A friend sent me earlier today a link to a 1972 interview with Arthur Godfrey by Dick Cavett. There is a video embedded in the link to Cavett's recent article. There is more wisdom expressed in that video than most of us have been privy to over the last decade. The marvel of our current and available technology is that we can tune in the relevant guidance and mute the noise (if we are of a mind to). Click on the title and enjoy! Thanks Larry!
Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We . . . will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the last generation. We . . . hold the power and bear the responsibility, . . . honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope on earth . . . The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just - a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud and God must forever bless.
Abraham Lincoln Second Annual Message to Congress December 12, 1862
It would appear that once again, as Robert Frost would describe, we are at the fork in the road. In remembrance of all the valor and good that have brought us to this point in time and with God's grace for the guidance to be 'that last best hope on earth.'
I I am on my way to my Father’s house The path before me sure But you see I got lost Stumbled around Until it was my time to see My road to Damascus As plain as can be. I sought for many things Finding but despair Christ would come to me Only I didn’t see So He went on And never left me What wondrous mystery.
II Brother, sister Welcome now Would you walk with me awhile? I am on my way to my Father’s house Would you share this path Where we came to be? Travelers together You and me. Tell me your story Where are you going? Where have you been? And I’ll share mine If there is still some time Before we arrive At my Father’s house In or beyond this time.
III How is it Do you suppose? With all the people to and fro That right here and now We share this path Somehow? Truly it must be A Holy Instant For you and me. No accidents occur On the sacred path But the Master’s watch Makes perfect still Our every step. I can’t believe We hung Him on that tree That He would come And set us free With a love so pure I almost forgot I am on my way to my Father’s house Would you like to walk with me And talk about The wondrous mystery?
IV Pilgrims We stand At this fork in the road And must choose The course to go. Grassy, rocky, up, or down Leaf laden Frost would tell Obscure or clear Not marked so well. It matters not What path we take But that we go At our chosen pace Let the Spirit Decide the way For gentler purpose I do pray. Together or not As we embark From this forked place It matters not For somewhere in time Or just beyond We’ll be together again And be able to share The adventuresome tales We rode so dear. Bless you Brother Sister Peace Be still I am on my way to my Father’s house Each Holy Instant In time Eternity will tell.
V More brothers, sisters Appear to me From other paths I did not see Converged this time The moment be That we would walk together Or separately A minute or hour Or years and years Or in just a wink Don’t you see Was our Holy Instant Sure to be. Christ appeared To hold our hands But we were too blind To see The wondrous mystery. And so we left The moment missed Or perhaps just not recognized The blessing of that time And so we raced To another place To grasp again At illusions’ grin And all the while The patient Christ Waited and watched For the harvest time When he would gather us in.
VI The rock, the tree The misty rain Mountains tall At the still lake’s edge Reflected clouds Billowing up To Heaven’s call Then blazed the sky In purple crimson strokes They captured all to see And held us still ‘Til dusk When fireflies Sparkled the ground The Holy Instant All around.
Viking Partners is competing in a segment of the real estate market that economists see as crucial to determining the speed of the nation’s economic recovery. Distressed assets have caused commercial property values to plummet and forced lenders to set aside cash for loan losses, impacting bank earnings and discouraging new investment.
In February, a congressional oversight panel established to monitor the Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program warned that $1.4 trillion in commercial loans will come due by 2014.
“Nearly half are at present ‘under water’– that is, the borrower owes more than the underlying property is worth,” said the Oversight Panel’s February report. “The largest commercial real estate loan losses are projected for 2011 and beyond; losses at banks alone could range as high as $200 (billion to) $300 billion.”
