Destroying Illusions

Destroying Illusions

Oh my.  What have I opened? 

This idea takes some consideration, doesn’t it?  If we dare to get honest with ourselves, we have to deal with this.  Truth is truth, regardless of which side of the issue you are on. 

We love our illusions.  We love our own thoughts and ideas of how things work and how they should work.  But what if those idea are wrong?  What if the people we are following have it wrong and don’t care that they are leading us astray?

Lest you think I’m taking a political stance here, I’m not.  My intent is rather to say this: “Stop.  Take a deep breath.  Get a grip on reality and consider whether what we are following is truth, half-truth, reality or fantasy.”

Do you still believe in the magic rabbit’s foot?

Do you still search for four-leaf clovers?

Is your lucky sweater clean and still wearable?

What illusions are you holding to?

And why?

Really, really … just think about this whole concept of truth versus illusion.

This is what is

on my mind today.

It's All About People Blogsite

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement

Inspiration

Abilities and Choices

You and I have a lot of abilities.  What an understatement.  However, let’s pursue this for a moment.

Pardon this personal reference.  I have the unique ability to impress certain people with some measure of my abilities in a variety of ways.  That is a good thing mostly.  I’m all about ability and how one demonstrates one’s abilities to a given task.

On the other hand, my abilities come to the front only when I make good choices in actions, words, follow-through and a whole host of other soft skills that come into play. 

In the movie Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, we find this:

“It’s not our abilities that show 

what we truly are; it is our choices.”

I’ve written a bit about the power of “choice” in these posts.  That is still a great topic and an important topic.  Our choices live long after we have left this earth.

I think John Steinbeck gives us a clear distinction for this idea of choice.

“But the Hebrew word, 

the word ‘timshel’ – 

Thou mayest – that gives a choice.  

It might be the most important word 

in the world.  That says the way is open.  

That throws it right back on a man.  

For if ‘Thou mayest” – it is also true 

that “Thou mayest not.”

~John Steinbeck – East of Eden

You see, choices mean “yes” and sometimes choices mean “no”.

And we hold it in our hands to choose which response to offer.

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Dreams

Do you believe in dreams?  Do you sometimes engage in a full-fledge fantasy?  I hope so.  Dreams are good for you.

Let me say that again – Dreams are good for you.

Consider this:

“People think dreams aren't real just because they aren't made of matter, of particles.  Dreams are real.  But they are made of viewpoints, of images, of memories and puns and lost hopes.”

~Neil Gaiman

I am a huge believer in dreams and dreaming.  Dreams are the stuff of our futures.  Where would we be without dreams? 

We wouldn't have …

  Airplanes and spaceflight

   Medicines for cures

    Computers and iGadgets

     Sushi and lobster

      Fried chicken and enchiladas

       eBooks and tablets

        Amazon and Wi-Fi

         Animation and Disney

          Water parks and bungee jumping

My viewpoints shape my writing just as much as something I read or hear in conversation or watch on TV. 

I've taken a few lost hopes and refashioned them into bigger and better dreams, and some of those dreams are holding me in good stead today.

My wish for you – dream!  Dream big and expansive.  Dream in color.  Dream out loud, and above all, dream outside whatever box you have created for yourself. 

Listen to your own viewpoints, opinions, wishes and longings and DREAM – DREAM – DREAM!

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

L = List

In our premise of “if Plan A fails you still have twenty-five other options”, we come to the letter “L”.  This was a challenging one so instead of choosing one word, we will focus on a string of “L” words.

LOVE

The first and obvious word is ‘love’.  Where are we if we don’t love our pursuits?  We are bored.  We are often only minimally engaged in the pursuit and we more often than not lack passion.  Love is the ingredient that drives us when all else is crashing around us. 

Got love?  It adds to the brew of ideas, blood, sweat and tears.

LEAP

Sometimes we have to take a great leap of faith in order to get our enterprise off the ground.  Leaping is the greatest act of faith one can have.  We leap and often do not know, or see, or understand where we will land, if we will land safely, and in what condition we will land. 

And we take the leap anyway.

It is exhilarating, and often, a good leap has landed some individuals in awesome situations. 

Bill Gates and Paul Allen in founding Microsoft

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in starting Apple Computers

Letting Go

Ouch.  We had to come to this one.  This is a tough one for some entrepreneurs.  We become so attached to our creation and so protective that it is difficult to allow others to tinker with our baby.  We can develop tunnel vision, however, unless we allow others a peek inside to the inner workings of our creation. 

Sooner or later, we get around to adopting Michael Gerber’s concept of “working on the business as opposed to working in the business” to become the norm.  (Michael Gerber wrote The E-Myth Revisited.)

Can you do this?  Can you allow others to tweak, twist, redesign, remake, repaint, and re-market your baby?  Of course you lay out guiding principles, formats, outlines, blueprints – just find the guts to allow for improvement.

You ask “What if they fail?”

They ask “What if we succeed?”

It is a gamble either way, and sooner or later, original creators of successful entities find a way of letting go for the greater good of the project, product or process.

Laugh

Our final “L” word is “Laugh”. 

When things go right, we laugh all the way to the bank, as the saying goes.

When things go wrong, and we gain a bit of perspective on what has gone wrong, it is often a good thing if we can find some humor in our mistakes.  Yes, I am promoting some good laughter.

Just look at some of the benefits of laughter. 

