It’s a wonderful book for people who tell stories. The main kind of story that Grady Jim focuses on is the Hero’s Journey. In my opinion, this type of story is the most important and common story that we have as humans. We see this story everywhere.
In the hero’s journey, we see a person who leaves his or her normal situation, faces a challenge, and then returns a new person to be welcomed back to their world and people. We even see this story in the recent loss of Michael Jackson. Love him or not, he had and created many stories and journeys. And, these stories appealed to many people. People were drawn to more than just his music, they were drawn to the story of a young boy who left the ordinary world of youth and went off to conquer the entertainment industry. And, did.
Whether it be books, television, the newspaper, the radio, your story telling aunt, or your own observations each day, there are stories that surround you daily. They are the way that we communicate — the way that we define ourselves. They are an intimate part of society, of our humanity, and what makes us human.
Pay attention to your stories and the stories that support you.
Okay, I love science and research. It has its time and place. But, this example is both fascinating, wierd and yet very entertaining.
Scientists stumbled across an interesting scientific question on YouTube and then they proceeded to study it on Youtube. This is not a joke and has provided some very interesting results, but like I said, at the same time it is very entertaining.
Watch the video and then follow the link below to discover what the scientists found.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, can benefit from watching this video. If you are in leadership (and everyone is — executive, parent, coach, teacher, manager, student, everyone) then you should be able to pick out a “truth” in this video that will apply to you.
Coach Carroll is interviewed by CBSNewsOnline and I think they capture the essence of him very well. Pete Carroll is making a difference with philosophies that can be used in more than just the sports arena.
Watch it and then let me know what was the truth that you uncovered.
My wife and I went to dinner with friends a couple of days ago. This couple is in their 70’s and are just incredible. Why? They have done a ton of things in their lives and continue to do so. The fellow has been an investment banker, a minister, a president of a number of companies, a writer, a mediator, a university faculty member, as well as a myriad of other things that I’ve forgotten. And, of course, he has also carried on his roles as son, husband, father, volunteer, leader, etc. etc.
So, why am I so drawn to this fellow? Because he is basically a Renaissance Man. He has skills, talents and experiences in so many different areas. And, that is the kind of person who I find very interesting. Is that because I aspire to be the same? Maybe. But, most importantly it is because wide knowledge and the “big picture” are things that I’m innately wired for. And, I know this because I’ve done the inventory.
As I promote in my work, it is so important to take inventory of yourself and your leadership, your talents, your strengths. With this knowledge (which very few people actually take the time to do), you will increase your ability to perform at a simply world class level.
So, if you had to fill in the blanks, what would you put in?
I am The __________ [Man / Woman / Guy / Girl / Person]
I was involved in supporting people this weekend who were walking 60 km (36 miles) to raise money for a charity. There were hundreds of people and we (my 3 boys and I) were moving around the route with them cheering them on and playing upbeat music for them as they passed. It was a great experience for me and for my boys. And, apparently from the feedback that we got, the participants really loved it as well.
Now I knew that what we were going to do was going to be a good thing but I never thought about why it affected them so positively until now. I think the reason that they responded to our cheering and more importantly the music was for a few reasons. First, the music that we played during the route was upbeat, positive and encouraging. It elicited an emotional response which was what they needed to keep going with energy and power. Another reason that they appreciate our support was that we were there for them. We tried to support them individually so that they knew that we understood what it was that they were going through. And, finally, the last reason was related to the music that we played for them as they went up the last hill at the end.
We played the Theme from Rocky. You know, the theme that just screams…. You Are A Champion! Nowhere in the lyrics does it say that but that’s what everyone associates with it. It makes everyone feel like they are the hero. And, you know what, they were. On that day, at that hour, they were the heroes of the day and they deserved our attention and our admiration. Many of them had probably not ever been the hero of their story before.
I do hope that they all are the heroes of the story again soon. These people who came in all shapes and sizes really did an amazing thing by raising 2.1 million dollars, and most importantly by achieving a Personal Victory!
