Well, it's been a while since I last wrote on this particular blog. The past few weeks (months) have been really exciting and I've embarked on various new personal and business projects. These have been quite time consuming but they have been most rewarding.
Recently, I purchased a book called "Rainforest Strategy" by Michael Q. Pink and I thought that in this post I'd summarise a few pages of the book for your benefit. There is also an enclosure link to his website (www.rainforeststrategy.com). As the name suggests, the book is about the rainforests with a bias toward tropical rainforests. In essence this book presents a business model based on the ecology of the world's rainforests. Tropical rainforests are the most productive and fruitful ecosystems in the world and they teach us how to "transform scarcity into abundance". If we reverse engineer the processes that they employ we will find a wealth of wisdom which allows us to move to greatness in business and, I believe, in our personal lives as well.
Tropical rainforests are different to so-called temperate rainforests. What makes them unique is their ability to produce abundance? Three things, viz. light, warmth and moisture. Let's look at each and what each translates to in terms of business and personal life.
1. Sunlight in Abundance
Tropical rainforests are positioned around the globe along the equator line. Exposure to sunlight is pretty consistent all year around and the times for sunrise and sunset hardly vary from day to day.
Light speaks of vision. What does vision do? It generates the energy that is required to break inertia and spur one (or a business) into action. Vision is what drives us into our future. It's critical to be clear on what your vision is - set time aside to review what your vision is. See it. Think it. Write it down. Talk about it. In a business context, make it an integral part of business discussion at all levels within an organisation. Of course vision changes over time and you / the business grows, so keep reviewing it and let it grow with you. Remember that there are many people / business organisations that have sight but little vision. Be strong on vision.
2. Warm Temperature
It follows that if sunlight is consistent, then there will be consistently higher temperatures and this will be so even on the shaded rainforest floor. It speaks of incubation and encouragement. Often in business, there is a macho, self-preserving culture which manifests itself in management being rather conservative and selective in the amount of "true" encouragement given to employees and to peers. (Maybe it's a fear that sub-ordinates could excel and take their jobs?). The rainforest teaches us to practice encouragement and to foster a culture of sharing of new ideas, innovations, suggestions, etc. It teaches us to nurture, protect (not in a mothering sense), offer praise, et al. Failure is treated as an opportunity for new / stimulated growth. William Arthur Ward is an inspirational writer who said the following: "Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticise me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you". At a personal level, my experience is that as I encourage others I receive the same back. It's a case of reaping what I sow. I have learnt that the word encourage literally means to fill with courage or strength of purpose. Remember the following words - affirm, listen, enquire, empathise, minimise and offset, observe, deny and correct. What does each mean to you?
3. Rain in Abundance
"Water is analogous to information/communication. Half of the rain a rainforest receives comes from outside sources like the ocean, and the other half comes from its own processes of transpiration where water evaporates from the leaves back into the air".
In a business context, this means gathering marketing intelligence, listening to internal and external stakeholders, et al. It means gathering, evaluating, and disseminating useful information. Information is quite unique in that it has the capacity to create value.
In application to our personal growth, it's about seeing the world through our eyes AND through the eyes of others. It's about learning, asking questions, reading more, listening to tapes and CD's that will help us in our vision. It's not about "navel-gazing".
Rainforests in the Amazon region have very deep roots and even in dry weather they still flourish. Why? They are able to access those deep reservoirs of water and in combination with abundant sunlight they prosper. Thus, in business/personal life, the power of vision combined with depth of knowledge = prosperity.
I encourage you to get the book and to learn from the rainforests. Nature has so much to teach us. Remember that know-how is essential to fulfilling your dream.
"Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed possible. This power becomes available to you just as soon as you can change your beliefs" - Maxwell Maltz
Jun 16, 2009
Feb 26, 2009
WE MANIFEST WHAT WE THINK
In recent times the media has been full of doom and gloom in its reporting of the global economic situation. From East to West and from North to South, across the globe, economies are strained. The average person has been hit in his pocket as financial markets, large corporate organisations, banking institutions, the real estate market, et al, struggle. Now the situation of threatening global recession is real; and for many people, their thinking has been impacted on negatively as they are forced to "tighten their belts" and "shore-up". Of course, it is no secret that we act out what we think and thus it follows that those with negative (I'm not going to define this at all) thoughts in these times act defensively, with fear, short of creative energy, etc.
Whether it is the economy, one's health, relationships, career or any other area of one's life, to think negatively (in the face of challenge) will lead to negative behaviour and this yields less than optimum results.
