"Those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things." Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Constraints and Creativity

Constraints are a constant in life. Whether we speak of business, personal, spiritual, or social arenas. A constraint is basically a limiting factor. Game theory, is a theoretical form of imposing constraints in a setting with the desire to achieve a specific outcome. Every game we play has constraints (rules) we must abide by to remain within the context of the given system.

Generally speaking constraints impede our level of freedom in a sense. Most of us would not impose constraints on ourselves to limit our own sovereignty or autonomy. When we think of innovation we'd normally rather think big and broad. We imagine limitless possibilities when we brainstorm, and try to think "outside the box."

What if thinking outside the box is not the best strategy? What if making the box smaller is an even better strategy? A recent article in Strategy+Business struck a cord with this theme. The article was called "Innovation Sandbox." If you really think about it imposing more rules or constraints "forces" your mind to be more creative. It focuses your attention and funnels it into laser like accuracy. The big ideas, the big results, the epiphanies don't seem to come from the freedom, per se, of thought, but the constriction by constraints. When one is forced to create one will.

In a recent interview in the Wall Street Journal; Roger Ailes, CEO/Chairman of The Fox Television Stations Group, responded with a similar notion when asked about the grudge of having to build the new Fox Business channel. Roger says, "there are no options. The problem with most people who don't succeed is that they see options..."
In his own words Roger was acknowledging the value of having constraints (less options).

Anthony Robbins succinctly sums up this them of constraints as well, he says - "If you can't, you must; and if you must, you can." So we begin to see the value of imposing constraints on ourselves sometimes. By challenging our minds to find solutions within constraints we strengthen our creative capacity.

Another exercise to see the power of constraints is this:
In 10 seconds think of as many things as you can that are white.
Now take ten seconds and think of all the white items in your refrigerator.
Most people will count more white items in their fridge as compared with having to think of the whole universe. Simple but accurate representation of how constraints can serve you.

Angel Armendariz

Monday, October 22, 2007

Are You a Slave To Your Genes?

Are You a Slave To Your Genetics?

The BBC News wrote an interesting article entitled Diet Choices 'written in genes'. The article cited a recent study conducted by Kings College on the inheritance of eating habits via genes. The results suggested that 41-48% of a persons leaning towards one of the food groups was influenced by genetics.

What stuck out at me was the conviction of one of the researches in saying:

We have assumed that our upbringing and social environment determine what we like to eat. This has blown that theory out of the water.

The genetic predisposition card has been used many times, perhaps unwittingly, to show or accept limits. In the BBC article for example how could 41-48% influence be the "biggest" determining factor? What about the other 52-59%? The intention of the research itself is not questioned, but the portrayal of the information. When we try to find an absolute cause, or when we fictitiously put one cause against another, i.e., nature vs. nurture; we submit our intellect to an archaic logic that does not bode well with education.

A multiplicity of variables almost always is at work with any result or effect. Take your body structure for example, or your natural muscle tone. You naturally are born with a genetic "template", however, you also are born with a mind that can adapt itself. If I were to submit myself to the body I was born with, and everyone else did the same then health clubs would not exist. We already know that we are born with a physical inheritance. What's more important is the question "how can I change the things I want to improve of my genetic inheritance?"

Studies involving physical change of a person's body are numerous. Many of these other studies would seem to contradict the genetic bias. For example, studies have been done on individuals with Multiple Personality Disorder. In some of these cases a persons physical features would change in accordance to the personality being expressed at the time; things such as eye color, voice, even cases involving illnesses such as diabetes (producing insulin or not depending on personality). The "biggest" cause in these studies seem to fall on the subject's "belief". This also follows what is commonly referred to as the placebo affect.

From the history of high achievers the "biggest" factor contibuting to habits, decisions, results, and effects seems to come from beliefs. Tom Platz, a legendary bodybuilder and business man now, is a case in point. Tom's genetic inheritance included skinny legs, narrow shoulders, and low muscle tone. Tom went on to record the most massive muscular thighs in the history of bodybuilding; as well as winning many bodybuilding titles throughout his career. He attributes this success to his "will" his desire to become a great bodybuilder. He developed a belief in his ability to change his physique according to his ideal; he sought the necessary informational resources, and with guts and determination molded his ideal body.

Genetics is a great modern day scapegoat for almost everything. However, if we want something other than mediocrity we take it upon ourselves to find a way to create our results...not leave them to inheritance. I good book on how the mind effects genetics is presented by Dr. Ernest Rossi in The Psychobiology of Gene Expresssion.

Angel Armendariz

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Invisible Hands Mis-Guiding You

The Invisible Hands That Guide You
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes

"It seems likely that we often ride along on the energy of hidden social streams without even noticing their existence, while they influence the way we think, make us align ourselves with some ideas rather than others, or affect what we find fashionable and socially acceptable."

"Diamonds don't glitter because the atoms making them up glitter, but because of the way those atoms fall together into a special pattern."

