WHY LEARNERS ARE HEROES

At the core of ttheMOVEMENT is the purpose to facilitate "movement" in peoples lives from where you are to where you desire to be.  Paradigm shifts and new realities learned through education are an important part of this process.  The value of learning as a transformational vehicle is underestimated. 

Robin Sharma knocks the ball out the park with his most recent blog post titled "Why Learners are Heroes".  See below:

On an airplane. Reading about psychology and education.

Came across this quote from American psychiatrist Thomas Szasz:

“Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one’s self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily; and why older persons, especially if vain or important, cannot learn at all.”

Powerful. Transformational. And that’s why I salute the brave thinkers among us.

The very act of learning something new disrupts the way you’ve always seen things-and the way you’ve always been. A fresh idea pushes you out of your comfort zone and threatens the very foundations you’ve built your view of the world on. 

That’s scary for nearly everyone. Truly frightening for the vast majority. So rather than experience any form of discomfort, most people regress – and return to their Safe Harbor of The Known. It feels better. Seems safer. But, in truth, it’s not.

The problem is that refusing to learn and grow is the beginning of the end.

Leadership-and life itself-is all about making tomorrow better than today. And stepping into your next level of excellence with every passing hour. To cling to the thoughts and ways of performing that you’ve always known is to resign yourself to being average. And mediocre. A spectator versus in the game.

Neuroscientists will tell you that a single new piece of learning actually changes the very nature of your brain. The circuitry shifts. And the wiring expands. But in order to reach these new lands, we must lose sight of the shore-even for just a little while.

And that takes guts.

And a pure bit of leadership.

Keep Leading Without A Title!

LEADING WITH TRIBES: THE MECHANICS OF CHANGE

At ttheMOVEMENT we get excited about anything to do with leadership.  Leadership facilitates organizational, institutional, cultural, personal and global change.  Change on any of those levels create a paradigm shift and a redifining of the status quo.  This is one of the "Raison D'Etre" of ttheMOVEMENT.  If there was a "Best of ttheMOVEMENT" collection of lectures, Seth Godin would certainly be included in that group.

SETH GODIN is a bestselling author, entrepreneur and agent of change.  In his TED TALKS lecture on Leading With Tribes (above), Godin presents the history of the process of change and introduces what he feels is the future of facilitating change, LEADING WITH TRIBES.  This concept is very consistent with Simon Sinek's philosophy of connecting at the belief level in his TED TALKS lecture "HOW GREAT LEADERS INSPIRE ACTION" (scroll down to January posts on ttheMOVMENT).  I have summarized Godin's lecture your reference but nothing beats hearing the info directly from the source.  Click on the video clip above and prepare to be inspired. Godin's presentation is an absolute gem.  He is quickly becoming one of my favorite sources inspiration and a mentor for cultural change.

LEADING WITH TRIBES
The process of change starts with a change in the way ideas are created, spread and implemented.  Since the industrial revolution we have seen 3 evolutions of idea creation, communication and implementation.

1. Factory - Cheaper workers & Faster Machines - "We can make it cheaper and faster than anyone else".
2. TV - Push Advertising - Average ideas to appeal to a Mass Market, with plenty of ads.  Hypnotize consumers to buy
3. Leadership - Understanding Tribes (silos of interest); leading and connecting people and ideas.  Find something worth changing then assemble tribes.  It's starts with one, but is necessary to connect with others so that the idea and tribe become bigger than ourselves.  Then it becomes a MOVEMENT.  Creating a MOVEMENT isn't for everyone, it's not a mass thing.  Movement leaders must find the true believers. 

MECHANICS FOR CREATING A MOVEMENT
Find a group that is disconnected, but already has a yearning.  No need to pursuade people to want something they don't yet have.

1. TELL A STORY to people who want to hear it.
2. CONNECT A TRIBE of people who are desperate to be connected to each other.
3. LEAD A MOVEMENT and lead change.

