Just a random collection of witticisms!

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!

EMBRACING FAILURE AS A STRATEGIC MODEL

I have had actually written this blog piece several years ago, in response to an email exchange with award-winning innovator and also author of  Innovate or Die: A Personal Perspective on the Art of Innovation, by Dr Jack V Matson.

It was in connection with the concept of  'Intelligent Fast Failure', or IFF, which he had orginally conceived in the early nineties, as part of the engineering curriculum design for The Penn State University (The Leonard Center for Innovation & Enhancement of Engineering Education.

He had sought my personal views, by posing the following questions:

- what is your experience with the IFF concept?

- has it been difficult for others to grasp?

- do you know of people who have used it successfully? if so, how? in what ways?

I have had  come to realise, with a little bit of wisdom on hindsight, that my broad understanding of the IFF concept came from few major strands, prior to reading his wonderful book, 'The Art of innovation: Using Intelligent Fast Failure', which was the precursor to Innovate or Die.

#1) Over the years, reading the life stories of inventive minds like Thomas Edison, Alexander Grapham Bell, The Wright Brothers, Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, Paul MacCready, James Dyson, as well as entrepreneurial minds like Richard Branson, Sim Wong Hoo (Creative Technology), Ronald Sim (OSIM), etc., especially understanding how they had dealt with various failures in their own unique ways;

#2) from the 'Money & You' seminar in Adelaide, Australia, during the early nineties, from where I had learned of the "axiom": 

"The greatest failure in life is the failure to participate in your own life."

#3) reading about the global iconoclast and futurist R Buckminster Fuller and his great work, especially when he had chosen to dedicate halff of a century of his remaining life to working for global humanity, as documented in his wonderful book, 'Critical Path' as well as manifested in many of his patented artefacts e.g. geodesic dome, Dymaxion map, just to name a few. 

It was actually his  personal experiment as 'Guinea Pig B' (B for Bucky as he was affectionately known to most people); one of his "axioms" stood out, among many others:

"There are no failed experiments; only unexpected outcomes".

[Note: Bucky had failed miserably in several business ventures. In fact, he had also failed to honour his last personal commitment to his daughter, who later died in his arms, as he had spent too much time boozing.]

#4) eventually reading Dr Matson's 'The Art of Innovation', from which I had picked up two superb insights:

i) move as quickly as possible from new ideas to new knowledge, by making small & manageable mistakes (read: "learning experiences");

ii) keeping multiple experiments going on simultaneously that require minimal investment with the idea that one of these might bloom first;

I also took the opportunity to point out to Dr Matson that, while most "successful" people had approached "learning from failures" as launch pads for renewed actions after the "failures" had happened, he had established "embracing failures" as a strategic mental model to allow people to fail forward and fast in an intelligent and fearless manner.

That's to say, his IFF concept is proactive and anticipatory. That's the distinction I see.

On that note, and with all the understanding that I had gained from the foregoing exposures, I had started my small post-corporate-world ventures during the early nineties, as follows in one go:

- promoting seminars from overseas;
- writing a subscription newsletter;
- setting up a small book store;
- creating a strategy consulting business;

Sadly, my first two ventures ran only for about two years, and ceased immediately after that, but the knowledge and experience gained allowed me to try out the design and development of my own seminars and workshops, which went off well, following a slow start.

Then, the foregoing change, plus the remaining two ventures, became my "bread & butter" lines.

Frankly, as I had told Dr Matson in my response that, I don't think it would be difficult for people to grasp the concept of using "failures as learning experiences", or "bouncing back from failures", so to speak, but whether they could understand the distinction from his orginal IFF concept would be something else.

As a nation, at least from my personal perspective, I reckon Singapore had been a great example of the "embracing failures to move forward" philosophy, especially when Singapore was kicked out of the then Malaysian confederation in mid-1965, and also when the British colonial forces pulled out completely in the early 70s or so.

The complete historical events had already been documented in Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's memoirs, From Third World to First: The Singapore Story 1965 to 2000.

As for the knowledge of individuals from the "failures as stepping stones to success" perspective, I told Dr Matson that the published stories of:

- the Malaysian businessman Billi Lim in his book, Dare to Fail;

- the late Malaysian entrepreneur Lim Goh Tong, of the Genting Group, in his autobiography, My Story; and

- the chairman of global technology outfit Creative Technology, Sim Wong Hoo, in his semi-autobiography, Chaotic Thoughts from the Old Millennium;

would be worth pursuing.

Dr Matson was delighted with my response. He wrote back:

"Thank you so much for your insightful response. You placed IFF in exactly the correct context. 

Many others have commented on failure and its meaning in retrospect.

 As you point out, my spin is a proactive embracing approach to failure as the price of knowledge aquisition."

