People And The Power Of Ideas

“Nothing in the world is more powerful as an idea whose time has come.” —Victor Hugo

In 1889, Charles Duells, Director of the U.S. Patent Office suggested abolishing the office on the grounds that almost everything possible had already been invented. Had this suggestion been carried out, we would not have patent numbers for televisions, DVDs, video games, computers, digital cameras, cell phones, or GPS locators.

The market place is rapidly changing. New products, new services, new technologies and new competitors are entering the market every day.  To succeed today, organizations must constantly search for new and better ways to get the job done. This search must involve the organization’s most valuable asset, its people.

Innovative organizations seek to tap the unused creative potential of their employees and/or members. They create and maintain a climate where employees or members are encouraged, recognized and rewarded for developing new ideas and taking risks. These creative-orientated organizations also provide the necessary leadership to see that innovative behavior becomes usable on a daily basis.

Ideas are elusive. They appear quickly and just as quickly disappear. Ideas often emerge at the most unusual times. Running, biking, showering, shopping and reading are some of the activities conducive to unexpected ideation.

Ideas need to be captured.  You need only a few things to capture and hold ideas that bubble up. A pen or pencil and a piece of paper or an index card are good for starters. If you are into computers you need a file labeled, “Ideas and Thoughts.”

Keep a pad and pen beside your bed on the nightstand so that when the muse befriends you, you capture the revelations for future study and analysis. I have had more than one idea pop into my head during the night and said, “I won’t forget that.” But next morning, try as I may, the idea is nowhere to be found. You must write the thought down, while it is fresh in your mind.

The chance of having a great idea increases when you engage in a creative program generating a lot of possibilities, many of which may not be apparent when you start. Ideas tend to spawn other thoughts, and these additional ideas create new possibilities. It often happens that seemingly unrelated, even outrageous ideas lead to practical, creative ones.

Using creative thinking to solve problems, aids in the search for solutions that are not always obvious. You are looking for possibilities and for what is not apparent, at least on the surface. Often the obvious solution is not the best solution. Therefore, don’t discard your first thoughts, just save them until you have exhausted other possibilities. Then spend time sifting through your list of ideas looking for the one that offers the best potential. As you cull your ideas, keep in mind Charles F. Kettering’s advice, “The typical eye sees the 10 percent bad of an idea and overlooks the 90 percent good.”

William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon, gave good advice when he wrote, “Look for what is missing. Many know how to improve what’s there; few can see what isn’t there.” He goes on to say, “Always think about what’s missing; it’s amazing what you will find.”

Instead of wasting energy and time on rehashing the “obvious”, spend time looking for what’s not there. Often opportunities don’t look like opportunities, they present themselves as challenges, problems or obstacles.

When asked to describe the most important factors of invention, Thomas Edison said, “One must keep himself sold on the idea that the solution of his problem exists somewhere and that he will find it. “ Edison also said, “Your idea needs to be original only in its adaptation to the problem you are currently working on.” Another great innovator, Albert Einstein, endorsed the thought that a new idea is often an adaption of an old idea when he wrote, “Creativity is simply making something new or rearranging the old in a new way.”

Don’t worry about how absurd or skeletal an idea may be. You can flesh it out later.

                                   Three Point Success Summation

SUCCESS THOUGHT: The creative process is a race to success. It starts with ideas and continues to the game plan and ends with action to reach personal or organizational goals. Creative thinking can spell the difference between an organization leader and an organization follower. Good organizations search for opportunities to be creative. The leaders find them.

SUCCESS QUOTE: “Within the problem is the solution to the problem.” —Chinese Proverb

SUCCESS ACTION: Keep a pad and pen handy for capturing your creative ideas. Ah ha moments have wings and quickly take flight leaving no footprints.

BOOK REMINDER: My book, Mentor In The Mirror is available on Amazon, iBooks and Barnes & Noble. Go to my website: www.waynenalls.com for additional information and a review of the book.

The Case for Sir Isaac Newton and His Three Laws of “Personal Success”

Asked to explain the source of his scientific greatness, the great British mathematician and physicist, Sir Isaac Newton confessed, “I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I was like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”

If Newton acknowledged to only touching the shoreline of truth, what can we say today about the degree of our commitment to success? Is there an ocean or sea of success opportunity that lays undiscovered before us, while we occasionally find a smoother pebble or a prettier shell?

