A Little Reading Music

I Met A Lady

I met a lady. Her name is Megan. We were only in each other's company for a few minutes, two strangers introduced from opposite sides of the world by a mutual friend, Roger.

There was something magical in that moment. She effused a power and energy of pure love I had never experienced before. It was in her aura, her eyes and her smile. Yet, there was also a hint of vulnerability there, too. She was a child in a woman's body. She had been hurt, yet had survived to become successful in business and life. She was strong and powerful on the one hand, yet so gentle and giving on the other.

Sometimes, we meet saints on our journey through life who inspire, encourage and energize us. Megan is one such human being. Teachers are where we find them but only if our eyes and minds are opened enough to embrace them.

Two days after we met, Megan returned to America and we have continued to develop our relationship through e-mails. What began as a cursory introduction has developed into a fully blossoming friendship that I value to a great degree.

Open your heart, eyes and mind. Your next best friend could be waiting right around the corner of circumstance. You never know. Life is what happens while we are busy making plans, according to John Lennon, one of my all-time favorite heroes.

Here's to you, Megan. Thanks for coming into my life and sharing yours with mine.

I Met A Man

I believe one has to live what one teaches. Anything less is to be a hypocrite. In my life's journey, I have met many people claiming to hold "the Truth" but few who lived what they preached. I know many spiritual people who are not religious and many others who are religious but not spiritual. The two are not synonymous nor are they mutually exclusive. I know something about both, having once studied to become a Roman Catholic priest and, at another time, a Buddhist monk. During the time I lived in Saudi Arabia, I studied the Koran. What is true? Not words, but actions. A little story for you . . .

Years ago I was conducting a two-month program in Transformational Thinking (TT) at a large printing and publication company in Miami, Florida. I was also training a young man, a self-proclaimed "reborn again Christian: to become a teacher of TT. He showed a lot of promise. He was an eager and voracious learner and talked a good game but the telling moment occurred one afternoon during a break between sessions. It was a rough neighborhood with more barbed wire than I ever saw in Viet Nam!

I had stepped out on the loading dock to have a cigarette (Yeah, I know!) He joined me. As we were standing there discussing the previous session and planning the next, an elderly African American man approached pushing a shopping cart filled with aluminum cans. He headed straight for the dumpsters and proceeded to filter through the trash within. One man's garbage is another man's treasure. As I watched him, our eyes met and I offered him a cigarette and he accepted. That cigarette served as an opening between two human spirits. We began to talk.

My young (white) trainee silently retreated and disappeared back into the building. I didn't even notice he was gone. I was totally mesmerized by this man's face and his eyes. His face was a map that revealed a long and hard journey. His eyes revealed a soul that was alive and glowing with energy and life. There was something majestic and magical in his bearing. He was happy. He was fulfilled. He "knew" where it was at and I wanted to learn what he knew. What was his secret?

I learned his name was "Old John". During our conversation, he shared that he was a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. He had done bad crimes, served hard time and paid his dues. I didn't ask what he had done. It no longer mattered. The man with whom I had connected was not capable of doing such things. He had changed. I knew I didn't have a lot of time so I asked him directly what had changed his life? I expected to hear an answer like, "I found Jesus," but that is not what came.

Instead, he said simply, "I am a free man. I don't owe anyone anything. I have my own place. I pay my own way with these here cans. I perform a service to my community by keeping it clean. I am a happy man and so grateful for each and every day."

Wow! My mind was racing, as was my heart. Here was the truth! Here was a man who was fulfilled, who knew the difference between what he wanted and what he needed to be happy! How many of us can claim that, much less live it? Standing before me in this rundown neighborhood was a real teacher of truth. I was totally blown away!

This man had a dignity befitting the Buddha. He had the humility of Christ and the wisdom of Mohamed. He was a saint in tattered clothing. He was an idol to be appreciated and revered. I felt so "less than"! It was a momentous lesson in humility.

Later, I went back inside and continued teaching, refreshed, invigorated and inspired by my meeting with Old John. I was on fire with passion, man! I had them amening from the aisles! I also asked my young colleague what had happened to him. Why did he disappear? His reply was yet another lesson.

