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Friday, February 12, 2010
Characteristics of Success - 'Learner's Spirit' - Part 2In our continuing study of 'Characteristics of Success' we
introduced the attribute of: 'Lifelong
Learning or being a Lifelong Learner'. I would like to continue our discussion today by sharing a few brief
tips/techniques/ideas that will enhance our ability to learn. I will also continue over the next several 'posts' to share
more tips or ideas each time. Today I would like to give us four ideas to think about on this Friday and over the weekend;
here are the first four:
#1. Keep Learning New Things!
(Now some of you just looked at this page and went......'DUH'......Holland I kinda knew that.....Yes I know that was
what you were thinking.......admit it....you were!) I know this sounds ridiculous but the bottom-line is this: Learning
'New' skills; painting, a language, juggling, knitting or whatever, improves your brain function and helps to retain the just
learned information.
Studies of the brain have proven that people who make it a practice of 'learning' new
things increase the 'gray matter' in their occipital lobes. Our brains are just like our 'physical muscles' when they are
not used they atrophy. How many of you have ever gotten sick for a couple days and just had to lay in bed. Do you remember
'how tired' you felt even after you got well. Do you remember how long it took you to get back to 'full strength'. Our minds/brains
work the same way; they need exercised. They need a healthy amount of exercise and stimulation and I'm sorry.......just
parking ourselves watching the news or TV isn't stimulating our brains....it's numbing them!
(Now again, please
understand there are a lot of good mind stimulating things on TV between the 'History' channel, National Geographic explorer
and other documentaries. A good funny sit-com that really makes you laugh is also a wonderful brain sitmulizer. What I react
against is, the people who plop down in front of their TV at 6:00PM and wake up there at midnight and then decide to
get-up, to go to bed......that is NOT learning.......sorry.)
#2. Keep Practicing the New Things/Skills
Learning
new skills helps our mind grow but we need to combine learning with practicing. Remember the old adage that said this:
Use-it or Lose-it! I know most of us have heard that statement especially in regards to 'physical'
exercise. Well, that statement is also true when it comes to 'exercising' our minds. The study above that talked about 'increased'
gray matter when we were learning new things also verified that when we stopped doing or practicing what we just learned,
the gray matter gain was lost.
Again; think about it from and exercise point of view: If
you have ever done any type of strength or arobic exercise on a consistent basis you first start to 'get into' shape and
then you exercise afterwards helps maintain that certain level of fitness. Have you ever entered into that kind of regimen
only to 'fall off the wagon' for a month or two for some reason. Many of us think we can jump back into right where we were
in our workout routine from two or three months ago.......unfortunately that isn't true. We also come back weaker or
more aerobically challenged after a long period of layoff.
Think about that conversations we have with ourselves
sometimes when we attempt to do something that we have done in a long, long time. We end up sitting there perplexed saying:
'I used to be able to do this or that......what happened. What happened was what always happend when we 'lay-off' doing something.
When we come back to doing it our skills are 'rusty' and not as sharp. Thus the importance of step number two above: You've
got to continue practicing what you've just learned or you won't re-tain ithe new information.
#3. Vary
Your Ways of Learning.
This can be a very fun process that challenges us to learn in different
ways and also greatly impacts our 'retention' rate. Learn to learn in multiple ways. If you like watching a certain documentary,
record it and do this: play it back and listen to the whole show with your eyes closed, just listening and 'visualizing in
your mind' what is happening. Later listen to it a 'second' time and this time watch the video portion. Did you 'envision'
what the screen captured? How was it similar? How was it different? Just have some 'fun with it and make it a game. Do it
with some family members and see who was closest.
If
you enjoy listening to a certain radio program or 'podcast' that is auditory learning only. After you have listened to the
program, see if you could write down the 'key points' an hour or two later. Or as you listen to the broadcast, take notes,
draw pictures or sketch images of what the words describe or say to you. Again, have some fun with it and it is a great way
to challenge your mind in another direction and will greatly impact your retention of the above-material.
By combining
'learning methods' and using more than one way, you’re implanting the knowledge in your mind more deeply. According
to Judy Willis, “The more regions of the brain that store data about a subject, the more interconnection there is.