" Its often not the parts but the pattern, that is most important, and so it is with people."
- Mark Buchanon "The Social Atom"

Patterns convery more meaning than meets the eye according to Mark Buchanon. Parts and their nuances have a lesser value in providing pertinent information about a system. The quote regarding the pattern of the diamonds atoms is very clever. Whether the part or the pattern is more important is not the question. The high level of meaning and information conveyed by patterns is the interesting thing.

A pattern can also be seen as a system. For example, a business usually works like a conveyor belt of sorts (a system)...it has a pattern to produce its commodity. Employees fit themselves into the role and nothing else. The system taken as a whole has a distinctive pattern, and analyzing an individual employee, or an individual department would give you erroneous information as to the working and function of the business model (pattern).

Patterns are endless. Generally speaking much of our Western education neglects the importance and power of being skilled at finding, using, and creating effective patterns for progress. We have for the most part accepted that everything outside the realm of our specialty is some anomoly that is beyond our comprehension.

In psychology "archetypes" can be seen as a pattern that helps us understand the human psyche and culture itlsef. What this means is that when we find patterns we can use them immediately as guides to "form" the "structure" or pattern we want. Following this insight, we can mimic the patterns of those individuals, businesses, groups, etc., that have formed compelling patterns.

Seeing patterns insinuates the ability to observe a system from a "big" perspective. In a way, it would mean to look at the forest not just the tree. In building a business it would mean to look at the production process not just the product. In self-development of any kind it would mean looking at the process and steps needed for the goal, not just the immediate result. When the pattern is found, its replication, is simply the mimicking of the same pattern.

Whether we like it our not we are following a pattern at the moment. By becoming aware of what we are forming, and what we wish to form we can restructure our habits and awareness to form the patterns we choose to create. One more quote from Buchanon's book..."Patterns reveal regularities that show how the seemingly complicated actually isn't so."

Angel Armendariz

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Persuasion & Influence

Persuasion & Influence
Category: Life

Persuasion, according to Wordnet (from Princeton University), means communication intended to induce belief or action. This very broad definition lends itself to general use in numerous contexts. For instance, getting your child to eat all of his/her vegetables would insinuate an act of persuasion by you. Asking someone out on a date would also constitute persuasion, since one individual is trying to induce an act of "going out" or "seeing each other." Furthermore, a sales team and marketing department can be said to base their jobs on persuasion. A sales team's intent is to induce action that would cause a potential client to buy. While the marketing team propagates material to induce belief in their particular service or product. From this small selection of examples we can begin see the extent on which persuasion is the lock & key to the portal of efficacy in our personal and professional lives.

Influence, according to the American Heritage Dictionary: A power affecting a person, thing, or course of events, especially one that operates without any direct or apparent effort. Influence also has to do with the power to sway, affect, move, or impel a certain condition. As I will use it throughout this work; I refer mostly to ones ability or power to affect. We are bound to influence by our very natures. From our deepest core, we wish to influence at first, our environment. As children we learn that we can influence our parents by several means to have our ways. As we mature we also become aware of the influence of others on our psyches, our actions, and our behaviors. Influence is a constant throughout our lives, from the influence of peers to the influence of ideologies and culture itself.

Persuasion and influence can be taken as a mutual force that feeds off of each other. Generally speaking influence has to do with the intention & power of a specific act or communication. While persuasion has to do with the process or system used as a strategy to follow through on the intended influence. They complement each other and synchronize to amplify each others force. As a natural and unalienable endowment these human attributes form a communication potential of immense proportions. The potential inherent in these functions of man are beyond the realm of comprehension. The only limit within these attributes is in our own abilities and capacities to develop and use them for life-affirming endeavors.

Our basic educational system teaches us very little about persuasion and influence. Unfortunately we are many times ignorant victims of these forces; yet, we have not a clue whence or where they came from. It is important to firstly realize that persuasion and influence are natural components of our social (and personal) lives. After all persuasion and influence also takes place within our own minds. We persuade and influence ourselves to act, behave, and be according to certain norms. Our own personal abilities to persuade and influence ourselves largely determines our level of self-esteem, self-confidence, and level of achievement in our lives. By allowing persuasion and influence to have life-affirming residence within our minds we can actively improve on these faculties to further benefit ourselves and others around us.

Friday, October 5, 2007

Happiness Rules - You're All Set

I Seek Happiness -

"I want Happiness..." the repetitive lyrics of a favorite song of mine. "Pursuit of Happyness" title of a recent favorite movie of mine. Happiness is sought by all. At an early age I figured out that happiness depended to a large degree on myself. Kind of like a game you play. In the game of happiness you choose the rules.

You choose "what" has to happen to be happy. Some of us make it to hard to win. Some of us require a so much to happen before we can feel happy, that we rarely feel it. I've seen some people have rules set up like this: to be happy this has to happen...

1)lots of money, 2)no problems, 3) no hard work, 4) perfect lover, 5)complaint coworkers, 6)everything goes according to plan....

No wonder some people are never happy. On the flip side here are some of my rules for happiness:

1)being alive, 2) awareness of infinite possibilities in the present, 3) self improvement, 4) deep breathing, 5)learning something new...

