Peering Into The Manger

As I write this post, Christmas is rapidly drawing to a close. I had a great Christmas this year, and I hope that you have as well (if you celebrate Christmas, that is). And I have a question for you as another Christmas ends:

Who did you see in the manger?

A Baby In The Manger
Each year, we are drawn to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the one who would grow to become our savior by reconciling the sins of man with a holy God. When we read the Gospel accounts of the nativity story, many of us see a beautiful baby boy, dreamily sleeping as shepherds and wise men graciously visit him with gifts and reverence.

And if on Christmas you see a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger, then I would humbly ask you to look deeper into the manger to discover the full wonder of the Christmas story.

God Almighty In The Manger
All too often, we see the baby in the manger and forget that there is more to the story -- the baby Jesus is also God! For me, this is what makes the story of Christmas indescribably marvelous.

In our daily lives, we constantly seek to improve our skills and increase our learning so that we may steadily improve our station. We seek ever to improve our influence and our importance among our fellows. We strive to know more, have more and to be more.

But imagine having created the entire universe and all that exists within it. Imagine having ultimate power and perfect knowledge. God had it all, and yet lowered himself to the smallest possible position of humanity so that he might elevate us.

This is the miracle of Christmas: that God chose to come from Heaven to Earth, placing himself among us as a baby so that we may one day leap from Earth to Heaven.

The Christmas Spirit
Our need must truly be great if a supremely powerful being must take such a surprising and humbling action to broker a reconciliation to him!

Often, we don't realize the depth of our need. Often, we don't recognize sin's poinsonous influence in ourselves. In a world where people daily carry out atrocities against each other, like a serial killer that coolly slays his victims solely for the joy of watching them die at his hands, it can be pretty easy for us to look at ourselves and think that we are basically good people.

But if we are honest with ourselves, we can readily see that we fail each day to abide by God's precepts. He asks for us to merely put our trust in Him and to treat each other with loving kindness. Yet we find that we often fail to do so or miss opportunities where we could have done so, despite our honest desire to do good.

And yet, despite our great failings, God has already done the work required to reconcile us to him and view us as holy and blameless, beginning with his work on Christmas day.

How then should we respond to the miracle of Christmas? I believe the most appropriate response is, in gratitude to God for his extraordinary love, to reach out to each other with loving kindness and to renew our trust in God -- for he has shown himself worthy, time and time again.


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Impossibility Is An Impossibility

If somebody were to claim that he could turn lead into gold through the power of concentrated thought, what would you think about that claim? You'd think it was impossible, right?

Then you would be wrong!

A Matter Of Semantics

Lest you should think that this article is about startling advances in the field of alchemy, allow me to explain: it's a matter of semantics.

It is certainly improbable that lead can be turned to gold at all, much less with only the power of thought. It could also accurately be called unlikely, impractical or unrealistic.

Impossibility, however, is difficult to make a case for. For a thing to be impossible, it must not be able to happen, by anyone or anything, at any time, under any circumstances. To confidently declare a thing to be impossible is to assume way too much about the quantity and quality of what we know.

Standards of Knowledge

Claims regarding possibility and impossibility carry with them implicit demands for knowledge. To say a thing is possible, for instance, asks for a very broad range of knowledge. The standard is only can such a thing happen, ever? If it has happened even once, it is then known to be possible. The circumstances that made it possible may not be fully understood, but it happened. It may not even be known if it will ever happen again, or when. All that is known about a thing that is possible is that it could happen again. The degree of understanding required to define possibility is very small indeed.

Compare that to a thing that is imminent. To correctly declare an event to be imminent requires a wealth of knowledge about the factors and circumstances that typically lead to such an occurrence. You have to know so much about an event that you can readily understand the patterns that lead to it -- indeed, to understand it well enough to know that there are patterns involved.

To say that a thing is uncommon also implies some degree of knowledge about the event. To say it is uncommon implies that it does in fact happen, and that you've seen it happen often enough to understand its frequency of occurrence. Implicitly, it means that such a thing actually happens quite often -- just not as often as other more likely outcomes under similar circumstances.

But impossibility is a breed unto itself. Impossibility demands that a thing will not occur under any circumstances and at any time. Therefore, to accurately claim that a thing is impossible implicitly demands total knowledge -- certainty of impossibility demands omniscience!

In essence, impossibility is an impossibility. If we are intellectually honest with ourselves, we're forced to admit that we don't know enough about what we know to know what we don't know enough about.

Mistaken Impossibility

Often, when we say that a thing is impossible, what we actually mean is that it is difficult to achieve or that it has not been achieved in the past.

But take note! A thing that has never happened, even after a large number of attempts, does not qualify as a thing that is impossible. All that we can be certain of is that we have not yet discovered the conditions that would make such a thing possible.

If we were to mistake what seems to be impossible for what truly is impossible, we would put a permanent end to innovation and advancements in all fields of thought and scientific advancement. If people allowed themselves to stop at what seemed impossible, we would not have airplanes, wireless handheld computers or genetically engineered wheat, to name only a few examples.

Impossibility and Sensibility

But even in a world where impossibility is uncertain, there must also be sensibility. For instance, it wouldn't be sensible to doggedly continue to attempt something, taking your encouragement solely from the prospect that nothing is impossible. Although things may not technically be impossible, they can still be practically impossible.

Consider the case of alchemy. Many people in history have wasted many efforts attempting to turn lead (or other elements) into gold. The track record shows that such a thing is extraordinarily difficult to accomplish. We could continue to fight that fight, armed with the comfortable fact that we do not fully understand quantum mechanics. Indeed, as we continue to learn more about what makes atoms what they are, we may well discover some day that alchemy is ridiculously easy!

But making it happen requires a LOT more knowledge than we currently have. And therefore, it would not be practical to pursue.

An Intelligent Approach to Impossibility

If you want to make the impossible happen, here is a rule of thumb: take it a step at a time.

For instance, if you wish to build a teleportation device, you wouldn't just go to the local surplus store and start putting something together with the expectation that you will get there by trial and error. You need to take it a step at a time!

The first step is to determine not whether a teleporter is possible, but to determine under what conditions a teleporter could be possible. Then, determine what events might create such conditions. Are there things that could be done (by a teleporter, for instance) that could manipulate those factors? Continue working along those lines by nailing down how it could be possible instead of whether or not it is. As the idea becomes more concrete and better understood, then you are ready to approach its particulars.

As you can see, much of the initial investment in such an endeavor is only time and thought. If you put considerable thought into the matter, and you feel that you are no closer to a solution, then you have discovered only that it is beyond your understanding at the time (and not that it is impossible).

Impossibility is Liberating

There's something particularly liberating about the malleable nature of impossibility. Too often, we limit ourselves by claiming that things are "impossible" for us -- even if they are quite simple things! We can feel trapped in a dead-end job and despair that it is "impossible" to get a better job. We can become disheartened after several lousy dates and begin to believe that it is "impossible" to find a person that we belong with. We can look at an overwhelming amount of debt and worry that it would be "impossible" to ever catch up.

But take heart. A sense of impossibility is only an indication that you've given up too soon. It says that you haven't explored all of the avenues yet. Impossibility is a call for greater creativity and for new ways to approach a problem. Remember, impossibility is best tackled when you start with the assumption that it IS possible, and then determine what conditions would make it possible.

It becomes possible to pay off a sizable debt, for instance, when you ask for a much deserved raise, sell your house and apply the proceeds to your debt, live in an apartment or with family while you get back on track, stop eating fast food for lunch, and so on.

It becomes possible to find a better job when you get clear with yourself about the things you don't like about your current job and the things that a new job would have to do to be better. It becomes possible when you define what work you want to do, and then tell everybody you know what you are looking for.

It becomes possible to find the love of your life when you are clear about what kind of a person that would be and brainstorm the kinds of places where a person like that can be found.

Impossibility is only a problem that either hasn't been properly defined or a search for a solution that has not been exhaustive. So, what are the areas in your life where you have allowed the "impossible" to hold you back?

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Writing A Novel Is Impossible, Then Easy, Then Challenging

As any of my faithful readers may have noticed, my blogging dropped off the face of the Earth toward the end of November. My apologies. I was participating in National Novel Writing Month, an endeavor I highly recommend to anybody.

NaNoWriMo
National Novel Writing Month (affectionately called NaNoWriMo) is a contest of sorts -- its participants are challenged to write 50,000 word's worth of a novel between November 1 and November 30. That's a pace of about 5 pages a day!