"I saw that guy and felt threatened. I wanted to get away." What a lame excuse! Fear of the unknown. Yet, how many of us operate under the same misconception?

Old John taught me that we are all teachers and students. Everyone who enters my life does so with a lesson and it is my mission to discover why and what that message is. The Chinese say that, when the teacher ceases to learn, he is no longer qualified to teach. That afternoon, I let my trainee go. He had much to learn and was not yet ready to assume the responsibility for teaching others. You cannot teach something to someone who already thinks he knows it all.

A few years ago, I met another man in Hua Hin. All the locals considered him "crazy" but, over a few smokes, he opened up and taught me so much. He lived on the streets and we carried out conversations that lasted for weeks. Every day he would come around at the same time and we would sit there, squatting on the road and just talk. He wore more Buddha images around his neck than Mr. T had gold chains! I honestly don't know how he remained upright.

One day I asked him why he was so happy, always laughing, sometimes out loud, giving credence to the opinions of the locals. You know what his reply was? "I have found the secret!"

"What is the secret?" I wanted to know.

"The secret is that there is no secret!" He exclaimed. "It is all right here in front of us. This is it! You are the secret. I am the secret. All this (waving his arm wildly) is the secret. We are living the secret."

That gave me pause. Though our paths parted since, the intersection that took place in those moments were life-changing ones. I still think about him and about the life lessons he possessed and was more than willing to share with anyone willing to listen.

The other day, I went for a walk here in Phuket, Thailand and came upon an old Thai man sitting on a piece of cardboard. He had a plastic cup in front of him that contained a few coins but was not overtly begging. He was just sitting ther is a state of absolute serenity. It was this presence that attracted my attention.

On a whim, I went to a nearby food stall and ordered two bowls of noodles and sat with him while we shared lunch. At first, he was so grateful and thanked me profusely and profiundly. we shared a couple of cigarettes. Then it got heavy. He told me he had lost everything in the Tsunami of 2004. He had lost his entie family. I was stunned and didn't know what to say.

He reached out and touched my arm saying, "Adjaan (teacher). I have spent many years searching for you and knew you would come to me today. You were my teacher in a previous life and I have longed to thank you before I die."

Talk about heavy! What could I say? It got even worse. He bent over and kissed my foot, the ultimate sign of respect in the Buddhist culture. I was so embarrassed! People were walking by and I was not ready for this! As far as I was concerned, I taught this man nothing and, in a single meeting, he taught me everything. It was I who should have been kissing his feet. I have not seen him since but he lives within my head and heart.

What do these stories teach us? Treat everyone who enters your reality as a teacher. They know and have experienced things you have not. Learn from them. Share what you know with others freely, for we are all students and teachers.

Whom have you met and learned from? Share your experiences with all of us so that we may learn.

Transformational Thinking

My intention and purpose is to provide people and organizations with the skills necessary to effect positive change within their realities. All change begins within and expands outwards to include others within our sphere of influence. As Leo Tolstoy said, "Most people think of changing the world but few think about changing one's self."

Transformational Thinking (TT) is a philosophy of change. My first book, Champions of Change, was written in 1997. Its most important message is that we all have a choice. We can be either victims of circumstance or Champions of Change.The quality of our life is determined by the choices we make. By learning how to improve the quality of our decisions. we can improve our quality of life. It is really that simple.

There are several qualities that make TT unique. First of all, it is universally applicable. By this, I mean that anyone can apply it within their own reality and obtain immediate results. It is also skill-based. Knowledge without application is meaningless information. Action is what translates thought into reality. TT is not just a collection of thoughts, concepts and theories. It is a simple how-to guide of quality enhancement. I will be sharing these skills with you in later postings. TT is also what I refer to as a "living" philosophy and, like all living creatures, it is ever-expanding, adapting and changing. It is an inclusive philosophy, as opposed to an exclusive one, as are far too many other philosophies. Whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or atheist, TT is for you.

