AWAKENING THE POWER WITHIN YOU

(Opportunities in Adversity) Self-Development and Motivation series ...  

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the conditions that surround him.  The unreasonable man adapts surrounding conditions to himself.  All progress depends on the unreasonable man."George Bernard Shaw  You don't get results by solving problems but by exploiting opportunities.  When you are looking for the shape of the future, look for and bet on the exploiters of opportunities, not the problem solvers. Opportunity seekers know the future with its changes delivers the opportunities.  Problem solvers necessarily are dealing with ‘yesterdays'. The issue with the world culture today is that we are always looking for formulas and methodologies to solve the problems of yesterdays.  In my seminars, participants never failed to ask me for ‘steps' to solve their problems, instead of looking for surrounding conditions and opportunities to create something different and dynamic.  We are so academically taught in a sequential way that we tends to live our lives in an orderly manner even to the extent of solving our problems.  Only statistics can be extrapolated but not the future.  Who has ever solved a jigsaw puzzle by first putting the pieces in a straight line?  Try doing that, and you will find it much more complex to picture the puzzle, and it takes a long time for you to try to connect the pieces.  We can solved a picture puzzle by simply putting the picture in front of you, pour out the pieces on a flat top and as you scan the pieces you can easily make the right connections, and even when you put the incorrect piece as it may look similar, you put it aside, and making the connection at a later time. 

Making the connections is more intuitive than calculated. Discoveries grow out of something that is already there. Ripe apples had always fallen to the ground but Isaac Newton saw the deeper meaning.  Despite what you have been taught, Benjamin Franklin did not ‘invent' electricity.  In fact, electricity did not begin when Benjamin Franklin flew his kite during a thunderstorm or when light bulbs were installed in houses all around the world.  The truth is that electricity has always been around because it naturally exists in the world. Lightning, for instance, is simply a flow of electrons between the ground and the clouds. When you touch something and get a shock that is really static electricity moving toward you.  Hence, electrical equipment like motors, light bulbs, and batteries isn't needed for electricity to exist. They are just creative inventions designed to harness and use electricity.  Over the centuries, there have been many discoveries made about electricity. We've all heard of famous people like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison, but there have been many other inventors throughout history that were each a part in the development of electricity. Geniuses often build on details that many people can spot but cannot connect.  Indeed, most ‘ripe fruits' or ‘electricity' can be seen by many in different fields, but only by making the proper connections can the individual ‘fruits' result in an understandable picture and begin to make sense.  The future is a collection of possibilities, directions, events, advances, surprises, and twists and turns. 

As time passes, everything finds its place and together all pieces form a new picture of the world.  In a projection of the future, we have to anticipate where the pieces will go, and the better we understand the connections, the more accurate the picture will be. Complexity is often used as an instrument of camouflage, simplifying supports transparency.  All of this is an aid to understanding the present, which is the first step to understanding the future. The directions and turns the world will take are embedded in the past and in the present.  We often recognize them retrospectively, but our purpose is to anticipate what lies ahead.  To do that successfully, we need to be much more objective and a clear eye. 

False Beliefs

 In order for us to be more objective and to have a clearer vision, we must be aware of the following false beliefs:

 ·         We must prepare in advance for everything that might happen to us.  The world we live in tells us it is wise to worry, to stress ourselves over every circumstance, and to be wary of the unexpected. The truth is, the more we prepare to be fearless, the more afraid we become.

·         To make changes in our lives, we must first secure the approval of others for our actions.  Most of us do not realize how dependent we are on the approval of others, and how we weigh our life choices on scales that not only belong to others, but that are broken as well.  I am glad that Newton, Franklin, and Edison do not need the approval of others and seeking the opportunity there is. Believing in these false beliefs discourages us from taking the appropriate action and to put factors into the proper connections.  The only purpose discouraged feelings serve is to keep your thoughts on what you cannot do.  With your attention fixed in this pattern - on what seems impossible - there is no room for discovering what is possible - for what you can do! The only thing that discouraged feelings do is to keep you busy doing nothing except feeling sorry for yourself, which is the perfect guarantee that your sorry situation will remain hopelessly the same. Whenever we suffer over what we are unable to do, our attention in these moments is riveted on our own thoughts; thoughts that are busy telling us we are somehow stuck, which are repeatedly saying "I'll never get out of this mess."; "There is no point in going any farther."; or "This is definitely a hopeless situation." The more these gloomy voices talk to us, the more discouraged we feel.  The more discouraged we feel, the more certain we are that we have no other choice but to feel that way.  The more convinced we are that we have no choice, the less choice we have. The act of identifying with this dark inner dialogue actually produces the dead-end we fear. As my mum would always remind me, "There are no real dead ends in life."  As you move forward from where you are to where you want to be, you are going to have to confront your fears.  Fear is natural.  Successful people, even geniuses, feel the fear along with the rest of us, but do not let it keep them from doing anything they want to do or have to do.  They understand that fear is something to be acknowledged, experienced, and taken along for the ride. Some people will do anything to avoid the uncomfortable feelings of fear.  If you are one of those people, you run an even bigger risk of never getting what you want in life.  Most of the good opportunities require taking a risk. Getting Rid of Fear 