The novels don't need to be finished products, or even be good. They only need to exist at the end of the month. There are no prizes for winning. In fact, there isn't even technically a winner.

I've done NaNoWriMo for three years now, and finished two of them. One of the many things I have learned in the process is that NaNoWriMo is a wonderful metaphor for any of life's challenges. NaNoWriMo, like life, is a challenge against yourself. For when you set out to do big things, you are often your biggest obstacle.

In NaNoWriMo, as with any major task, you move through three distinct stages on your way toward your goal: Impossibility, simplicity and challenge.

An impossible challenge
At first glance, a major goal can seem almost impossible. In fact, the subtle fear that its accomplishment may not even be possible is often a good indicator that you are embarking on something significant.

This feeling of impossibility is an important measuring stick, for the value of an action is often relative. Going to the grocery store to pick up some shampoo, for instance, is not normally a significant action. But, if you have spent the past fifteen years struggling with intense agoraphobia, it may well be a life-changing experience.

Remember also that the key here is for a project to seem ALMOST impossible. That can be a fine line, but you will know when you've struck that balance. A balanced goal is characterized by a calm, confident sense from the heart that the project can be done, even though it may seem too big for you on the surface.

An easy challenge
Next, you become surprised by just how easy the project turns out to be. This is the most empowering part of the whole journey, and practically guarantees your eventual success. Sadly, this is the stage that quitters never get to. This is unfortunate, because it is so easy to reach.

We are all familiar with the old maxim that a journey of one thousand miles begins with a single step. In NaNoWriMo, the truth of this leaps into view. If you focused solely on the immense workload that stands ahead of you, you would never dare to begin. But a funny thing happens when you instead focus on a single day's workload. Writing 5 pages, though challenging, is easily done. And when you've written those 5 easy pages, you don't feel like you've done a mere day's worth of work, but actually feel that the entire project's success is within your grasp.

And the real fun happens when you've made it about 25% of the way toward your goal. Those first days of work, in addition to being surprisingly easy, also help to set the tracks for the remainder of the work. You don't realize it at the time, but your early work actually simplifies the work that lies ahead.

In NaNoWriMo, this is clearly evident. In the beginning, you aren't necessarily sure who your characters are, much less what they are or will be doing. But eventually, things in the novel being to take place as a natural result of the things that have transpired in its earlier pages. Soon, it becomes incredibly easy to write a novel -- it practically writes itself! But you will never experience the thrill of being carried off by your goal if you do not take those first steps.

A worthy challenge
Eventually, even the thrill of the surprising ease of your work dies away. And finally, the project becomes a worthy challenge. Though the work may be relatively easy, there is still a lot of it to be done. The question is no longer one of whether or not the goal can be accomplished but whether you are committed to doing the work that needs to be done to get there. You are now locked into a battle of self-discipline.

In NaNoWriMo, there are many reasons to write a novel in such a short period of time. But not all of those reasons will lead to success. If you merely wanted to "try something new", for instance, writing the first 20 pages might be new enough. After that point, it can be very difficult to finish. But if your interest is to train yourself in self-discipline, completing the novel becomes absolutely necessary. What self-discipline have you learned if you quit before the task is done?

The novel gets done only when you diligently sit down at the keyboard (or take pen in hand) day after day, for as long as it takes, until the job is done. That is the ultimate challenge of NaNoWriMo.

Discipline is the key discipline
In every major undertaking, there is a time when the fun disappears. There is a time when the task is no longer easy. There is a time when the reasons no longer seem reasonable. It is at those critical moments when the only thing that stands between you and your goal is the ability to put one more day's work into it despite all of your feelings to the contrary.

Discipline is the one skill that carries you through to the accomplishment of your goal. Discipline is what gives you the courage to keep going, even when you don't feel like it. And you know that your work is not in vain, for nothing compares to the euphoria of accomplishing a major goal.

So, what major goals do you want to accomplish? Do you have the discipline that it takes to accomplish it? The only way to know is to get started -- and to keep going.

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Collective Wisdom Ain't

Collective wisdom is no kind of wisdom. A look at the major breakthroughs in thought throughout history shows that defying collective wisdom often leads to the purest creative solutions to the questions that are pondered. The history of science and technology particularly is a progression of one case study after another that shows how new advancements rely on stepping outside of what is at the time considered by many people to be an obvious fact.

Consider the case of Ptolemy. He developed a beautifully detailed and well reasoned model of the universe in which the Earth stood at the center. To account for the motion of the heavenly bodies, Ptolemy reasoned that they sat upon fixed spheres which rotated around the Earth. Since he realized that stars, planets and comets all seemed to have different trajectories, he reasoned that there were in fact several of these spheres.

The most important thing about Ptolemy's model is that it worked. He had the evidence in front of him and constructed a model based on that evidence. Because Ptolemy's model explained things so well, it became widely accepted. This model, along with the remarkably detailed records that he kept regarding the motion of the stars and planets, proved to be useful for navigation and astronomy for centuries to follow.

Although people periodically hypothesized that the Earth might actually be orbiting the Sun, Ptolemy's model remained the commonly accepted view of the cosmos for fourteen centuries! It was not until Copernicus arrived on the scene that a heliocentric theory gained traction. Prior to that time, people were largely complacent to accept the collective wisdom of others.

Let's face it: we all have a tendency to be lazy thinkers. That in and of itself is not a bad thing. Lazy thinking helps us get through the day. At some point, you can button your shirt in the morning without any deliberate thought. And imagine what the world would be like if everybody had to discover everything by themselves, without relying on the knowledge and wisdom of others. Fortunately, we don't have to understand how computers work, we just have to know how to use them. We don't have to know the entire written works of physics and astronomy to enjoy watching the sun set. We can use the wisdom of our predecessors to leapfrog to our own discoveries.

But when we become too complacent about our thinking, we run the risk of preventing further progress and prevent increasing the quality of our knowledge. When we accept assumptions as fact solely because everybody agrees with the idea, we have something that is cause for suspicion.

This is not to suggest that all collective wisdom is wrong. Sometimes things are widely accepted as true because they actually are. People would generally agree that leaping off of a cliff is detrimental to your health. Most people agree that you should not eat rat poison. It would certainly not be wise to defy conventional thinking and leap off of a cliff or to feast on a box of rat poison "just to double check".

The key is to ensure that you are always thinking. Challenge your assumptions. When you accept something as true, accept it because you have thought about it and found it to be true -- not merely because somebody told you that "everybody knows" it is true.

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This Sentence Has Over 100 Errors

One of the classic arguments against the reliability of scripture is that there are tens of thousands of errors in the texts. You see, there are many ancient copies of the books of the New Testament. However, there are several errors among them, and many copies don't completely match any of the other copies. Some are spelling errors, others are syntax errors. Some are paraphrases rather than direct copies. And so, the argument goes, there is no way to know what the original scripture is supposed to be. Such an overwhelming number of errors, as some assert, casts suspicion over what exactly constitutes the true teaching of the religion -- or indeed the very legitimacy of such a religion.

Sounds convincing, doesn't it?

Well, don't throw your Bible away just yet. Here we have a situation where the facts as they are presented are technically accurate -- there are indeed many discrepancies among the thousands of New Testament texts that exist. However, the conclusion presented (that there is no way to reliably know what the original text says) is false!

Perhaps a little experiment will demonstrate just how important accuracy among several transcriptions matters with regard to understanding what the original source says?

I will write a single sentence incorrectly 100 times. No sentence will match any other sentence, and no sentence will completely match the correct sentence. In fact, I will not write the correct sentence even once. My challenge to you is this: read each of the sentences and see if you can honestly claim it is "impossible" to know what the correct sentence is. Hint: It won't require 100 sentences...you will likely determine the correct sentence after only the first few lines!