Another reality is that "we live in a thought world, which is part of a thought universe" (WD Wattles - The Science of Getting Rich"). Also, the way one does things is directly proportional to the way one thinks about things. For us to get the results that we want, in the face of what may seem to be insurmountable obstacles, requires us to act in a certain way and that in turn requires us to think in that certain way. Regardless of appearance of circumstances, one has to think the result that one desires and hold an unwavering image of that result. To think anything else other than what one desires will diminish the manifestation of the desired result. There is volumes to be said about this truth and maybe we will return to it sometime.
Vitually all limitation is self-imposed. We each are an expression of the Creator of all things and consequently we have no limitations other than those which we accept in our minds. Despite the condition of the world that we live in, opportunity abounds and the world is still a world of abundance. Classical economics has taught us the law of scarcity and thus we think scarcity (not just financially but in most areas of our lives) the minute we experience the slightest degree of constraint. Fear and ignorance work together to rob us of seeing opportunity. The mind is like a fertile field - it will yield a crop of anything that we plant in it. Our thoughts produce tangible results and they have a significant and long term effect on our lives. What we think upon grows. Harvard psychologist, William James, said; "You are what you think think about most of the time".
If the above is true (and it is true), then it is of great importance that we learn to control our thoughts. I've borrowed some ideas from Napolean Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" as to how we could possibly learn to control our thoughts.
1. Use or Lose - simply put, practice makes perfect. Thought control is a function of intelligent practice.
2. Law of Correspondence - first the internal then the external. Watch what you think and feel and consciously make efforts to change the way you view things.
3. Law of Substitution - the only way to rid oneself of a particular thought is to replace it with another thought.
4. Law of Belief - believe without doubting is the principle. Develop positive expectancy.
5. Law of Attraction - surround yourself with positive people and avoid anything that may breed negative in your life.
6. Law of Compensation - become a giver and you will receive. Give freely, give with joy and give without expecting a return.
Remember that our thoughts are "now things". Our future is in our now. Let me conclude with these quotations:
"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are those who get up and look for the circumstances they want - and if they can't find them, they make them". - George Bernard Shaw
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" - Hebrews 11:1 (NIV Bible)
"Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt" - William Shakespeare
Whether it is the economy, one's health, relationships, career or any other area of one's life, to think negatively (in the face of challenge) will lead to negative behaviour and this yields less than optimum results.
Another reality is that "we live in a thought world, which is part of a thought universe" (WD Wattles - The Science of Getting Rich"). Also, the way one does things is directly proportional to the way one thinks about things. For us to get the results that we want, in the face of what may seem to be insurmountable obstacles, requires us to act in a certain way and that in turn requires us to think in that certain way. Regardless of appearance of circumstances, one has to think the result that one desires and hold an unwavering image of that result. To think anything else other than what one desires will diminish the manifestation of the desired result. There is volumes to be said about this truth and maybe we will return to it sometime.
Vitually all limitation is self-imposed. We each are an expression of the Creator of all things and consequently we have no limitations other than those which we accept in our minds. Despite the condition of the world that we live in, opportunity abounds and the world is still a world of abundance. Classical economics has taught us the law of scarcity and thus we think scarcity (not just financially but in most areas of our lives) the minute we experience the slightest degree of constraint. Fear and ignorance work together to rob us of seeing opportunity. The mind is like a fertile field - it will yield a crop of anything that we plant in it. Our thoughts produce tangible results and they have a significant and long term effect on our lives. What we think upon grows. Harvard psychologist, William James, said; "You are what you think think about most of the time".
If the above is true (and it is true), then it is of great importance that we learn to control our thoughts. I've borrowed some ideas from Napolean Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" as to how we could possibly learn to control our thoughts.
1. Use or Lose - simply put, practice makes perfect. Thought control is a function of intelligent practice.
2. Law of Correspondence - first the internal then the external. Watch what you think and feel and consciously make efforts to change the way you view things.
3. Law of Substitution - the only way to rid oneself of a particular thought is to replace it with another thought.
4. Law of Belief - believe without doubting is the principle. Develop positive expectancy.
5. Law of Attraction - surround yourself with positive people and avoid anything that may breed negative in your life.
6. Law of Compensation - become a giver and you will receive. Give freely, give with joy and give without expecting a return.
Remember that our thoughts are "now things". Our future is in our now. Let me conclude with these quotations:
"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are those who get up and look for the circumstances they want - and if they can't find them, they make them". - George Bernard Shaw
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" - Hebrews 11:1 (NIV Bible)
"Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt" - William Shakespeare
Jan 14, 2009
THE RICHES THAT WE SEEK
Being my first post of 2009, I thought that I'd take some time to redirect our thoughts to what each one of us has inside of us - possibly as a "launch pad" to what is possible for each of us, this year. I am convinced that for many of us, if we took our personal potential seriously (and did something with it) we would improve our lives dramatically. My view is that every person has greatness inside of them and it is our individual challenge to recognise our greatness, to allow it to emerge and then to develop it to maturity. Sadly, it is my observation that most people ignore what they have and who they are and spend a lifetime trying to emulate others or to have what others have. I believe in Creation and I believe that we each have been created with our own uniqueness.
