A handy guide!

Just sharing some vital lessons from a segment of the Star Wars movie, The Empire Strikes Back:

[You can watch the movie-clip capturing the scenario here: https://youtu.be/4RhmHfh7ZI8]

A little bit of background:

While visiting the Dragonah Planet to seek out the Jedi Master Yoda, Luke Skywalker and his robot drone R2D2, unexpectedly crashlanded with their X-Wing fighter in the swamp.

Luke coudn't initiate action in using the power of the Force to lift the fighter out of the swamp, despite urging by Master Yoda.

Here's the dailogue:

LUKE:

"Oh, no. We'll never get it out now."

(Yoda stamps his foot in irritation.)

YODA:

"So certain are you. Always with you it cannot be done. Hear you nothing that I say?"

(Luke looks uncertainly out at the ship.)

LUKE:

"Master, moving stones around is one thing. This is totally different."

YODA:

"No! No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned."

LUKE:

(focusing, quietly)

"All right, I'll give it a try."

YODA:

"No! Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try."

(Luke closes his eyes and concentrates on thinking the ship out. Slowly, the X-wing's nose begins to rise above the water. It hovers for a moment and then slides back, disappearing once again.)

LUKE:

(panting heavily}

"I can't. It's too big."

YODA:

"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hm? Mmmm."

(Luke shakes his head.)

YODA (CONT’D):

"And well you should not. For my ally in the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we..."

(Yoda pinches Luke's shoulder{

"... not this crude matter."

(a sweeping gesture)

"You must feel the Force around you."

(gesturing)

"Here, between you... me... the tree... the rock... everywhere! Yes, even between this land and that ship!"

LUKE:

(discouraged)

"You want the impossible."

(Quietly Yoda turns toward the X-wing fighter. With his eyes closed and his head bowed, he raises his arm and points at the ship. Soon, the fighter rises above the water and moves forward as R2D2 beeps in terror and scoots away. The entire X-wing moves majestically, surely, toward the shore. Yoda stands on a tree root and guides the fighter carefully down toward the beach.

Luke stares in astonishment as the fighter settles down onto the shore. He walks toward Master Yoda.)

LUKE (CONT’D):

"I don't... I don't believe it."

YODA:

"That is why you fail."

(Luke shakes his head, bewildered.)

Luke was evidently unsure of him, judging from his seemingly negative language impressions.

Interestingly, Tony Robbins calls this phenomenon, Transformational Vocabulary (Power of Words).

In a nut shell, the habitual words you use determine your emotional state and behaviour.

Using positve language to change how you feel about certain situations can change how you respond to life's difficulties.

For example, instead of saying "I'll try..." or "I hope to...", replace it with, "I plan to..."!

Luke gave up easily, and apparently could not believe in his own capability.

As Master Yoda put it, "That's why you fail", in rebuttal!

Drawing intellectual cues from the late Bob Proctor:

"To believe in the things you can see and touch is no belief at all. But to believe in the unseen is both a triumph and a blessing.

"Faith and fear both demand you believe in something you cannot see. You choose."

“Faith is the ability to see the invisible and believe in the incredible and that is what enables believers to receive what the masses think is impossible.”

So, to sum up:

In order to be able to initiate action to do something worthwhile in your life, you need be mindful of what you are telling yourself, and need to believe in yourself as well as your ability to execute your intended action.

Always think in terms of personal relevancy to action.

Here's another excerpt from Dilip Mukerjea's new book, BrainTales: From Imagination to Imprint:

How to Craft a Book

You have at least one story within you . 

Since there can never be anyone else like you, your story is unique. Write it. 

Do NOT say: “I hope to write a book one day.” or “I wish I could write a book.” or “If only I could be an author.” Wishing and hoping will never make you realise your dreams. Be bold. Say: “I A M writ ING ! ” (Yes, ‘am’ and the –ing ending are deliberately in red capitals! You should stay in the ‘present continuous’ tense! Anything else will tempt you to procrastinate!). It begins with a flame…then rages into a bonfire within your chest. Follow just one rule: don’t bore your readers. 