Important to realize that you can't do this by yourself; get others to join your climate ride.

BECOME A HERETOCH
See the status quo and want to change it, instead of seeing rules and wanting to follow. 

THINGS LEADERS HAVE IN COMMON

• Challenge the status quo
• Build new cultures
• Curiosity
• Connect people to one another
• Commit to the course

3 QUESTIONS FOR LEADERS

1. Who are you upsetting? - If you're not upseting anyone then you're not changing anything
2. Who are you connecting?
3. Who are you leading?

CHANGING EDUCATIONAL PARADIGMS

Sir Ken Robinson explains how and why public education is flawed, arguing that it is a system which fails to equip children for the present and the future, having been founded on the intellectual ideals of the Enlightenment and economic ambitions of the Industrial Revolution. He explains that these foundations alienate pupils, leaving many smart, capable kids thinking themselves stupid because public education still only values the narrowly academic. School is boring for most children, and is especially so for school children today, who are living in the most intensely stimulating period of history, besieged with information outside of school. This feeds the modern epidemic of ADHD – requiring children to be (often literally) anaesthetised through their school years. Sir Ken concludes that public education reflects our culture of institutions and its production-line mentality, which in turn inhibits our ability to be creative, to think laterally and give more than one answer to the question – and if we change our educational paradigms, our children will be better prepared for the world – and happier.  Summary Courtesy of Intelligince2 The World of Debate

POMEGRANATES AND PATIENCE

Robin Sharma's books The Leader With No Title and The Monk Who Sold His Ferari have been the source of inspiration and practical guidance for me in my journey to live my best life.  Here is a great nugget of wisdom from Robin Sharma's Blog:

Was at my parents’ home the other night. Beautiful/decent/wise people… who I deeply appreciate. Whenever I go over, the fridge always seems to contain plastic containers full of pomegranate seeds. These little treasures are super healthy, fantastically tasty and overall pleasures that elevate life. I never really thought about where they came from. Just ate them.

This morning I was saying good morning to my Mom on the phone. Got onto the topic of pomegranate seeds because I’d dropped off a brilliant device I’ve discovered for getting the seeds out of the fruit without the achingly painstakingly complex process of doing it by hand (try it once and you’ll get what I mean). Mom: “I’ll try it but your Dad takes out all those seeds for me himself every night. He knows we love them. So quietly, he does this for us.”

As I write, I reflect on my father’s patience. And on the metaphor of pomegranate seeds. Much goes through my mind as I think about this. One thing is the power of patience. In a world gone hyperSpeed, patience is a stunning success behavior. My Dad’s patience in doing something kind+thoughtful+loving for his loved ones. The patience of an entrepreneur toiling in solitude, advancing a dream that nobody gets. The patience of a teacher developing young minds amid fewer resources. The patience of a leader, building an organization that delivers awesome value for the people it’s blessed to serve.

Not sure if I’m making my point clearly. I’ll reflect on it more over the days that come. But patience truly is a virtue. Of the finest of leaders. And the very best of Dad’s.

Keep Leading Without a Title.

AN ACRE OF ATTITUDES

One of my new favorite sources of conversation is Seth Godin's Blog.  Seth Godin is the bestselling author of 12 books. He writes about marketing, the spread of ideas and managing both customers and employees with respect.

If you see your attitude as land.  What are you doing with your acres of attitude.

From Seth's Blog:

Everyone is given an acre of attitudes at birth. It's yours to tend and garden and weed and live with. You can plant bitterness or good humor. Feel free to fertilize and tend the feelings and approaches that you want to spend time with. Unless you hurt someone, this acre is all yours.

Probably worth putting up a decent fence, so that only the attitudes that you choose will have a chance to put down seeds, but it's certainly a bad idea to put up a wall, because a walled garden is no good to anyone passing by. You get to decide what comes through your fence gate, right?

