Like beauty...

it’s in the eye of the beholder

Chapter 23 of the Chandogya Upanisad says “Abundance is happiness.  There is no happiness in smallness.”

In today’s world we’re fed a steady diet of scarcity.  It makes us feel small and helpless.  This sense of scarcity makes us fearful and unhappy.  It doesn’t have to be that way.

We live in a country with an abundance of resources, an array of natural beauty rarely found in one country and a resourceful, entrepreneurial populace that finds ways to thrive in any situation.

Yes, we make mistakes.  Yes, there are people who delight in reminding us of those mistakes.  Yes, there are even those who enjoy feeding our fears, our sense of scarcity.  Yet there is one thing these people can’t do, they can’t take away our right to choose where we focus our attention.

Despite the challenges we’re facing today, we still live in a country that other countries emulate; that other countries look to for leadership; that attracts immigrants from all over the world because they view America as the land of incredible opportunity.

Are you going to view the present economy through the lens of scarcity or the lens of abundance?  It’s counter-intuitive, but if we see scarcity and act accordingly we create scarcity, fear and unhappiness.  If, however, we see abundance and act upon what we see we create abundance, wealth and great joy.  The choice is yours. 

Remember, perception is, indeed, the precursor of reality.  We create the reality we see.  Let’s thumb our noses at those who wish to rob us of our happiness.  Let’s make sure that we’re looking through the lens of abundance.

Here are a few questions that can help you ignore the raucous cry of those who spread doom and gloom:

Has there ever been a time when our country hasn’t recovered from the mistakes it made?

Has there ever been a time in your life when what you needed failed to appear when you needed it, not wanted it, but needed it?

Isn’t it true that the seemingly bad things in your life have been accompanied by some valuable insights?  Isn’t it true that many things that, at first, appeared to be bad were actually blessings in disguise?

Don’t let others rob you of your happiness.  See the abundance that exists and you’ll see the opportunity to create even more.  It’s the path to great joy. 

Share your stories of abundance with our readers by posting your story as a comment.  You stories will help others to see the abundance in their lives.

The art of the possible…

 …lies in youthful minds.

A week ago my wife and I took an extended weekend to go camping with her sister and her husband.  They had their 4 year old granddaughter with them.  Our campsite was replete with hickory nuts.  We weren’t sure whether or not our grandniece had ever seen a hickory nut so we brought her over to our site to show them to her.

 It was fun to watch the excitement on her face as she discovered nut after nut, all the while inquiring why we had so many and they didn’t have any at their campsite. 

After the newness of this discovery wore off, she said “Would you like to buy a hickory nut for a $1?”  My wife and I began negotiating with her.  With a sigh of exasperation she said “Just pretend.”

As adults we’d taken her request literally, when she was pretending.  How often do we close our mind to possibilities because we’re too literal?  What do we forego because we no longer “pretend.”  A great deal, I’m afraid.

If we think about concepts like the law of attraction, goal setting and achievement or success in any form, what do we need to do first?  The most successful among us tell us that they visualize the result.  They see the result in their minds before they embark on the path of making it a reality.  In essence, they’re pretending that is already exists.

It’s counter-intuitive, but leaving behind the “childish” world of make believe prevents us from enjoying the things we truly desire.

If you have a favorite story from a child in your life, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com so that we can share it with The Invaluable Leader readers. 

How is it exhibited?

When is it most effective?

 What do the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts have in common - great head coaches.  Tony Dungy is the head coach of the Colts.  His protégé is Bear’s coach, Lovey Smith.

Both display an intensity that is palpable - you can feel it.  Yet neither is prone to emotional outbursts, denigrating players or the use of foul language.  Indeed, announcers regularly cite them as true gentlemen of the game. 

Their quiet demeanor isn’t a lack of passion for the game or winning.  Quite the contrary, they are both very focused, results-oriented individuals who expect a great deal from their players.  These coaches aren’t devoid of emotion; yet they are able to guide their players through the emotional ups and downs of momentum changes during the game.  What makes these coaches so special?  How can they be so successful, yet so quiet in their demeanor? 

Their players say that both men inspire them to higher levels of performance, yet both let players know, in no uncertain terms, their displeasure when they’re not performing to their capabilities without emotional outbursts.

It’s counter-intuitive, but quiet intensity is more powerful than emotional outbursts because of the reaction it generates.  A basic law of physics says that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  In other words, emotional outbursts trigger reciprocal outbursts. 