Your theme could be anything that desires to gush out of your soul! A story, an exposition on a pet topic, your autobiography, fact, fiction, or fantasy, it matters not. Know that real life is often less believable than real fiction! Write your book, then check it several times. Make several copies of your manuscript. Get people you know, and don’t know, of all ages and persuasions, to read your work. Get them to critique away; every observation is an opportunity for you to improve your writing. 

Whilst your manuscript is being critiqued by all and sundry, put your copy away for several weeks. Incubate. Marinate. Cogitate. Then read it right through, asking: 

* Have I started memorably? Will my first paragraph, or the first page, grab the reader’s attention? Thus, have I done enough to impel the reader to keep reading? 

* Have I managed to sustain the initial fascination with my book? Is my eloquence engaging; my treatment of theme provocative; my thought design stimulating? 

* Every few pages, have I upped the tempo, or changed pace so as to keep the reader happily challenged? 

* Is there enough reach and richness within the material to appeal to a broad cross-section of readership? Would peoples of diverse interests and disciplines find my work informative, communicable, and entertaining? 

* Have I ended memorably? Will my last paragraph, or the last page, grab the reader’s attention? Thus, have I done enough to impel the reader to want to keep reading? Or pondering? Or wishing for more of the same, only more? And more? 

If the answer to each of the above questions is “YES!” you should now have a manuscript ready for submission to publishers. Your manuscript could also accompany a ‘book prospectus’. The publishing domain is a blizzard of activity; today’s high-tech high-velocity operations keep editors and agents on their toes. If you are a first-time author, they would often not be willing to assess your potential purely on the basis of an outline and sample. Give them your completed manuscript. Project confidence, and exhibit competence. 

Then, go back to what your readers will have first-contact with: 

(a) the title 

(b) the theme 

(c) the cover design, front, side, and back (people do judge a book by its cover!). 

• Have you selected a title that will demand attention? Via a combination of existing words, or a configuration where you have created a brand new set of letters or words. Do you have a powerful subtitle to complement the title? 

• Have you ensured that the cover design matches the title and theme of your book? Can it be seen from a distance? Even the spine of the book must claim attention, or else it may be lost in the ‘bibliomass’ within large bookstores. 

These considerations are usually decided in discussions with the publisher, unless you have opted to self-publish. I find it best to start with a provisional title and cover…it keeps me focused and undeterred by deadly deadlines. The final cover design can be done after the manuscript pages have been sorted out. 

This is an excerpt from Dilip Mukerjea's new book, BrainTales: Imagination to Imprint:

THE 5C’S OF CRAFTING A COMPELLING STORY

1. Connect 

This stage of the story structure is about creating an emotional connection with your audience. Emotion trumps rationality when push comes to shove. If you do not tap into your reader’s emotions—that layer below the surface—engagement is impossible. The aim here is to make a STAR START! 

2. Challenge 

The second part of the story structure is about highlighting a common pain point or challenge your audience is facing – with the goal of helping them overcome that challenge by the end of your story. 

So get to REALLY know your audience. What are their goals, dreams, and desires? How can you help your readers move towards them? What about their fears and problems? Your writing should appeal to many but talk directly to only one person. Make them feel special. Highlight a core problem your audience has, and articulate how you (or your characters) were once burdened with the same challenge. 

3. Conflict 

You want to establish the opposing forces that contribute to a less-than-favourable outcome for your audience. Use vivid details at this stage so your audience resonates with the characters in your story. Walk them through the worst parts of the problem they are trying to solve… All of the nasty symptoms and side-effects. 

What has stopped them from overcoming this challenge in the past? 

What are the competing priorities in their life that have held them back? 

How does it FEEL when they do not overcome this challenge? 