  Boosts immunity

  Decreases pain

  Eases anxiety and fear

  Enhances resilience

  Enhances teamwork

  Helps defuse conflict

  Improves mood

  Lowers stress hormones

  Prevents heart disease

  Promotes group bonding

  Relaxes your muscles

  Strengthens relationships

Research for the Laughter section came from this web site if you want to read more.  (Click HERE to read Laughter Is the Best Medicine)

And there you have it.  “L” is a good start to a whole string of words after all.

  

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

G = Go

(Our premise, if Plan A fails you still have 25 other options)

Based on our premise, if we have failed, one of the most difficult steps to take after a fall is the first step.  When we go down we want to stay down. 

It takes great courage to rise up after a fall.  And rise we must … and rise we shall with a proper mindset. 

Mindset is a good word – a great word, as you will soon see.

The word “go” is a pretty great mindset attitude.  Where we were didn’t work, so now we must “go” to some new place.  What exactly does that look like? 

Question:  Where do you want to go? 

For clarity sake, let’s understand a principle.  To “go” somewhere does not always mean a physical relocation.  Often we don’t go anywhere.  Many individuals choose to rise from where they are and conquer. 

Where we need to “go” is often a trip we take in our minds and hearts.  We revisit the “why” of our failure.  We examine it from head to tail, from east to west and any other metaphor you choose. 

And after we revisit the “why” we start answering the “how”.  The “how” takes many forms, and some of those forms include these:

            Retooling

         Re-educating

      Educating

   Finding a mentor

Accumulating more resources – financial and physical

All of these fall into the scope of “Learning from our fall”. 

And after the learning – we go to those new places, we learn new skill and techniques, we rub elbows with others who are smarter and more wizened than we.  We become smart enough to figure out the “why” of our failures and then we set about answering the “where” and that becomes our new direction.

We GO. 

Here is something to consider.

“Your present circumstances don’t

determine where you can go;

they merely determine where you start.”

~Nido Qubein

~Bill Gates started in a garage, and he didn't complete his college education.

~The airplane started in a bicycle shop.

~Oprah Winfrey was raped at age nine.

~Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair was often thought of as a failure by his teachers.

~Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison.

Has some failure or unpleasant experience haunted you in the past?  The key word is “in the past.”  And now, you get to choose the next steps.

Are you ready to get a new start?

G O !

  

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Winning and Losing

The world loves a winner.  Don’t we all?

I've got a question for you?  Just because you are winning, is that always a good thing?

Consider this:

Some crooks are better at being a crook than others.  Is that a good thing?

I suppose some porn stars are better than others.  Do they win some sort of prize?

See what I mean?  If I made you uncomfortable with that last one I do apologize, but I let it stand in stark contrast to what we are considering here.  Not all wins are “wins”.

Sometimes it’s better to have never played the game than to win at something evil, inhumane, disrespectful, or dishonest.

Let’s take this a bit further.

Just because a man gets up every Saturday morning at 6AM to play golf and he wins the day with a 6 under par, did he really win?  Did his family also win by his absence?

What if a minister has a huge multi-thousand member church, yet his son is the talk of the town and the one most wanted according to the post office walls?  What did he really win?

I’ll be honest; this is not a feel-good blog. But, you know what?  It has to be considered.  We have to face this one and reason it out. 

What is your response?

What are you winning … or losing?

Better question – what are you going to do about whatever it is with which you are grappling?

P Michael Biggs

www.up-words.net

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

We Learn to See

People with acute people skills learn to read people.

Artists amaze me with their abilities to see and bring to life on canvass what they see.

Business people see a spread sheet and can judge the health of a company.

My doctor looks intently at certain areas of my body to make a diagnosis.

Seeing is both an eyesight skill and an insight skill.

Can you see a person for whom he/she really is?

Can you see body language and other non-verbal signals?

Can you see the political climate in your homeland?  Do you realize what it may mean down the road?

Seeing is so much more than eyesight. 

A slump shoulder

A downward glance

Open and closed body

We see these signals every day, but do we really “see”?

What are your spouse’s signals for happiness, sadness, disappointment, frustration, anger, romance?  Is it a tone of voice, or a particular body stance?

We would do well to learn to “see” with clarity.

A word to ponder.

P Michael Biggs

www.up-words.net

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Barriers

Barriers are frustrating. 

They block our progress. 

They slow us down.  

Sometimes they block our view.

Barriers are a nuisance. 

So what barriers are in your way?  What is keeping you from doing whatever it is you really want to do?

Here are some barriers others have overcome.

-I’m not smart enough.

   -I’m not pretty enough.

      -I’m not of the right gender.

-I’m not born in America.

   -I’m not born in Dubai.

      -I’m not educated.

-I’m just a …

   -I’m lonely.

      -I’m no good to anyone.

Barriers are only temporary. 

They can be moved, jumped over, crawled under, torn down, repainted, blown up, re-engineered, educated, ignored, and above all – barriers can be overcome. 

What barriers are hindering us from making the most of our lives?

Identify!

Conquer!

Overcome!

P Michael Biggs

www.up-words.net

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Aim Carefully

Aim Carefully

Someone posted a document once titled Twenty Things a Mom Should Tell her Son.  Item #3 is “Use careful aim when you pee.  Somebody has to clean it up, you know.”

So true.  And not just for bathroom habits.

-Ever had a relationship go south?  Somebody along the way lost their aim.

-Ever lost a job?  Aim is the culprit.

-Ever made a dumb mistake?  Probably a result of a bad aim.

And the final word of advice from Mom – “Somebody has to clean it up.”

Every bad aim in life has to be dealt with by someone - either you or those who follow after. 

A careful aim is a useful axiom for all of life, wouldn't you say?

It matters.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time