The Spirit Bear is the Kermode Bear. This is the unique subspecies of the North American Black Bear, where approximately one in ten bears are white or cream-coloured, while the others are all black.
The point is that although 'Spirit Bears' are minimally different (genetically less than 0.1% different), the end result is visually so dissimilar that the 'Spirit Bears' seem to be an entirely different species altogether.
The Spirit Bears then represent the 10% of people who really achieve, while the other Black Bears represent the vast majority of people (90%) who don't do so well. Even though the differences are very small, the result is huge. And its the same with people. There's a small percentage of people who get what they want easily, while the majority struggle and still don't get what they want.
It's not hard to see huge differences between what different people have, but it can be hard to find Exactly, Specifically & Precisely how these diferences came about in the first place.
It helps to look at achievement like flying an aeroplane; most of the energy is used on the runway during take-off and then on the climb to cruise height. Yet once the aeroplane gets to 30,000 feet it doesn't take much to keep moving forward from then on.
But most people are not like aeroplanes. 90% of people don't make it off the ground. Instead they work very hard just burning fuel on the runaway.
Perhaps they have trouble seeing beyond the risks. Aeroplanes take off when they are going so fast that they can't turn back. If an aeroplane doesn't rise into the sky, then it'll probably crash and burn. So by the time the aeroplane leaves the ground, it is totally committed to flying!
What are you committed to? Do you stay safe on the ground or do you risk it all to get into the air?
If you are committed to fly, then a word of caution. To give yourself the best chance of success, make sure you have a plane that can fly. Take the time to plan and develop a structure to reduce the potentially huge risks. Do that properly and you'll get airborn every time.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Working hard, going nowhere?
I was talking to a friend. He said that he used to have plenty of money, used to be successful and used to have very few worries. He said that although he wasn't always proud of some of the things he did, he was able to get deals over the line most of the time, almost always got what he wanted one way or the other, and made sure that it was his way or the highway.
His was the way that worked and his very healthy bank balance proved this. His problem was that he was working harder than he had ever worked before and there was no let-up in sight!
He decided personal development was the way to go. He read self-help books, attended personal development workshops, did self-improvement courses. He got the message big-time and everyone agreed, he was now a much nicer man.
But the bank balance was heading in the wrong direction. That's when he noticed that lots of nice guys don't make it. They may have excellent products, be the best in their field, and spend time giving great service, yet they continually struggle to make ends meet.
You see to really make it, nice guys are like everybody else. They need ESP. ESP stands for 'Exactly, Specifically, Precisely' and it means being focused on the Exact, Specific & Precise things that make the differences you want. If your not getting what you want, then you need to find your ESP.
Pareto's 80/20 Rule shows us how ESP works.
If we took 100 people and divided them into a team of 20 and a team of 80, we'd expect the team of 80 to achieve 4 times as much. Well, in this wonky world of ours, exactly the opposite typically happens. The team of 20 achieves 4 times as much as the team of 80 achieves."
His was the way that worked and his very healthy bank balance proved this. His problem was that he was working harder than he had ever worked before and there was no let-up in sight!
He decided personal development was the way to go. He read self-help books, attended personal development workshops, did self-improvement courses. He got the message big-time and everyone agreed, he was now a much nicer man.
But the bank balance was heading in the wrong direction. That's when he noticed that lots of nice guys don't make it. They may have excellent products, be the best in their field, and spend time giving great service, yet they continually struggle to make ends meet.
You see to really make it, nice guys are like everybody else. They need ESP. ESP stands for 'Exactly, Specifically, Precisely' and it means being focused on the Exact, Specific & Precise things that make the differences you want. If your not getting what you want, then you need to find your ESP.
Pareto's 80/20 Rule shows us how ESP works.
If we took 100 people and divided them into a team of 20 and a team of 80, we'd expect the team of 80 to achieve 4 times as much. Well, in this wonky world of ours, exactly the opposite typically happens. The team of 20 achieves 4 times as much as the team of 80 achieves."
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Why The Spirit Of The Bear?
The spirit bear is the Kermode Bear. This bear is a unique species of the North American Black Bear in which approximatley one in every ten bears is born white of cream-coloured. The Kermode Bear represent our never-ending striving to 'make it' in our unique world. With a 1/10 probability of actually being a Kermode Bear, we are reminded that it is about the same with people. Some 'make it' while the majority don't. The question to ask ourselves now is not 'Can we make it?', but 'How can we make it?'
Studies of successful people are pretty clear; hard work does not guarantee success. Many people work long, hard hours for little return, while others do very little yet have magnificant returns. This is because achievement doesn't come from how hard you work, but from the actual work that you do. It's a product of how you invest your time.
You've probably heard of Pareto's 80/20 priniciple. It works like this. If we took 100 people and divided them into a team of 20 and a team of 80, we'd expect the team of 80 to achieve 4 times as much. Well, in this wonky world of ours, exactly the opposite typically happens. The team of 20 achieves 4 times as much as the team of 80 achieves.
You see, success comes to those who focus on the things that really make a difference, and often this success is multiple times what you would expect. The secret is to get properly focussed because when we do we invariably achieve much more even though we do less. Just look around and you'll see the 80/20 principle in action everywhere and all the time.
We are now embarking on a journey and you're invited. This journey is inspired by the Kermode Bear, adheres to Pareto's Principle as much as possible, and is to be guided by what you know is right for you ... because at the end of day, its only ever been about you!
It'll be a great ride!
Studies of successful people are pretty clear; hard work does not guarantee success. Many people work long, hard hours for little return, while others do very little yet have magnificant returns. This is because achievement doesn't come from how hard you work, but from the actual work that you do. It's a product of how you invest your time.
You've probably heard of Pareto's 80/20 priniciple. It works like this. If we took 100 people and divided them into a team of 20 and a team of 80, we'd expect the team of 80 to achieve 4 times as much. Well, in this wonky world of ours, exactly the opposite typically happens. The team of 20 achieves 4 times as much as the team of 80 achieves.
You see, success comes to those who focus on the things that really make a difference, and often this success is multiple times what you would expect. The secret is to get properly focussed because when we do we invariably achieve much more even though we do less. Just look around and you'll see the 80/20 principle in action everywhere and all the time.
We are now embarking on a journey and you're invited. This journey is inspired by the Kermode Bear, adheres to Pareto's Principle as much as possible, and is to be guided by what you know is right for you ... because at the end of day, its only ever been about you!
It'll be a great ride!
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