Category: Belief

Do You Believe?

A question is a novel way to start a blog.  The answer, of course, is yes.  Everyone has a belief, even if we do not believe in anything at all.  In that case, we believe there is nothing to believe.  For each person, their beliefs are their own.

Early in our lives, our beliefs develop on what we learn from mom and dad, what we experience in our day-to-day world, and various positive and negative stimulations that we receive.  As we grow, interactions with others in our widening world of school, teachers, social clubs, and friends all play a part in us becoming who we are. Some beliefs grow more substantial, and some diminish as we learn they were not real.

Our beliefs change as we grow. A nice old-man delivering presents to others may fall by the wayside.  In its place, there may spring a belief in charity and doing good deeds for others.  We grow to realize that everything done for us when we are young is no longer the case.  And our belief may turn to the fact that the best things we do reward us in proportion to what we put into the work.  And if we are going to invest, do so in the quality which we can afford. 

No one except ourselves can control our beliefs, the rules we live by, and how we treat ourselves and others.  We must do so, taking into account everything we have learned to date.  Some bedrock beliefs are stable and will not change. Some ideas we base on the best of our knowledge, yet as we learn more, and our experience improves, we may find that some of what we believe will also change.  Hopefully, we are changing for the better.

Thank you for being with me today.  I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

Four Types of Learners

The majority of anything is showing up. And we’re not just talking about being there physically. If you want to make being somewhere to learn count, it’s even more essential that you are present mentally.

I look at four main ways that people show up, especially to take a class and learn. The four thought patterns are:

  1. I’m here, but I can’t do it, so I’m just going to end up failing.
  2. I’m here, and I’ll play along, but things are rigged so I can’t pass and will have to retake the class.
  3. I’m here, and I may not get everything, but I’m going to pay attention and do my best.
  4. Lead, follow or move over because I know everything and am only here to check a box.

In case number one, the person is there physically, yet they’re not going to try anything, and have already made up their mind that they are unable to learn. In this case, these people are writing their own destiny. And their writing does not bode well for them or anyone who needs to count on them.

In case number two, the person will try to learn and will give a halfhearted attempt, but other thoughts are on their mind. Their mind is awash with many ideas, and they are not concentrating. The fact is they may try, but real learning is not in there for them today.

Number three is concentrating. Will work hard. Will not take losing personally. And will strive to learn. This person has a much better chance of learning than the first two students. With everything being equal number three is a good student and will have a good shot at learning the information.

Everyone has an ego of one kind or another.  Number four has a huge ego. And unfortunately, the overconfidence of number four will cause a great block to actually learning something new.  We used to call this the John Wayne effect. This type of person actually believes that he or she knows it all, and cannot fail, and anybody who’s not getting behind him or her is lost anyway. It will typically take a significant failure for this person to see the errors of their ways and make a change.

I can say this based on observations of the last 40 years in training, studying behavioral psychology and motivational techniques, and much scrutiny.  I do not encourage you to take my word for this.  I suggest you sit back and observe for yourself, and see if this idea on learners seems to hold truths or not.

These are just the observations of an old Master Sargent who knows that he does not know it all.

Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

Believe In Your Work

If you’re going to do anything, you have to believe. You have to trust that you can learn to accomplish what you set out to do. You have to think it’s all right to make a mistake, or two, or three, or a dozen times, or even a gross of times. I believe it was Albert Einstein who said, “If you haven’t made a mistake you’ve never tried anything new.” All of this starts with someone believing in possibilities.

If you really, honestly, truly believe you can, then no one can stop you. If you really, honestly, think that you cannot, then you’re probably right. If it has to be done and you have no faith in your ability, then possibly you should turn the project over to someone who believes they can.

It is okay to be nervous, or scared, or panicky as you try something new. This is part of being human. And despite your best efforts, you have to realize that the first time you do, it will not be the apex of your creative goals. There will be lows and highs, setbacks and insights, failures and breakthroughs. Exactly how many times did Thomas Edison test different elements for the lightbulb? I am not sure, but the number 76 seems to stick in my mind.

If you are interested enough to do the work to get it right, you will eventually succeed. Just never give up trying. Never let others talk you out of your successes because of their lack of faith. Keep your faith and keep it close to you.

