Audio Tidbits

What was your goal for the 2016 election? Has it worked out as you had hoped? Listen to consider one goal and judge for yourself.

In this edition of the Audio Tidbits Podcast, the podcasting team has assembled a little collection of insights and tips that should have a fit for most anyone. Something for everyone may be a slight exaggeration but comes pretty close. Check the episode out and see if there is something in there for you.

Greetings Earth humans. In the Big Reveal, you learned that the Great Mouse is a manifestation of our co-incursion agent’s idea of a fun game to play with the intrepid hunters. Tessa has managed to convince the hunters that she is the Great Mouse who they may capture one moon cycle if they are only persistent. We now hack into a secret meeting the intrepid hunters are having with the honchoes from the 3-letter agency responsible for the hunters’ mission and whether they will be authorized to continue the hunt. The honchoes have themselves made a discovery and have a Big reveal of their own. The futures of the intrepid hunters and their hunt for the Great Mouse are on the line. You are invited to join us as we listen in.

The Aliens Amongst Us are enjoying a relaxing train ride when the Great Mouse and the intrepid hunters interrupt their trip. Were that not unexpected enough, the Big Reveal is even more shocking. It’s not news to miss.

In little and big ways, things are changing all the time and handling the change is certainly not optional. You deal with it whether you want to or not; and how well you deal with it is at the essence of whether you succeed or fail. Recall that bear you either get or it gets you? Much of the time, that bear's name is Change.

It is probably not going to surprise you to now learn Simon also has a few little rules for dealing with change. First,

• You have to be aware of change before you can deal with change.

This surely sounds like another one of those no-brainers. If you do not know about something, you cannot deal with it; but be careful not to look at the obvious and jump to the wrong conclusion. Change is continuous and much easier to miss than you might think. Most change is not noticed, at least not while it is happening. You notice something has changed but not it is changing.

If you only become aware of change after things have changed, you are always reacting, adjusting, and trying to catch up. You cannot be proactive from a reactive position. Knowing this means you give high priority to being aware of change while things are changing. This starts by assuming change is always a here-and-now, dynamic condition. Sometimes the pace is faster and sometimes it is slower, but it never stops. If you do not know that, you have not been paying nearly enough attention. …

To move from a reactive position to a proactive position, here is Simon's next little rule.

• It takes change to deal with change.

Just as change is continuous, you must continuously change to proactively deal with it.

• If you are just the same as you have always been or are slow to change, you are already behind and falling further back.

• If you cannot see what is different about today as compared to yesterday, events are passing you by.

• If you are frustrated and confused by what is going on around you much of the time, you are likely using yesterday's map to figure out where you are today.

• If you think things are changing too fast, you are probably moving too slow.

Your old friend Simon tells this story from his youth. "The monkey bridge loomed monstrously between us and success. If perchance you do not know about monkey bridges, picture and learn."

Jim and I were twelve and had our sights on being Eagle Scouts. Back then, you could not get there without a hiking merit badge; and that only came a few miles after a mandatory twenty mile hike.

The monster hike day started early and was going well for the first five or six miles; and then came the monster hill. Twelve-year-old boys like to refer to most anything as monsters, e. g., monster sandwiches, monster hits into left field, and monster anything else meeting their varying standard for big. But the monster hill really was a monster.

Jim and I just sat there for a while, saying things like, "There's the monster hill," and "It's a monster sure enough."

This went on for a while when I asked, "How are we ever going to get all the way up that monster?"

Without a second thought and with the certainty of all twelve-year-olds, Jim said, "We are going to just do it;" and do it we did.

Things went fine for a few more miles until it started to rain. The further we hiked, the more it rained, and the more soaked we got. Even that was not all that bad until we were about half way across a field and up to our canteens in mud. Between us and the trail into the woods was a creek, nearly out of its banks and rushing south, if you know what I mean.

I asked Jim, "How do we get across this monster creek?"

His approach had not changed. "We just do it;" and do it we did.

It is no secret that stuff happens, things can go wrong, and sooner or later, you are going to find yourself up that old creek without a paddle. Plan on it, my friend. What's worse, the only way out will be up that thousand foot cliff you were prepared to jump off the top of when you took those flying lessons.

"But Simon," you say, "I cannot solve a problem I did not know about. I new there was a chance I might lose my paddle when I started up that creek; but that cliff, well, it was just suddenly there and I certainly had not planned on that. Life just moved that monster squarely into the path to my success and that is the end of that."

Life surely does have a way of biting you on the backside when you are least expecting it. Some days you get the bear and some days the bear gets you; and that cliff is definitely the bear that is getting you today. Life can undeniably be a bear now and then, a thousand foot monster standing between you and success, an obstacle so wide you cannot see its edges, so high you cannot see its top. It is totally eclipsing your future. …

Coach knows. He has been there before. You are rightfully discouraged. You are totally bummed-out and definitely not in any mood for another one of Simon's little rules; but try this one anyway. You never know. It might be just what the doctor ordered.

