In 2009 friend Claude-André Bertrand responding to a T4D about e-mail management sent me this interesting note… 

In 80 clinical trials, Dr. Glenn Wilson, a psychiatrist at King’s College London University, monitored the IQ of workers throughout the day.

He found the IQ of those who tried to juggle messages and work fell by 10 points — the equivalent to missing a whole night’s sleep and more than double the 4-point fall seen after smoking marijuana.

Wilson said the IQ drop was even more significant in the men who took part in the tests. (no surprise there)

This doesn’t mean you should quit your job and start growing plants… :) 

Kirk Out

As a teen ager I think I read every book by Louis L’Amour at least twice….

“Up to a point a man’s life is shaped by environment, heredity, and movements and changes in the world about him. Then there comes a time when it lies within his grasp to shape the clay of his life into the sort of thing he wishes to be. Only the weak blame parents, their race, their times, lack of good fortune, or the quirks of fate. Everyone has it within his power to say, ‘This I am today; that I will be tomorrow’.”  –Louis L’Amour

Which cowboy will you choose to be tomorrow?

Kirk

Creating Change in Human Society is Hard

“there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things, because innovation has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new.”

How little we have changed in 500 years

Create a wonderful new condition for yourself …to help you prepare for success in the “new order of things”…  and have a weekend of great and chose change.

Kirk out

Just a quick quote for today…but a true one….inspired by something I saw last night… the impressive Panama Canal….an incredible accomplishment by mankind.

Man has never made any material as resilient as the human spirit.  ~ – Bernard Williams (1929-) English Philosopher

 Last night my host here in Panama took me to Diner at the Miraflores Locks where we could dine as we watched the ships pass through… thanks for dinner guys.  Who knew that on my 48th Birthday I’d be in Panama watching ships pass in the night.

Interesting Facts about the Panama Canal

http://panamacanalmuseum.org/index.php/history/interesting_facts/

Last night my host here in Panama took me to Diner at the Miraflores Locks where we could dine as we watched the ships pass through… thanks for dinner guys.  Who knew that on my 48th Birthday I’d be in Panama watching ships pass in the night.

Who is this guy in my picture? (actually my picture didn’t turn out so well …so I had to use this one. Still … I was right there.

Make it a great day

Kirk Out

Those who have read SWITCH will enjoy this review… those who have not will be fascinated….

I thought about typing this whole very cool story in…and thought NO…surely someone has already done it.  Better than that… I found this short video of one of the authors actually telling it!  http://www.fastcompany.com/video/why-change-is-so-hard-self-control-is-exhaustible

Enjoy and then… I’d love to hear what you think….at www.kirkweisler.com/t4d

Kirk Out

Dear friend Scott Fullen recently suggested this book to me, Getting Things Done Fast by David Allen.  He teased me with just these lines.

Every “problem” comes down to two things:

1)  You know what you want, but you don’t know how to get it

2)  You don’t know what you want

Nobody can say they have a problem that doesn’t boil down to one of those two things.  You have to make it up or make it happen.

“You only complain about things that you assume should be different than they currently are - you’re just not taking the risk to make it so.”

I haven’t purchased or listened to the book….yet.  Right now I am re-reading “Switch” by the Heath Brothers who speak to the same principle in their wonderful metaphor of The Elephant and the Rider…and the Path.   My 2nd time through is proving more energizing than the first.

Kirk Out

Life is just a bit more complicated than Domino’s Pizza…  No one is going to deliver success to your door.  No one is coming to bail you out, fix your problem, pay your rent, write your book, register you for college, patent your idea, discover your un-refined talent and hire coaches to build you into the next great thing.

No one is going come knocking on your door with a diamond polishing kit to help get you out of your rough state.

This week…let’s not wait.  Let’s be very clear about what we want …and then GO FOR IT!!

Kirk Out

I saw one of these yesterday as I was spending time on the campus of Purdue University.  I have actually seen several of them at different places ….and every time I have there have been strips missing off the bottom.   I don’t know if a little strip of paper with the word “hope” on it will actually fill your hope bucket….BUT… I do know that it can help us to focus …and to remind us … and that as we think….so we become.

I challenge you to create one for your workplace and see what happens.

If you have a personal story about something like this I’d love to see it.

Kirk Out

“No one beneath you can offend you. No one your equal would.”-Jan L. Wells

“Until you make peace with who you are, you’ll never be content with what you have.”-Doris Mortman

“If we have our own ‘why’ of life, we can bear almost any ‘how.’”-Friedrich Nietzsche

“When one is out of touch with oneself, one cannot touch others.”-Anne Morrow Lindbergh

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”-Carl G. Jung

Kirk Out

In 2002 I wrote this for a very specific organization that we working to creat to serve the population of serverly at risk youth.  I think with some slight adaptation to the context of leadership influencing others to influence culture it works nicely.  (What do you think?…because what we think matters.)

“We declare that WE KNOW that change is possible, and our Mission is to literally CHANGE THIS WORLD one precious SOUL at a time! This bold declaration stands ahead of us, to be realized only if WE first accept the responsibility of being that change ourselves…. Gandhi so apply said, “We must be the change we wish to see in the world.”   

We always talk about the things that are related to our jobs.  How to do this, how to do that.

But how many of us actually examine our mental attitude about our job?  Are we coming into work everyday just to earn that next dollar?  Do we wish our days away waiting for Friday night?  Is there a way to enjoy our work?  There is if we are willing to change the way we look at things.

How to begin thinking positively:

1. Start now.  Turn negative thoughts into positive affirmations.  Tell yourself that you can, even if you feel that you can’t.

2.  Take responsibility for your own actions. Don’t point fingers. Others will succeed when they see your success.  Stop blaming others and start doing the right thing.

3.  Do what you love and love what you do.  If your job isn’t exactly what you always dreamed of, start taking steps now to change it.  Maybe it’s not your job that is the problem, maybe it’s your attitude towards your job.

4.  Help others.  Helping others reach their goals helps us to become better leaders.  Showing others the way is our greatest reward.

5.  Watch what you say.  The words that come out of our mouths can make or break the way we look at things.   Don’t say,  “That’s just the way it is”.  Say, “What can I do to change this?”
6. Practice. Do something every day to change your mental attitude.  Help your co-workers, smile, approach new projects openly and positively, and do the
best that you can everyday!

Think for a change… a phrase that works on so many levels. 

Make it a great day!

Kirk

“Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you.”   Jim Rohn