1. When looking for the truth, look carefully.


2. Wen searching for the truth, look carefully.


3. When searching for truth, look carefully.


4. When searching for the truth, look closely.


5. When searching for the the truth, look carefully.


6. When surching for the truth, look carefully.


7. When searching for a truth, look carefully.


8. When searching for the facts, look carefully.


9. When searching for the truth, watch carefully.


10. When for searching the truth, look carefully.


11. Look carefully when searching for the truth.


12. When searching for teh truth, look carefully.


13. When searching for the truth, watch carefully.


14. When searching for the truth, investigate carefully.


15. When seeking the truth, look carefully.


16. When you are searching for the truth, look carefully.


17. When searching for the trueth, look carefully.


18. When searching for the truth, look intently.


19. When searching for the truth, luke carefully.


20. When searching for the truth, look carelessly.


21. When searching out the truth, look carefully.


22. Whoever searches for the truth looks carefully.


23. When searching for the truth, please look carefully.


24. When searching for the truth, look carefuly.


25. When "searching" for the truth, look carefully.


26. When searching for fact, look carefully.


27. When searching for the truth, look with care.


28. When investigating the truth, look carefully.


29. When researching the truth, look carefully.


30. When searching for the trooth, look carefully.


31. When searching for the truth, investigate carefully.


32. When searching for the truth, research carefully.


33. Look carefully to find the truth.


34. When searching for the reality, look carefully.


35. When searching for the truth, look karefully.


36. When searching for the truth, look carefully


37. When sEarching for the truth, look carefully.


38. Women searching for the truth, look carefully.


39. When something for the truth, look carefully.


40. When searching fo the truth, look carefully.


41. When searching for truth, look carefully.


42. When for the truth, look carefully.


43. Searching for the truth, look carefully.


44. When searching for the, look carefully.


45. When searching for the truth, carefully.


46. When searching for the truth, look.


47. Whe searching for the truth, look carefully.


48. When searchin for the truth, look carefully.


49. When searching for th truth, look carefully.


50. When searching for the trut, look carefully.


51. When searching for the truth, loo carefully.


52. When searching for the truth, look carefull.


53. When searching for the truth, look diligently.


54. When searching for the truth, look patiently.


55. When searching for the truth, look fervently.


56. When searching for the truth, observe carefully.


57. When searching for the truth, scrutinize carefully.


58. When searching for the truth, look carefully.


59. When when searching for the truth, look carefully.


60. When searching searching for the truth, look carefully.


61. When searching for for the truth, look carefully.


62. When searching for the truth truth, look carefully.


63. When searching for the truth, look look carefully.


64. When searching for the truth, look carefully carefully.


65. Whon searching for the truth, look carefully.


66. When soarching for the truth, look carefully.


67. When searching for tho truth, look carefully.


68. When searching for the truth, look carofully.


69. When searching for the truth, look carefully.


70. When searching for the truth: look carefully.


71. When searching for the truth? look carefully.


72. When searching for the truth (look carefully).


73. Who's searching for the truth, look carefully.


74. Where searching for the truth, look carefully.


75. This sentence is totally in left field!


76. When searching for the fish, look carefully.


77. When searching for the truth, look lively.


78. When searching from the truth, look carefully.


79. When searching for the truth, look care


80. When searching for the honesty, look carefully.


81. For when searching the truth, look carefully.


82. When the searching for truth, look carefully.


83. Are you still reading this?!


84. When searching for the proof, look carefully.


85. W.en searching for the truth, look carefully.


86. When sea.ching for the truth, look carefully.


87. When searching fo. the truth, look carefully.


88. When searching for .he truth, look carefully.


89. When searching for the tru.h, look carefully.


90. When searching for the truth, lo.k carefully.


91. When searching for the truth, look ca.efully.


92. Wehn searching for the truth, look carefully.


93. When snihcraeg for the truth, look carefully.


94. When searching for the tturh, look carefully.


95. When searching for the truth, look clluferay.


96. When hiding the truth, look carefully.


97. When searching for the lie, look carefully.


98. When searching for the truth, close your eyes.


99. When reaching for the truth, look carefully.


100. when searching for the truth, look carefully.

Surprising, isn't it? How many lines did you read before the correct form of the sentence became obvious? As you can see in this demonstration, it would have been almost impossible to determine with any degree of certainty what the actual sentence is meant to be if there were only two or three of these sentences. But when there are a hundred, it becomes an elementary exercise to discern the real meaning. In the case of the texts of the New Testament, there are several hundred copies of parts of the New Testament, and thousands of copies of other parts!

The conclusion, then, as you can clearly see, is this: in light of the sheer number of copies of the New Testament that are available, the errors amongst them can be seen at worst as a trivial nuisance -- and utterly incapable of clouding their true message.

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A Mentor For The Hopelessly Introverted

You are only moments away from discovering the most intuitive teacher you will ever have access to...

A mentor can be a valuable resource for when you need to adjust your attitude, view your life from a different perspective or reflect on surprising new insights. Turning to a person that you respect and that has the wisdom to help you grow is a vital component to your continued success. If you are an introvert like me, however, you may have found that it's quite difficult to find valuable mentors in your life, if only because you don't meet many people.

Fortunately, your most effective mentor may not even be a person!

A number of years ago, I picked up an intriguing technique from Peter McWilliams's book, "Life 101." The only prerequisite is that you need to be comfortable with meditation. Once you have reached a state of relaxed concentration, then the fun begins!

Every student needs a school, so your first task is to visualize a place where you can go to relax and to learn. One of the best techniques is to imagine you are walking down a long hallway, and you come to a door. As you put your hand to the doorknob, you realize that you will soon open the door to your perfect place for mental relaxation and refreshment -- a personal sanctuary. Then, open the door and let your mental sanctuary appear.

This is a matter of discovery rather than construction, so it shouldn't feel forced. What you find should come as no surprise, for it is such a natural and obvious reflection of yourself. It is not an "aha" moment so much as it is an "oh...of course" moment.

Your classroom/sanctuary need not be indoors. While some people might imagine a cozy study in an old Victorian home, others might imagine an isolated spot on the beach. Some people might imagine a combination of interior and exterior locations. My perfect place is a clearing in a birch forest with a babbling brook trickling through it. There is a simple wooden bridge over the brook that leads to a modest cabin. The cabin itself is a single room, barren of all furniture and decoration. It is bright, clean, and quiet. Ah, I feel relaxed just thinking about it.

Now that you've found your classroom, you need a teacher. That is an easy process, for you find your teacher the same way you found your classroom. When you are ready to meet your new mentor, imagine a doorway across the room from you. If your classroom is an exterior location, you can still imagine a door a few feet in front of you...after all, we're working in the realm of imagination. You see the doorknob turn, and are struck by the realization that your perfect mentor is about to come into the room. Then, watch the door open and allow your mentor to appear.

As with your classroom, this is a discovery instead of a creation. It will again be anti-climatic because it suits you so perfectly and obviously. But, even though you may not be surprised by your mentor, your mentor may very well be surprising. Your mentor may be somebody you know, or your mentor might not even be a person at all! It's quite possible for an owl to fly through the door, if that's what represents your perfect mentor.

And now, with your mentor at hand, you can begin your learning. What should you ask your mentor? He (or she, or it) is open to any question you have, but is such an amazing resource that you'll find you don't want to waste petty questions on him. You will find that, in a state of relaxed awareness, the right questions come easily. As always, it is best not to "sweat the small stuff." How you work with your mentor will grow and adjust just as you will.

Your greatest challenge may be adjusting to your mentor's style of responses. Mine rarely gives me direct answers, but instead asks thought-provoking questions that get to the heart of the matter. Or, in especially obscure moments, my mentor directs me somewhere else for answers. In response to the question how can I become more successful, my mentor replied, consider the leaves of the trees, or the water in the stream. Upon considering the water, I realized that if a river stops moving, it becomes stagnant and putrefied. I was getting lazy when a healthy, vibrant life is one of action. Considering the leaves reminded me that actions alone are insignificant. A leaf by itself withers and blows away, but it is full of life when connected to the tree. Any action is more effective when it is part of something larger. Having active goals, then, helps maximize the value of all of your actions.

Earth-shaking? Hardly. These insights are not special. Obviously, success is the result of action. Of course goals help you to achieve more. But the value of this exercise is that it reminds you of the exact things you need to be reminded of right when you need to be reminded of them.

In retrospect, my mentor has always provided the best possible responses to all of my questions. After all, great mentors don't teach you new things. Great mentors challenge you to apply what you already know.

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Fools Have Answers, Intellectuals Have The Questions

Young children are the masters of questions. And for good reason - they have had very little experience in the world, and are doing the best they can to catch up. They realize that they don't know it all, and they ask questions in order to learn more about the world around them.

And now, here's a question for you to consider: at what point did you stop questioning like a child?

Sadly, many of us no longer have the capacity to ask questions like children. The causes are many. Some of us may feel self conscious about asking questions because we don't want people to know that we don't know something. Some of us may have grown weary of questioning because we have found that answers only lead to more questions. Others of us have given up on questioning for its apparent futility - not everything can be known. And others among us, albeit subconsciously, actually feel that we know all there is to know.

When looking back on the great creative geniuses of history, however, we find that they all share a common love of questioning. The status-quo is never good enough and their curiosity, like that of a child, was unquenchable.