I came across a reference to Temporal Delay today and with the Star Trek movie out, one might assume that it had something to do with that… but the truth is that it is related to procrastination, perhaps more of an inner wars kind of thing. The article talked about one of the motivators for us to procrastinate… when a project’s due date is far off we have no real desire to get it done. Once it gets closer and closer, then we are more motivated by immediate gratification to get it done. This, in a nut shell, is the phenomenon of temporal delay.
What’s interesting is that we seem to be wired this way from an evolutionary standpoint. Our ancestors needed to worry themselves about the immediate present to survive. This reinforced the need to procrastinate unless there was an immediate return on the effort.
So, this sounds like the perfect excuse for why we need to procrastinate. It’s not. But, I believe it helps us understand procrastination and how we can manage it. Always working in a last minute mentality can help to get things done but it can be extremely taxing to the person’s mental and physical health. The counter to that is that some people can balance the procrastination just the right amount to use it as the motivator to get things done close to the deadline. In this case, they are getting the maximum results for their effort. What’s the right thing to do?
There is no complete consensus on how to stop procrastination or even if that’s a good idea, but one strategy that can often work is to just get started. Just do something. In some cases, that can mean doing anything even if it’s not related to the project at hand. Just getting started often is enough momentum to get one moving to completion on the project.
For those of you familiar with my Performance Shift Model, you can imagine that I believe that the starting block to dealing with procrastination is to observe one’s procrastination. That is the starting block. It will allow you to understand your motivations and give you clues as to how to manage them. However you deal with your procrastination, I hope that you are successful (in a timely manner).
This is a really special piece. Everyone will be able to feel a part of this video. It’s a little longer than the normal video you might watch but worth ever minute. And, there’s a great twist at the end.
Now, as much as any time before, is a time when the world needs to see and experience videos like this. Great acting, writing, great music, great story, great ending.
Kudos to the producers of this video… it has won lots of awards in the narrative short film category. So what are you waiting for…. press play!
To reinforce the importance of stories and storytelling, take a look at all of the storytellers around you.
I was at a block buster movie recently (another example of a story in our modern world) and it was packed. Everyone wanted to experience the latest story. This got me thinking. I am not so different from the next guy and I know that I would love to write the next great epic movie or book. The commonality of this desire was born out when I met with a colleague recently and he said that one of his dreams would be to finish the book that he already was 1/3rd of the way through writing. I don’t believe that he and I are alone. I think that many of us want to be storytellers.
Now, granted, I am a storyteller at least in my keynote programs and training sessions. But, I would still like to be able to write fiction and tell the next great tale. And, as I mentioned in a previous post, there seems to be an evolutionary reason for this.
I would like to propose the following premise: We are allstorytellers.
So, here are 2 great questions:
What story is your life telling?
and
What story is your business, company or organization telling?
In both cases, I wish for you that your story is compelling, remarkable and fun!
Well, one of my beliefs seems to be born out in the research. It seems that people are hardwired for stories. For whatever evolutionary reason (the researchers are sure of the reason), people are predisposed to understanding and needing stories. If you think about it, it makes sense. Stories are everywhere.
Stories exist in the movies and tv that you watch, in the plays that you go to, in the music that you listen to, and in the gossip that you would never repeat to anyone else. Stories also exist in more unlikely places like the corporate world. Good corporate stories are what can make a company. They can create buy-in for the employees and they can buy-ing for the clientele.
Like I mentioned, stories are everywhere. We need stories. In the absence of stories, we’ll make them up. Look around and see all the stories that exist. What are the important stories right now… the economic crisis, a new administration in the United States, a new baby in your family, an employee leaving your company.
Perhaps the most important story for all of us is the story that we are creating… our lives – personal and professional. I believe that in many ways our lives end up being basically just a series of stories and thus we are just a collection of stories. What do you think?
I also believe that a very important role in our society is the storyteller… more on that another time…
I am always fascinated by the mind and how it works. And, I love the fact that how it works says something about us. For example, I was reading about some research that suggests that we can accept things that are labelled as fiction easier than we can those labelled as fact. As soon as something is labelled as fact, we are more critical about it.