From inside and outside The information flows In an ever-ending stream Unleashing, unrelenting By the grace of God, Or the machinations of man. How to discern, How to distinguish, The Divine and delusion? One brings a sense of stillness and calm With clarity of purpose and knowing next step. The other brings confusion and angst. The spirit and soul know the way to go Residing in that undefiled sacred heart Is the eternal flame of the Perfect. In stillness and quiet let it speak. Mistakes are a tribute to living life; Forgiveness is the portal back to the path. Judgment is recrimination Where no release from the mistake is possible. Any projection of judgment, internal or external Blocks true light and love And stifles life which is love in action. Stagnation is the doorway to death A sign to walk on. A vision is a divine gift of purpose A light to be followed and revered. The farmer tills the soil and plants the seed God made the seed and grows the crop. The shepherd tends and nurtures the flock God made the flock and provides its purpose. The writer tells his story through shaping of words God is the word and ordains the audience. And so it has been And so it shall be Which is why the wisdom of the ancients instruct ‘Be love, follow life, do the right thing, forgive.’ It is why the admonition, ‘Let go, let God’ The only path to peace One’s eternal being. The eternal truth inspired David to write The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death, I will fear no evil: For thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou annointest my head with oil: My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. And why Jesus taught us to pray Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power; and the glory for ever. Amen.
This week's poster child story of the intersect of corporate real estate, performance management and information systems!
The following story as posted yesterday on FierceFinance.
"Turns out JPMorgan Chase (JPM) owned an interest in a commercial lot in Atlanta--or so the city thought. Unfortunately, the lot had turned into something of a dump, where old tires and debris were piled high, prompting the city to act. Authorities issued a citation for dumping violations, which named the bank and its CEO Jamie Dimon (Jamie Dimon news).
According to the New York Post, a municipal court hearing was scheduled for earlier this month, a chance for Dimon to answer the messy site, but no one showed up. The court then issued a failure-to-appear warrant. For whatever reason, they left Dimon's name off the warrant, though a name usually does appear.
Atlanta officials stress that they never intended to have Dimon arrested. Which could prove to be really embarrassing. The bank soon retained a law firm to resolve the matter. In doing so, it argued that the bank was not the owner. City officials may not necessarily agree but they are continuing to investigate what they say is a serious health matter."
Cognos is a highly respected Business Intelligence software application owned by IBM. The following is in a promotion for an upcoming webinar I just read. I like the company and its products.
"Spreadsheet-based approaches to long-term enterprise financial planning are simply unreliable. So much time is spent debating the numbers—who's got them, and which ones are right—that by the time a strategic plan is complete, it is no longer relevant.
The IBM Cognos Strategic Finance Performance Blueprint provides a complete performance management framework that that enables planners to clearly define long-term objectives, analyze scenarios, support decision-making and measure success. All backed up with the right numbers at the right time, for increased predictability and accountability."
What is simply amazing is the the majority of mid-cap and large cap enterprises are still trying to manage their core business planning, strategy and budgeting with a conglomeration of siloed spreadsheets. Imagine for a moment if you're in my world of corporate real estate, which isn't the core business and where that business intelligence stands. Don't get me wrong. I love Excel and it has an important place in the tool box. But as the old adage goes if the only tool you have in your tool box is a hammer, then you have to treat everything as a nail.
Someone observed recently that the 'technology gap' (defined as the gap of technology readily available and that being used) has never been wider in the history of mankind. Isn't that astounding. And we wonder why things are in such a state.
"Our friend Jerry likened this to the ropes he once observed while watching a large ship being docked. It was to be tied with a rope that was very large - too big and bulky to be thrown across the expanse of water. And so, instead, a small ball of twine was tossed across the water to the dock. The twine had been spliced into a little bigger rope, which had been spiced into a little bigger rope . . . until eventually, the very large rope could be easily pulled across the expanse of water, and the ship was secured to the dock."
From Money and The Law of Attraction by Esther and Jerry Hicks
Events over the past several days, both personal and observed, reminded me of a great story recounted in Napoleon Hill’s masterpiece, Think and Grow Rich.
During the world war, a Chicago news paper published editorials in which, among other statements, Henry Ford was called “an ignorant pacifist.” Mr. Ford objected to the statements, and sued the paper for libeling him. When the suit was tried in the courts, the attorneys for the paper called Mr. Ford to the witness stand, for the purpose of proving to the jury he was ignorant. They asked Mr. Ford a great variety of questions, all of them intended to prove that while he might possess considerable specialized knowledge about manufacturing automobiles, he was, in the main, ignorant.
Mr. Ford was asked such questions as “Who was Benedict Arnold?” and “How many soldiers did the British send over to America to put down the Rebellion of 1776?” In answer to the last question, Mr. Ford replied, "I do not know the exact number of soldiers the British sent over, but I have heard that it was a considerably larger number than went back.”
