Our Greatest Hope 2020

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I wrote this post years ago, but I believe that it is even more relevant than it was in 2012 because we can change the world for the better and we are all part of the solution.

 We stand on a glass cliff, a place where we will see the greatest renaissance we have ever known; or a decline and descent into the abyss of chaos, aggression, and destruction.  A place where we will be crippled by the need, greed, and ego that has destroyed every empire and fiefdom in history OR choose to embrace our potential to use what is to create what can be, our potential to work together to build a better future.

It is your ability, my ability, our ability to cleave to the universal values, express the humanity and moral courage that is our hope for the future.  

Courage that starts with service above self, with the desire to move from me to WE.  Power that grows each time we show kindness to a stranger, reach out and help a colleague of friend, mentor or share knowledge. 

Leadership that grows when we focus not on what we can get, but rather on what we can contribute.  Humanity that is expressed in learning to treat our neighbors, our brothers, and sisters as ourselves.  Happiness that is found in caring, sharing and contributing.

In a world of increasing complexity, it is the simple things that often elude us. It is time to get simple and clear with the importance of tying a knot around our values, courage, integrity; for they are the greatest riches we have.  

Love is the truth,  universal values are the motor, and human passion, purpose, and potential are the engine that can drive us to an evolution of self, and of others that will take us into the age of innovation – an age of extraordinary possibilities; or push us into an abyss of fear, despair, destruction, aggression, and chaos.

Our greatest hope lies in a new balance of independence and interdependence, mutual respect and collaboration that will take us forward.  A path that is difficult, but worthwhile.  A path that requires courage and conviction.  A path that is oft forgotten, and begs to be remembered.  A path of redemption and renewal.  A path of human beings being better not simply doing faster than ever before.  A path that can change one life, many lives and ultimately our world.  A path where we serve to LEAD from me to WE.

Written for my late father, Joseph Becker, my best friend, mentor and a soul whose light shines on.

Become Anti-Fragile in 10 minutes or less a day

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Science confirms our ability to succeed at the speed of change, challenges, competition, frustrations, and even failures.  Most of us are so busy doing what we have done before faster than every before although what got us here will NOT take us forward. Our brains are neuro-plastic, that we have the ability to re-write default patterns of thinking, doing, communicating that no longer serve us.  It is the ability to adapt, evolve, communicate, collaborate that has helped homo sapiens survive.

Do you want to develop a NEW relationship with change and challenges that will help you become “anti-fragile”? A new relationship that can help you develop greater empathy, adaptability, cognitive and emotional dexterity? I have been helping clients do just that for over 16 years.  I am dedicated to this purpose, to helping people build their 3Q Edge because it is a passion, calling and a purposeful mission that can help many. It is a perspective, a framework you should consider.

Check out these 3Q COOL TOOLS, simple, effective, FREE and FAST exercises you can do in less than 10 minutes a day.  And, I would suggest to you that spending 10 minutes a day to build your edge may be the most important thing you can do for yourself, those you love, lead and work with.

• Identify the path (walking/driving) you prefer, then take a different one.

• In a similar vein in your personal life, experiment with taking one old habit every week and tossing it out the window or changing it.

•Walk down a street you are familiar with and search for something you have never seen or noticed before.  The results will surprise you!

• Uplift your posture. There are few more powerful ways to raise and sustain energy than to ease your posture upward, which frees your breathing and raises your energy level.

• Stretch your Strengths by applying them in new ways.

• Try writing a few sentences in the reverse direction, or with your opposing hand.

• Embrace new experiences.  Focus on learning from everything! What you focus on grows, and a positive focus on learning will expand your learning potential.

• Change at least one routine every day.

• Pause for 10 seconds before you respond.  Taking your ego (need to be validated out of the equation and refocusing on your objective).

• Take charge of tension by releasing it, fast.  Clench whatever part of your body is tense, and release it.  Even better, do your whole body-clenching & releasing.

• Do The Pause. Yes, a 2-3 minute mindfulness exercise that is transformative if practiced regularly

• Sip ice water. Fluids move hormones into exactly the right places for sustaining energy, and those same fluids eliminate toxic wastes that can accumulate and wear you down.

• Move more. Inactivity is an unnatural state for us, and it limits energy production.

• Laugh more, smile more. Laughing gives your brain an aerobic work-out and is an excellent stress reliever and mood booster.  Smiling automatically elevates our mood.

• Keep an emotional journal that is for your eyes only.  A safe space on paper where you can write out your deepest emotions, releasing the tension associated with them.