Realize what success will do for you, and realize what the success of your project can do to positively affect others. Never give up, never given, and never give out. Stay your course of what you know is right and always push towards the next goal.

I know you’re busy right now, and I don’t want to beat this point to death. If you pass a mirror along your way and see your reflection, tell yourself you are doing well and yes you will be okay.

Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

Puzzles and Tools

I love to solve puzzles. Wooden puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, escape the room puzzles, sudoku, and crossword puzzles. I like to work on all kinds of problems. It keeps my mind sharper, there is a feeling of euphoria when solving a hard puzzle, and I find insights into some of my other concerns that I might’ve missed otherwise.

Some people hate puzzles, and I understand why. Many times, the person working the problem is looking for an easy solution or something with just a few steps in it. Failing to find an immediate answer, the would-be puzzle solver gives a shrug of the shoulders and says that the puzzle could not be solved. The next time the particular puzzle style comes around, the person merely says, ‘I can never solve those, it just can’t be done.’

When I was younger, I also used to get frustrated and give up puzzles. Then, I learned and started practicing with a couple of rudimentary mental tools which made solving the puzzle much easier. And later I discovered these mental tools have far greater uses. These tools can actually help us in many other areas of our lives.

I learned that solving puzzles and gaining knowledge in business and life had to start with the belief that the problems could be solved.  This is probably the most important of all the tools. Not believing that something is possible results in never putting forth the effort to actually accomplish it. We may give it lip service, yet most efforts are only halfhearted at best.

My next tool is knowledge. If I believe the puzzle can be solved, then I believe that, in most cases, someone somewhere has done this before. If they can do it, then I should be able to do it. I just need to take some time to explore the possibilities.

My third tool is understanding the possibilities. You need to look at all problems based on possible inputs and possible results. Don’t think about the impossible because more and more the impossible, is becoming probable, and might be able to be purchased within the next five years. Remember, the only thing impossible in technology are some of the folks you’ll meet along the way.

So today I give you three tools, belief, knowledge, and understanding the possibilities. Like any tool, these work best when used often and treated with care. There’s nothing worse than going out to the garden to use a tool and having to brush off all the cobwebs and take time to sharpen it before it becomes useful again.

Well, there’s the mean old master sergeant’s thought again. Thanks for being with me, I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

Trust

When we buy a candy bar, we trust it’s going to be like all the other candy bars of that type we have purchased before. When we get ready to eat the candy bar, if we open it and the chocolate is old and stale, and the creamy insides are is hard as a rock, we may throw the candy bar away. After all, it’s only a candy bar.

When we go out to a restaurant, and we order something, we trust that they will serve us what we ordered. We trust our order will be made under sanitary conditions with care and it will be edible. If we are disappointed in what is served us, we may send it back or even remove the restaurant from our places to frequent. After all, it’s only a meal.

When we order courses off the web to learn something new or to expand our horizons, we trust that we are getting what was offered in the promotion of the course. If we were told that the course was for us and could solve specific problems that we had, we trust that is what is going to happen. As we pay for that course, the results for us need to stack up to the promises made and the cost of the course. This is important because what we study and learn will influence us as we move into our future.

Some people trying to convince others that their course is valuable and essential will charge thousands of dollars for it. They have been taught and live under a belief that a course not costing thousands of dollars cannot possibly be a good course. I am not sure that is so, and in charging high prices, I am probably not going to get to teach some of the students who could really benefit from my training.

I have studied education and training most of my life. I have always both worked and volunteered in part as a trainer and a coach. I have the academic degrees to back it up. And I trust in my skill and motivation. I have no plans to charge you thousands of dollars for something when I can give you a much lower and reasonable price. Don’t get me wrong, if you feel you have to pay me thousands of dollars, okay. Yet, I would have to ask the question, why?

When you take one of my courses, I am trusting that you signed up because you really need the course, or really want the course. I trust you are going to take the course seriously, I have faith that you will do your best to learn what I am teaching. And I believe that you will use the knowledge to better yourself and/or those around you.

I am working on a real active trust and faith which I haven’t quite ironed out yet. I do hope that I can have it figured out and completed by Tuesday of next week (October 2) I will talk about this on that day whether I can accomplish it or not and I think it’s something you might want to read. If it works, it’ll be an excellent offer for you.

Until then I am trusting you will have a good day. And, I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

 

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