There is a fascinating story first told by Dr. Russell H. Conwell in the late 1800's just after the American Civil War. The story (a true story), is called "Acres of Diamonds" and it tells of the struggles of a farmer who settled in Africa. In summary, the story goes like this:
"The farmer worked really hard to produce a good crop out of ground that was rocky and very difficult to work. His frustration with his lot lead him to take to heart the stories that he'd heard of men who had searched for and found diamonds in the countryside. Of course, he too wanted to be rich and in an attempt to walk away from his hardships, he sold his land cheaply and spent the rest of his life searching the continent of Africa for these much spoken about precious stones and a personal fortune. Regretably he was never to make his big discovery and on a fateful day, in absolute despair, this broken man threw himself into a river and drowned.
One day the man who had bought the farm found a large and most unusual looking stone in a stream running through the farm property. On investigation, this stone was found to be a diamond of enormous value. Further exploration uncovered diamonds all over the farm land, and later this property was to become one of the world's richest diamond mines.
Yes, of course, the previous owner had no idea of his hidden riches. He unknowingly owned acres of diamonds. He'd probably seen some of them but had never taken the time to learn what a diamond in its rough state actually looked like. I guess had he just explored his land a bit he would have uncovered his wealth."
The moral of this little story is that EACH ONE OF US IS STANDING RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS / HER OWN DIAMOND FIELD. THERE ARE ACRES OF DIAMONDS RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE.
Let me issue you with a challenge to stop and to look carefully at your circumstances, environment, personality, character, et al. Are you looking elsewhere for what you want in life? Do you think that the grass is greener on the other side? Is it possible that others are looking at where you are and saying that your lot is better than theirs? Is there "wealth" where you are?
There are opportunities all around you. Search them out. March to your own drumbeat. You have power to accomplish your dream. You have unexplored greatness and untapped potential just waiting to be discovered.
Make 2009 your year of discovery. Look deep into who you are, what you have, where you are at, before going out to explore the world for diamonds. Those diamonds that you so desperately want may well be right under your feet. There is wealth inside of you.
Let me take the opportunity to wish you a year of personal discovery that results in 2009 yielding an abundant crop for you in all areas of your life.
"The individual must control his deepest perception of himself, lest he be overwhelmed by the forces of negativism and defeat in those around him" - Napolean Hill.
There is a fascinating story first told by Dr. Russell H. Conwell in the late 1800's just after the American Civil War. The story (a true story), is called "Acres of Diamonds" and it tells of the struggles of a farmer who settled in Africa. In summary, the story goes like this:
"The farmer worked really hard to produce a good crop out of ground that was rocky and very difficult to work. His frustration with his lot lead him to take to heart the stories that he'd heard of men who had searched for and found diamonds in the countryside. Of course, he too wanted to be rich and in an attempt to walk away from his hardships, he sold his land cheaply and spent the rest of his life searching the continent of Africa for these much spoken about precious stones and a personal fortune. Regretably he was never to make his big discovery and on a fateful day, in absolute despair, this broken man threw himself into a river and drowned.
One day the man who had bought the farm found a large and most unusual looking stone in a stream running through the farm property. On investigation, this stone was found to be a diamond of enormous value. Further exploration uncovered diamonds all over the farm land, and later this property was to become one of the world's richest diamond mines.
Yes, of course, the previous owner had no idea of his hidden riches. He unknowingly owned acres of diamonds. He'd probably seen some of them but had never taken the time to learn what a diamond in its rough state actually looked like. I guess had he just explored his land a bit he would have uncovered his wealth."
The moral of this little story is that EACH ONE OF US IS STANDING RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS / HER OWN DIAMOND FIELD. THERE ARE ACRES OF DIAMONDS RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE.
Let me issue you with a challenge to stop and to look carefully at your circumstances, environment, personality, character, et al. Are you looking elsewhere for what you want in life? Do you think that the grass is greener on the other side? Is it possible that others are looking at where you are and saying that your lot is better than theirs? Is there "wealth" where you are?
There are opportunities all around you. Search them out. March to your own drumbeat. You have power to accomplish your dream. You have unexplored greatness and untapped potential just waiting to be discovered.
Make 2009 your year of discovery. Look deep into who you are, what you have, where you are at, before going out to explore the world for diamonds. Those diamonds that you so desperately want may well be right under your feet. There is wealth inside of you.
Let me take the opportunity to wish you a year of personal discovery that results in 2009 yielding an abundant crop for you in all areas of your life.
"The individual must control his deepest perception of himself, lest he be overwhelmed by the forces of negativism and defeat in those around him" - Napolean Hill.
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