Hop back and forth between the challenges, excuses, and hurdles to them achieving their goals. And compound it all with the desire to reach another destination. Provide glimmers of hope along the way…

4. Conquer 

Now it is time to provide some hope. Show your audience how the characters have overcome the struggle presented. Give them the feeling that a positive outcome is possible. 

As the story develops, take your audience on a journey from “close to giving up” all the way through to the results, feelings or accolades that your characters achieve on the other side. You are putting your readers in the shoes of your characters, and making them feel like the solution to all their problems is in their hands. 

By this stage of your story, the reader is so emotionally bought into your character’s journey. They visualise themselves conquering their problems and achieving their goals. 

What results or examples can you provide to ride this message home? 

Do not hold back. Convince your reader that everything is possible and glory is much closer than they first thought. 

5. Conclude 

Deliver a resolution to the challenge, ending on a positive message the audience can take away. This is usually one part of a larger solution. (Especially if you are using storytelling to sell something.) 

But your job is not quite done. 

You need to guide your reader on to their next step. What is the very next thing they need to do to start the all-conquering journey themselves? 

Is there somewhere they should visit? What other resources would be helpful? Where can they get help or inspiration? 

Stories will help you break down barriers and eliminate the sea of noise your readers are exposed to. The more personal you can make the experience, the greater the connection will be, and the better your results. It is your job as a writer to evoke emotion and connection very early in your story, otherwise, no one will read on. 

But that is not enough. 

If you truly understand your audience, your story will create a visceral experience that magnifies a core challenge and creates a feeling of mental conflict. 

Until you resolve this conflict and empower your readers to conquer their demons, the story isn’t complete. 

Every step of the way, you are guiding your readers on a journey, an experience and an adventure until finally, you tell them exactly what they should do next. 

Keep your readers hooked for as long as you can, but when the time is right, hand over the reins and let others tell the story for you. The aim now is to make a STAR FINISH!

 That's the harsh reality!

Yep! To me, the last part - bias for action - actually makes all the difference!

Transposed to a personal setting:

It's the sweat equity of following-up and following-through whatever you have set out to do in your game plan, with the end in mind, with intense effort and focused execution!

I have had been collecting and collating elegant quotes and/or fine witticisms ever since I was a young teenager in the late fifties, and my favourite reading companion was the Reader's Digest (besides comics and graphic novels), which actually started my ball rolling!

To me, most of them serve as "compressed wisdom"!

I often use them as vitamins for the mind, especially to start off the morning!

Here's one good one!

The Power of Vision 

In the words of author-filmmaker-futurist Joel Arthur Barker:

"... A positive, inspiring vision is one thing all successful organizations have in common. 

Having a positive vision of the future is the most forceful motivator for change… for success, that companies, schools, communities, nations, and individuals possess."

I fully concur! 

Achieving your dreams is always a hard thing to do. And many people believe that we can predict the future. We can’t. What we can do is create it.

With a positive vision of the future, we’re able to do this with imagination and creativity. 

Exercising your imagination will help you create a better future for yourself and those around you. 

Imagination is the ability to form images in your mind or make someone else create those images in their mind about what could be possible in the future.

Believe in yourself, and you can achieve anything you want. You don’t need to rely on anyone else’s power or strength for it. You are strong enough, powerful enough, and capable of achieving anything worth achieving with all your heart. 

All you need is the right strategy and the steadfast  discipline to work on it. But what is even more important than the things mentioned is the belief in yourself! 

Yep! Having a positive mental attitude means being optimistic about situations, interactions, and yourself. People with positive mental attitudes remain hopeful and see the best even in difficult situations.

 Trust is the heart of all relationships. Here's how you can build it!

As I read, I recall vivdly this elegant quote from Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations:

"I am not afraid to dream. You first have to start with a dream. Build your castles in the air and give it foundation.

Without a dream, you are not going to get anywhere."!

Tony Robbins shares a very elegant insight:

"BUSINESS is a SPIRITUAL GAME. As a business owner or entrepreneur, it is your opportunity to do more for others than anybody else — in whatever area or industry you’re in.

