When precisely do we learn? Is it an after the fact process? Can we learn before the mistake by learning from someone elses?
If the answer is no - then it means we have to make our own mistakes to learn.
If the answer is yes - we then don't need to make any mistakes to learn - we just have to observe the mistakes of others.
The truth is they are both not that simple. You can learn from both. The question really is why don't we learn from our mistakes or from others.
I suppose if we're the ones making the mistake we are so busy trying to forget the mistake ever happened or we are trying to hide the mistake that we don't look for the lesson. And if we are hiding the mistake then how is anyone going to observe and learn?
So to avoid any confusion - make your own mistakes and make them publically and make sure the lesson is public too.
That way - you'll learn and teach at the same time.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
New Perspectives
How much better the view looks through an open door than a dirty window.
Decisions about our future, our past, what we feel and how we act and behave?
Brighter colours
Sharper image
No distortions
Fresher perspective.
How does the window get dirty? It is dirty from both sides. The harder one to keep clean is the one facing the outside - that's other people dirtying the window. Even if the window is "clean" - it is still a filter of light - which alters what you see.
How many decisions are we making daily looking through the dirty window instead of opening the door to see what it really looks like outside?
Decisions about our future, our past, what we feel and how we act and behave?
Open the door and connect directly.
Friday, February 20, 2009
PAR Excellence
I love the game of golf.
It is a tireless pursuit to better yourself - one stroke at a time.
There is a term in golf called par - or in other words the standard. I use the word par as an acronym and mantra for my life.
I want my life to be lived PAR Excellence! The standard is excellence - not perfection.
PAR I break down further to represent a method of living:
Plan
Act
Review
This is how every golf game is played - one shot at a time. As should our lives be lived one day at a time. First you PLAN your shot given your course, the lay of the ball, the conditions, the current score and your desired result. Then you ACT. You simply get out of your own way and play the ball. Lastly, once you've acted you REVIEW. Where did I end up? Is it where I wanted to? What's my next move? And the process starts all over again.
Now the process is simple but the game isn't easy. The difficulty usually comes in the ACT, which I further breakdown to:
Action
Creativity
Transformation
You must do. If you don't do you'll have nothing to review. Your ACTION must be different and CREATIVE and must have the intention of TRANSFORMATION. This space between Plan and Review is where the new world is created.
If you follow this simple process daily - you can drill up or drill down depending on your approach - you could PAR every task, or spread it through the day - Plan in the morning, Act during the day, Review at night. Or spread it through the week Plan on a Sunday, Act during the week, Review again on a Sunday. I recommend all of the above.
Success in golf and life comes from the discipline in practising the method. And then going out onto the course and having fun with it.
Excellent!
It is a tireless pursuit to better yourself - one stroke at a time.
There is a term in golf called par - or in other words the standard. I use the word par as an acronym and mantra for my life.
I want my life to be lived PAR Excellence! The standard is excellence - not perfection.
PAR I break down further to represent a method of living:
Plan
Act
Review
This is how every golf game is played - one shot at a time. As should our lives be lived one day at a time. First you PLAN your shot given your course, the lay of the ball, the conditions, the current score and your desired result. Then you ACT. You simply get out of your own way and play the ball. Lastly, once you've acted you REVIEW. Where did I end up? Is it where I wanted to? What's my next move? And the process starts all over again.
Now the process is simple but the game isn't easy. The difficulty usually comes in the ACT, which I further breakdown to:
Action
Creativity
Transformation
You must do. If you don't do you'll have nothing to review. Your ACTION must be different and CREATIVE and must have the intention of TRANSFORMATION. This space between Plan and Review is where the new world is created.
If you follow this simple process daily - you can drill up or drill down depending on your approach - you could PAR every task, or spread it through the day - Plan in the morning, Act during the day, Review at night. Or spread it through the week Plan on a Sunday, Act during the week, Review again on a Sunday. I recommend all of the above.
Success in golf and life comes from the discipline in practising the method. And then going out onto the course and having fun with it.
Excellent!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Slay the Dragon
I love Shrek. Not your typical knight in shining armour on the outside, but on the inside he had the right stuff. All he knew was that he had a job to do - go and get the Princess.
The difficulty in all fairy tale quests usually involves a dragon guarding something. Either the dragon is stopping the hero from rescuing the Princess or he is stopping the Princess from escaping.
We all have a dragon - and our dragon is the one that has many heads. Each head represents an obstacle that we have to overcome. One head could be "fear of failure" while another could be "my parents" or "that one time this one thing happened to me at this one place and I've never gotten over it".
Our job is to slay the dragon so that we can have our fairytale ending. The ending is written. You just have to get past the dragon.
Imagine how boring a story it would be if we had Prince Charming - standing at the edge of the clearing, debating his next move. He wants to go - but he is afraid that if he slays the dragon and rescues the Princess - will his friends like her? What about her parents? What if she doesn't like the way he kisses or his cologne?
None of those thoughts entered his mind (or it never made it to the final draft). If it had - we wouldn't have any fairytales worth telling. He knew this was his dragon (obstacle/resistance), his tower (life) and his fair maiden in distress (destiny).
Be the knight in shining armour of your own life.
Slay the dragon. Free your destiny. Live happily ever after....
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Finding the Wisdom Inside You
Is wisdom something always found outside ourselves? Is it only in the hands of those older?
