Have you noticed that when you are nice to service workers, they tend to be nice to you?
A few politely playful remarks – a little flirting even! – a smile and a peaceful state of mind gets me almost invariably superior service. It’s really about giving people good service, even when you’re the customer.
Archive for the 'Cool friends and ideas' Category
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After I saw video screen replacement goggles in Disneyland in 1997, I thought that having a set of glasses that you could use to watch video (or replace a laptop screen) would be a wildly cool idea! Finally MicroOptical appear to have bridged the gap between the strictly functional applications in the military and medical fields to allow we mere consumers access to this great technology…
But what is most noteable about their MyVu product, to me, is that it is beautiful… a little like Data from Star Trek Next Generation, but still stylish. Kinda reminds me of my ThinkOutside keyboard that I love so much and even my old Palm Tungsten T3. Not just functional, though eminiently so, but also beautiful!
It’s not that hard… really…
Interestingly (at least to the entrepreneur in me), the awesome company ThinkOutside was sold last month for just $2.5m
Schools are powerful drivers of our future. After growing up believing that Brisbane State High School was the ‘ultimate’ thanks to an enthusiastic mother who went through there, I’ve come to appreciate and respect the different schools that exist. In Brisbane and Sydney, the GPS system is a marker of some of the better schools, though such membership is neither necessary nor sufficient for the school to actually be ‘great’.
Fort Street High is a great school. The oldest in Australia, tracing its foundation back to 1849, it has educated some great people… yet what makes a great school?
Surely it’s not just a place where people who become great go… it must be a place that consistently lifts students more than they would have been lifted elsewhere. If so, a great school should be able to help a student stand on taller giants than they would have otherwise dared.
The school motto is not necessarily a sure indicator of the culture of the school any more than a mission statement is of a company. But I do like Faber est suae quisque fortunae… “Every man is the maker of his own fortune”
What would your motto be?
I came across a story promoting the movie of Peaceful Warrior, a movie version of Dan Millman’s book about pursuing the spiritual path. This is predicated by the notion that a spiritual or personal ‘path’ in life can be compared with a war… that we struggle to overcome our personal challenges and must discipline ourselves as a warrior would in preparing and fighting a physical enemy.
Bushido, literally the way of the warrior, was the code of honour that the samurai were bound by in the past; today, martial artists throughout the world apply this both to their own training, and through analogy to life in general.
Over brunch with an artist this morning, it occurred to me that the ‘warrior’ path and the ‘artist’ path are very similar. While overtly different, there is a great deal of overlap… the warrior must give themselves to their task, with a consciousness that this day may be his (or her) last. The artist must give themselves to their task, with a consciousness that this piece is the only thing that matters in that moment. After observing a number of parallels, I realised that the ‘warrior’ path or the ‘artist’ path is not so much about being at war or creating art…
Following your path is about being congruent.
Following your path is about focusing in the moment.
Following your path is about manifesting in the world that which you purport to value, rather than living in a state of dissonance and dischord.
Different metaphors allow us access to different insights to your path, though your path remains.
Allow me to commend to you whatever path you feel ‘turns you on’, ‘blows your hair back’ or ‘does it for you’… I believe that the Truth comes from being true to yourself; not from blindly following that which you have been given, nor from ignoring your intuition, but from being guided and noticing how you can refine your personal path in each moment.
The idea is simple: Let people download language lessons for free.
There are currently something like 30m people throughout the world learning Chinese, and one company has figured out a way to get access to some of that market… and I think that it’s awesome!
Most of us won’t pay to learn a language, but here is a way to get the basic information for free… they make money from subscribers who want to get the transcripts and additional course materials – the bits that really add value to the experience.
On top of which, it’s updated weekly, and has both enduring and time-linked stories.
Quite remarkable!
In looking at my friend Tom Peter’s website, I came across this cool way of noting and reviewing books. It’s simple. It’s elegant. It gets the message across.
Just take a photo of the spines of a couple of books – maybe that you’ve read, maybe that you just want to comment on… then make some notes over them, summarising what you think about them.