Finally, Mr. Ford became tired of the line of questioning. In reply to a particularly offensive question, he leaned over, pointed his finger at the lawyer who had asked the question, and said, “If I should really want to answer the foolish question you have just asked, or any other questions you have been asking me, let me remind you that I have a row of electric push-buttons on my desk, and by pushing the right button I can summon to my aid men who can answer any question I desire concerning the business which I am devoting most of my efforts. Now, will you kindly tell me why I should clutter up my mind with general knowledge, for the purpose of being able to answer questions, when I have men around me who can supply any knowledge I require?”
The answer floored the lawyer. Every person in the courtroom realized it was the answer not of an ignorant man but of a man of education. Any person is educated who knows where to get knowledge when they need it, and how to organize that knowledge into definite plans of action. Through the assistance of his “Master Mind” group, Henry Ford had at his command all the specialized knowledge he needed to become one of the wealthiest men in America. It was not essential to have this knowledge in his own mind.
"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them. They’re quite touchy about anything like that, especially my father. They’re nice and all, — I’m not saying that — but they’re also touchy as hell. Besides, I’m not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything. I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come down here and take it easy."
How do monks who have taken a vow of silence participate in a stirring performance of the Hallelujah Chorus? Click on the title and watch and listen. Amazing!!
Something tells me this video is going to spread like wildfire.
There is a spiritual idiom that proclaims this approach to successful living, "Be the love that you are, follow life and the living, do the right thing, and forgive."
This is a dramatic and poignant illustration of that practiced lived out by an incredible young lady regarding a topic that we can all relate to and probably most have experienced.
Click on the title and check out the video (posted 11.27.09). The next time I hear myself start to say, 'What can I do?' I am going to remember Jackie Ramos!
This reporting of the decision making process announce this week provides a non-biased look at the process that took place to arrive at the decision.
For anyone who wants to rest their 'preconceived notions' and set aside their conditioned 'points of view' for long enough to ask the question, "what would I do if the decision was mine?" this is a worthwhile read.
With complex issues it's not easy to even get the questions right, much less be open to weigh the multiple and diametrically opposed opinions of the constituents and stakeholders and then decide on a course of action. Sometimes there is no good answer, only the best one you can make, see what happens tomorrow and decide again.
Click the title if you would like to read the article.
I pray for suspension of 'judgments', growth in 'discernment' and striving for higher conscious insights.
"Any prayer asked in love, or honoring love will be answered, but it will be answered through the ways of love, nurturing the real you that exists beyond the problem. Neither the universe nor its Creator have a covenant to answer the prayers of your ego, to solve its self-made problems, or to make its fictions result in happiness. Your Creator is one with reality, so how can He answer a prayer that seeks further separation from the love and reality that He is? Even if He were willing, how could He? When you pray to be strengthened in your understanding of reality and your competence with it, our every prayer will be answered and often dramatically. "God will be patient with your illusions, just as a parent is tolerant and often amused with a child's inventions. If a child is building a sand castle by the sea, his dad may take pride in the display of dexterity and imagination. Except, when the fragile creation is washed away, it would be the father's more important duty to help the child understand how it was only a passing fancy, a play experience for what is to come later. It is no difference with your Heavenly Father." "Sadly, most prayers sound something like this: 'Please Father, rescue my sand castle.' All He can say is, 'My child, you must learn the difference between sand castles and houses of mortar and wood built on a true foundation. If I rescued your sand castle, what would impel you to learn the difference."
"Each person is working on a different schedule, just as there are young and old in a society. There are those finishing projects and those just beginning. You start a project, follow it through to completion, and then start another. The fact that some people are arriving at their fulfillment ahead of you is just part of the cycle of life. The person laying the last brick in his masterpiece will surely experience pride in himself and elicit admiration from others. In the same neighborhood there may be someone else laying the first brick in his future building. He feels vulnerable and insecure as he hides his meager beginnings from public exposure. The two are no different, however, for they each have laid just one brick in an ongoing process of purposeful living."
A beautiful 2 minute video by Mac Anderson and team at Simple Truths that commemorates the beauty and uniqueness of each and everyone of us. Click on the title.