•Take a 1 minute time out.  Block out all stress or worries.  Think about something that really makes you happy.  Yes, take a happiness time out!

Try one cool tool for the next 7 days. Share your experience on the blog or write to me at irene@justcoachit.com

© Irene Becker | Just Coach It 2020

What Makes Successful People Different?

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Delighted to host this guest post by Avil Beckford

Today, technology is changing rapidly. And most people feel like they are on a hamster wheel, going nowhere fast. Will things ever change? No, the pace of change will actually speed up. Instead of trying to keep up, why not figure out which things to focus your attention on?

What makes successful people different from the masses?

When you examine the lives of the most accomplished people in society, a few things come to mind. You never hear them complaining about the recession. Continuous learning is a daily part of their lives. They seem to get breakthrough ideas one after another. And they have several income sources.

At first glance, all the things you notice about them seem disconnected. However, when you take a closer look, you discover that professional development is the thread that holds things together. Take Elon Musk as an example. Reading books is his primary way of learning. And in his life so far, he has managed to disrupt several industries. Additionally, he reads across multiple disciplines. And he has an uncanny way of synthesizing information from the various books, getting idea after idea.

Many have called him an “expert generalist.” Orit Gadiesh, Bain & Company Chairman, London coined the term, defining it as,

“Someone who has the ability and curiosity to master and collect expertise in many different disciplines, industries, skills, capabilities, countries, and topics.”

The term captures the essence of who Elon Musk is. But Musk is more of an intersection thinker. According to Rohit Bhargava, author of Non-Obvious 2019: How to Predict Trends and Win The Future:

“Intersection thinking is a method for creating overlap between seemingly disconnected ideas in order to generate new ideas, directions, and strategies for powering your own success. It can create a crossover gamechanger. It allows you to think in a way your competitors aren’t.”

Want to be more like Elon Musk?

To be more like Elon Musk and other luminaries, incorporate reading books into your day. Be intentional about reading to learn. Read books across multiple disciplines to broaden your worldview. If you are in finance, also read about history. Every industry has a history. Try reading about global poverty. To find a solution to global poverty it will take money. Do you see how everything is connected?

You do not have to spend all day reading books!

Most successful people have taken some form of speed reading course. It allows them to power through more books. But you do not have to speed read. You simply need to know how to become an effective reader. Here’s how to do that.

  • Have a purpose for reading every book.
  • Inspect the book before you start to read it. This means reading the Preface, Foreword, and Introduction. Review the Table of Contents to identify the sections that address your purpose for reading the book. Look at the Index. The terms with the greatest number of references tell you what the author considers important.
  • Read the sections of the book that deepens your understanding of the text.
  • Take notes while you are reading the books.
  • Review your notes, picking out the big ideas.
  • Connect the ideas from the various books you read, making them into bigger ideas.
  • Test the feasibility of the ideas.
  • Implement the ideas.

This kind of reading is not superficial. You are simply looking for the sections of the book that will give you the greatest understanding of the text. You are applying the 80/20 Rule to reading a book. You read 20 percent of the book to understand 80 percent of it. Inspecting the book first, allows you to uncover the 20 percent to read.

Using this strategy, you can read more of the right books to get the kinds of benefits that successful get from reading books. However, the process does not end there. You have to synthesize the information from the books you read, picking out the big ideas. And ultimately acting on the ideas.

So when you see the following statistics about the impact of artificial intelligence:

“Between 40 million and 160 million women globally may need to transition between occupations by 2030, often into higher-skilled roles. To weather this disruption, women (and men) need to be skilled, mobile, and tech-savvy, but women face pervasive barriers on each, and will need targeted support to move forward in the world of work.”

Source:  The future of women at work: Transitions in the age of automation

You won’t panic because you know that your continuous learning practice allows you to see what others are missing.

Three Books to Read

  1. Lifetime Learner’s Guide to Reading and Learning
  2. Non-Obvious Megatrends: How to See What Others Miss and
    Predict the Future
  3. Opportunity: How to Win in Business and Create a Life You Love

The above three books will teach you how to read effectively and get a broader perspective of the world, analyze and synthesize the information from the books you read, and learn how to spot and capitalize on opportunities.

About Avil Beckford
Avil Beckford is the Founder of The Invisible Mentor. She’s a learning strategist who created the Performance Accelerator Plan, so professionals can develop intercultural awareness and learn the skills the World Economic Forum reports they need to thrive in 2020 to 2022.