It’s about what you GIVE, not what you get.

And when you’re obsessed with giving more – with meeting and surpassing the needs of your clients, you’ll not only succeed, but you'll make a DIFFERENCE in their lives.

When you decide to focus on giving instead of getting? You’ll reach more people and touch more lives than ever before – and you’ll GET so much more in return, too. I promise you, when you focus on GIVING and SERVING, you will experience a deeper fulfillment than ever imagined.

The secret to living is giving.

For all of you business owners, team members, parents, partners, and anyone who provides a service or nurtures a relationship with others, take a moment to consider:

What business are you REALLY in? How can you FALL IN LOVE with your clients?

How can we SERVE ONE ANOTHER at the highest level?... "

Emiliano Valcanover of the Official Tony Robbins Community FB Group shares this interesting insight:

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐖 𝐎𝐅 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐒

Lions only succeed in a quarter of their hunting attempts — which means they fail in 75% of their attempts and succeed in only 25% of them.

Despite this small percentage shared by most predators, they don't despair in their pursuit and hunting attempts.

The main reason for this is not because of hunger as some might think, but it is the understanding of the “Law of Wasted Efforts” that has been instinctively built into animals, a law in which nature is governed.

- Half of the eggs of fish are eaten...

- Half of the baby bears die before puberty...

- Most of the world's rains fall in oceans... and most of the seeds of trees are eaten by birds.

Scientists have found that animals, trees & other forces of nature are more receptive to the law of "wasted efforts".

Only humans think that the lack of success in a few attempts is a failure... but the truth is that:

We only fail when we "stop trying"

Success is not to have a life free of pitfalls and falls... but success is to walk over your mistakes and go beyond every stage where your efforts were wasted looking forward to the next stage.

SO:

- Continue all over again.

- Never stop at any stage of difficulty.

- Keep moving, keep thinking, keep trying.

And remember:

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠!!

Go out and collect as many as possible so you can build your comeback from what you have been learning.

My Comments:

Thanks for sharing this interesting insight about the Law of Wasted Efforts.

I am nevertheless inclined to add this to my new understanding of this elegant quote, which now makes more sense, and also resonates well:

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.

Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.

It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or gazelle. When the sun comes up, you'd better be running."

Frankly, I have never invested in a coach (this is not to imply that getting a coach is not a good option), but I have had taken wise heed of what Tony Robbins has asserted back in the early nineties:

“One of the things I’m best at is modeling. I find someone who is best at something I want to learn. Then I model them, and learn it myself. Then, when I’ve proven it to myself, I teach it to others.”

I have had several visual models over the years. This process has worked very well for me, partly attributed to my engineering training during my younger days.

My response to a picture posed in the Ultimate Breakthrough 2022 Challenge Original Tony Robbins Community:

Just sharing:

Books only give you "word experience"!

Only when you have put the acquired strategies and tools to work in your life, then you get "world experience".

That's to say, knowledge is not measured by what is stored in your head; it's always defined by your productivity, i.e. what you do and what you don't do.

As the Smartest Person of the 20th Century Albert Einstein put it so eloquently:

"Knowledge is Experience; Everything Else is just Information!"

To paraphrase Tony Robbins at the Ultimate Breakthrough 2022 Challenge:

"Let Your Lessons Lead to Actions! ...What changes your life is not learning more. What changes your life is making decisions & using your personal power & taking action." 

The best way to look at this scenario as Tony Robbins puts it, is to consider the Pareto Law or better known as the 80:20 Rule.

By the way, I remember vividly quality guru Joseph Juran often referred the Pareto's Law as "The Law of The Vital Few and the Trivial Many".

Nonetheless, the Pareto's Law should serve as a daily reminder to focus 80% of our time and energy on the 20% of our work that is really important.

Don't just "work smart", work smart on the right things.

What Dr Maxwell Maltz had asserted below is absolutely true!

Tony Robbins shares an interesting anecdote:

“My teacher Jim Rohn taught me a simple principle: every day, stand guard at the door of your mind, and you alone decide what thoughts and beliefs you let into your life.