Watching out for invasive species—spending sufficient time on weeding and pruning and staking seem to be incredibly powerful tools for accomplishing the life you want. I refuse to accept that an attitude is an accident of birth or an unchangeable constant. That would be truly horrible to contemplate.

Happy Valentine's Day. Good luck with your garden

MAYONNAISE JAR & TWO BEERS...

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. 

When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. 

He then asked the students if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was. 

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.
He shook the jar lightly. 

The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. 

They agreed it was. 

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar 

Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full.

The students responded with a unanimous 'yes....' 

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. 

The students laughed.. 

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. 

The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. 

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.. 

The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. 

The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. 

Spend time with your children.. 

Spend time with your parents. 

Visit with grandparents. 

Take your spouse out to dinner.

Play another 18.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. 

Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. 

Set your priorities.

The rest is just sand. 

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. 

The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' 

The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.

Thanks SL for sharing.  Keep fighting!!

MUSIC VOL. 1

If you like, understand or vibe with House music, this post is for you.

I enjoy soulful, authentic music.  I really appreciate music that connects with me at a level deeper than thought, but at an emotional level.  Music that makes you feel.  More importantly music that promotes feelings derived from love, aswell as music that puts you in touch with feelings derived from fear.  I really appreciate House music's ability to offer both to those who truly understand the vibe and appreciate the music.  We have the pleasure and honor of knowing a brilliant artist, Jojo Flores, who has become one of the worlds, top House music DJs.  Jojo's appreciation for soul music and afro tribal rythyms make him one of my favorites.  His last "Jam" in Toronto in November was "truly off the hook".  The great thing about a real House music event is the crowd.  They truly appreciate the music.  They know all the words and they are there for two reasons...the music...and to dance!  At Jojos last event we were treated to a live appearance by Julie McKnight.  The crowd went NUTS!!  Everyone dancing, singing, vibing and having an awesome time.  Check out the clip on the side.

One of the greatest House anthems is "JACK's HOUSE".  This anthem captures the essence of House music.  Here are the lyrics:

In the beginning there was Jack … and Jack had a groove

And from this groove came the grooves of all grooves.
And while one day viciously throwing down on his box,
Jack boldly declared “Let There Be House” and House music was born.
“I am you see, I am the creator and this is my house
And in my house there is only House Music.
But I am not so selfish because once you enter my house
it then becomes our house and our House Music.
And, you see, no one man owns house
because House Music is a universal language spoken and understood by all.
You see, House is a feeling that no one can understand
really unless you’re deep into the vibe of House.
House is an uncontrollable desire to Jack your body.
And as I told you before this is our House and our House Music.
And every House you understand there is a keeper.
And in this house the keeper is Jack.
Now some of you might wonder who is Jack and what is it that Jack does.
Jack is the one who gives you the power to Jack your body!
Jack is the one who gives you the power to do the snake!
Jack is the one who gives you the key to the wiggly worm!
Jack is the one who learns you how to whop your body!
Jack is the one that can bring nations and nations of all Jackers together under one house!
You may be black, you may be white, you may be Jew or Gentile.
It don’t make a difference in our house. And this is fresh!”

HOW GREAT LEADERS INSPIRE ACTION MEETS INCEPTION

I recently tapped into two great sources of leadership inspiration.