By contrast, many famously bad predictions were delivered very matter-of-factly. They were spoken with the force of one who had ultimate knowledge, but in the course of time would be proved extraordinarily false.

Allow me to propose a notion that could rekindle your child-like need to question.

Consider the possibility that questions are not merely a search for answers. Questions do not exist only to increase our understanding, but to open a much larger door to the future. Questions, when used effectively, activate the ability for possibility thinking. This function of questioning has led to every great technological and sociological advancement in the world's history.

Possibility thinking begins with replacing the classic fact-finding children's question of why with the more powerful question, what if:

• What if nations were ruled by their citizens?


• What if people could fly?


• What if people all over the world could communicate with each other easily?


• What if we could mimic the sun's power to provide electricity?


• What if we could build an elevator into space?

"What if" lies at the heart of all progress. If you look around you, you will find that the people with the most influence and the most success are the ones that ask the best questions.

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Fun With Truisms

7 Habits of Highly Effective People...In Haiku

Haiku, as you may know, is a Japanese poetry form that traditionally is only three lines long. The first line has five syllables, the second has seven and the third line has five. This form leads to incredibly terse statements that, remarkably, still deliver the message. In a recent presentation I gave at work on Stephen Covey's classic book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", I summarized each of the seven habits as a haiku. Here's what I came up with...

1. Be Proactive

Be responsible:
Don’t blame you and don’t blame “them”.
Action is the key.

2. Begin With The End In Mind
Select your goal first,
Then your path is determined.
Now, take your first step!

3. Put First Things First
Prioritize it:
Do first what is important,
Then do all the rest.

4. Think Win/Win
This is what I want:
We both get what we both want.
(That is the best way.)

5. Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood
Listen intently,
Never, never, ever speak.
Then, speak a little.

6. Synergize
I am only one.
One is also all you are.
But combined, we’re three!

7. Sharpen The Saw
Busy, busy, oh!
Stop, relax and be refreshed.
That’s how you’ll improve.

I hope you enjoyed those, they were fun to write! I also learned more about each of these concepts in the process of trying to find 17 syllables that would best explain them. And so, the moral of the story is this: to understand a thing better, put it under a different light.

Also At Babblermouth:

Fun With Truisms

Image Streaming -- Here Goes!

Financial Freedom Series 1 - Cause and Effect

If War Isn't The Answer, Perhaps You Misunderstood The Question

When the American embassy in Kenya was attacked, Muslim terrorists posed a question to our nation. When the U.S.S. Cole was bombed, Muslim terrorists posed a question to our nation. When Muslim terrorists destroyed the lives of thousands of Americans by flying passenger jets into the Word Trade Center towers, they posed the same question to our nation: can the "great Satan" of the West, America, be destroyed?

America has made its answer, and continues to answer by way of the "war on terrorism". Naturally, there are some who protest, saying war is not the answer. Such a sentiment is completely understandable. War truly is Hell, and only a pure psychotic would gleefully and joyfully wage war. I, for one, fervently wish that war would never be necessary. Sadly, however, there are circumstances when war must be fought. And I believe the threat of terrorism represents one such circumstance.

Since war is so distasteful, it obviously must be used as a last resort. But to say that war isn't the answer implicitly means that other options are not only available but also viable. Sadly, in the case of the war on terrorism, this is not the case. Consider the following alternatives:

Ignore the threat. This actually has been our approach in the past. It is the perfect reaction to threats in most cases, because often they are only that -- threats. When those threats turn to action, however, they can no longer be ignored. Terrorism against America has continued for years upon years. The attacks of 9/11 show that, if anything, terroristic action is escalating. Clearly, ignoring the threat will not make it go away. Ignoring terrorism is no longer a viable option.

Diplomacy. This is the alternative that everybody would prefer. In civil disagreements, merely sitting down and talking things over can usually resolve the conflict. Unfortunately, terroristic threats do not constitute a civil disagreement. In addition to requiring a degree of civil respect between parties, the success of diplomacy depends on the goals of the negotiating parties. Sadly, the stated goal of terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda is the destruction of America and the death of its people. Perhaps such statements are merely hyperbole, but their actions certainly seem to confirm their absolute commitment to the stated goal. Assuming that Americans value their lives (I know I do), diplomacy with terrorist groups is doomed to fail because the outcome is unacceptable. When one party wishes only for the destruction of the other party, no negotiation can succeed. Diplomacy, therefore, is not a viable option.

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. This method is strictly defensive. Rather than fighting a war, we can focus our efforts on reducing the impact of future attacks and in noticing warning signs in the hope of preventing such attacks. I believe a sports analogy works well here. After all, you have two groups in opposition, each with goals they wish to accomplish and each hoping to emerge victorious. With that in mind, ask yourself if a team that plays only defense has any chance of winning? Defense is important, but it doesn't win the game. If our only approach to terrorism is to play defense, we will eventually be defeated. An effective defense only postpones that defeat. Defense is a vital component of the war on terrorism, but is not a viable response in and of itself.

Sadly, begrudgingly and resolutely wage war. The last option, and the only viable option under the circumstances, is to actively fight against the threat of terrorism. Make no mistake, it is an ugly choice. Lives will be lost. We have already lost fathers, brothers and sons in the war. We have already lost mothers, sisters and daughters in the war. But we know that their sacrifice has helped to protect the lives of the people they love. They know that their selflessness will offer better protection than ignoring terrorism will, better than negotiating with terrorists will and better than preparing for the next terrorist attack will.

Even as the most viable option, the war on terrorism has its problems. It would be naive to think otherwise. Like victory, for instance. Logically, the war against terrorism must continue as long as terrorists live. It's reasonable to expect that terrorists will always exist, so then victory is impossible, correct? Well, not so fast.

Our war is against the threat of terrorism. It is not a pollyannish quest to eliminate terrorists, but to inhibit their power to destroy. As the investigation of the 9/11 attacks shows, large-scale terrorism (the kind we are concerned about) is not easy. It takes enormous preparation and coordination. By actively fighting terrorists, they now must use their time protecting their own lives (which dramatically reduces the amount of time they can spend plotting the destruction of innocent lives elsewhere).

The war on terror is not a war of vengeance. We have left many, many terrorist attacks unanswered in the past. The attacks of 9/11 were not the reason for the war -- they were the last straw. It was the final event that showed to us, once and for all, that peace not only isn't the answer, it's not even an option. Terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda hate us not for what we've done, but for who we are. The war on terror, therefore, is a war to protect our countrymen both here and abroad from those who mean to do them harm.

The question has been posed. And, as distasteful as it may be, war is the only answer that responds, plainly and firmly, "NO!"

Also At Babblermouth:
Where Have All The Parents Gone?
Fun With Truisms
Financial Freedom Series 2 -- The Value of Values

A Map That's "Good Enough"

I have a map on my wall from about the 17th century (a replica, that is), and here's what I love about it: it was a perfectly useful map in its time, even though it wasn't 100% accurate. I like to keep that in mind when I feel my perfectionism creeping in.

Perfectionism can be a dreadful disease. Although it may not officially kill anybody, it prevents them from living. Life is action -- and perfectionism, when it reaches extremes, prevents people from taking action for fear of not performing perfectly.

Perfection seems like a worthy goal, but this lofty ideal is also its downfall. Unfortunately, perfection, in any field and in all capacities, is not possible. Excellence is possible. Virtuosity is possible. But perfection? Not in this lifetime! Perfectionists fail even before they begin because they are dedicated to accomplishing a goal that cannot be done.

So, what's a perfectionist to do? Well, there are 3 things that may help:

1. Remember the imperfect map. Ancient maps needed only to get a sailor from one port to another without ramming into the shore. They didn't need to be accurate by inches but by miles. After all, the sailors could look for themselves once they knew they were getting close. When you do something, remember that you are doing it for a specific purpose. As long as the purpose is fulfilled, mission accomplished. Anything beyond that is nice, but unnecessary. Make sure you aren't letting details bog you down that, when looked at from a mission viewpoint, don't actually impact the project.


2. Love to improvise. Nothing goes according to plan, even with the best plans. Be prepared to make adjustments along the way. So, since you'll be making changes along the way, why not just get started now? The world's greatest masterpieces (some of which come very close to perfection) were not created in a single attempt. Paintings and sculptures are created by "roughing-in" the basic form and then fine-tuning it a little bit at a time. Remember, it's the final product that matters, not the middle product or the fledgeling product. All (near) perfect projects start as absolutely imperfect projects.