Unity, love, life, respect, honesty, justice, kindness. These are the aspects of our higher self.
This book is reminding me of the famous Vince Lombardi story when at the first spring practice on the frozen tundra of the football field in Green Bay he gathered his players around. They had won the national championship the year before. He held up a football and said, 'Gentlemen, this is a football.' John Wooden, continued to coach his championship basketball teams about how to put their socks on and lace their shoes to prevent blisters. Bear Bryant would show up in his Alabama football players dorm rooms and inquire if they had written home to their mom that week (long distance phone calls were prohibitively expensive for most in those days).
To get a better look at connecting resonances, consider a great lake, very still in the early morning. Beside it are two stones. 'Love walks by and picks up the two stones, tossing them in the water -- one into the left side of the lake and the other into the right. Although the impact of hitting cool water is exhilarating, the two stones felt momentarily lost. The perception of eddies expanding through the water was most enjoyable, albeit a lonely pursuit. Then all of a sudden, the eddies of one stone crossed paths with the eddies of the other. In a burst of joy each stone realized that the other had been found. At last, they were in communion once more, although now with greater assurance, for they knew how to know each other in spirit. With that certainty, they can never be lost again.
Click on the title above to see how the 435 House members voted. What makes this table fascinating is that in addition to the vote it lists the amount of health-care related contributions they received and the percentage of uninsured in their district.
Not really! New channel? Perhaps. Listen to the questions. The one’s ‘they’ ask. The one’s ‘you’ ask. Listen. Do the questions strive to expand consciousness, or do the questions attempt to sustain a point of view? Listen to the out loud questions. Listen to the silent unspoken questions. Take a moment to feel the emotions these questions elicit. Glenda Green in her book, Love Without End, describes our innate consciousness as ‘loving intention and innocent perception.’ Switching channels and listening. Amazing!
This Fortune article (click on the title above) points to some important information that will impact the banking environment for the next three years, the commercial real estate markets, individual and investment strategies and from focus of our company, corporate performance management with regard to their owned and lease real estate.
RelevantAssets provides analytic software to optimize the management of Fortune 500 real estate.
The only struggle in posting this was to assign the category. Financial crisis which we have followed here or inspiration. I would be interested in your comments after you watch this 25 minute video of a recent talk by John Mack of Morgan Stanley at the Wharton School on leadership. He chronicles we weeks and hours of last September with detailed recounts of phone conversations with all the players.
Truly there are models of leadership out there, and this is one.
Click on the title to watch and please share your comments.
The article link (click on the title) appeared in the Nashville newspaper today about looking for $1B in budget cuts.
How much waste do you suppose exists in the owned and leased real estate portion that no one even knows how to look for or has the tools to find it if they get the questions right? Now multiply this times 50 states. And oh, what about the four our five top municipalities in each of those states. I almost forgot about the federal agencies where the administration announced earlier this year they had identified over $40B in waste in the executive branch alone. Was it Barry Goldwater who once retorted, “A million dollars here and a million dollars there and after awhile we’re talking about real money.”?
Seth Godin made a comment in his book, Tribes, that made a powerful impact to me. He said, “This is not about opportunity, it’s about obligation.”
“You cannot continuously improve interdependent systems and processes until you progressively perfect interdependent, interpersonal relationships.” Stephen Covey
Following is the text of Kenneth Lewis’ letter to employees announcing his retirement plans as chief executive of Bank of America.
To my teammates:
As some of you may know, I always end my summer in the mountains, giving me time to reflect on the bank’s challenges and our strategies to meet them. I have always returned to the company in the fall energized and ready to get to work with all of you to meet those challenges and pursue our goals.
This year, though, has been different. This year, I returned with a strong belief that the major strategic challenges of my tenure as CEO have been met. We have built leading market positions in every major product category in our industry. We have come through the worst economic downturn in 80 years with all the tools, assets and talent we need to succeed and win. We have taken the most important steps to reduce and remove the need for government support of our company.
The next great set of challenges for our company — executing across our businesses to achieve our potential, and imagining how our company must continue to evolve to meet the changing demands of the global marketplace — are for our next chief executive officer, and for our Executive Management Team, which I know is capable of rising to any challenge. I now have a strong sense that the work that has consumed me for the past eight years is largely finished, and that it is time for a new leader to take on new challenges with all of you.