Born in England in 1643, Newton was raised by his grandmother. (Grandmothers are often the major influence on their grandchildren’s values). Newton worked his way through college. (A important value; work).

While Newton was in college he was writing his ideas in a journal (Note taking is very important; a pencil is better than a long memory). Newton had new ideas about motion, which he called his three laws of motion. Understanding these laws and their application to personal success will aid in the on-going preparation for personal and professional success.  

Newton's First Law of Motion: This law is often called: the “Law of Inertia.” It states an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an external force.  An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an external force.

• What does this mean? This means that there is a natural tendency of objects to keep on doing what they're doing. All objects resist changes in their state of motion. In the absence of an unbalanced force, an object in motion will maintain this state of motion.

• What does this mean for you? People keep on doing what they’re doing in the absence of a powerful positive incentive. If you rest on your laurels you will remain resting unless acted on by an external force. Often, this external force is called,  a “Wake Up Call” and can result from: Unemployment, Underemployment, Competition, and/or Change— either internal or external

Newton's Second Law of Motion: Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The greater the mass (of the object being accelerated) the greater the amount of force needed (to accelerate the object). This is commonly stated as force equals mass time acceleration.

• What does this mean? Heavier objects require more force to accelerate.

• What does this mean for you? The longer you are comfortable with your status and set in your ways, the more positive incentive is needed to move you.

Newton's Third Law of Motion: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

• What does this mean? Whenever an object pushes another object it gets pushed back in the opposite direction equally hard.

• What does this mean for you? When you attempt to improve yourself there is an equal and opposite reaction that works to keep the status quo or equilibrium. An example of this is Homeostasis described as a tendency to move to equilibrium and away from change back to the former status.

Newton’s Three Laws of Motion Applied to Personal Success

• People keep on doing what they’re doing in the absence of a powerful positive incentive.

• The longer people are comfortable with their status; the larger and more positive incentive is needed to move them.
• When people attempt to improve themselves there is an equal and opposite reaction that works to keep the status quo or equilibrium.

Success Summation

SUCCESS THOUGHT: Be open to new ideas and look for opportunities that often lay undiscovered because you are hectically engaged in doing what you have always done. Don’t be fooled into believing that you will achieve something new while engaged in old activities. Look for ways to apply Newton’s Three Laws of Motion to help you with your on-going self-improvement.

SUCCESS QUOTE: “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.”

 SUCCESS ACTION: Today, look past the smoother pebbles and prettier shells and see the great ocean of opportunity that lies before you.

 

BOOK REMINDER—My book, Mentor In The Mirror is available on Amazon, iBooks and Barnes & Noble. Go to my website: www.wanenalls.com for additional information and a review of the book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#54 When Rocks Become Gold

The following “Rocks-to-Gold” short story is not original with me. I wish it were. I haven’t a clue to the author. In fact, I don’t recall seeing the story in print. But, I have heard this narrative numerous times and in assorted settings, but always with the same insight: “He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully.” —The Good Book.

One night a small caravan of people was crossing the desert. The night was unusually dark; it was quarter-moon. Suddenly, about midnight, a voice spoke out of the heavens commanding the travelers to stop and dismount.

Once on the ground, they were instructed to pick up rocks and place them in their saddlebags. They were told that as a result of following these instructions, that in the morning, when the sun came up, they would be both glad and sad.

Doing as they were instructed, they remounted their camels. As they rode along in silence, they pondered the strange experience and the meaning of the daylight surprise.         

At the first sign of light, the travelers dismounted and carefully opened their saddlebags. Inside the bags they gladly discovered that the rocks they had picked up during the night had turned into gold. But the gladness was short lived because they quickly realized that they should have picked up more rocks.

Some people easily identify with this glad/sad situation. They see themselves at the midnight of life. When opportunity calls, they choose to pick up only a few rocks or none at all. Their life is an arduous journey. Greatness has eluded them before. Someone or some event has blocked their way to the top. Therefore, why dismount and pick up rocks?  Why be on time for work; few co-workers do? Why give 110%; only fools do more than they have to? Why help another team member, they never helped you? Why suggest a solution to a problem, someone has obviously thought of the idea before.