3. Let go. Perfectionism is rooted in self-consciousness and a fear of looking foolish. I know, I've been there. And there's an old joke that may prove useful in this regard: you wouldn't care what people thought of you if you realized how rarely they do. I know, it sounds harsh. But really, everybody else is too busy managing their own lives to pay much attention to yours. So you're free to get out there and take a chance. If you mess up, not many people will notice -- and of the ones that notice, not a single one will remember it a year from now. Then, you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and continue to adjust (remember, you love to improvise now) until you get it right.

Babblermouth is far from perfect. As I look at it, there are many things that I want to fix and so many improvements that can be made to it. Over time, they'll get done. In the past, I might have waited until I had the perfect design before I wrote my first post (and would have, of course, waited until my first post was perfect before posting it). But I made the leap. After all, the point of blogging is to share your ideas with readers -- and that's getting done.

Also at Babblermouth:
Fun With Truisms
Who Are You?
3 Things: Time Management For Scatterbrains

The Next Big Challenge

Ok, so you've mastered time management. You can pack more accomplishment into one day than most people can put into a week. Now you are ready for a real challenge: do nothing.

If you've never tried meditation before, you are missing one of the biggest challenges you will ever face. Now, I'm not talking about meditation as a mystical or spiritual practice. This article is about meditation as a relaxation technique and a method for training the mind for which there is no equal.

The goal is deceptively simple: All you need to do is sit still and try to focus solely on one thing or to avoid focusing on any one thing. No problem, right? Wrong! In my experience, nobody ever meditates well the first time.

To try your first meditation, sit comfortably and close your eyes. Sit down as though you never intend to get back up. Some people may insist that you cross your legs or hold your hands in very specific ways, but the only thing that I've found matters is keeping good posture -- it helps you to breathe more deeply. Your only task in this first exercise is to count your breaths from 1 to 9, and repeat counting from 1 to 9 until your time is up. Set a timer for 10 minutes (one with a gentle alarm if you can...after all, this is about relaxation) for your first attempt.

The biggest surprise for people new to meditation is just how easily distracted an untrained mind can be. Here is an example of a typical first try: breathe in...breathe out...1...hmm, I wonder if I turned the coffee pot off -- BZZT! You just lost your focus. Trying again, breathe in...breathe out...1...breathe in...breathe out...2...wow, I got to "2" without losing my focus -- BZZT! You did it again.

Yes, it's frustrating. And over the course of 10 minutes, it is extremely unlikely that you can get to "9" without getting distracted. Eventually, however, you find that those random thoughts diminish until finally your mind does what you direct it to, and only what you direct it to. This is a territory unlike any other you may have experienced, and an extraordinary paradox -- you will be at once both fully relaxed and yet completely focused! And once you've been there, you will want to return!

Like any skill, meditation becomes easier with practice. In a first attempt, you may not even reach that point of relaxed concentration. Over time, however, you become able to access it at will.

So, how do you "use" meditation? On the surface, it can look like meditation does nothing. But, do not forget that the seeds of all action are rooted in the mind. It is in this sense that meditation helps you be even more effective when you are not meditating. By creating focused, clear thinking, you set the foundation for focused, clear action. Relaxed concentration is also the optimal mental state for problem solving. If you are having trouble accomplishing a goal, get into a state of relaxed concentration and then direct your thinking toward finding a solution. You will find that those solutions are more elegant than any attempts you may have made in the past!

As a final thought, consider this: if you feel like you are too busy to attempt meditation, you may need to try it now more than ever!

Also At Babblermouth:
Financial Freedom Series 1 -- Cause and Effect
Fun With Truisms

Indulging Modern Indulgences

Carbon credits have an interesting partner in history. I see a close link between the growing practice of buying "carbon credits" and the curious practice of buying indulgences as sold by the Roman Catholic church in the early 1500's.

An indulgence, in Roman Catholic theology, is the granting of full or partial pardon of temporal punishment for sins that have already been confessed and forgiven. In layman's terms, the idea is this: you will be punished later for your sins, but you will be punished a little bit less if you are granted an indulgence (my apologies to practicing Catholics if this oversimplifies the matter). Indulgences are typically granted for acts of piety, such as devoting oneself to prayer or reading the scriptures with great reverence.

The granting of indulgences eventually became corrupted and indulgences eventually became commodities that could be bought. Pope Leo X, for example, sought to rebuild St Peter's Basilica by aggressively marketing the granting of indulgences in exchange for alms-giving. This abuse of the doctrine of indulgences soon became one of many contentious issues that led Martin Luther to develop his famed 95 theses.

So, through a corrupted granting of indulgences, people could atone for their sins by fronting a little bit of cash. Carbon credits, as I will demonstrate, encourage people to atone for their environmental sins in the same manner.

Let's look at an example of how carbon credits operate. Average Joe begins shopping for a new vehicle. He's environmentally conscious, and begins looking at the Earth-friendly cars that have the best gas mileage. If he only needed a car to get to work and back, no problem; but he needs something to take all of his kids (and their friends) to soccer practice during the week, and to haul all of the home-improvement supplies (most notably, plywood) for his weekend projects. So, the 1960's space capsule on wheels just doesn't cut it. He needs -- gasp! -- an SUV to do what he needs to do. However, owning an SUV makes Joe feel incredibly guilty. How can he justify owning an SUV when he knows how much damage he would be doing to the environment? Enter the carbon credit.

Carbon credits are presented as a way for Joe to offset his "carbon footprint" (that's the guilt that he feels over the carbon emissions his SUV puts out). When Joe buys carbon credits, his money goes to, let's say, Johnny Appleseed. Johnny now can go out and plant new trees with that carbon money and, in theory, those new trees will suck all of Joe's unpleasant additional carbon right out of the air. Carbon in, carbon out. A perfect balance!

The problem with this approach is that it maintains the status-quo at best. Rather than making it better, it merely keeps it from getting worse. If Joe truly cares about his impact on the environment, then he should adjust his own behavior rather than paying somebody else to pick up the slack. Rather than driving to the grocery store 5 days a week, his family could keep a list and shop only on Wednesday nights. He could ride his bike to work on nicer days. He could turn his thermostat down a couple of degrees and start wearing more sweaters. But if he is buying carbon credits, he has no further motivation to do any of those things. In his mind, he's "covered", environmentally speaking.

What would be the effect if we brought this philosophy to other realms? Would "diversity credits" allow bigots to continue to spew racial epithets and discriminate against minorities as long as they made generous donations to the United Negro College Fund? Would wicked little children be allowed to torture stray cats so long as they offset it by donating their allowances to the humane society? Perhaps if drunk drivers were to buy "Blood-Alcohol-Content Credits", they...well, you get the idea.

Carbon credits do nothing to resolve the problem they claim to resolve. If anything, they trivialize it! Environmental policy, as with any problem, is best addressed with action at the individual level -- not money.

Also at Babblermouth:
Financial Freedom Series 2 -- The Value of Values
3 Things: Time Management For Scatterbrains

Where Have All The Parents Gone?

Maybe I am now officially an old curmudgeon, but I swear children are less respectful and more obnoxious than they were when I was a child. However, I don't think it is fair to blame the kids. In truth, kids are no different than than they've ever been -- but parents have changed quite a bit! Here are some examples inspired by real life events:

Johnny has trouble behaving in school. He frequently gets into fights with the other kids, and after ignoring many failed requests to stop hitting others, Johnny is suspended. His mother's reaction? She storms into the school and demands that the school remove the suspension. Her son, she says, would never hit anybody. And besides, it would be too inconvenient to find daycare on such short notice.

Johnny's mother brings him with her to visit a friend's house. A short while later, Johnny draws all over the host's white drapes with permanent marker. Perhaps the greater insult is that his art isn't even very good. His mother's reaction? She kneels down in front of him, smiles and says in a sing-song voice, "Johnny, we only draw on paper, ok? Now, this is your first warning". No apology is made, and no offer to replace the drapes.

It's way past Johnny's bed time, and he is ignoring all requests to finish getting dressed and into bed. His father finally tells him quite firmly to get into bed, or there's going to be trouble. Johnny screams "I don't want to go to bed," and punches him in the thigh. His father's reaction? He acts as though nothing happened, and goes downstairs to play Freecell.

Parenting is not a biological description -- parenting is a job description. And it's a serious job that we must perform to the best of our ability, because the stakes are high. If we fail, we destroy not one but two lives!