This redundancy means students will have more opportunities to pull up all of those related bits of data from their multiple
storage areas in response to a single cue. This cross-referencing of data means we have learned, rather than just memorized.”
#4. Become a Teacher of Something You've just Learned.
Educators have long noted that one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it to someone else. Remember your
seventh-grade presentation on Costa Rica? By teaching to the rest of the class, your teacher hoped you would gain even more
from the assignment. You can apply the same principle today by sharing your newly learned skills and knowledge with others.
What is fun about this is, trying to bring the concepts you've heard or seen into your own words and to see if the 'words'
you've chosen can convey the 'true' meaning of what you just experienced.
My girls and I will go to 'movies'
together and at this stage they know what Dad is going to ask as soon as we get into the truck: What did you like
best about the movie and why?' I always enjoy hearing from their perspectives what stood out to them in what we just saw and
I also enjoy sharing what it meant to me. The process of 'Translating' the information into 'our own words helps solidify
new knowledge in your brain. Again, enjoy the process and find some 'creative' ways to share what you’ve learned. You
could start your own 'Family Movie Journal' detailing what movies you've seen and what it meant to each individual who attended.
How much 'fun' would that be a year or two or ten from now.....reading what you and your family did and thought.
Until the next post I'll leave you with this challenge: Why not have some 'fun' learning today and carry it into this
weekend. Make it a point in the next day or so to 'change your routine'. Do something that will cause you to stretch
and learn......try one of the above-techniques........do it with some friends or family members.....why not make a commitment
to really explore something new this weekend.....go to a museum........go to the library......get a game or puzzle.......have
some fun.....as we have all ready established.......your mind will enjoy the 'exercise.'
Until next time, thanks
for listening/reading and remember to: 'Dream Big and Dare to Fail!'
7:01 am est
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
'Characteristics of Success' - 'Learner's Sprirt' - Part 1Welcome Back on this Wednesday
in February. In our continuing study of 'Characteristics of Success' I want to spend some time
examining the attribute of what I'm going to define as: 'Lifelong Learning or being a Lifelong Learner'.
I love this quote I heard many years ago: 'You'll be the same person next year as you are this
year except for two things, the people you meet and surround yourself with and the books you read.'
I think there is a lot of truth to that statement but what the meaning of this statement to me is really this....it
is about 'Learning'. It is about developing a 'Learner's Spirit'
and more importantly becoming and staying a 'Llifelong Learner'.
The dictionary defines
a Learner as: person who is learning;
student; pupil; apprentice; trainee.
The dictionary goes on to define
'Learning' as: |
To gain knowledge, comprehension, or mastery of through
experience or study. To
fix in the mind or memory; memorize: learned the speech in a few hours. - To acquire experience of or an ability
or a skill in: learn tolerance; learned how to whistle.
- To become aware:
I am amazed by how many 'adults' have litterly stopped learning. We go to work, do the same old things, fight traffic
home, eat and then 'plop' in front of the TV until it is bedtime. Then tomorrow we do it all over again. We all know it is
important to get 'some type' of physical exercise for the body, lift some weights, run, swim, bike, take a walk..... We also
know when we do exercise, we always 'feel better' both physically and mentally.
Well, there have been
countless studies to show the importance of exercising your mind. Your brain is a muscle too and also needs exercise. They've
proven over and over again that 'Senior Citizens' who read, play cards, do crossword puzzles, anything that stimulates their
thinking keeps them 'mentally' sharper.
My mother is a great example of being a 'Lifelong Learner'.
She will be 89 in less than a month and sure she has some of the physical challenges that come with ageing and at times 'forgets'
things.....but guess what.....so do I? (I'll walk up the steps in my house to get something and by the time I get up there
I can't remember why I'm there.... )
With that said; Mom is always reading, doing a crossword puzzle, playing 'Bridge' on the computer. When I was
in Dallas at the Holidays and able to spend time with my mom we were talking one night and we were discussing her 'card
playing'. Mom played in a 'Bridge' club with friends her whole life as I was growing up. I can remember 'all the
ladies' coming to our house every few months as it was Mom's turn to host her group of friends. Mom said that because she
has been playing 'Bridge' on the computer now, she is a lot better player 'NOW' that she was for the 50+ years she played
with her friends!