The great British mathematician and physicist, Sir Isaac Newton, when asked about his scientific greatness, confessed, “I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.” If Newton acknowledged to only touching the shoreline of truth, what can we say about the degree of our commitment to achieving our full potential?

As for time and talents, I think they are too valuable to be sacrificed in picking up shells when the great sea of opportunity lies before us. Success resides in the ocean, not along the shore. I am not a boater, but I know boats are safest when in the harbor, but that is not what they are built for. You weren’t built for failure. You are here to snare significant opportunities when they present themselves.

The world-class performer is never satisfied. He or she never ceases to pick up rocks or aimlessly wander along the shore; they never stop asking, “What if?” or “What else?”  They never stop learning; they don’t stop short of their goal; they never cease to do: whatever, whenever, wherever and however to take care of a customer or client —internal or external.

Success Summary

SUCCESS THOUGHT: Hindsight and regrets have no place in your thoughts or conversation. Accept the fact that you have a new day. Let that thought power you to your goal. If you will pick up rocks and not a few and diligently search the ocean of opportunity, then you will generate ideas and actions for success.

SUCCESS QUOTE: “The difference between what I am and what I become is what I do.” — Anonymous

SUCCESS ACTION: Good things usually begin with picking up a few “rocks, but great things invariably begin with picking up a lot of “rocks.” Welcome the extra work; go the extra mile and tomorrow you will be both glad and sad. You will be glad that you have become a success and you will be sad that you did not start sooner and work smarter.

BOOK REMINDER— I recently published an e-book—"Mentor In The Mirror"—that is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and iBooks. Go to my web site: www.waynenalls.com for additional information and a review.

Learning Alone Is No solution. Everything Is Execution! #88 110112

I am not revealing a top success secret when I write that rewards in life are in direct proportion to contribution.

The Good Book says, “Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap“(Galatians 6:7). Plant corn seeds and you reap corn. Eat correctly and exercise properly and you create a healthy body. Engage in self-improvement and act on what you learn and you will be amazed how successful (professionally and personally) you become.

Constantly improving yourself so you know what to do is one side of the success coin. Acting on what you learn is the reverse side. Too often, people acquire information, but fail to incorporate it into their life. We water down our work ethic when we pride ourselves in knowing but overlook our lack of doing. A while back, I came across a remarkable insight on judging between knowing and doing attributed to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. “We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.”

In a recent article in USA Today, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg offered advice on his personal work ethic: “What I learned is give 110% of yourself at everything you do, (and) no matter what the assignment is that somebody gives you, exceed their expectations just by some little amount.”

I think Katzenberg would agree: Give 110% and you get the job done. Give 100% and you meet the minimum standard. And meeting the minimum standard is not success. Practice producing a 110% performance.

Guard against giving up or quitting too soon. Thomas Edison echoed that sentiment when he said, “Many of life’s failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Successful people make themselves reach beyond their grasp. The failures see the gap and give up. Your ability to succeed is based on your determination to reach one more time. “It always seems impossible, as Nelson Mandela pointed out, “until it’s done.“

Organizations look for people who get things done and make a difference. Ask yourself, “What can I do today with what I learned yesterday?” Then, do it! The more things you do, the more successful you will be. As George C. Marshall said, “When a thing is done, it's done. Don't look back. Look forward to your next objective.”

                        Three Point Success Summary

SUCCESS THOUGHT: What you learn from education (first- or second-hand) won’t make you successful, but when you use what you learn you take steps toward your goals. Dutch post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh remarked, “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” All great accomplishments are born of small actions.

SUCCESS QUOTE: “Let everything you do be done as if it makes a difference.” —William James

SUCCESS ACTION: Pick an idea you have and start using it.