The role of a parent is this: to train children to live harmoniously in a world where there are consequences for their actions. This is certainly a practical approach, because this is a world where there are consequences for our actions. Once children understand that there actions have consequences and begin to choose their actions accordingly, a bright and beautiful future opens up for them.

First of all, self-destructive behaviors practically disappear: smoking and drugs lose their allure because the risk is too great. Abstinance becomes more appealing than sexual promiscuity. Also, children are less likely to misbehave in school because it just isn't worth it to be disruptive.

In addition to avoiding decisions that have negative consequences, children begin to seek out actions that have positive consequences. They treat other people with respect and actively seek to help out around the home. They focus on their studies and have plans for a brighter future. In short, a proper understanding of consequences -- also known as the law of cause and effect -- inevitably leads to taking responsibility for one's own life.

Parents clearly wield tremendous power over their children's well-being, and it must be used with great care and diligence. Good parents don't shield children from the consequences of their actions. Rather, good parents help their children endure those consequences. Then, most importantly, they ensure that the lesson is learned so that it need never happen again.

Also At Babblermouth:

Financial Freedom Series 1 -- Cause And Effect
Who Are You?

How To Watch Football

Ah, football season has returned. I love what football stands for: pure competition, where victory doesn't go to the team with the most skill, but with the most perseverance. The tension and drama of the game tick higher and higher as the clock continues to tick down toward that final second.

Football's life and breath are found in those final moments of the game. A team can be behind by 14 points with only 5 minutes left in the game, and still come up with a victory. In those last moments, every decision counts and perseverance is king. If they succeed, it is the come-back win at the end of the game that everybody talks about, no matter how incredible a touchdown pass earlier in the game may have been. And it's that last second of the game that has changed the way I watch football forever.

You, see, I am now a 4th-quarter fan. By that, I mean I begin to watch my noon game at about 2:30. That is usually around the end of the 3rd quarter, beginning of the 4th. But that's not to say that I've missed out on any of the excitement. Sure, I miss some athletic catches and some powerful tackles, but these are not the things that make football games great.

Although I enjoy football, the games are terribly long. I have a life to live, and can no longer devote 3 hours a week to following my favorite team through the season -- but I can easily watch a single quarter every week. It's the best of both worlds!

So, if you've caught the time management bug and can't help but feel a little guilty when watching football (but can't quite turn away), become a 4th-quarter fan. It truly is the finest way to watch football.

Also At Babblermouth:
The Value Of Time
3 Things (Easy Time-Management)

I Am Not A Brainwashed Moron

I attended public school as a child and a public university as an adult. One thing my instructors consistently taught me throughout the years, either explicitly and implicitly (regardless of the subject), was this: Only brainwashed morons could be Christians.

Since I am a Christian and am not a brainwashed moron, I feel this sentiment begs an argument. I will ignore the flagrant condescension inherent in the claim and instead focus only on its most important (and false) assumption: That the evidence for the historicity of Christ does not warrant rational belief, and that you would therefore have to be a moron to put your faith in it.

I believe that this assumption is rooted in three major misconceptions:

1. The New Testament is not a reliably historical account of events and belongs more appropriately on the fiction shelf. This misconception completely ignores the very motives that the gospels themselves express. The author of the Gospel of Luke, for instance, explicitly states that he has carefully researched the facts. Such research inherently includes seeking input from primary sources -- including speaking to witnesses of the events. Because he set out specifically to prepare a historical document based on facts, there are plenty of specific references to people, places and even the times that these events occurred. Luke 2, for instance, is loaded with such details, specifically naming Caesar Augustus, Quirinius, Syria, Galilee, Judea, Bethlehem and Nazareth. Perhaps the most interesting detail is the mention of Nazareth -- a region so insignificant that until recently it was thought to not even exist. The Gospels were intended from the beginning to be historical records, supply the very details that could be used to refute them if it were possible, and were written during a time when witnesses who could have refuted them would have.
   


2. Christianity would crumble if it would acknowledge the "other" Gospels (those of Thomas, Judas and Mary, for instance). Admittedly, the fact that some "Gospels" are not included in the official canon of scripture can make it appear that the Church actively ignores evidence that contradicts their "dogmatic, preconceived notions". On closer examination, however, it becomes obvious why the Gnostic Gospels are not included in the classic canon of scripture: they don't match. The character names are the same, but the characters are not. In the Gospel of Thomas, for instance, the boy Jesus is reported to have killed another boy for bumping into him on the street. Is this just showing a different side of Jesus, or a totally fictitious one? Well, let me offer an illustration. I love the book "Huckleberry Finn". But if I were to pen a new "lost" chapter to the book, one in which Jim speaks the Queen's English and Huck becomes a hardworking oil baron, on what grounds should I or anybody demand that it be included in the book? Anybody that has read the rest of the book will instantly realize that my chapter does not belong in Huckleberry Finn. As with the Gnostic gospels, merely having characters with the same names doesn't make them fit in the broader context of the book.


3. The claims made in the New Testament are too fantastic to be taken as fact. If we were to use only what "seems possible" as our benchmark, we would be using a poor standard indeed. For a glimpse into just how strange a world this is, take a look at "twin studies". Twin studies are used to determine the influences of nature versus nurture in the development of the human psyche, and are conducted by following the lives of twins who were separated at birth -- same genetics (nature), but different families (nurture). More than once, the similarities in the lives of the twins are staggering. They end up liking the same foods, having the same occupations, driving the same cars (makes AND models!), and sometimes even their wives have the same first names! But however improbable that may be, it does happen. Now, look at the New Testament. These books, which were written with the full intent of recording history accurately and by men who stood to gain nothing by doing so, tell of a man who is born, miraculously heals several people on many different occasions -- including raising people from the dead -- and claims to be the very son of God whose arrival was predicted centuries before in the book of Isaiah. He then is killed as predicted centuries before and rises again, fully alive, to be seen by many witnesses over a period of 40 days before ascending into the heavens. Improbable? Certainly. Impossible? Nothing is impossible, and due to the credibility of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, there is every reason to believe it is true.

Christianity does not demand a "blind" faith. Christians are welcome to test their faith against reason, because the Christian faith has substance and stands up to an honest search for the facts. I believe in the life-saving work of Jesus not because I have been brainwashed, not because I have ignored evidence to the contrary, and not because I fervently wish it were true. I believe because I have examined the evidence and found that the record preserved in the New Testament is credible and continues to stand the test of time.

If you are finding that the facts don't warrant a belief in Jesus, perhaps your research is incomplete?

Recommended Reading:

Lessons From A Dot-Bomb CEO

The best "mistake" of my life taught me a lot about how not to run a business. You see, I have a confession to make: I'm a Dot-Bomb CEO. Here's the story of Midwestern Cybertising, and the lessons I've learned:

Prior to 1994, the Internet existed as pages and pages of text, with hyperlink shortcuts that brought you to other pages of text or to new sections on the same page of text. Text, text, text. Not bad if you like to read, but people today would hardly recognize it as "the Internet". Then, a little program called "Netscape" changed everything by making the Internet a visual, multimedia experience. That moved it from the world of computer nerds and placed it firmly into the hands of businesses and consumers alike.

Enter Midwestern Cybertising. Some friends and I realized that this could be the new media for customer service and advertising, and jumped right into creating our own web development company. It was the classic garage biz -- all of our HTML and graphic design was completed in my bedroom at my parent's house! Our monthly server fee of about $15 comprised our entire operating budget.

One thing that I am proud of to this day is that my friends and I were YEARS ahead of the curve. If you can believe it, our biggest obstacle was trying to convince businesses that it would be valuable to have a web page! Our entire company consisted of three people -- two of us planned to return to college at the end of summer break -- unless, of course, our company made us phenomenally rich.

Unfortunately, our company did not make us phenomenally rich. By the end of summer, we had sold only one account (for $500, which we were never able to collect), and had one additional prospect that we were unable to close on. Eventually, we lost interest in our company and moved on to pursue other interests.

Here is what I learned from our adventure:

You are not in business to make money. You are in business to help other people or businesses -- just don't do it for free. Being clear about what your business does and how it benefits your clients makes it a lot easier for you to sell your services and products. My friends and I constantly had trouble explaining why it was necessary for businesses to have web pages as a matter of customer service. We saw only a money river and jumped in. It never occurred to us that we'd have to explain to people how badly they needed our services. We figured they knew.

Marketing is a start-up business's most important activity. When we started our business, the first thing we did was incorporate. That used up almost all of our start-up money, and in hindsight did nothing for us. We were three college kids who had nothing; if we were to lose everything we had in our business, we wouldn't have lost anything. In the end, our business imploded because nobody knew who we were or what we did.