Holding on to a Positive Vision - Similar to connecting the pieces of a picture puzzle, hold the positive picture in your mind.  In view of the current circumstance, what can you do to improve the situation? Looking at the adversity, how can take the opportunity to create a new product or promote a new service? Looking at all the pieces of the economy, what connection can you make to improve your business performance? Holding on to a positive picture help to disperse the fear you are imaging that is scary to you, and yet, helping you to identify new opportunities. 

Starting with the First Piece - It is easy to give up.  Giving up is the easiest way out of every problem. I was tricked into doing a bungee-jump when I was speaking in New Zealand.  As I stand at the edge of the cliff sensing the sharp edges of the sides of the rocks and looking down at the river below, it appears a very long way down.  I was scared and felt the fear.  Somehow, I mustered up courage from somewhere, and jumped.  There was a rush of adrenaline, the thrill of having survived a risk, plus the thrill of jumping through the air into the water, and sprung up mid air.  It was awesome.  If you can remember that experience or the first time you drove a car or the first time you kissed someone on a date, you have got the model for everything that happens in life.  New experiences will always feel a little scary - and they are supposed to.  That is the way it works.  But every time you face a fear and do it anyway, you build up that much more confidence in your abilities. You need to take action.  By picking up the first piece of the picture puzzle, and properly connecting each and every piece, and seeing the picture coming to light, you will definitely accumulate more courage, building up confidence, and getting more excited. Pick up the first piece and get excited! 

Connecting the Pieces - I love to start a picture puzzle from the edge of the picture and work from outside in.  It is easier and more rewarding and lesser risk of being discouraged.  If a fear is so big that it paralyzes you, scale down the amount of risk.  Take on smaller challenges and work your way up.  If you are anxious about taking on new responsibilities at work, start by asking to do parts of a project you are interested in. Master those skills you need to learn, move through your fears, and then take on bigger challenges.  All successful people I know have been willing to take a chance even though they were afraid.  Sometimes they were terrified, but they knew if they did not act, the opportunity would pass them by.  They trusted their intuition and they simply went for it.  Start seeing the bigger picture. Do not allow the small piece of the jigsaw puzzle distracts you and discourages you from the ability to achieving bigger and better tasks.  Focus on the bigger picture and be thrilled with connecting the right pieces and focusing on your big opportunities. 

Be Willing to Move to the Next Piece - Get used to the idea that there is going to be rejections along the way to be ultimately successful.  The secret of success is to not give up.  If you put an incorrect piece of a puzzle to the connection, be willing to simply move on with the next piece.  When someone says no, you say, "Next!"  When Colonel H Sanders left home with his pressure cooker and his special recipe for cooking Southern fried chicken, he took on 318 rejections before someone finally believe in his dream.  Because he rejected rejection over 300 times, there are now 11,000 KFC restaurants in 80 countries around the world.  When one person tells you ‘no', ask someone else. When one idea does not seem to work, move on to the next.  When you meet a ‘No', just say ‘Next'. 

Taking a Bigger Challenge - Always be ready to take a bigger challenge for greater opportunity in life.  Move from 150 pieces picture puzzle to 1500 pieces. What could you accomplish if you were willing to go to the extra mile, put in just al little extra effort, and provide just a little more service? Are there circumstances in your life right now where you could do more, provide better value, over-deliver, or improve on what is asked of you? Do you have the opportunity - also the personal initiative - to go the extra mile?  If you really want to excel at what you do - becoming a howling success in business or life - do more than is required, always giving something extra, something that is not expected.  A business that goes the extra mile earns the respect, loyalty, and referrals of its customers.  You don't get results by solving problems but by exploiting opportunities.  Opportunity seekers know the future with its changes delivers the opportunities.  There are opportunities in adversities.  Seize it! 

Your favorite author - Peter Ng