When emotions are triggered, logical thinking takes a holiday.  The mind cannot perform both functions as once.  Conversely, calm communication invites calm, logical consideration of the information provided.  If you want to use your intensity to its greatest advantage, follow the examples of Tony Dungy and Lovey Smith, present your thoughts calmly.  Those around you will enjoy the experience and achieve better results.

If there are topics you’d like me to address, send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.

Will today’s challenges make us better consumers?

Or simply different consumers?

With all the price pressures we are experiencing, the inevitable question is “Will we become more intelligent consumers?” 

Of course, this presumes that we were not making good buying decisions before.  Is that the case?  You decide.  During periods when we were enjoying our highest income levels, we viewed time as our most valuable asset.  When the things we bought broke, we disposed of them.  It wasn’t worth our time to fix them.  Similarly, we didn’t “waste” our time carpooling, we were already losing huge chunks of time to the commute.  We chose suburbia, in lieu of city dwelling.

With the outsourcing of work, both nationally and internationally, many of us (including the best educated among us) have experienced a diminution in income levels.  The result is that we’re taking a harder look at how we spend money.  Does this make us more intelligent consumers?  Not really.  It’s simply a reflection of changing conditions.

Our failure as consumers comes from our inability to recognize and adapt to trends before they become crises.  It’s easy to point to Washington - to our elected officials, the lobbyists, the big money contributors - and say it’s their fault that we’re in this mess.  The reality is that they are merely reflecting our wishes.  If you are looking for evidence that proves my point, we need simply look at Hillary Clinton’s and John McCain’s earlier willingness to temporarily lower gas taxes for the summer travel months.  

I’m not willing to let politicians skate on their contribution to the problems we face.  They should have the personal strength to tell us that we’re misinformed when we ask for things that aren’t in our best interests.  Having said that I am not willing to lay these problems solely at their feet.  We, as consumers, need to put more pressure on our elected officials to make wise choices, even though it may cost us more in the short run. 

My Dad was an automotive mechanic.  He impressed upon me that maintenance is always less expensive than repair.  If we had pressured our elected officials to be more aggressive in establishing fuel efficiency standards, in setting and enforcing lower speed limits, in using fuel taxes to increase the price of gasoline for the express purpose of making alternative sources more attractive, we wouldn’t be experiencing gasoline prices as high as they are today.  Our roads wouldn’t be in such a constant state of disrepair.  We wouldn’t be suffering the commute times we do today.

We can see similar results from the subprime mortgage fiasco.  The American dream of owning our own homes prompted our elected officials to embark upon a program designed to make homeownership more affordable.  The Fed jumped on board with some of the lowest interest rates in 40 years.  The result has been devastating for millions of us. 

Health care is another arena in which our poor consumerism has resulted in many people not being able to afford health insurance.  I know that I contributed to this problem, more so in the past than I do today.  When my wife and I had healthcare coverage through her employer, we never questioned the tests the doctor suggested.  When she left that employment and we replaced that coverage with our own, we suddenly began to question the doctor.  The first time I explained to the doctor that I had a high deductible and would be paying for these tests myself, he eliminated half the tests without batting an eye.  I could have helped keep healthcare costs lower by being a more intelligent consumer earlier.

It’s counter-intuitive, but it’s our short-term view that makes us poor consumers.  If we want to become more intelligent consumers we need to take a longer-term view of how are our actions today contributing to the potential for higher prices in the future. 

We need to act on that view by putting pressure on our elected officials to make better decisions.  Our lack of activism contributes to our lack of intelligent choices. We live in the one country in the world that is established to allow its people to control their own destinies, yet we do nothing with this power.  Let’s become more intelligent consumers, let’s pay attention the long-term trends and put pressure on our elected officials to act wisely on those trends.

If there are topics you’d like me to address, send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.

No one denies that experience is valuable…

…but what role does it play in future success?

At the risk of being labeled a political pundit (this is the third blog in a row based on the current presidential election), I’m struck by the enormity of the debate over who has relevant experience.

Personally, I think experience is overrated.  Certainly it has value, but experience doesn’t necessarily prepare us to deal with the future.  I could bore you with countless tales of experiences I’ve had in which I learned valuable lessons only to repeat the same mistake. 

There is no pride in that admission, simply recognition of the fact that I’m human and, as is the fate of all human beings, I occasionally need to learn a lesson more than once for it to stick. 

