A Self-Made Man

Is there such a thing?  One the one hand, we've the idea that through enough hard work, dedication, and perseverance, we can achieve anything.  That through our own ambition, we are responsible for finding success. Or failure.  On the other hand, the argument can be made that there is no such thing as a "self-made man".  That everyone needs someone to help them out on their way up.  Businesses need someone to buy their services.  Companies need roads to transport their goods.  Even Wall Street needs someone to invest in.  Teachers, associates, the coworker who wrote the letter of recommendation...

I am of the latter persuasion.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating blaming shortcomings or missteps on others, nor for people to sit back and wait for their "white knight".  I'm saying that people need to take responsibility for their lives.  Be it through education, networking, or just taking a wild chance, a shot in the dark - there IS something you can do.  Even given the raw deal or hit with a blow that brought you to your knees, you are still accountable.  How will you react?  Roll over and give up, or fall down seven times, get up eight?  I argue the latter.  So take responsibility for where you end up.  Invest more of yourself.  Take an honest look at your weaknesses and exercise your strengths.  Build your own ladder.  But don't forget all those who enabled you to do so.

Changing Your Fate

I just saw a movie preview with the tagline "Would you change your fate?"  Now that doesn't really make sense to me: how could we know our fate in order to change it?  And once we live out our fate, wouldn't it be too late by then?  And isn't the very point of "fate" that things are the way they are and there's no changing them?  By changing them, wouldn't that effectively nullify the very concept of "fate"?  And again, if we don't know our fate, how could we be sure we're changing it?  What if the change itself was "fated" to happen?

Vicious circle?

See, I'm of the belief that fate is an excuse; used as a scapegoat, a handy way out of taking responsibility for things not working out your way.  I'm sure we've all heard the line, "It wasn't meant to be", or any variation thereof.  As I'm sure you could ascertain from many of my previous posts, I'm not big on the idea that defining your success by everything you've done or everything you have (too many variables.  There is no such thing as the "self-made man"), I do and will continue to maintain that you still get a say in how things turn out.  A cartoon I happened across in the funnies section was a one-panel shot of the protagonist amid a pile of lumber, looking at the empty box titled "Ladder of Success. Some Assembly Required".  What role does fate play there?  We can each decide to build the ladder or sit by and complain that our ladder wouldn't be tall enough anyway.  May we need some help along the way?  Of course.  Can we add to our lumber?  Of course.  So are you going to stand by, wishing to change your fate?  Or will you start building?

I, for one, will build.  But I know I'll need a hand along the way.

Successful Organizations

What makes a successful organization?  Is there a specific formula to follow, or a special recipe where one can add A, B, and C and come out on top?  I'm thinking it's not that easy.  I realize we've been taught since day one that your success is determined by the sweat of your brow and the ache of your back.  That you are solely responsible to make or break your own accomplishments.  The so-called "American Dream", where if you work hard enough, put enough of yourself into it, you can live the dream, so to speak.  But is that really it?  Are there not circumstances outside of your control that can influence the same success or failure?  Regardless of how much we personally invest in something, doesn't it still need outside influence?  Doesn't a business still need people to buy their stuff?  Doesn't an organization still need funding that may or not be available?  Is it YOUR fault if others don't believe in something as much as you do?

Now, I'm sure there are some out there reading this who would pose the argument that YOU need to convince them, that it falls on YOU to change their minds.  And to an extent, I agree.  I would also agree that there are times when it's not so much about succeeding or failing, but what you do and how you react to trials and tribulations.  Do you give up if the first dozen attempts fall through?  Do you just quit, complaining that life's not fair if things don't work out in your favor?  Of course not.  In that aspect we are accountable.  We are the only ones who can fully control ourselves.  Each of us, individually, are the sole proprietors of the we act and react to any given situations.  But at the same time, I would say that's a post for a new day and a completely different train of thought.

What I'm talking about is the organization itself.  What does it take to get an organization, a company, a business off the ground and running?  And maintain sustainability?  I suppose the best place to begin is to look at your own organization.  What are your strengths?  Weaknesses?  What have you been doing well to capitalize on and what needs work?  What else can you take advantage of and what out there should you be wary of?  A quick SWOT analysis may be the first step, and I'd be curious to hear what some strengths are, and look for similar factors across industries.