Plan to fail or plan to succeed, but have a plan. Planning is a critical step in starting a business. By the time you've invested your first dollar in your business, you should already have a clear idea of what your business's primary product or service is, how much you plan to charge for those products and services, who your ideal clients are, where you expect to find those ideal clients, how you plan to contact those clients, how much goods or services you must sell this month (and next month and the month after), and how many prospects you need to contact to make that happen. Time is critical for a start-up business. By doing detailed planning before you begin, you can hit the ground running. My friends and I did our planning all summer long -- as much as 90 days after investing in our business. By the time we had worked out the details, we had to return to school...which brings us to the next item:

Give it your all, or don't give it anything. Don't have something to fall back on. If a business is worth starting, it's worth giving it all you've got. My friends and I approached our business as a hobby for the most part, thinking it would be neat if we made a lot of money at it. We never seriously considered dropping out of school to build our business. But, if our business had actually grown as well as we thought it would, quitting school would have been necessary. So before we'd even begun, the business lost out to our education.

Ability isn't enough. I don't want to brag, but my friends and I were truly cutting-edge. We utilized all the latest technology, had beautifully designed pages, and were utilizing search-engine optimization (SEO) before it was even being talked about. If ability was what makes a successful business, you would have read about us in Time magazine. However, it is sales and marketing that bring in the clients. After all, what good is it to be the best if nobody knows about it? Ability brings satisfied customers back, but sales and marketing brings them in the first time.

One final lesson I would offer is this: If you learn from everything you do, nothing you do is in vain. I have never started another business, and may never again. But I've never regretted my experience with Midwestern Cybertising. I learned a lot from the experience, and not only what not to do. I have also learned a lot about the right things to do, too -- in business as well as in life.

Image Streaming: Here Goes!

The Other Voice In Your Head

You are familiar with the language of the left brain. That's the voice in the back of your head saying you can do it or you'll never win, and it never seems to shut up. The right brain, however, is more cryptic. It chooses to speak in pictures. Much like the left brain, the right brain is always "on", and it is always "talking" to you.

The Right Brain Speaks In Pictures

This is important, for it is through the right brain that you have direct access to your subconscious (the logical left brain actively ignores the subconscious). And it is often the subconscious that is credited with breakthroughs in science and thought! By tapping into the stream of images offered by your right brain, you tap into a deep reservoir of remarkable intelligence and intuition. This is called "image streaming".

Image streaming is a major focus of the book "The Einstein Factor" by Win Wenger. By closing your eyes and allowing yourself to see the images that are already there, you begin to see a world of strange and new possibilities. But perhaps the most difficult part of image streaming is interpreting the images in the first place. It's like learning a new langage: right-brainese. Rarely are the images literal. They are usually symbolic, and with a symbolism that is unique to you. Spiders, for instance, might represent abject terror to one person, while they might represent an ancient wisdom to another.

Yes, Even You Can Visualize

And if you claim to be somebody who "can't visualize", don't worry. You've been visualizing for years and just aren't aware of it. If you were a child, there was almost certainly a time when you daydreamed. That's visualization. Still don't believe me? Try this exercise:

1. Read this sentence: Sally ran home crying because she spilled her ice cream cone on the sidewalk.
2. Now, look away from the screen.
3. Without looking at the screen, try to recall what you have read.
4. Congratulations, you just completed a visualization!

When you recalled what you read, you were not trying to recall the words on the screen but the images they describe. In fact, even if you were only able to recall the words, you were visualizing -- because you weren't seeing them with your eyes, but with your mind. In fact, any memory that you have is a visualization.

A Look At My Own Image Stream

To satisfy my own curiosity and for the benefit of those of you who may read this, I thought I would try it out:

I'm standing in a field, the grass is waving back and forth in the wind. I hear the shriek of an eagle, and look up to see that it is swooping down on me as though to catch me in its talons. I duck, covering my head for protection, and the eagle circles back up into the sky. As I look down, I see a field mouse in the grass. It wasn't me that the eagle was attacking after all, it was this mouse. I feel indignant, because this mouse is utterly helpless and the eagle is frighteningly powerful. I take it upon myself to defend this mouse, and I stand firm as the eagle circles around for a new attack. I have no way to defend myself or the mouse. I look down at my hand, see that my hand is flat, rigid like a knife. As the eagle swoops down, I stab my hand at the center of the eagle's chest and it drops out of the sky. I am relieved for the mouse, but saddened for the eagle.

But What Does It Mean?

Strange, huh? I'd tell you what I think it means, but why don't you give it a try? Or try doing a visualization of your own. For best results, write down your image streams or record them into a voice recorder. That way, you will have a record of what they actually were, as opposed to what you remember them to be.

Fun With Truisms

Use Contrasts To Discover Wisdom

This world is woven together by surprising contrasts and parallells. One interesting side effect is that it becomes very easy to create remarkably deep insights simply by twisting phrases around contrasting or parallell themes. For example: To be a friend to all...you must be all to a friend.

Simple. Rearranging the first clause creates a truism -- a sentiment that is easily dismissed because it is so pithy. But when you peer into it more deeply, profound truth bursts forth. This simple statement addresses many searching questions: How do you make friends? How do you keep friends? What is a good friend? The answer is simple, but its meaning is great.

Use Wordplay To Discover The Secrets Of The Universe

If you enjoy wordplay, consider creating trusisms. You might even discover the soul of the universe along the way! Here are some more...

1. To be "successful", you must "be" successful.
2. When you are talking, you aren't listening.
3. To understand your neighbor, seek to understand yourself.
4. To get what you want, give what others need.
5. Kindness is a selfless act. Cruelty is a selfish act.
6. To discover wisdom, uncover your folly.
7. To spend more tomorrow, spend less today.
8. If you dream of success, succeed at your dreams.
9. Thought creates nothing. Action creates everything.
10. Giving hearts give more than giving hands.
11. Evil thoughts and evil acts have the same victim.
12. Hate begins with a thought. Love begins with an action.
13. Light is the presence of light, but darkness is not the presence of darkness.
14. To shower your family with presents, shower them with your presence.
15. If you want only what you need, you need never be in want.
16. Hate finds faults. Love accepts faults.
17. Action builds hope. Sloth builds anguish.
18. Busy bodies don't have time to be busybodies.
19. Physical limits constrain the body. The mind constrains itself.
20. Today won't be the same as yesterday. Tomorrow won't be the same as today.
21. Praising me makes me happy. Praising you makes us happy.
22. Sometimes people that seem to have money only seem to have money.
23. Lies require a host of proof. Truth requires none.
24. Better questions lead to better answers.
25. Rules lead the masses. Ideals lead the leaders.

3 Things: Time Management For Scatterbrains

The Planning Trap

There are several books about time management, and millions of people have been able to use the information in those books to organize their lives and to schedule time for success.

But for some of us, organization and schedules are as clumsy as a goose wearing rollerskates. For some of us, implementing a new time management process represents not merely a change in habits or attitudes, but a change to the very essence of our being.

Getting Things Done Without Over-Organizing

What is a genetically unorganized person to do? I've struggled with many systems, tips and tricks over the years. Some of them actually worked beautifully for the very short time that I remembered to implement them. But I have discovered one method that works to keep me consistently on top of my to-do list and always working toward my goals. That method is the "3-Things" method.

The beauty of the 3-Things method is in its simplicity. At the beginning of the day (or week, or month), you decide what three things are the most important things you need to do. That's it!

Start The Day Off Right By Committing To 3 Things

By taking a moment each day to review what you most want to accomplish, you can easily make time for them. Even as you are determining your three things for the, you become aware of the perfect times to do them.

Make Sure Your 3 Things Are Important

But I should offer a warning: the effectiveness of this method depends entirely on your ability to properly assess what three things are in fact the most important things you need to do. Therefore, it is vital that you are clear about what makes an action item "important".

This is where it can be very handy to have goals that matter to you. For example, if you have three major goals that you want to accomplish, then choosing your three most important tasks for the day is simple: choose tasks that will move you closer to those goals.

So, what are the three most important things you must accomplish today?

SET: More Fun Than Reading The Directions

Reading The Directions Only Tells Part Of The Story

This has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard of, I thought to myself. Why did I even buy this? And I hadn't even finished reading the directions yet! Fortunately, reading the directions and playing the game are entirely different matters.