In reality, as I thought about it further, 'Intelligent Fast Failure' is in fact a rapid learning methodology.

Unlike our traditional school system, where we learn the lesson first, & then take the test . . . with IFF, as applied in the real world, one takes the test first, in order to get the lesson.

In layman terms, this is often known as the "university of hard knocks".

As a strategic model for a venture, irrespective of whether it is business or professional or even personal, it nonetheless takes personal courage in dealing with the perceived fear of failure, a strong conviction in self-efficacy, and most importantly, the personal willingness to play, explore and experiment in its execution.

Drawing from my own personal experience, I reckon another defining factor is the focus on primary objectives set out at the beginning of the venture, with the added operational flexibility in the final approach to reaching those objectives amidst unexpected changing circumstances.

Just sharing some refreshing insights from futurist Jim Carroll, whose brilliant work I have had been following for many years:

"Confidence: It's that thing that never allows your fear of the future to diminish your hope!"

- Futurist Jim Carroll

Here's an alternative version:

"Don't let yesterday's challenges define the steps you can take tomorrow!"

The fun thing here is that both photos were taken during my early morning walks through the forest out back - moving to a new home a year ago in a different city to be closer to my sons has proven to be a wonderful elixir of joy! When I'm not traveling or golfing, I start my day by chasing the sunrise!

Back to my story: way back in 1995, I published a book called "Surviving the Information Age." [ link ] The book was a voyage through the early years of technological disruption that took a look at why so many people were struggling with the future, and how our world might evolve. Though somewhat out of date, I'm still tremendously proud of this work!

The book also told the story, through a variety of chapters, of my own struggles with the future. I was just thumbing through it for some odd reason, and re-read the last chapter. Given the fact that so many people today are struggling with the issues of quiet-quitting and The Great Resignation, I thought it was on point -- since it outlined my own dramatic career transition through 1989, and the loss of confidence and courage I faced in leaping into a new future.

In that final chapter, I wrote this sentence, which is now quite fascinating for me to see

"...I was terrified of the future. And when you don’t know what the future will bring you, you lose hope."

Learn why - maybe you'll find your own inspiration and confidence!

-----

"Achieving Hope", from Chapter 25 - Surviving the Information Age, 1995

Everyone hits a low point at which they lose hope for the future. I remember when it hit me — dramatically and with full force, shortly after the company merger in 1989 which had such a dramatic impact on my career. This event, at the time, seemed to effectively destroy everything that I had been working on for some five years.

Life was certain — I knew exactly what was coming, and where I was going. Until, of course, events beyond my control ripped those plans away from me. Suddenly, the future that I thought I had all mapped out — didn’t exist anymore. I didn’t know what was coming and didn’t know what I would do.

As the negative impact of the change in my job took hold, a sense of gloom descended upon me. I knew I no longer wanted to stay with the firm for which I worked — but I didn’t have a clue what I would do next! Within weeks, I had decided to quit — but couldn’t bring myself to do it. And through the next nine months, I actually decided two or three times to quit, and then always backed off at the last minute — because I was terrified of the future.

When you don’t know what the future will bring you, you lose hope. That’s what happened to me. I lost my confidence — the worst possible thing that could happen at the time. I lost sight of my abilities. I no longer had a good idea of what I could do. I was unsure of my skills and didn’t know what type of company might be interested in hiring me.

Uncertainty is built upon uncertainty. Many painful days and sleepless nights were spent trying to figure out what I should do with my career. Should I quit? Should I look for another job? Should I try to start my own consulting business? What should I do?

Losing confidence in yourself — because you’ve lost hope — is a terrible thing! Particularly when you are trying to carve out a new career — when you are trying to be a survivor. “I don’t know what my skills are,” I would cry out to my wife in moments of frustration. “I don’t know what it is I can do! Who would want to hire me?” I pleaded. And in anger and frustration, I damned the forces that caused such an upheaval in my career.

My loss of hope was such that over time, I convinced myself that I had little to offer the corporate world — and that I was staring at a dead-end future.

What a miserable state of mind to be in!

I remember one day in which the enormity of what I had accomplished hit home. It was about a year after I had quit. It was 6:45 AM in the morning on a spring day — the sun was coming up, the birds were singing, a warm breeze was blowing in the window, and a steaming cup was on the desk. I had just gone through my voicemail and had heard very positive news from three potential clients. Although my business was still very new and the risk was high — the signs were that I would succeed.

* * *

All of us have been in situations in which events in our lives and our careers have overtaken us to a point that we lose that most important of all human characteristics — hope.

To survive in the information age, you must have hope — it’s the most basic of human necessities. Give yourself hope, and you can have everything — confidence, ability, skill, enthusiasm, and determination.