We were born with an inherent wisdom - but we have these "other" things that we allow to muddy our wisdom channel. We would rather borrow someone elses "wisdom" - than trust our own.
Heard of "not invented here"?
If it comes from outside then it must be better.
It is what we have done with God too. God is inside. God is manifested outside but exists on the inside. We intellectualise God - and that externalises the idea of God in religion and institutions, - as opposed to the original idea of it all being part of our make up.
Actually - God is at the core of our make up.
When will we wise up?
We were born with an inherent wisdom - but we have these "other" things that we allow to muddy our wisdom channel. We would rather borrow someone elses "wisdom" - than trust our own.
Heard of "not invented here"?
If it comes from outside then it must be better.
It is what we have done with God too. God is inside. God is manifested outside but exists on the inside. We intellectualise God - and that externalises the idea of God in religion and institutions, - as opposed to the original idea of it all being part of our make up.
Actually - God is at the core of our make up.
When will we wise up?
Monday, January 12, 2009
Pioneering Spirit
Where did our excitement for exploration go?
We subscribe to RSS feeds and have updates from FB sent our Blackberry to keep up with something we found and are comfortable with. We have PVR that allows us to set times to record our favourite programs - so now the decoder is full of programs we know we like and we don't need to bother with any of the other channels (which was one of the buying motives behind getting DSTV was the number of channels). And then we stop searching and don't find anything new ourselves.
That is until the Blackberry vibrates and a feed from a blog you were referred to tells you there is something new. Did you then discover it?
Isn't there an unmet base human need for discovery and exploration? Either in the physical or emotional/spritual realm?
What happens to us when we stop exploring?
We deplete the resources at the comfy place (because usually we consume more than we contribute) and then we stop growing and die. Anything to stop us having to move.
Discovery is more than an innovative insurance business - it is a need to be fulfilled.
What was the last thing you discovered - about your world or yourself?
What is the next?
We subscribe to RSS feeds and have updates from FB sent our Blackberry to keep up with something we found and are comfortable with. We have PVR that allows us to set times to record our favourite programs - so now the decoder is full of programs we know we like and we don't need to bother with any of the other channels (which was one of the buying motives behind getting DSTV was the number of channels). And then we stop searching and don't find anything new ourselves.
That is until the Blackberry vibrates and a feed from a blog you were referred to tells you there is something new. Did you then discover it?
Isn't there an unmet base human need for discovery and exploration? Either in the physical or emotional/spritual realm?
What happens to us when we stop exploring?
We deplete the resources at the comfy place (because usually we consume more than we contribute) and then we stop growing and die. Anything to stop us having to move.
Discovery is more than an innovative insurance business - it is a need to be fulfilled.
What was the last thing you discovered - about your world or yourself?
What is the next?
Thursday, January 8, 2009
A Good Day
Today was a good day. Why?
Because I said so.
It is that simple. I said so before the day started and I said so at the end of the day. I could say so because I made it so.
It wasn't easy though. I had to keep the main thing the main thing while all other things clamoured for my attention trying to steal my good day from me.
Sometimes we confuse easy and simple. The steps to making a good day are simple - but doing them isn't always easy.
But if you commit yourself to follow the simple steps and focus on the end result (making a good day) - then it does become easier to do.
I have a newsflash for you. Days by their very nature are already good - because they are filled with newness, abundant possiblity and the opportunity for creation. Then we come along to screw it up. Get your head out of the way and let the Day be.
Tomorrow is gonna be better than today was.
Cause I said so.
Because I said so.
It is that simple. I said so before the day started and I said so at the end of the day. I could say so because I made it so.
It wasn't easy though. I had to keep the main thing the main thing while all other things clamoured for my attention trying to steal my good day from me.
Sometimes we confuse easy and simple. The steps to making a good day are simple - but doing them isn't always easy.
But if you commit yourself to follow the simple steps and focus on the end result (making a good day) - then it does become easier to do.
I have a newsflash for you. Days by their very nature are already good - because they are filled with newness, abundant possiblity and the opportunity for creation. Then we come along to screw it up. Get your head out of the way and let the Day be.
Tomorrow is gonna be better than today was.
Cause I said so.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Live Out There
We sometimes forget that the world worth living is out there.
We forget that we need to step out of our heads and create this new world - it is not going to happen by merely wishing for it.
As with anything in life - it is a balance that needs to be struck - the balance between organising what you want to create in your head - and then coming out of your head and making it happen. We either get stuck in one or the other and create a "synthetic" balance. The synthetic balance is a world of excuses and justifications.
The difference I once heard between creativity and innovation is that creativity is thinking of new ways to do things but innovation is doing things in a new way.
Innovation is the manifestation of creativity.
They are part and parcel of the same process - you need 'em both to make magic.
So be innovative with your creativity.
We forget that we need to step out of our heads and create this new world - it is not going to happen by merely wishing for it.
As with anything in life - it is a balance that needs to be struck - the balance between organising what you want to create in your head - and then coming out of your head and making it happen. We either get stuck in one or the other and create a "synthetic" balance. The synthetic balance is a world of excuses and justifications.
The difference I once heard between creativity and innovation is that creativity is thinking of new ways to do things but innovation is doing things in a new way.
Innovation is the manifestation of creativity.
They are part and parcel of the same process - you need 'em both to make magic.
So be innovative with your creativity.
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