now...Watch this!
Interesting huh?
The electrons acted differently when they were observed!
...not unlike how we acted as teenagers...when our parents were around!
We behave with one set of rules when left to ourselves and entirely different set of laws when watched by our parents!
Heck...many of us act one way in church and entirely different in a bar!
I like this observation because it changed the way that I look at consciousness...thinking that we are the only conscious creature may be totally wrong!
So I have concluded that consciousness is more than perceiving a certain situation and acting relative to those conditions.
Or...
Perhaps the issue is not with the definition of consciousness...but with who or what I think is conscious!
What we accept as fact often clouds our ability to see the real truth!
Does this make sense?
Success and Perspective
What I have learned from all of this has deeply affected how I look at success and my pursuit of it!
First and foremost is that we as humans totally lack "crea-tive" powers...but we are awesome at "rela-tive" powers...
The great strides in our society and science were not "crea-ted"...but discovered and later "rela-ted"
The world is full and many hidden gems...waiting to be discovered...and many things discovered that need proper understanding...
Genius springs from the ability to perceive the world differently so that we can see these jewels that are hidden in plain sight!
Think about it...warped space...gravity...did not suddenly appear when Einstein explained it...he simply found a way to put it into terms that science reluctantly bought into after they saw the value!
Success is not found in getting many people to believe in what you saw...Einstein saw light and gravity differently for decades...he was alone...but succeeded...
...thousands of people claim to have seen Bigfoot...yet it is not proven...
Success is found in the broad range application of what you have found...its impact...what I call true wisdom...
If you seek success...do not try to create something...
"It is what it is!"
Nothing exists that hasn't existed since the beginning...it has always been there...(some astrophysicists will argue with me on the creation of elements heavier that hydrogen and helium...but this is nit-picky at this point).
It is up to us to change the way that we look at the world around us and find the components that will lead to our success...
The foundation of success lies in a different perspective...until it changes...we'll always see things as they are...
What we accept as fact often clouds our ability to see the real truth!
A majority of my days begin at 5:30 am...actually at 5:20 because without exception I wake up at that time regardless of the time I retire...to beat my clock's alarm (because I hate it!)
and from 5:30 to 8:00 I have a regular routine that takes me to the point of my leaving for the office...
and then...I park in the same parking place...despite the fact that most of the lot is open...
and I walk through the same door...and say the same things to the people who are in the habit of arriving earlier than I do!
On weekends...when I promise myself, before retiring to bed the night prior, that I will "sleep-in"...
I wake up at 5:20...lay there for a few minutes...and get up!
There is comfort and security in routine...
The one thing that I can depend upon...is that if I follow my routine...I will be capable of providing the results expected by my superiors and dependents...a majority of the time...
I have routines so that I do not let others down...and as I think about it...so that I do not let myself down...
But like everyone else around me...(you included) we may be creatures of habits...but not all of our habits are perfect or work perfectly every time...
This opens a new door!
One of my regular lectures explains that we are defined by our habits...
I'll be REALLY brief...
Our habits are simply those behaviors and actions (reactions) that we repeat often enough that people relate it to us, in a cause/effect fashion.
We are not who we think we are...thoughts are ours and ours alone...they have no substance...
We are not who we say we are...talk is cheap!
We are known and recognized by our actions...by what we do...
Since I am merely the sum total of my habits...my value is a simple math equation...
Value = Beneficial habits - Detrimental habits
Value is defined...not by us...but by those around us!
You may argue that you have habits that are only detrimental to yourself...
I agree...but in the long-run...these will hurt you (kill you) and those around you will be hurt by your death (I hope LOL!) and deem even the most hidden habits detrimental!
Breaking some basic paradigms...(myth-busting!) we have no control over the determination of our value!
That leads to the fact that if we desire to be a contributing (valuable) individual...we have to be pursuing better habit...or does it?
If I desire to be of more value...I am afforded many options...
I can stay the way I am (in terms of my beneficial habits) and work diligently to reduce the number of detrimental habits
I can increase the number of beneficial habits and keep my detrimental ones static
I can increase the number of beneficial habits and decrease the number of detrimental ones...
So many choices...and no right way! How we go about choosing which value increasing strategy is right for us is a matter of preference...
BUT...
This perspective provides some interesting insights...
It clearly defines some obscure terms...
Addiction = a detrimental habit that an individual refuses to eliminate in their quest for ever-increasing value...
Control = the strength of the "-" sign in our overall equation.
Success = any point in time when beneficial habits out weigh the detrimental habits...
Are you seeing what I am seeing?
All this habit talk is boring!
The Effective Process...
I once wrote that the most effective way to eliminate a habit is with another habit...
and...
being finite creatures...of limited capability...
if we focus solely on increasing good habits...the detrimental habits will be displaced!
and over time...
Those things which are of less benefit...will be pushed to the "detrimental" list and we'll work on displacing them...
BUT...What about my purpose and mission?
At any given time...your purpose and mission is defined by the sum total of your beneficial habits...
and...
Your effectiveness is the "Net" of beneficial and detrimental habits...
Many people are on a constant pilgrimage...in search of their purpose in life...
Let's look at this from a different perspective...
If our beneficial habits are constantly changing...what we are doing today...may be considerably different next year!
Our purpose may be to simply be gleaning through our habits and improving their value...or changing them continuously...
A clearly defined purpose or mission may be restrictive...and actually counter-productive...
Doing what matters and of value...OFTEN may be a better defining purpose than what many of the books advise!
Seriously consider this...
There are some great benefits to this perspective...
You are not waiting to blossom or acquire something before you fulfill your purpose...
At any given moment...you can live up to your purpose based upon the value you can contribute...
and so on...
OK...I have belabored this point!
Why did I call this a "Wake up call?"
It is just that for me!
I realized my life is a 5:20 am awakening...
There are certain things that have to happen (habits) in order for me to be effective...
Getting up earlier in the morning will not serve me any better...
Getting up later has the same impact...
The first and most important habit in my life is to "Wake up!"
From that single habit all else springs... DUH!
Perhaps what we need to realize is that waking up is not just "a first thing in the morning" habit for me...
but...
An ongoing habit that although conceptually the same...must take on different forms throughout my day and life!
Wake up to...(you can fill in the blank)
And...
...as I think deeper...
I don't wait for the alarm...I wake up before it because...I hate the sound of it!