I was just rereading the course book for Train Your Brain. I wrote it a few years ago as part of the study skills courses that I was conducting at the time; there were several versions that I published between 1998 and 2001. What really struck me was how different my approach is today from when it was then.
Then, I focused on techniques. I taught students how to read faster, apply accelerated learning techniques and use mind mapping to give themselves greater access to the information that they had. Sure, learning skills techniques help students make more of themselves than they might otherwise have done; yet, to me it’s only the tip of the iceberg. The real challenge is helping people go beyond their talents to focus on realising their dreams.
This afternoon, I had the honour of spending some time with a young engineering student. We ran through some techniques and strategies – mostly aimed at helping him cram for his upcoming exams. He has talent; he is interesting and very intelligent. What made our time together so much fun for me was the way that we were able to explore how to go beyond the ordinary… not just to read faster, not just to draw a mindmap, and not just how to better answer MCQs. It’s going beyond the ordinary and helping people get access to that part of themselves that is uniquely suited and adapted to living the life and fulfilling the purpose that only they have… for me, that is where the real excitement lies.
I’m preparing for a new range of courses and products now… it’s going to be fun!
I feel somewhat swept up in a wave that I sense is coming, the wave of pop-psych and new-age and self-help that will lead to the rise in The Secret… The Channel Nine (Australian TV) sponsored entry into the personal development world. While perhaps the content is somewhat over-hyped, especially given that learning the ‘secret’ isn’t such a big deal after all (it was always there – applying the secret is the challenge), I have already gained great value from my exposure to it.
It all began when Natasha text messaged me, inviting me to a screening last Thursday. After I spoke with Nick about it over an affogato and iced chai last night, I realised that I had to find out more…
In brief, it’s a movie about profound personal development. I haven’t seen the movie (yet), though sense that it’s about how your thoughts create your reality, to maintain a sense of abundance and gratitude… looks very interesting.
I was led to review The Science of Getting Rich, and have a few provocations (PO) from there… note that the quotes are preserved as written (no gender balancing here!):
- PO “The purpose of Nature is the advancement and unfoldment of life; and every man should have all that can contribute to the power; elegance, beauty, and richness of life; to be content with less is sinful.”
- PO “The man who owns all he wants for the living of all the life he is capable of living is rich; and no man who has not plenty of money can have all he wants.”
- PO “There is abundance of opportunity for the man who will go with the tide, instead of trying to swim against it.”
- PO “Every man has the natural and inherent power to think what he wants to think, but it requires far more effort to do so than it does to think the thoughts which are suggested by appearances. To think according to appearance is easy; to think truth regardless of appearances is laborious, and requires the expenditure of more power than any other work man is called upon to perform.” [Do as thou wilt... be in the world but not of it...]
- PO The formless becomes the manifest through a thought. Thoughts can be controlled, thereby affecting the manifestations. This is axiomatic to “The Science of Getting Rich.”
- PO “Life is the performance of function; and the individual really lives only when he performs every function, physical, mental, and spiritual, of which he is capable, without excess in any.” [balance...]
- PO “You are to create, not to compete for what is already created.”
- PO “First, you believe that there is one Intelligent Substance, from which all things proceed; second, you believe that this Substance gives you everything you desire; and third, you relate yourself to it by a feeling of deep and profound gratitude.”
- Purpose + Faith – We must first form a clear image of what we want. What do you want? More than just knowing what you want, you need to cultivate the sense that what you want is your’s – a sense of faith that it is coming to you, which you must maintain as you work.
- Rather than a specific time for prayer, we must ‘pray without ceasing’… to make the object of our desire the obsessive focus of our life… without telling others, for in telling others, we bring our ego into the experience, Edging God Out, and undermine our purpose.
- Apply your will only to yourself – not to influence others.
- PO “Poverty can be done away with, not by increasing the number of well to do people who think about poverty, but by increasing the number of poor people who purpose with faith to get rich… The poor do not need charity; they need inspiration.”