Hope is the fuel that drives us to the future. But hope is a funny thing — you often have to work hard to find it.

* * * *

The future isn’t bleak — in fact, it is truly wonderful, but only if you decide to make it so.

The thing that you need to be a survivor in the information age, beyond everything else — your attitude, skills, and capabilities — is to give yourself some hope.

By doing what is necessary to survive in the information age, you can prosper from the riches that it offers. The information age is out there, all around you, encompassing everything you do. The true secret is that it is up to you to go and find it

How can I close this book and offer you the hope that you need to find your own success and survival in the information age?

By offering one simple comment of encouragement — you can do it! You can master the technology, and develop the skills necessary to survive this new era.

May some hope be with you."

Read this brisk post by Basil J Page in the Matt Furey: Theatre of the Mind Community Page:

"It’s called the SELF IMAGE, not the OTHER PERSON'S IMAGE."

As I read and ponder, I recall the following advisory:

"What you see when you look in the mirror is not the real you. It’s just a reflection of your physical being.

While your physical body and appearance are important, it’s the self-image that’s locked in your subconscious mind that really counts. For this is the image that determines your success or failure in life.

While, the real you is perfect, boundless, and is always looking for ways to expand, the self-image in your mind is based on false and limited information that sets the boundaries for every area of your life.

So if you see yourself as shy, not good enough, or unlovable, you will feel and act accordingly. And that will create results in your outer world that reflect the image you have in your mind.

Even if you promise yourself that you’re going to do something different, you will not deviate from that pattern. At least not for long because your self-image is like…The automatic pilot in an airplane!"

- Sandy Gallagher, head honcho of PGI;

You are absolutely right: 

Self Discipline, among many other vital life skills, is not taught in the schools. 

Back in the late eighties, I have had the wonderful opportunity to procur and practise the Neuro-Psychology of Self-Discipline, a self-paced and self-directed, audio-video based program, developed by SyberVision Systems, in conjunction with famed neuroscientist Dr Karl Pribram of Stanford University. 

In retrospect, I must say, the insights and techniques from the program had indeed impacted my professional career tremendously in the ensuing years.

Interesting!

Notwithstandingly, entrepreneur and founder of the Success Motivation Institute in Waco, TX, USA, gave a nice and apt definition, back in the late sixties (but I encountered his great work back in the late seventies, when I participated in his pretty expensive Dynamics of Goal Setting program):

"Success is a progressive realization of worthwhile, predetermined personal goals."

Introducing:

Einstein’s Formula for Success, 

by success coach Ron White

Albert Einstein had a formula for success. Can you believe that? 

One of the greatest minds of all time developed a math formula for success! I suggest you read this carefully—this may be the most important math equation you will ever see.

Einstein said, “If A equals success, then the formula is: A=X+Y+Z.

X is work.
Y is play.
Z is keep your mouth shut.”

Einstein no doubt had an excellent sense of humor. 

Let’s look at the 3 variables in this equation. They are:

1. Work
2. Play
3. Keeping your mouth shut!

1. Work: 

Albert Einstein had a tremendous work ethic and because of that gave more to society and modern science than any person in recent times.

2. Play: 

Einstein, however, did not work 24 hours a day and made time for fun and relaxation. His idea of fun may have been different than yours, but that doesn’t mean it still wasn’t play.

3. Keeping your mouth shut: 

Finally, my favorite part of his success formal is to keep your mouth shut. I genuinely believe that the person who talks the least says the most. 

A friend of mine complains that the woman he is dating talks too much. I don’t know how to break the news to him; the problem is not that she talks too much. It simply is the fact that he is irritated that he isn’t able to talk. 

Now, let me just say this is not a generic man and woman statement. 

I am speaking about a specific person I know. His desire is to constantly talk and because he likes to talk so much, he will talk in circles. If you let him talk long enough he will repeat the same thing three times and then contradict himself. His desire is not to hear but to be heard.

Albert Einstein, on the other hand, had nothing to prove. He felt no need to be the “Chatty Cathy” he could have been with his knowledge. It wasn’t important to him to talk to everyone he met and talk over their heads to demonstrate his IQ. Instead, he learned the value of quietness and solitude.

Shift your mindset from being a talker to a listener. It has been said that you can make more friends in five minutes by becoming interested in others than you can make in five years of trying to get others interested in you! 

How do you become interested in others? You ask questions and then keep your mouth shut!

Dale Carnegie wrote the best-selling book How to Win Friends and Influence People. One of the key premises of this book was that everyone’s favorite subject is actually themselves and that the sweetest sound to their ears is the sound of their own name. 

Einstein knew this and realized he could influence others by choosing his spots to speak and validating others by extending them the courtesy of listening.

[Extracted from a past issue of the Denis Waitley's Newsletter]