PARABLES
The man on the roof waiting for God to save him
A man was stuck on his rooftop in a flood. He was praying to God for help. Soon a rowboat came by and the fellow shouted to the man on the roof, "Jump in, I can save you." The stranded man shouted back, "No, it's OK, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me." So the rowboat went on. Then a motorboat came by. The fellow in the motorboat shouted, "Jump in, I can save you." To this the stranded man said, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith." So the motorboat went on. Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, "Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety." To this the stranded man again replied, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith." So the helicopter reluctantly flew away. Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. He went to Heaven. He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, "I had faith in you but you didn't save me, you let me drown. I don't understand why!" To this God replied, "I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?"
The fisherman and the businessman
There was once a businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Brazilian village. As he sat, he saw a Brazilian fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore having caught quite few big fish. The businessman was impressed and asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?” The fisherman replied, “Oh, just a short while.” “Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?” The businessman was astonished. “This is enough to feed my whole family,” the fisherman said. The businessman then asked, “So, what do you do for the rest of the day?” The fisherman replied, “Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fish, then go back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I take a nap with my wife, and evening comes, I join my buddies in the village for a drink — we play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night.” The businessman offered a suggestion to the fisherman. “I am a PhD in business management. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you should spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fish as possible. When you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. Soon you will be able to afford to buy more boats, set up your own company, your own production plant for canned food and distribution network. By then, you will have moved out of this village and to Sao Paulo, where you can set up HQ to manage your other branches.” The fisherman continues, “And after that?” The businessman laughs heartily, “After that, you can live like a king in your own house, and when the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange, and you will be rich.” The fisherman asks, “And after that?” The businessman says, “After that, you can finally retire, you can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning, catch a few fish, then return home to play with kids, have a nice afternoon nap with your wife, and when evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!” The fisherman was puzzled, “Isn’t that what I am doing now?”
The blind men and the elephant
A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an elephant, had been brought to the town, but none of them were aware of its shape and form. Out of curiosity, they said: "We must inspect and know it by touch, of which we are capable". So, they sought it out, and when they found it they groped about it. In the case of the first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said "This being is like a thick snake". For another one whose hand reached its ear, it seemed like a kind of fan. As for another person, whose hand was upon its leg, said, the elephant is a pillar like a tree-trunk. The blind man who placed his hand upon its side said, "elephant is a wall". Another who felt its tail, described it as a rope. The last felt its tusk, stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth and like a spear.
MINDSETS
The eye of the hurricane
Ubuntu: I am what I am because of who we all are
One finger points outwards while three point inwards
Unconscious to conscious to unconscious (you don't know, then you know, then it becomes second nature)
A bias for insight, not hindsight or foresight
SHOW, don't tell
You can't A/B test yourself!
Listen with a capital, "L"
Lead, don't "read" - create agreements and voice your intention, don't assume you know what others are thinking or why they are doing what they are doing.
Close the gap between noticing and shifting (between expectation and inquiry, between a thought becoming a narrative, between a transient feeling becoming a legitimate truth)
Driving vs. Driven (be in the driver's seat of your own choices and know when you aren't)
QUESTIONS
Do you have the time to take time?
Where are you coming from, instead of trying to get to?
PERSPECTIVES
Watch a sunrise or sunset from the perspective of the world moving on it's axis at 1,000mph, not the sun moving.
3rd floor walking - look up at the 3rd floor level when walking outside.
Nurse your drink - coffee, tea, cocktail, beer, water. Savor each and every sip.
QUOTES
"You can't solve a problem with the same thinking that created it." --Einstein
"Verbs over nouns, actions over states, struggle over hope.” --Ta-Nehisi Coates
"Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition." --Alexander Smith
The man on the roof waiting for God to save him
A man was stuck on his rooftop in a flood. He was praying to God for help. Soon a rowboat came by and the fellow shouted to the man on the roof, "Jump in, I can save you." The stranded man shouted back, "No, it's OK, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me." So the rowboat went on. Then a motorboat came by. The fellow in the motorboat shouted, "Jump in, I can save you." To this the stranded man said, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith." So the motorboat went on. Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, "Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety." To this the stranded man again replied, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith." So the helicopter reluctantly flew away. Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. He went to Heaven. He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, "I had faith in you but you didn't save me, you let me drown. I don't understand why!" To this God replied, "I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?"
The fisherman and the businessman
There was once a businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Brazilian village. As he sat, he saw a Brazilian fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore having caught quite few big fish. The businessman was impressed and asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?” The fisherman replied, “Oh, just a short while.” “Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?” The businessman was astonished. “This is enough to feed my whole family,” the fisherman said. The businessman then asked, “So, what do you do for the rest of the day?” The fisherman replied, “Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fish, then go back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I take a nap with my wife, and evening comes, I join my buddies in the village for a drink — we play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night.” The businessman offered a suggestion to the fisherman. “I am a PhD in business management. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you should spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fish as possible. When you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. Soon you will be able to afford to buy more boats, set up your own company, your own production plant for canned food and distribution network. By then, you will have moved out of this village and to Sao Paulo, where you can set up HQ to manage your other branches.” The fisherman continues, “And after that?” The businessman laughs heartily, “After that, you can live like a king in your own house, and when the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange, and you will be rich.” The fisherman asks, “And after that?” The businessman says, “After that, you can finally retire, you can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning, catch a few fish, then return home to play with kids, have a nice afternoon nap with your wife, and when evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!” The fisherman was puzzled, “Isn’t that what I am doing now?”
The blind men and the elephant
A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an elephant, had been brought to the town, but none of them were aware of its shape and form. Out of curiosity, they said: "We must inspect and know it by touch, of which we are capable". So, they sought it out, and when they found it they groped about it. In the case of the first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said "This being is like a thick snake". For another one whose hand reached its ear, it seemed like a kind of fan. As for another person, whose hand was upon its leg, said, the elephant is a pillar like a tree-trunk. The blind man who placed his hand upon its side said, "elephant is a wall". Another who felt its tail, described it as a rope. The last felt its tusk, stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth and like a spear.
MINDSETS
The eye of the hurricane
Ubuntu: I am what I am because of who we all are
One finger points outwards while three point inwards
Unconscious to conscious to unconscious (you don't know, then you know, then it becomes second nature)
A bias for insight, not hindsight or foresight
SHOW, don't tell
You can't A/B test yourself!
Listen with a capital, "L"
Lead, don't "read" - create agreements and voice your intention, don't assume you know what others are thinking or why they are doing what they are doing.
Close the gap between noticing and shifting (between expectation and inquiry, between a thought becoming a narrative, between a transient feeling becoming a legitimate truth)
Driving vs. Driven (be in the driver's seat of your own choices and know when you aren't)
QUESTIONS
Do you have the time to take time?
Where are you coming from, instead of trying to get to?
PERSPECTIVES
Watch a sunrise or sunset from the perspective of the world moving on it's axis at 1,000mph, not the sun moving.
3rd floor walking - look up at the 3rd floor level when walking outside.
Nurse your drink - coffee, tea, cocktail, beer, water. Savor each and every sip.
QUOTES
"You can't solve a problem with the same thinking that created it." --Einstein
"Verbs over nouns, actions over states, struggle over hope.” --Ta-Nehisi Coates
"Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition." --Alexander Smith