Smart Phones

So I’ve decided on a New Year’s resolution.  It had been a long time coming, but I couldn’t quite figure out what I needed to work on.  I maintain that it’s not so much a problem to be fixed as much as a noble experiment on my part: I’m resolving to spend less time on my phone.  Now I realize that with QR codes, internet browsing, and all of my awesome apps, I can do just about everything with this minicomputer I keep in my pocket.  It truly is amazing how far technology has come.  Again, I can’t stress enough how much this ISN’T a problem – just a curiosity, a thought as to what life is like beyond the front of my screen.  And it’s not even something I think I HAVE to do – after all, I have the world’s information at my finger tips, I can look for and find anything I’m curious about.  Books?  Magazines?  Memory?  And how on earth do I read a map?  These are all things of the past.  I need not burden my finite intellectual capacity with useless information like the past presidents, the Bill of Rights, contemporary news stories, or eve who starred in that movie…I can just look it up!  I understand that at the dinner table – at home or away – people used to have to sit awkwardly, silently staring at one another until the unbearable tension was finally broken by the arrival of their food.  I acknowledge and respect the long ago traditions of conversation and “small talk”.  But it’s a different time now.  When we go out to eat, all my friends will be checking Facebook, and the topic of talk will be different statuses, who posted what, and hilarious video clips.  And where will my experiment leave me?  High and dry.  Ostracized.  Outcast from the group.  And yet I feel the desire to try it.  I want to see if I can return my mental abilities to intra-cranial ability.  But the more I think about it, the more I wonder why I’m subjecting myself to this?  How will I entertain myself when I’m around uninteresting people?  Without my game apps or my social networking activities, how will I delay boredom?  How will I avoid face-to-face, interpersonal human interaction?  What on earth will I do when we, collectively, cannot remember some trivial fact?  What, should we sit and struggle, wracking our brains?  And how do we make it through social situations?  How will I be able to ignore my fellow human beings?  What, am I expected to make eye-contact with people?  Talk about weird…

On the other hand, perhaps it’s safer for me to stay sheltered within my phone.  Perhaps it’s better I bury my nose in instant, to-the-second updates.  Perhaps I’m not ready to rejoin society.  

Then again, perhaps I don’t have a smart phone.  Perhaps I’m still living in 2002, when people actually had to talk to, acknowledge, and even, (*gasp!*) rely on fellow people in the very same room.  It’s been ten years.  A single decade.  Not even a generation.  Technology has progressed in leaps and bounds.  But when was the last time you wondered something, but rather than allow it to stir up a lively discussion, wherein people exercised the muscle called a “brain”, you or someone sitting next to you whips out the phone (or tablet!) and has the answer without a moment’s notice? 

If you're looking for further reading, here are a couple rather interesting posts and articles:

• The Google Effect: New evidence of the Internet’s impact on brain and memory recalls Plato’s ancient warning
• Google Effect: Changes to our Brains
• Study Shows Internet Alters Memory
• Google turning us into forgetful morons

Post Script: I do also realize such technology has allowed us to do more things, given us the ability to reach further, close the intercontinental gap, and increase collaboration.  Such technology has allowed more information, more knowledge, to more people.  And yet, such technology necessitates increased social responsibility, greater levels of technology education, and significantly greater digital citizenship.  In the words of Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben… 

Choosing Your Challenge

Out on the challenge course, we're very adamant about the philosophy of "Challenge by Choice" (trademark by Project Adventure).  There are two main components to this philosophy, the first (and most apparent) of which is that each person in the group, each participant in the program, each climber on the course, have the opportunity to set their own boundaries.  Some people don't mind being blindfolded.  Others do.  Some people choose not to climb.  Some people choose not to hop around on one foot while quacking like a duck....you get the idea.  The point is, once we stop imposing a REQUIREMENT to participate to the extent of everyone else in the group, we can begin to lift off the unconscious pressure associated with forced participation.  We can begin to instill a sense of autonomy, giving people the ability to choose to challenge themselves, to look inside themselves to mindfully and voluntarily recognize their limits and take that one extra step.  There is a fine line between encouragement and peer pressure, but being aware of yourself and empathetic to those choosing to challenge themselves can help create a more emotionally, mentally, and even physically safer environment.  And, after all, a book read for fun is infinitely more interesting than an assigned text.

The second piece of the philosophy, going hand in hand with the former, is that each person has their own personal limits and abilities.  What may be less challenging for one person may be more challenging for another (I try to avoid labeling things as "easy" or "hard" - after all, do you want to be the person that struggled with the "easy" task?).  A problem that may take one person less than minute to arrive at a solution may take another more than 20.  The thing to remember, though, is that those roles don't always go to the same people.

Sometimes, outside of the course (away from the logical and known application), I suppose it's easy to forget the second piece.  And that's something I need to work on.  Because what we do on the challenge course is moot unless we can transfer it to our everyday lives!