This has been suggested as one of the reasons why narrative or storytelling is so persuasive to us as humans. We love (need) to experience stories. I love storytelling. We’re hardwired for it (that’s a post for another day) and it is so compelling to us.
One great example of storytelling or fiction and it’s persuasiveness or truth to people is the movie Sideways. In the movie, as part of the story, the main character is a wine snob who dismisses Merlot. He thinks that it is an awful style of wine. After the movie came out, Merlot sales in the States dropped even though it was a very popular wine previously. Now, that’s a wonderfully interesting story.
One thing that you will hear talked about in the human performance and success world is the importance of being in the now. Have you ever considered what now means? According to researchers, the length of time that we conceive of as being the present is 3 seconds. I find that fascinating. Yes, I know it not a big deal but it is always interesting to see how our minds work.
There are about 3 seconds around the exact moment that you are in right now that you would consider the present. Everything else is the past. And, of course, there is the future which is a topic for another day. This leads well into some other research that brain researchers are seeing around how the brain deals with thinking and memory. When you experience something or “get information in”, it goes into something that is like a staging area. It is in this area that everything is sorted and dealt with regard to whether it needs to be dealt with, filed or just tossed. It’s a bit like a spam filter. These memories get shuffled from area to area as they become part of your historical memory.
So, how is your now? How do you experience it? How much time do you spend in the now versus doing historical research in your memory vault? What is the right percentage for you?
And, perhaps most importantly, isn’t the mind, our brain and how we work just amazing!
A curious observation I made recently. As you know, I am most interested in success and what it means to us. Recently, I renewed a google alert on the word “success”. I hadn’t done this for a while and I wanted to see what I would get.
Alas, I was reminded of why I turned it off the last time that I did that. I got tons of links. Most of them were useless to my cause…. or were they.
The outcome, when I paid attention, surprised me. A good percentage of the alerts (40-50%) were articles from the sports. It is interesting and true how much the world of sport represents and reflects the larger world and the core concept of success. I’m not sure what else this tells us except that sports is a great science kit from which we can study success in the larger world.
I didn’t review all of the links. But, my guess is that success in most cases was all about winning. Now there’s a topic of discussion for another time.
Happy New Year to all. It’s time for that great renewal that the new year brings. Time for that great psychological cleansing. It’s such a great time to start renewed. I hope that you have the most wonderful and successful of years. Certainly everyone deserves it.
Here’s to another success and wonderful year — 2009.
I’ve started a tradition in asking people to write down what you are excited about, what your New Year’s Resolutions are going to be, or what you want to declare this “The Year Of…”. Please feel free to add a comment below.
Declaring this to be “The Year Of…” something is a great way to give your year a focus. Give it a try.
If you are going to write down a resolution or two, consider writing the date the you are shooting to be complete by.
And always feel free to send me an email. info <at> mindscape.ca
All the Very Best to You,
Paul
PS. Don’t forget to check back next year to see how it went. You’ll be surprised
Well, I’m back after a long self-imposed hiatus. The reason for the hiatus was to keep balanced while I worked on a variety of projects. The projects were successful but one in particular was important. I sailed across the Atlantic this past spring. Quite an adventure and I will post more on it as time goes on.
Some of you may be aware of the Slow Food Movement that started to counter the environment of Fast Food. This is just one component of a larger Slow Movement. As part of the Slow Movement, there is Slow Food, Slow Travel, Slow Design, and many other Slow Life initiatives.
Have you ever considered Slow? How could Slow be good for you? What part of your Fast Life needs an injection of Slow? These are good questions for everyone to ask themselves. These questions can open up interesting conversations and interesting opportunites.
Consider your work too. What about Slow Client Relationships? What about Slow Growth planning? What impact would it have on our business world?