•You cannot come up with a creative solution until you have creatively defined the problem.

Start by asking, "If this is not an insurmountable barrier to my success, then what is it?"

The answer is it is a problem to be solved. Since a problem is the difference between how things are and how you want them to be, your challenge is defining and then reducing the difference. Your problem is not the thousand foot cliff. What is it, then?

•"I want to reach my goals."

•"I cannot paddle on up the creek since I am without a paddle."

•"There is a thousand foot cliff between me and success."

"Okay, Simon" you say, "There is my problem. I am completely stymied."

No, a good try but you do not quite get it yet. Your problem is you want to reach your goals and have not yet figured out how. You tried paddling your own canoe and it did not work out quite the way you had expected. Coach will not chastise you for not having a healthy skepticism for what might go wrong nor for not knowing what you would do if it did not work out; but you are well-served to consider Simon's little rules the next time you head up the creek.

•You want to reach your goals.

•You do not know how to get there from where you are.

•Your problem is reducing the difference between what you know and what you need to know to reach your goals.

There you go. You have one of those frustrating, nasty knowledge deficits. Your internal resources have left you a little short for the moment. What to do? Either dig around in your internal resource bank to see if you can come up with something or call someone who can give you a knowledge opportunity.

"What do you mean, call someone? Did you forget I am up a creek without a paddle? How do you expect me to call someone from here?"

Use your cellular phone. Surely you did not go up that creek by yourself without your cellular phone, did you? You said you took a chance on losing your paddle; so you did at least plan on how you would call for help if it actually happened, didn't you? You do understand it is possible to get yourself so far into the muck it would even test a success super-star to get out, don't you?

You are right. Even Simon needs to be reminded of his own little rules now and again. You can only start from where you are with what you have; and you have a serious problem to solve.

If Simon were a certified success guru instead of someo...

Intuition is an elusive phenomenon. We know it exists but find it difficult to describe or explain. We experience insight, recognition, or understanding; we know what to do or not do; we can predict outcomes and avoid dangers. But how do we know? Where did the knowledge come from? Why do we now know what we didn't know just moments ago?

That is the "Now I see," dimension of intuition but there is more. The new insight or understanding does not appear to derive from careful analysis, thoughtful contemplation, or logical deduction. Those processes are important and thoroughly embraced but intuition is of a different order of things. We know, suddenly it seems, what we didn't know and aren't sure how or why. We just know.

It is tempting to attribute the product of intuition to latent psychic ability, to an untapped sixth sense, or to offer other metaphysical etiologies. Doing so makes intuition at least mysterious and perhaps close to magical. When moved into that arena, intuition becomes an ability or "power" that defies analysis. The goal is more to enhance or increase than to understand. …

Alternatively, intuition may be understood as merely a sub-process within the broader context of thinking and understanding that leads to awareness and insight. Its distinction is neither mysterious nor magical. Rather, it is an absence of cognizance, existing outside of the Range or scope of what is known or perceived. We know but are not in touch with the process that resulted in knowing.

From this perspective, the activities and processes that lead to intuitive insight and understanding are the same as those that lead to any other knowledge and comprehension. The difference is whether we are aware of those activities and processes as they happen or can only infer their presence retrospectively. If we are aware of them in real time, we are thinking, judging, analyzing, and forming ideas and conclusions. If we are only aware of the outcome, the insight, the "sudden" knowledge, we are using our intuition.

Just as some people have more capacity for conscious, intentional thought and analysis, some people have more intuitive capacity. They process more information and analyze more complexly at a level below awareness. The point is that intuitive capacity varies from person to person and for each person under different circumstances. That notwithstanding, intuition is only a dimension of one's cognitive capacity. Being highly intuitive is, of course, desirable just as having a high capacity for logical analysis or a high capacity for inductive reasoning are desirable. Functioning at a high level within any dimension is desirable. The point to keep in mind is that one's composite capacity determines success and achievement and not any specific sub-component.

That brings us to this point. All of us have some intuitive capacity and we all make decisions and choices based on intuitive insight and understanding. Further, for most of us, our intuitive capacity is far more developed and potentially useful than we know. To the extent to which we are able to manage and exploit that intuitive capacity, we will be more effective, will make better decisions, will experience more accurate insight, will make the right choices more often, and will be more successful.

Whatever your level of intuitive capacity, use all you have, whenever you can, to whatever extent your experience tells you works for you. It's good stuff, no better and no worse than other areas of intellectual acuity.

Ivy has a well-trained dog, a well-trained dog has she. If you want to hear more about her well-trained dog, listen in with me.

Be open to ideas and suggestions from anyone.

You know a proactive leader is mentally well-organized and has a vast supply of ideas and information at his mental fingertips. Well, now just where do you think all that wisdom came from? Did he figure it all out by himself? Not on his best day, my friend.

a proactive leader is a mental sponge and he goes around soaking up ideas and suggestions everywhere, from everyone. He says, I can't use the idea I didn't hear or follow the suggestion I didn't listen to.