If not experience, what then should we be looking for in our presidential and vice-presidential candidates?  The ability to think! 

It never ceases to amaze me how some people can be successful in any arena in which they choose to operate.  General Electric is a fine example of what I mean.  To rise to the top echelons in General Electric, leaders must demonstrate the ability to be successful - to continuously improve results - in diverse businesses, in varying market conditions with very different technologies at work.

GE’s leaders succeed because they’ve trained their minds to see similarities in diverse situations, not because they’ve had “relevant” experience.  Indeed, people who have spent the majority of their careers in one field, often lack the ability to see anything but normal industry practices, while those who move beyond their specialty are able to craft new and exciting approaches to whatever challenges they face.

How does all of this relate to you?  Whether you’re choosing a person to lead this great country or filling a position in your organization, look first to the person’s demonstrated ability think, then at their experience.  You’ll make better choices.

It’s counter-intuitive, but critical thinking will trump experience every time.

If you’re getting tired of political commentary and would like me to address a different topic, send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.

One of today’s most popular concepts.

Why don’t more people use it effectively?

The book and DVD, The Secret, offer a plethora of examples of very successful people who have used the law of attraction to great effect.  It’s a message that resonates well with virtually everyone. 

Why, then, do so few people employ it effectively in enhancing their lives?  The title of this blog offers a clue.  It’s the action.  In my opinion, The Secret does not place enough emphasis on taking appropriate action.  Without action, neither God nor the universe, knows that you’re serious about your expressed desire.  Allow me to share a personal example.

I have a program, 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE.  As I’m sure that you know, it’s the program that teaches people how to develop the skill of counter-intuitive thinking - the focus of this blog.  It’s a message that resonates extremely well with audiences.  It’s not unusual to have over half the audience feverishly taking notes. 

I’ve wanted to take this program national for about six months.  I didn’t make this goal a priority until 45 days ago.  As you’ve probably guessed, nothing happened until the last 45 days.  In that brief period, I’ve had the good fortune to have a literary agent become interested in a book concept that utilizes counter-intuitive thinking.  I’ve increased my speaking engagements six-fold and I’ve recently been interviewed twice by a national continuing education provider.

It’s counter-intuitive, but the law of attraction’s success lies in the action.  Visualizing what you want, keeping the message in front of you everyday - multiple times a day - aren’t enough to get you the success you desire.  You must take action and be consistent in taking actions that move you in the direction of your desired goal.

Do you have topics you’d like to see addressed?  If so, send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.

Not if we continue to relinquish our rights.

We are inviting government control.

Last week an ABC World News Tonight report said that some independent pharmacists are refusing to sell contraceptive devices.  They also refuse to fill prescriptions for that purpose.  The Illinois legislature is considering legislation that would require pharmacists to sell these items. 

This is a battle over individual rights.  The question is “Whose rights should prevail?”  Or is it?  To me, it’s another example of our willingness to relinquish our right to make choices for ourselves.  A choice we could easily retain IF we learned to respect each other’s choices.

The third step, in the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE, is learning to suspend judgment.  We suspend judgment when we respect the rights of others to make their own decisions.  When we deprive others of that right, we risk forfeiting that right for ourselves.

Every time we turn over the decision-making process to legislators or the courts, we not only relinquish the right to choose for ourselves, we relinquish a future right - the right to change that decision.  Anyone who has ever tried to overturn prior legislation or set new court precedent knows exactly what I mean.  Conversely, if we craft solutions on our own, we reserve the right to craft new solutions as the situation changes. 

If pharmacists, when notifying their customers of their choice not to sell contraceptive devices and medications, would have provided alternative sources to their customers, they would have shown respect for the choices their customers make while honoring their own choices.

Similarly, if customers who choose contraception would respect the religious or moral beliefs of these pharmacists, they’d quickly realize that there are alternatives that fit their needs while respecting the choices of the pharmacist.  We live in a world of on-line pharmacies!  Orders are delivered right to our doors.  These “aggrieved” customers can’t even argue inconvenience.

It’s counter-intuitive, but when we initiate a battle over personal rights, we:

• Waste time fighting when we could be crafting solutions
• Give others the right to decide what’s right for us
• Forfeit our future rights to decide our fate

Is that what we want?  If not, let’s learn to respect each others choices and find ways to help each other find the solutions that are right for them while honoring our own choices. 

Send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com and let me know what topics you’d like addressed.