In my world happiness is easy...because I make it like that. Unfortunately many of us accept rules from friends, tv, movies, parents, etc., instead of choosing our own. Some of us have become experts at consciously diverting our attention from all the good and all the potential and finding or making up dramatically tragic sorrows.

The second thing I mentioned regarding possiblities of the present is probably the biggest deal for me. Something I adopted from Einstein. Its the awareness of expectation. Of embracing the unknown with optimism. Instead of repelling the unknown with pessimism. Its true that any little occurence in your life can transform everything instantly. Its been true for many individuals. Mark Cuban, said in an interview in Selling Power, that he would read everything he could get his hands on. To him he justified doing so because he realized that any minute distinction made in the knowledge he encountered could mean the difference between him "making it" or not. This is the type of expectation that enchants any ordinary moment with potential, expectation, or excitement.

Think about it. You can meet someone in 1hr. that completely changes your life. You can pick up a book right now that opens a new dimension of possibilities for you. You can listen to a song that inspires a dormant passion in your heart. Every moment erupts with potential to transform your life. If you think about it like that then how can anyone ever be bored? How can you be sad? Its almost impossible.

Happiness is not a quantity. Its not limited, or scarce. Its infinite and available to appease your whims at any moment. Enjoy your happiness...

Angel Armendariz

Thursday, October 4, 2007

GQ & Jordan's Insights

GQ Magazine
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes

"I never took a day off. If I took a day off, then Scottie was going to take a day off. And then Horace. The next thing you know the whole scope of what we're trying to do is being weakened. I never took a shortcut, and I never wanted anyone else to take a shortcut." - Michael Jordan, Interview GQ Mag., Oct. 07

Legendary icon in sports Michael Jordan was profiled among the 50 most stylish men of the past 50 years. Without a doubt a prominent figure in American culture; Michael rose to heights both on the court and off that redefined sports success.

This particular quote caught my attention. Talk about demanding. I see the similarity in this quote to legendary basketball coach Bobby Knights statement, "Everyone has the will to win, thats easy....but few have the will to prepare to win." Sports offer interesting insights into excellence. Especially results based excellence. Most of us in one way or another are engaged in a vocation that requires results....constantly. True, not all of us want to be the best at everything...maybe not even anything; however, for those of us who wish and strive to excel, Michael's words resonate through us.

When we look at the history of any extravagant and beautiful achievement we see the truth. The not so glamorous side of "preparation." This includes Jordan's marathon no days off practices. All the way to Mark Cuban's late night software manual reading. We can even go as far as to throw in Michelangelo. He once said that if people were able to see the long tedious hours spent messing up and honing this artistic skills the Sistine Chapel would not appear so amazing.

Its been said that when preparation meets opportunity it creates the offspring called luck. This seems to be so for many of the high achievers past and present. The formula follows: Goal= Preparation + Seizing opportunities...
So ask yourself this if you have goals..."Am I preparing myself to seize opportunities?"...

Angel Armendariz

Monday, October 1, 2007

How To Do It All

How To Do It All
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes

How did you? What do you do to...? Have you ever wondered how certain people get the things they do? I think we all have and we all do to a certain degree. For instance I am interested in knowing how to become more fit. Seeing someone who has the result I want beckons me to inquire as to how they did it. It's important to be able to ask yourself as well as others how they produce a certain result. That way you can "cheat" and create the desired result faster - not have to "re-invent" the wheel.

More importantly though I've realized that people could ask an even better question. Most of the things we're interested in having require work. Secondly, they require consistency. What's difficult for most is not "what" must be done. What's difficult is finding an effective strategy to get themselves to be consistent in a fast and effective manner. For instance, I was recently asked about how I rapidly leaned out. That's a good question, however, a better question would have been, "What do you do mentally to be able to be absolutely consistent....or how were you able to change your eating and working out habits in one day and maintain consistency for three months?"

You see most of us "know" what must be done. But few of us have effective strategies to get ourselves to change instantly, and/or be consistent in these beneficial changes. By being honest with yourself you can begin a rapid change. If you have a negative emotion its probably because you lack control over something. This is good because its an opportunity to grow and transcend this limited emotive behavior. Emotions are keys to areas were we lack growth, and thus strong emotions can lead us to self transcendence.

Carl Jung, understood that emotions unlocked dormant potentials of the unconscious. He saw the value of emotions in the reconciliation between our waking awareness and unconscious potentials. Many times we assume that our emotions are locked and are absolutes. Not true. Every aspect of ourselves can be refined, cultivated, and shaped to our liking.

To have effective mental strategies to get us were we want to go is vital. Otherwise we will be random junkies of whatever minute forces repels or attracts us...and be no better than a low rung animal. Change happens as fast as we want it within ourselves. Time is an easy scapegoat. We already have effective strategies...just become aware of them and use them for the "important" aspects of your life. For example, think of something that you were incredibly excited and motivated to do. Analyze exactly what went through your mind...what you saw, heard, felt, etc....copy the steps exactly, and use those steps in making yourself motivated to do the things you know you should do. Practice it, and refine it.

Angel Armendariz
"We are all in Sales. Period." - Tom Peters