HOW GREAT LEADERS INSPIRE ACTION
The first is a lecture called "HOW GREAT LEADERS INSPIRE ACTION" by Simon Sinek.  Sinek blew my mind when he described what he calls "The Golden Circle".  He explains that in our efforts to inspire action we usually communicate on the level of WHAT and HOW.  "This is WHAT we do, and they is HOW we do it."  Sinek explains how the backwardness of this approach and how it doesn't connect with the real reasons people do what they do, or the real things that drive human behaviour.  He claims that communicating at the WHAT and HOW level connects with the outer shell of the brain, the Neocortex.  This is part of the brain drives rational and analytical thought, however it does not drive human behaviour.  Sinek goes on to say that great leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired action by connecting with people from the inside out at a deeper level of the brain at the Limbic System of the brain by communicating WHY.  WHY is the purpose, cause, belief.  Sinek states, "People don't buy WHAT you do but WHY you do it." In addition he claims that "the goal should not be to do business with those who need what you have, but rather to do business with those who believe what you believe."  The Golden Circle starts with inspiration from the inside out.  By connecting with people at the WHY level you connect with the Limbic System which controls things like trust, loyalty, long term memory and human behaviour.  The Limbic System has no capacity for language, but it is responsible for those gut decisions and those times when things seem to make sense at the Neocortex level (rational analytical thought), but "just don't feel right" and as such you don't do it.

Sinek communicates that "WHAT you do serves only as the proof of what you believe".  He uses the example of the 1963 I Have a Dream speech, by Martin Luther King Jr.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. didn't speak of "WHAT needed to change, he spoke of what he BELIEVED".  The WHY was that there are a set of laws created by a higher authority than those created by man.  He believed in those laws created by that higher authority.  Sinek claims that none of the 250,000 people at the famous March on Washington were there to see Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. but rather were there because they BELIEVED in what he BELIEVED. "People don't buy WHAT you do, but WHY you do it."

INCEPTION

Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the best there is at extraction: stealing valuable secrets inside the subconscious during the mind’s vulnerable dream state. His skill has made him a coveted player in industrial espionage but also has made him a fugitive and cost him dearly. Now he may get a second chance if he can do the impossible: inception, planting an idea rather than stealing one.

We learn throughout this 2010 Sci-Fi thriller that planting an idea is not as easy as one may think.  We learn that the brain recognizes an idea that does not belong to the host.  The brains defense mechanisms will attack an idea from an exterior source.  Thus successfull INCEPTION is based on planting the idea at a level so deep that the host believes it is their own. 

INCEPTION made me think of the Sinek's Golden Circle.  I'm fortunate to have many leadership and mentorship opportunities in my life.  I am a husband, a father, a friend, a neighnour, a coach, and employer.  Those titles (WHAT) do not facilitate inspiration.  However connecting with people at the level of common belief, purpose or cause does inspire.  WHY, HOW, WHAT work together from the inside out to inspire those around you to "buy-in", in accordance with the Laws of Diffusion of Innovation.

"People don't buy what you do but WHY you do it."

THE WORLDS GREATEST LIE

"The Alchemist is a beautiful book about magic, dreams and the treasures we seek elsewhere and then find at our doorstep."

Thank you to Paulo Coelho for his wonderful prose and infinite wisdom presented in the International Best Seller The Alchemist.  I read this book 10 years ago, but wasn't ready for the messages and wisdom it presented, so I put it down and never finished it.  Recently it seemed like The Alchemist has been calling to me from my bookshelf.  It kept catching my eye.  I finally picked it up again and after reading about 14 pages became romanced by the beautiful writing and engaged by the wisdom.  Below are some snippets that I enjoyed.  Thanks Paulo!

The Worlds Greatest Lie is this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate.  That's the world's greatest lie."

One great truth on this planet is: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the should of the universe.  It's your mission on earth.

"Why do you tend to a flock of sheep?" asked the old man.
"Because I like to travel," replied the boy.

The old man pointed to a baker standing in his shop window at one corner of the plaza.  "When he was a child, that man wanted to travel, too.  But decided first to buy his bakery and put some money aside.  When he's an old man, he's going to spend a month in Africa.  He never realized that people are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of."

"He Should have decided to become a shepherd,' the boy said.
"Well, he thought about that," the old man said.  "But bakers are more important people than shepherds.  Bakers have homes, while shepherds sleep out in the open.  Parents would rather see their children marry bakers than shepherds."
The old man continued, "In the long run, what people think about shepherds and bakers becomes more important for them than their own Personal Legends."