For they will shape whether you feel rich or poor, cursed or blessed.”

He adds:

“The secret of living an extraordinary life is to take control of the mind, since this alone will determine whether you live in a suffering state or beautiful state."

He adds a warning, though:

"When you get in your head, you're dead!"

What he means is this:

"Self-doubt and limiting beliefs kill dreams and they start and end in the mind.

The brain is an incredible tool but sometimes you need to use your heart, embrace your passion and act on it in order to move yourself forward."

Thanks, Tony, for the lesson!

Here’s a quote that is particularly insightful and motivating:

''Any fool can know. The point is to understand.''

~ Albert Einstein, physicist and Nobel laureate;

I really love this quote, but I feel it should continue and end as follows:

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand and apply.”

It is often said that knowledge is power, but in reality, knowledge is only potential power.

It is only true power when it is applied in your life or work or business, like the rubber tyre meeting the macadamised road. In engineering terms, it's the delivered horsepower that matters.

Remember, it’s not enough to have knowledge. Any fool can have knowledge. The point is understand and apply the knowledge.

As a matter of fact, I would like to put it this way:

Applying what you know creates ''world'' experience, resulting in valuable feedback as to what works and what doesn't work. Everything else is just information, or ''word'' experience.

Think about it. Are you really applying your knowledge?

I like to highlight a very inspiring - and deeply insightful - quotation from Tony Robbins:

"The difference between those who succeed and those who fail isn't what they have - it's what they choose to see and do with their resources and experiences of life."

There are four key words or phrases, namely:

(1) choose to see...;

(2) (choose to)... do;

(3) ... resources;

(4) ... experiences of life;

Knowledge is not measured by what you have read from a book or gotten from a casual conversation or even from attending a seminar or workshop. This is only potential, or what is precisely stored in your head.

Interestingly, nowadays, there are a lot of fascinating seminars and workshops out in the marketplace.

Some are even available online.

I have often come across intelligent folks attending these seminars or workshops, and they often get caught by the in-class euphoria with other attendees, especially when the class environment is designed to be touchy-feely, and when these emotionally charged-up folks return to their workplaces, it's always back to square one, after they are left much to their personal devices.

What happens then? They start off with another or upgraded versions of the same seminar or workshop, and thus the vicious cycle continues, finally ending as, sad to say, seminar junkies.

I often get emails from friends-I-have-not-met in cyberspace, seeking my professional advice after having read my Amazon reviews and/or my personal weblogs.

Once I have reviewed their "problems", it then dawn on me that there are in fact intelligent folks out there who actually don't know how to convert their knowledge into action.

Naturally, this spell good business opportunities for those seminar or workshop purveyors.

I hate to say this: It's your executive productivity - what you actually do and what you don't - in the real world out there, that ultimately determines whether your knowledge is power.

To use an apt analogy, knowledge is indicated horsepower of an automobile. True or brake horsepower comes about when your rubber tyres meet the road.

Business strategists like to use the term, "execution premium" to denote the outcome.

For plain folks like us, it's simply making a decision, setting out a plan, putting all ideas to work, keeping track, obtaining feedback and monitoring progress, in our life or where we work or in our business.

The key to it is basically developing concrete action, or better still, sustained traction.

Creativity or rather coming up with many ideas is one thing - in fact, it's easy, but no action, talk only (that's NATO for short), still puts us back into inertia.

All ideas must be followed by - or rather converted - into action, plain and simple, even though putting ideas to work is oftentimes a laborious and tough task.

In real-world terms, and against my background as an engineer, I often like to call the endgame as creating "concrete deliverables" from your pet ideas.

The harsh reality is this: only Action produces Results.

I recall entrepreneur Nolan Bushnell, who founded both Atari, Inc., and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza-Time Theaters chain, has summed up best my sentiment:

"Everyone who's ever taken a shower has had an idea. It's the person who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it who makes the difference."