Note: You may wish to view one or more of the other 87 postings. Go to: www.thehawgblawg.blogspot.com

Popular previous article titles include:
• Three Pictures, Ten Dollars
• See the End of the Day in the Start of the Day
• Sometimes the Story is not About You
• Don’t Fear Tomorrow. Be Fearful that You will Miss Today
• Learn to Become Better at the Art of Living
• A Short Pencil is Better Than a Long Memory
• Fingerprints, Snowflakes and You
• Be a Difference Maker
• They Just Aren’t Here Anymore
• Four Lessons Learned From Buying the Second Best Bicycle
• The Power of Values
• Treasure before Trash
• There Never Was and Never Will Be A Free Lunch
• Be Your Own Hero
• The Magic Starts with the Dream. Therefore, Don’t Kill the Dream
• Why is it Difficult to Say, “Thank You?”
• Success Lies In Seeing the Unseen
• The Red Walking Socks
• Awareness Rocks
• We Like Talkers, but Employers Prefer Doers

Comments are welcomed: wn-tampa@att.net

You Have Defined Success For You. What Now? #87

This blog isn’t about defining success, we’ve written about that before. In a previous posting, I stated that before achieving success, you must know what success is—for you. You are the only person that can define your success. Someone has said, if you can’t define success, how will you know when you achieve it? Therefore, I assume that you have a definition of personal success—what you want to achieve.

This blog deals with what happens once your definition of success is on paper.

To start, you should list all the positive things the success journey provides you. The list should flow from the confidence that your goal is important. In working to achieve your goal, you know you are investing in a personal high priority. 

An additional positive benefit is, of all the goals you could choose, this goal is the goal for you (it matches your interests, talents, skills, etc). To achieve this goal, you will need to focus your activity on accomplishing the goal and not dilute you effort on secondary activities.

A key activity to achieving your goal is to have or develop a positive attitude.

People traveling their road of choice to success know that a positive attitude is the prelude to reaching their destination. Successful people know a passive attitude built on wishing, wanting, or hoping will not provide the infrastructure for achieving personal goals. Ancient Chinese teacher and philosopher Confucius, wisely stated, “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential…these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.”

People with positive attitudes view themselves as a work in progress. They continually look for activities that bring them closer to their goal; and avoid actions that impede their goal achieving. Every single activity you engage in either brings you closer to or moves you further from your goal. Therefore, evaluate all possibilities and spend time on what matters most.

People with positive attitudes focus on what they want and not what they don’t want. They see the preverbal glass as half-full; if not, full and overflowing? They believe things are good and will get even better. Each time they score, they are juiced to go for another score.

People with a positive attitude bring their “A” game all the time, every time. In any task they undertake, people with a positive attitude do the best they are capable of doing. They aren’t concerned with being great but focus on being the best they can be (“best” being defined as what you believe you can do plus some stretch for the capacity you don’t realize you have).

The result of a positive attitude is knowing that you gave your best. Former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden said it this way, “You experience success when you have the peace of mind that comes from know you have done the best of which you are capable

People with a positive attitude constantly look for ways to improve. Perhaps the most obvious sign of a person with a positive attitude is their enthusiasm for learning. Learning leads to improvement and one of the best ways to learn is to read and learn from the leading experts and authorities in your field of interest. Personal education is not complete with the last formal education class.

In addition to having a positive attitude (will, desire and urge to succeed), I believe the best way to find personal success is to actually look for it. View your strengths, weaknesses, and interest from your goal perspective. Ask yourself: “Do I have or, can I acquire the needed skills or attitude for reaching my goal? Do I have the will, desire and urge to achieve the ultimate outcome? In his book, The Master Key to Riches, Napoleon Hill writes, “The only thing over which you have complete control is your mental attitude.” A positive attitude is necessary to success and you have complete control of your attitude.

Two action steps that help develop a positive attitude: First, accept responsibility for your own success. In doing this, you demonstrate a level of personal accountability and enthusiasm. It shows that you have a winner’s attitude and not a victim mentality. When you accept responsibility you make a statement: “I am a performer!”

Second, accept that you are responsible for your own continuous learning: updating knowledge, skills and improving on personal strengths. By doing this, you will boost our level of performance to a new level and then keep it there.

Being responsible for your own success and your own continuous learning tells everyone that you expect to be successful. Perhaps Brian Tracy was thinking of this when he wrote, “Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the high road to pride, self-esteem and personal satisfaction.

Three Point Success Summary

SUCCESS THOUGHT: People with a positive attitude have a life-long self-improvement plan that enables them to think beyond the crisis of the day. Their plans emphasize the reading and studying of the writing of experts in their field of interest. Then, they quickly make application of the principles that caused these writers to be successful.

SUCCESS QUOTE: “Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.” Napoleon Hill

SUCCESS ACTION: Commit to a life-time of learning and having a positive attitude.