If you want your kids to be more successful do you need to help them be smarter? No. Research suggests that whether your kids are smart or not, you should not focus on how smart they are but on the effort they put into their work. If you overemphasis their intellect and it’s ability to make them successful, they are more likely to be vulnerable to failure, adverse to challenge and lose interest in learning.
Certainly some positive feedback on their “smarts” is okay. But, the bulk of the feedback they receive should be around the great effort they put in and how their persistence helped them. Getting them excited about learning new things in a “play” sort of way is amazingly powerful.
This is great information for those of you who are parents but there’s more to this. You may already be thinking, “Hey, this sounds like it could apply to me too!” Yes, adults, too, often put too much emphasis on IQ and intellect. They don’t value the multiple types of intelligence there are and they don’t value the persistence of strategy and action that help to create success. If you want to reinforce one of your own behaviours, focus on when you’ve stuck to your plan and it’s paid off.
Valuable lessons, whether in school or out of school.
Research and reporting on happiness is everywhere. One article I read recently discusses the elusiveness of happiness. There was a discussion about nature versus nurture – are you born happy or can you become happy. As with many arguments, the research still suggests that you are born with a level natural happiness that you can alter throughout your life.
One interesting point which was being made was the issue of goals on one’s happiness. The argument was that people who strongly “link” their happiness with goals achieved can be quite disappointed when their goals don’t materialize. Strong “linkers” like this tend to be on average less happy because generally we have many trial attempts at success before we get it right and this just leads them to strong disappoint a lot of the time. I found this interesting because people often talk about goals when they talk about success. In my speaking programs and workshops, goals always come up as a measure of success. So, reading that goals can be a negative got my attention. The truth is that the argument makes sense. We have to have goals defined in our lives and businesses in one form or another. The problem is when we attach happiness directly and only with goals. And, of course, any discussion of happiness including “getting” more stuff or more money is absolutely not true. Much research has shown the emptiness of that argument and we know that when we stop and think about it.
So, be careful if you are obsessively focused on goals and goals alone. You might want to stop and take inventory if you are in this situation.
Finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink a while ago. It was a good read and helped to reinforce some interesting points on an interesting subject. The subject is rapid cognition. The book is all about how we can make rapid decisions that are quite accurate in certain circumstances. The book is not about intuition or making emotional split-second decisions. Although there is a place for these emotional decisions, I really enjoyed the fact that he looked at the cognitive side of split-second decision making. It’s an area that’s not really been looked at a lot and I think that is why the book has done so well.
One point that he makes in the book is that for small uncomplicated situations it can actually make sense to go through a normal decision making process. But, for complicated decisions in areas that you have a familiarity, rapid almost unconscious decisions are often the best way to go. This is a powerful rule of thumb for people to use in their day-to-day lives.
Finally, Blink also brings up an interesting side issue that he didn’t talk about in the book. Time. Or, more appropriately, wasted time. People can waste a lot of time by over-analyzing a situation, especially a complicated one. In the book, he talks about examples where people “lost” in some manner or another when they overanalyzed a situation, but he doesn’t go into the additional factors of lost time and the additional stress incurred.
I had a simple concept illuminated for me in a workshop that I attend a couple of months ago. I was listening to the moderators talking about change and how we can implement change to make it easier on teams and individuals.
What struck me as I was listening to them was the fact that there are two types of change - Change – Addition and Change – Replacement. Often we think of change as Change – Replacement. This is the kind of change that causes people to be upset and resist change. But, there is Change – Addition. This type of change is profound because when you add something to a person’s world they are more likely to accept it and be able to use it immediately. Over time the old way of doing something or the old item becomes obsolete and naturally disappears. This is especially true the more that the change makes sense and is appropriate.
For me, the moral of the story is we should try when possible to create change that is seen as an addition to what they have available to them. The degree of success is much higher and in some cases it may make more sense to have more options for a period of time.
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Posted by mindscape 
Posted by mindscape 
Stories also exist in more unlikely places like the corporate world. Good corporate stories are what can make a company. They can create buy-in for the employees and they can buy-ing for the clientele. 