For these reasons, I informed the board today of my intention to retire at the end of the year. I am comfortable with this decision, not only personally, but also as someone who is greatly invested in Bank of America. Our board of directors and our senior management include more talent, and more diversity of talent, than at any time in this company’s history. They begin the next chapter in our company’s history with a franchise unique in the world: a bank with primacy in U.S. retail and commercial banking, global wealth management and corporate and investment banking.
I have spent a lot of time this year meeting with our customers, investors and associates around the country and around the world. They understand what we have built and what we can offer them, and their excitement about the future of this bank is contagious.
I am gratified that even some of the critics of our acquisition of Merrill Lynch have come to acknowledge how well the deal is working out for our clients, and the great potential this combination holds for our shareholders over the long-run. Looking at the range of clients covered by our financial advisors and the strong position our traders and investment bankers have in the most important markets around the world, it has become hard to imagine Bank of America without Merrill Lynch.
Certainly, this journey has been a rocky one, and not for the faint of heart, but perseverance is paying off. There is no question in my mind that our success in these businesses will continue and grow over time.
None of this is to say that our bank does not face challenges. A near double-digit unemployment rate is bad medicine for a bank that serves consumers, and I am disappointed in how we managed credit risk. The next two quarters will be difficult.
I can assure you, though, that we have devoted the resources necessary to managing credit better. We have access to credit markets on terms that reflect our strength and stability. And when the economy does return to something approaching normal, our consumer bank — with preeminent positions in deposits, homes loans and card services — will lead the industry and will be an earnings machine.
Some will suggest that I am leaving under pressure or because of questions regarding the Merrill deal. I will simply say that this was my decision, and mine alone.
Most important to me is this: I will leave knowing that almost anywhere I go in this country, I’ll be able to walk into a Bank of America banking center and receive a warm greeting. I will be able to travel the world, and visit towers full of bright, energetic associates creating financial solutions for companies of every size and shape. Everywhere I go, I will know and see that the company I had the privilege to serve for 40 years is in good hands.
When I joined this company fresh out of college in 1969, I had several offers from other very strong companies, some offering markedly better terms. I chose this company because of the culture and the people I found here. It was a group of people who believed that with trust and teamwork, anything is possible. It was a culture that rewarded hard work and enthusiasm, that allowed and encouraged people to do the right thing, that demanded leadership from its associates, and settled for nothing short of winning.
We remain that company today, because of all of you. Thank you for allowing me to lead the greatest financial services company in the world. Thank you for understanding that our customers come first, and that all our future success flows from them. Thank you for all the support you’ve given me over the years. I’m very grateful. Ken
Breakingviews takes a look at the sort of fees that private equity companies charge their portfolio companies and reveals "just how adept the industry is at fortifying its own pockets with a laundry list of fees. Buyout barons win every time."
Specifically, it takes a look at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts' and Goldman Sachs' deal for Dollar General. When the deal closed, both firms took $75 million payments as "success fees." Over the next two years, they took $13 million in "monitoring fees." They will pay another $64 million in a kind of "termination fee" after the upcoming IPO. This comes on top of the standard management fee and 20 percent cut of profits. Most of this benefits limited partners. It can indeed be a profitable business, in good times and bad.
Every being in the universe is an expression of the Tao. It springs into existence, unconscious, perfect, free, takes on a physical body, lets circumstances complete it. That is why every being spontaneously honors the Tao.
The Tao gives birth to all beings, nourishes them, maintains them, cares for them, comforts them, protects them, takes them back to itself, creating without possessing, acting without expecting, guiding without interfering. That is why love of the Tao is in the very nature of things.
Have you thought about the commonality and dominance that projects and relationships have over the quality of our lives?
Most, if not all, of our daily activities are driven by our projects and relationships. Even on Sunday (today) projects and relationships drive the day. Many of our projects involve relationships and most of our relationships focus on a collection of projects.
There was a young man seeking to increase his understanding of life and approached a wise old Zen Master.
He inquired, ‘What do you teach?’
‘Doing,’ replied the Master.