- “If your heart is set on domestic happiness, remember that love flourishes best where
there is refinement, a high level of thought, and freedom from corrupting influences; and these are to be found only where riches are attained by the exercise of creative thought, without strife or rivalry.” - We must receive wealth by giving more value than that which we receive, in whatever form that gift may come.
- Fulfill your purpose in your present place – do your job today, using today as the first step to where you want to be. “Do, every day, all that you can do that day, and do each act in
an efficient manner.”
A few basic thoughts… designed as an instruction book rather than a discussion point… it cites Hegel and Emerson as Western authors, though suggesting that this stems from Hindu underpinnings. Interesting…
The Da Vinci Code was released this week. Other than giving those people who didn’t find the time to spend two hours reading, and who would instead prefer to spend the best part of three hours watch a B-grade film promoting a work of fiction based upon the delusion that it is true.
To me, it’s amazing that despite the book being overtly fictional, being sold as a work of fiction, and a series of contradictions of most of the exciting intimations in the book, people still think that it’s real. In case you missed it: The Da Vinci Code is fiction!
Yet, like so many movies, it presents some useful insights, suggestions and perhaps even the odd interesting stimulus to lead us forward. One of the movies that I found most provocative was Dogville.
Dogville is about arrogance. It is about what happens when you are able to do what you want… and whether that’s good enough. Arrogance is usually taken to focus on egocentrism and self-centredness; yet the character Grace faces the following realisation:
F: Rapist and murderers may be the victims… but I call them dogs. And if they’re lapping up their own vomit, the only way to stop them is with the lash.
G: But if they only obey their own nature why shouldn’t we forgive them?
F: Dogs can be taught many useful things but not if we forgive them every time they obey their own nature.
G: So I’m arrogant? I’m arrogant because I forgive people?
F: Can’t you see how condescending you are when you say that? You have this preconceived notion that nobody can possibly attain the same high ethical standards as you… so you exonerate them… My dear child, you forgive others with excuses that you would never in the world permit for yourself.
G: Why shouldn’t I be merciful?
F: No, no, no: You should be merciful. When there is time to be merciful. But you must maintain your own standard… You owe them that… Every human being needs to be accountable for their actions, but you don’t even give them that chance. And that is extremely arrogant.
Thought provoking… somewhat like The Fountainhead.
So many people rely upon rising real estate prices to bolster their personal wealth. While we are familiar with high-priced property, the United States is starting to see the marked drop in prices that will put real estate seminar salespeople out of business (when and if they realise that they’re not effective anymore), and more accurately establish where we are at.
I don’t know how precisely this might affect Australia… but maybe we’re going to start separating the lucky from the skilled, and start rewarding value creation rather than just letting people ride the wave.
And with Australia continuing to rely upon primary industries, what value creation can we offer to reverse this trend?
Sometimes I wonder where the boundary between spirituality and feeling good about yourself lies. When you walk into a room with loud rock music, people dancing and focusing upon feeling good about themselves, what causes the feeling?
Is it that God is touching those in the room?
Or is it that we’re doing the things that facilitate us feeling good?
If we have a ‘flow’ experience – where we lose track of time, where we’re focused on something bigger than ourself, where we are overloading our sensory capacity – is that God, or is it really merely a positive emotional experience?
When I have walked into some large Evangelical Churches this year, I’ve sensed that people in the room have thought that feeling good equated to God supporting their experiences. Maybe they’re right… Maybe God is making them or letting them feel good. Yet what if the same experience can be simulated without involving God?
Then again, if people are enjoying the experience, what does it really matter?
If personal enjoyment and popularity are the criteria for establishing whether something has God’s blessings, wouldn’t you find that sex is the best devotional activity ever? I wonder whether these same Churches would endorse such a line…
But it does matter… as someone who lives with the personal knowledge that spirituality is real, for someone to assert that just “jumping up and down and feeling good” is God is as blasphemous and even idolotrous as saying that God is a tree stump.