I have taught TT in over fifty countries to hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals over the past 25 years. For the past ten years, I have lived and worked out of Thailand and focused on South Asia. I will be returning to America within a couple of months and will continue my teaching there. It has been a great experience being in this part of the world and I have learned so much! It is time for me to return home and share what I have experienced with my fellow countrymen.

Transformational Thinking has its roots in the real world, not books. It is derived from nature and the systems found there. I consider nature as the best model and mentor when it comes down to adaptability, so necessary for survival and success. Opposed to current thinking, survival is not about the fittest. It is the most adaptable who survive. TT teaches us how to adapt to change but, more importantly, shows us how to create the changes we want and deserve. Change comes in waves. You either ride them or drown in them. I prefer to create them and TT is the way to do that.

One of the keys to becoming a better thinker is to understand the interconnections of all elements of life. That is not as difficult as it may seem at first. My grandfather, who was a Comanche, taught me, using nature as a guide. Through his patient tutelage, I learned that I was a part of nature, rather than apart from it. In future postings, I will share with you what he called the Wisdom of the Ancient Ones.

The second lesson of TT is that we are all responsible for the results of our decisions and choices. Imagine you are standing on the bank of a small pond and you reach down, pick up a pebble and toss it into the center of the pond. What happens? Ripples. They radiate 360 degrees from the center. Who is responsible for the ripples? You. The ripples represent the consequences of our decisions and, once set into motion, they cannot be stopped or taken back. Every word we utter and every action we take creates ripples. We are each responsible for the ripples we create. What happens when the ripples reach the shore? They return to the source. We all receive what we put out there into the universe.

Our ripples can have direct or indirect consequences and effects. Our words and actions can affect people we have never met. One example that comes to mind was a woman I taught in the Maldives several years ago. Two years after I had taught her TT, I ran into her on a street in Male and she invited me for a cup of coffee. She told me she had used what she had learned by sharing it with her 15 year old nephew (who was having serious problems in school and with his parents). Sitting down all three of them, she shared some simple TT skills with them and the problem was resolved by the 15 year old, himself, an amazing transformation, according to her. Indirect ripples.

This is the first time I have ever written a posting for a blog. I would appreciate your input, questions and comments.

What's Wrong With This System?

Many people are looking around, scratching their heads and wondering why everything seems to be falling apart. We wring our hands and are abashed at the poor operation of our economic system, the educational system, management systems, medical systems, insurance systems, political system, military systems, media systems , even our religious systems. What is wrong with this picture? But, before we can fix or improve something, we must first identify and eliminate or at least minimize the root cause(s) of the problem. If we don't, the problem will only recur and come back to bite us again and again.

In order to fully appreciate what is happening in the world today, we have to consider several diverse, yet interconnected factors. We need to understand how we got here from there before we can determine where we need to go next.

First of all, understand that our best thinking got us here! Our systems were designed and developed by the best minds around. Perhaps they once worked but times and people have changed and evolved over the ensuing years. Our systems haven't. We are still using, for example, management systems that were designed some two or three hundred years ago! Think of how much the world has changed in that time and you begin to realize that we are still trying to operate in a modern global environment with systems that haven't improved with age like a fine wine. The game has changed but the rules have not.

Albert Einstein told us that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing in the same way over and over, expecting different results each time. He also said that no problem can be solved by the same mentality that created it. That boy was no slacker when it came to problem solving!

Change is accelerating at an incredible pace and the impact or volatility of change has assumed global proportions. Our ancient systems are too slow, constricting, bulky and inflexible to allow them to adapt to the changes modernization in technology and communications have wrought and we can expect the pace to only gain speed from here.

In nature, that which does not or cannot adapt to change dies. It is that simple. Natural systems are among the most adaptable models one can find and I have spent a great deal of time in nature studying its systems with a sense of fascination and awe. As much as we "modern, civilized" humans would like to believe otherwise, we are still creatures of nature. We are a part of nature, not apart from it. The human body contains incredible systems that operate according to natural principles. Our external systems, on the other hand, are artificial, created with predominantly linear thinking and extremely unnatural. Why aren't they working? Go figure!