After some time of contemplation the young man asked, ‘After your student has mastered doing, what then do you teach?’
‘Not doing,’ answered the Master.
After even more contemplation the young man inquired further, ‘So after your student has mastered doing and not doing, what then do you teach?’
With shining eyes and radiant gentleness the Zen Master said, ‘Nothing left to teach, I just say go now and enjoy the great Tao.’
A number of years ago I had the good fortune to be in the company of a true southern matriarch before she passed along. One of her recurring admonishments regarding relationship challenges was ‘treat your friends like family and your family like friends.’
Wise instruction is often difficult to grasp. It is easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of seemingly external forces and misplace a level of consciousness and intentionality about our projects and relationships.
Here’s to a heightened awareness on all our parts with best wishes for invigorating and successful projects and blessed and enlightened relationships.
We are born, grow, eat, sleep, give, receive, rest, play and after any number of the activities pass on.
Recognized or not invitation is always in play. How do you invite? How do you respond to invitations? The quality of my life and yours is wrapped in our approach to both. Yet another example of the ever-present yin and yang.
A young attractive grocery clerk at Publix asked me if she could help me with my too easy to carry bundles. I can manage quite well, but if the walk would be good for you, it would be good for me. A conversation that would not have otherwise occurred did. Has it been a busy morning? Really, all the football party prep (it was Saturday morning). Are you a fan? Yea!!! What team? Razorbacks!!!! Are you from Arkansas? Yes! We are opening my trunk and putting in the bundles. I am a Longhorn. Eye contact, dramatic pause and a twinkle in the eye. Oh! No! and you seemed like such a nice guy. Good luck with the Bulldogs this evening. We grinned and headed to the next thing.
Everything we do is an invitation or response. Some are small and quaint. But they are all vital!
How's the quality of your invitations? How's the quality of your RSVPs? How's your exuberance?
"As a private capital investor I have come to the conclusion that there are nine areas that companies should focus their attention on, while raising capital to grow their business. Being clear, crisp and compelling by explaining the business in the following areas will help you beat the odds on securing investment capital. Anyone can develop a company, but Investors want to see that you have developed your company into a thriving and sustaining business. Remember there is plenty of competition for “your” capital and the companies that demonstrate the best chance for significant growth will win the investment."
Alan Urech provides some excellent insights in this post on the Stoney River Capital Partners website at www.stoneyrivercapital.com
My boyhood dream was to acquire a big motorcycle and become a Knight of the open highway.
But getting a license to drive a bike was a completely different story! I had to learn the rules of the road by heart and practice driving so I could pass safely between strategically placed pylons without touching them. I had to learn to maneuver through crowded city streets, never forgetting to signal my intentions to other drivers...
It was a long and arduous process. But my driving instructor was philosophical about it.
I remember one particularly difficult lesson. I had taken a fall and simply could not steer the bike around a curve between the obstacles. I got upset and started to doubt I could ever succeed. "It's no good, I'll never be pass the test!" I cried.
"Calm down," my instructor said. "You may not know it, but you're making good progress every day."
I'd been a teacher myself, so I knew about the platitudes teachers use to encourage their students. Which is why I didn't believe a word he said.
"It'll take more than a cliché to convince me of that," I said.
"Tonight when you go home," he replied, "put a lentil seed in some moist cotton. Then, every day, watch it grow for half an hour. Come back and tell me what you see."
Naturally I didn't see anything. I played the game for three days, then gave up.
But finally, two months after I started and with much effort and concentration, I obtained my license to drive a bike.
On the day I took my exam my lentil seed sprouted. A tiny green shoot had pierced through the cotton. In a flash I understood the meaning of what my instructor had said. It's impossible to make a seed grow. It has to stay underground until the moment it is ready to break through into the open air. Even if the seed were in a hurry to grow, it could not have speeded up the process. Sometimes it takes time and quiet for things to sprout in us, and come to fruition.
Although undetectable, new seeds are always present, making slow but steady progress inside us, preparing to burst forth and bloom at the right time.