Reading the instructions for SET is a strange experience -- the premise of the game is so simple that it doesn't even sound challenging: Each card has a number of shapes on it with different colors and patterns. Your job is to find a group of three cards that are all similar or different in each characteristic.

That's it.

Well I learned shapes, colors and matching in pre-school, so I was afraid I must have accidentally bought a game to pass the time rather than stretch the mind.

One Twist That Makes All The Difference

But I was wrong! The tiny little element of the game that I overlooked while reading the directions was this: everybody else at the table is playing at the same time. And let me tell you, that simple twist changes everything. Not only do you have to match groups of cards based on four different characteristics, but you have to find it before somebody else does!

Perfection In Simplicity

The genius of SET is its simplicity. It's very easy to teach other people how to play, and the actual games take very little time. Depending on the group you're playing with, you can complete the deck in 15-30 minutes -- faster, if you are playing with some pros.

It can even be played with younger children in the family as long as they understand the concept (the instructions even have a learning format that can be used with new or young players). SET is an excellent family game and I heartily recommend it.

Toastmasters -- Doorway to Success

Toastmasters, you think, that's public speaking, right? Well, yes. But that's like saying a computer is an electronic filing cabinet.

Building Skills For All Forms Of Communication

Toastmasters focuses on helping its members improve their communication skills overall. Learning to be a better public speaker is a part of that, but you become a better communicator along the way -- whether speaking to a stadium full of people, to your co-workers or to your children.

Real World Practice Without The Real World Dangers

If you are like most people, you want to be a better person tomorrow than you were today. Unfortunately, you can get some wicked bumps and bruises when you try out a new skill in the "real world". Toastmasters provides an encouraging environment where your fellow club members help you learn from your mistakes in a positive and encouraging way. That gives you the courage to persevere and before you know it, you've mastered the skill -- without suffering the negative effects of the real world's learning curve.

Learn Skills With Immediate, Practical Benefits Beyond Public Speaking

You learn how to develop effective speeches by working through a series of workbooks and projects. Advanced members, however, continue on to learn things far beyond the realm of public speaking. Public speaking may have limits in scope, but "communication" covers nearly every aspect of living. Want to learn negotiation skills? Toastmasters teaches that. Want to prevent discussions with your spouse from escalating into the next big argument? Toastmasters can help you build those skills. Want to share memorable and engaging stories that will be passed on from your children to your grandchildren? Toastmasters shows you how.

Big Changes Through Small Successes

Most importantly, by building on many small successes, you develop greater self confidence. Toastmasters encourages you to reach out of your "comfort zone", and by doing so you discover that there really is nothing you can't do. Your new self confidence opens your eyes to the vast world of opportunity that awaits you. And your improved communications skills give you tools you need to make it happen.

A Pirate's Life for Me

Hoist the sails and mind the cannons, that merchant brig looks ripe for a pillage!

Puzzle Pirates is a remarkable creation -- a perfect mix of puzzle games, role playing and socializing, combined to create the singlemost satisfying and re-playable gaming experience on the web.

The concept is simple: you're a pirate, trying to make yer mark in the ocean -- and you play puzzle games to do so. Many of the puzzles may remind you of your favorites on Yahoo, PopCap or MSN games, but Puzzle Pirates adds a new multiplayer twist. No pirate is an island, and your crew mates are counting on you to do your best!

Your Puzzling Skills Actually Matter

That's right -- on Puzzle Pirates, your puzzling skills directly impact the success of your crew. To get from one port to the next, you and your mates will play the sailing puzzle. The better you do, the faster the ship sails. Wanna pillage that other ship? You'll have to play the battle navigation game and use the cannon puzzle to boost your firepower. And if you get on the receiving end of a cannonade, better work on your carpentry and bilge-pumping puzzle skills!

Get Pirate Bling With Yer Pillaging Money

So, what does a pirate do with all those pieces of eight won from a successful raid? Why, buy some fancy clothing and furniture, of course! Or perhaps a ship of his (or her) own. The economy of Puzzle Pirates is intricate and well-built. Different commodities are produced by different islands and can be shipped back and forth. Those commodities can be bought by shops that create new goods out of them (using labor puzzles), and many of those goods can be combined to create even more goods. What's more, inflation is slowed by allowing items to wear out over time. After all, nothing good lasts forever.

Engaging The Pirate Community

Are you a competitive pirate? Puzzle Pirates has a rating system that lets you track your pirate's progess as you play the game. Over time, you will find that your skills in some puzzlesare far beyond those of your fellow pirates, while others may require more work. You can get trophies if you are incredible at puzzling or if you have proven invaluable in a naval battle.

But the community on Puzzle Pirates completes the puzzle. While a real pirate might be perfectly happy to send you to Davy Jones's locker and take yer treasure, the players on Puzzle Pirates are extremely friendly and helpful. In fact, much of the support for new players comes from experienced players who volunteer their time to assist new pirates. And to make the experience complete, you will find that yer most enthusiastic players all have a tendency to use piratey words like "blimey" and "ahoy".

If you enjoy puzzle games, you will surely enjoy being a pirate. Here's wishing you a long and successful pirating career...PLAY "PUZZLE PIRATES" NOW

Financial Freedom Series 5 -- Money

Imagine Building A Car From Scratch

To understand the function of money, imagine what life would be like if you had to make everything from scratch. Like, for instance, a car.

It's not impossible for a person to build his (or her) own car, but it may take the majority of his life to do so. First, he would have to study how cars work. Then, he would have to travel the world to collect the raw materials (not to mention the time to construct the vehicles needed to transport the raw materials). He then would have to refine the materials into usable components. And lastly, he would have to assemble the components.

Spending Money Often Saves Time

As you can see, building a car on your own can save you tons of money -- but it would instead cost you thousands upon thousands of hours, perhaps even an entire lifetime!

In my previous article, I demonstrated that time is supremely valuable because it cannot be reclaimed. Well, here's the dirty little secret: that's not entirely true. We can save, store and exchange time through a convenient tool called "money".

Your Paycheck Is Just Time Converted Into Money

If you don't believe it, think about your primary source of income. Many of us get our income from employment. But why do we get paid for our work? It is because our employers know that there are other things we would like to do with our time. In essence, we exchange time for paychecks.

As the car example shows, spending money is like saving time. When you buy a car, you are saving yourself the thousands of hours it would take to build it yourself.

Some Spending Is More Valuable Than Others

But before you start buying everything you want under the guise that it's saving you time, here's the catch: not all time saved through spending money is valuable. If you do not make valuable use of the time you have saved (that is, managing your actions to build toward the completion of goals that are aligned with your values), the money is wasted. It can be valuable to pay somebody to mow your lawn if you use that time to do something that is important to your goals and values. If you pay somebody to mow your lawn while you sit on the couch and watch TV, you would have been better off mowing the lawn yourself. At least then you would have gotten some exercise!

Time Really Is Money, So Use It Wisely

And so, the old saying is true: time IS money. Or rather, money is time. Since time is so precious, it places an important duty on our shoulders to ensure we use it wisely. Money wasted is time wasted. Use your money to help you directly or indirectly accomplish those goals that help you live your values, and you will have used your money wisely.

The Complete Financial Freedom Series

• 1. Cause and Effect
• 2. The Value of Values
• 3. Goals
• 4. The Value of Time
• 5. Money

Financial Freedom Series 4 -- The Value of Time

Time Is An "Equal Opportunity" Commodity

Time is so commonplace that its value is often overlooked. The extraordinary thing about time is that each day is equally given to everybody (with the exception of death, of course). No matter who you are, or what happened yesterday, we get as much time as everybody else to make today better.

Time Is Valuable Because It Can't Be Earned Back

Time is valuable in a way that nothing else is. Most things are valuable because they are rare. But time is valuable because of its most important aspect -- we can't get it back! Not only can we not get it back, but we HAVE to use it whether we wish to or not! Everything that we do is paid for in seconds and in minutes. Even doing nothing is paid in seconds and minutes! For this reason alone, we must cherish time. It is as important to our lives as the air we breathe.

The Secret Is to Control How We Spend Our Time

We may have no control over WHETHER we use our time or not, but we can control HOW we use our time. When there are many things that must be done, how can we gauge what is a good use of our time and what is not? The answer is as simple as looking at our goals and values. Anything that moves us closer to accomplishing goals that help us to live out our values is a good use of our time. Technically, anything else is not.

The Complete Financial Freedom Series

• 1. Cause and Effect
• 2. The Value of Values
• 3. Goals
• 4. The Value of Time
• 5. Money