His special strategy here goes beyond being open and listening though. a proactive leader's secret is he learns something from every idea, every suggestion, whomever its source. He listens and then he learns. That winning combination, listen and learn, is a proactive leader's real success secret. …

Understand problems and issues from other people's points of view.

This technique goes nicely with listen and learn. Have you ever told someone about how a problem or issue looks from your point of view only to be told, I don't see it that way. Let me tell you what the real issues are here.

What is the not so subtle message to you?

You've got this all wrong. It's not that way at all. You are either stupid or out of touch with the real world. I am the source of all things right and will condescend to educate you.

You will never get that kind of demeaning approach from a proactive leader. First, such disrespect is just not a proactive leader's style. More importantly, he knows by using that approach, he loses. Just as he gets most of his ideas from others, he also gets most of his insights and new perspectives from other people. How does he do that?

He listens and learns. He takes time to understand your perspective, to get your take on things. When he walks away, he has more of what he needs to lead.

He has what he knows and now has part of what you know too. It is only a matter of time until a proactive leader becomes brilliant, one conversation at a time.

Make sure a job can be done before holding anyone responsible for it.

Now there is a no-brainer for you. Who but an idiot would hold someone responsible for a job that cannot be done?

Alas my friend, if idiots could fly, many so called leaders would have their own airports. Have you ever seen a project fail and someone reflexively gets reprimanded or fired?

Never mind the project's history of success was limited to visions in someone's mind. It happens on a grand scale and in little situations, but expecting the impossible and holding someone accountable happens often and repeatedly.

It will not happen with you when you associate with a proactive leader though. You will be expected to try, to give it your best. You will not be held responsible for its not working out though, unless he can objectively confirm it was doable.

Be clear with people about what you expect.

This starts with being clear about whether you actually expect the job to be done. You may only expect the person to give it a try, work on it if there is time, or to do as much as interest and resources allow. Alternatively, you may expect the job to be done and done on time.

Do you expect the person to work alone or to get help?

Do you expect perfection or will just getting it done suffice today?

a proactive leader knows being clear about expectations is a touchstone of great leadership. If you are on his winning team, you will always be clear about what he expects. You will never have to wonder or have doubts about that.

Take time to be sure people understand how their jobs fit in with other jobs and activities.

a proactive leader does not go overboard here,

If you let fear of consequence prevent you from following your deepest instinct, then your life will be safe, expedient and thin. Katharine Butler Hathaway

The implication here is that fear of consequence is pretty normal. so having some, or maybe even a lot, isn't that much of a big deal. The big deal is having a life that is safe, expedient, and thin.

What the problem with this actually is remains hidden. so you are simply expected to intuit it, it seems. The rub is that you have little faith in your abilities and less faith in your basic grasp or understanding of situations or circumstances. Since you don't believe that you can trust your judgment or instinct, you don't take a chance on yourself. You likewise don't have much faith in your ability to anticipate or predict the behavior of other people. Your belief is that you cannot predict if a specific action of yours will lead to good or bad outcomes. Usually, you think the likely outcome of following your judgment will be bad. You don't trust yourself and feel that any errors or mistakes you might make will likely be just another example of your screwing up. …

Given that reality, a life that is safe, expedient, and thin sounds like a reasonable alternative. There is a potential glitch in going with the safe alternative though. Brooke Foss Westcott described it this way,

Silently and imperceptibly, as we wake or sleep, we grow strong or we grow weak, and at last some crisis shows us what we have become.

Fortunately, Eleanor Roosevelt suggested another alternative that you may want to consider.

I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do, provided he keeps doing them until he gets a record of successful experiences behind him.

Sure, conquering fear sounds good in theory. but it's certainly easier said than done. As you weigh your choices, Glenn Turner's point deserves your attention,

Worrying is like a rocking chair. it gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere.

Ruth Gordon also joined the fear fighters,

Courage is like a muscle. it is strengthened by use.

and as you might have expected, the famous Anon. added a tidbit as well,

The mighty oak was once a little nut that stood its ground.

Since the Fear vs. Safe debate can't be resolved here, another thought or two will be enough for now. Haddon Robinson said,

What worries you, masters you.

and Roger Babson said,

If things go wrong, don't go with them.

There you go. Do what you need to do, when you need to do it. and while you're at it, adopt the Charlie Brown philosophy for fear management,

I've developed a new philosophy … I only dread one day at a time.

If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it.

William Arthur Ward

This isn't altogether true but is definitely a popular, self-affirming message for most people, most of the time. One can easily imagine being faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and perhaps even leaping one of those tall buildings in a single bound. but no matter how much you dream, you still aren't turning into Superman. It's also true that you may find that you have achieved things you never imagined and have become someone you didn't think it was possible for you to become, in your wildest dreams. Unfortunately, that can work in both positive and negative directions. The reality is that imagining and dreaming can lead to achievement and becoming, but only within limits. Exploring those limits is instructive.

Imagination and dreaming can assist in avoiding bad outcomes and finding oneself in undesirable circumstances.