If you think it is bad now, buckle your seat belts, for it is about to get worse! There is an amazing phenomenon that has taken place that I call The Great Convergence. I teach about it in my Visioneering workshops.

In nature, there are cycles. They are birth, growth, maturation and decline. In nature, nothing is really "born" and nothing simply "dies", fading into oblivion and nothingness. It is more a process of energy transformation. The decaying leaf, for example, becomes nurturing food for the tree that shed it, making way for new leaves. The cycle continues ad infinitum.

The Great Convergence is the merging of three extremely strong cycles and is a phenomenon that never could have happened in the past. We have the Industrial cycle that began in the 1750's, the Information cycle that began in the 1960's and a new cycle most people are not really all that aware of, the Molecular cycle, that began in the 1980's with the deciphering of the genetic code. This last cycle is going to challenge virtually everything we hold to be true in the very near future. It has already given rise to hotly debated issues that are moral ones, such as cloning. It is the convergence of these three cycles each of which, although can be viewed as separate and powerful influences in its own right, are actually interconnected and influencing one another and, therefore, us.

So, if we are to survive this Great Convergence, perhaps it would do us well to look at natural systems and learn why and how they are so adaptable. Maybe we can apply what we can learn from natural models at the molecular level to our own systems to make them more flexible and adaptable. I have done this with many organizations and the results have been nothing short of amazing.

Let's look at an organism most humans consider simple and primitive forms of natural life, bacteria. Talk about adaptive! Look what happened with Bird Flu! It is adapting faster than all our modern technology and medicines can handle. We are losing the footrace to an organism that has no feet! What principles of adaptability is found in nature at the molecular level? I will list six here and I hope that this sparks some interest and discussion. Remove you management hat, however. I find many "managers" cringe at first glance. Once they wrap their minds and arms around these principles, however, suddenly they see the light and start making some organizational adaptations of their own.

1. Self organize. Traditional management systems are top-down systems that are also compartmentalized. This prevents rapid decision-making and we all know where that takes us.
2. Recombine. Just as molecules recombine to meet the challenges of changing conditions and situations, we can do the same. Forget departments! Where is the talent in the organization and how can we put that talent to best use? Forget traditional organizational structure and develop new models based on what we find in nature.
3. Sense and Respond. The faster we can sense change and the wider our array of possible rapid responses, the more likely we are to survive. In nature, if I sense the presence of a poisonous snake only after it sinks its fangs into my leg, I may respond but it is usually too little too late. Better to sense it before the bite! The same is true in business. Our people on the front line, interfacing with the customer every day are our best sensors but too rarely have a voice or the authority to make on-the-spot decisions.
   
4. Learn and Adapt. We need to truly create learning organizations, not just pay such a concept lip service. We also need to create an environment in which people are free to apply what they learn. Too often, we operate in an atmosphere based on fear and punishment in wihc people will not try out new ideas and this stifles innovation and growth.
5. Seed, Select and Multiply. There is a principle of nature (and Physics) that is called the Tension Differential Factor. Simply stated, it means the more options from which I have to choose, the more likely I am to make a better choice. The oak tree drops hundreds of acorn, aware that not all will take root. In business, generate as many ideas as possible and try them out. When you find one that works, introduce it into other areas. In marketing, for example, don't just latch on to what seems like the best idea. Try several and see which ones work the best then launch a major campaign using them. Discard the ones that don't.
   
6. Destabilize. Ah! This is the one that sends shivers up the backs of most managers! Destabilize? Are you insane? I just got this company running the way I want it! Do you want total chaos? No, but a little chaos is a good thing. We tend to become too comfortable and complacent and this is obviously not exactly an innovative state of mind. Introduce change into the organization. Shake things up in a positive way. Get the creative juices flowing. Get people involved and included. You may be pleasantly surprised at the results. You are not the only person in the organization who is a thinker.

I never met a system that could not stand some improvement, though I have met many that were obsolete and some that were downright contrary to the purposes of the organization. Just because we have been doing something the same way and it seems to be working doesn't mean it is the best way. We have to get creative, folks, and nature is right there offering a myriad of models for us to study.

I invite your comments and input.