The Philippines government reasoned that no matter what the world is doing one may gain enormously by doing the opposite – paradoxical thinking. Opposites are everywhere. Yet we hardly stop to think about these omnipresent opposites. Because opposites are in the background we do not see them. To be creative, we have to pull opposites out of the background and put them in the foreground where they will be clearly visible. It is said that a fish does not know that water exists – because the fish takes water for granted.
We are like fish – we see so many opposites that we take them for granted and do not notice them anymore. If we notice and handle opposites imaginatively we could all become creative.
Let us look at some commonplace 'opposites'. Is a straight line the opposite of a curve? “Of course,” one may say. Yet a scientist will tell you that a curve is but an infinite number of straight lines. Is a square the opposite of a circle?
“Obviously,” is the answer. Yet it can be proved that both are polygons. If you keep adding sides to a square it turns it into a hexagon, an octagon and so on. The more sides you add the more it comes to resemble a circle!
The two opposite things are deep down the same thing. Can we learn paradoxical thinking? Of course, we can. Here is how.
Click on the link and let your insight and creativity soar!!!
While you are watching and listening, here are a few questions to ponder.
How alive is your imagination?
How inspired is your motivation?
What song waits for you to sing?
Why are you here?
Where is your destiny?
Who yearns for your particular call?
When will you emerge?
How will you debut your gift?
Can you, will you?
Only the answer to the last question is absolute. You can and You will! All the rest are the gifts of free will, now or beyond this time. Blessings be on all your comings and goings.
The impacts of real estate on the economy and particularly the banks is still in for some rocky roads as this report indicates. The fact that an issue does not dominate the headlines doesn't mean that it no longer a critical issue.
ASHEVILLE — Joe Lilly had a serious case of the blues. In February, the Weaverville resident lost his job as a private chef. Then he and his wife separated. He lost his health insurance and 401(k) and had to put his house up for sale.
“I was really depressed,” Lilly said. “It was a bad time.”
So he decided to clear his mind on a bike ride. A long bike ride.
“I thought, ‘How many 47-year-olds get a clean slate and a new canvas to rewrite their life however they want it to be?'” Lilly said. “That's where the bike ride came into play.”
Click on the title to read the story and see the photos.
Seth Godin writes in his blog today about a provocative question.
Are we solving the same problem?
This is the biggest disconnect I know of.
It happens all the time in B2B sales, in service marketing, in getting along with your boss and even in hiring someone.
One side thinks they have figured out a solution. They spend a long time talking about the solution, architecting it, refining it, pricing it, pitching it, delivering it. The other side ends up not liking what they get. The disconnect: the first side says, "this solution is exactly as we described it!" the other side says, "it doesn't work right."
The disconnect is caused because people focus on the solution instead of the problem you were given to solve. It's a lot easier to talk about features and hours spent and someone's resume and a lot more difficult to dig into the problem itself.
This is where the obligating question becomes so critical. "If we can deliver a dam that stops the water flow, will you be delighted?" "If I can hire someone who can answer ten calls an hour and keep customers coming back, will that work?" "If this book cover receives an award for best design, will that be a win?"
The difficult conversation about the problem is far more useful than the endless effort on solutions. The reason is that people don't tell themselves (or you) about the problem they're actually solving. Sure, they'd like an employee that does x, y or z, but you know what, they'd also like that person to be really good looking and willing to do our bidding, waiting on us hand and foot. Sure, we'd like a personal computer with a lot of computing power, but we'd also like it to be light and sexy and covetable...
The more clarity you can get about what a successful solution looks like, the more likely you will be to have a delighted customer when you're done."
Intuitively most of us know this stuff, so why do we keep plowing the same inert ground with the same worn out tools?
"Without posterity, there are no grand designs. There are no high ambitions. Politics becomes insignificant. Even words like justice lose meaning because everything gets reduced to the narrow qualities of the here and now.
If people knew that their nation, group and family were doomed to perish, they would build no lasting buildings. They would not strive to start new companies. They wouldn’t concern themselves with the preservation of the environment. They wouldn’t save or invest."
David Brooks looks at an important aspect of our higher cause in this piece in this morning's NYTimes. Click on the title to read the article. A little time each day to ponder the true value of life is a 'good thing.'
U.S. banks’ losses from commercial real estate loans continued to mount during the second quarter, threatening to delay a quick recovery to the deepest recession since World War II.
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