A couple of years ago I had a wonderful opprotunity. My next door neighbor was a woman in her
early 90's who lived alone and really kept to herself. One day I was mowing the front lawn and she came over to the edge of
the yard to 'signal' me to come over to her. Up till that point I had seen her a few times; I knew her name but never talked
with her. Her name was Mrs. Schmidt and I went over to the edge of the yard. When I got there she asked me to 'start' her
lawn mower as her 'lawn boy' had quit and she couldn't get it started.
I immediately said 'I'll mow your lawn.'
She said very sternly: 'NO!' I went over and started her mower and went back to my yard. As I watched this 93 year old
'whack' away at her lawn I couldn't take it.... I had to mow her lawn. (I'm sorry I wasn't raised to let her struggle like
that.) I took my mower to her little front lawn and started mowing. She came around the corner, saw me and stuck a
small 'boney' finger out telling me to stop. I pointed back at her and signaled her to go 'inside' and I just kept mowing.
(I ignored her!)
Well, she stopped mowing and let me do the rest of her yard. Afterward, she came out on her front
steps and said: 'You don't listen very well.' I said: 'No I don't.' I went on to say: 'My Mom and Dad raised me
very differently and I wouldn't let her mow her own lawn. She listened and then said: 'Sit on the steps with me and visit
a while.' I sat down and for the next 1 & 1/2 hours I learned about Mrs. Schmidt and her life....... We became friends.
A couple months later the ambulance was at her house and took her to the hospital. I went to visit her and found
out she was dying of cancer. She had no living family near and wasn't able to come home into 'Hospice' care to die
unless some family members were able to help. To make a long story short; some neighbors and my family agreed 'We would
be her family' and she was able to come home to 'die'.
We had the wonderful opportunity to care for her the last four
months of her life. We even had her 94th birthday party for her with my kids. We ended up taking her dinner everynight and
checking on her throughout the day. Everytime I was there we would talk about life.
One day I went down to
check-on her and found her sitting at her kitchen table. I sat down with her and we visited. Then she says: 'Oh I got
some 'new books' in the mail today and they're in the living room. Come with me and see what I got.' I followed her to the
living room and we sit down. Then she holds up a book and excitedly reads the title: 'A basic guide to learning to speak Chinese!'......Chinese!
I didn't know what to say: 'I haltingly said: 'Great'. She then says: 'It came with cassette tapes that
help teach.....let's learn together!' So I spent the next 45 minutes practicing learning Chinese with a 94 year-old
woman who I knew would be dead in a month or so! That time and event was priceless. I went home later to my family and they
asked: 'Why were you down there so long? Is everything OK? I said yes everything was fine.......I was busy 'learning Chinese.'
That kind of 'Learner's Spirit' which Mrs. Schmidt and my Mom exemplify is what
I always want to be, I want to be:
'A Lifelong Learner!'
In my next post I will share some things we all can do to either become a 'life-long learners' or
if we are all ready invested in learning; we'll discuss some tips to help us take our learning to the next level. Until
the next post I'll leave you with this challenge: Why not make it a point in the next day or so to 'change your routine'.
Do something that will cause you to stretch and learn......have some fun.....your mind will enjoy the 'exercise.'
Until next time, thanks for listening/reading and remember to: 'Dream Big and Dare to Fail!'
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Characteristics of Success - 'Responsibility' - ConclusionWelcome back! In the last several posts we've been exploring the characteristic of 'Responsibility'. Today I would like to conclude this section with some thoughts explaining why I think this characteristic
is so important. As I've mentioned before I think any definition of success has to include 'Responsibility' and I
feel to be 'truly successful' you have to embrace and demonstrate it in your day-to-day life.
I have
had the wonderful experience of spending 20+ years working in Corporate America for the likes of Marriott and Franklin-Covey
and now the last ten years speaking to Corporate audiences via Holland Meads Consulting. I have met CEO's, Division Presidents,
Brand Managers, Executive VP's and every type of 'titled' person you could imagine. All of the 'Characteristics
of Success' that I have all ready shared and will continue to share were drawn from my experiences with the
people I've met, from attributes I saw in their lives.
Now, I will be the first to say that no one person has or
demonstrates all these characteristics, all the time. We all have strengths and weaknesses and those attributes
vary, person-by-person and situation-by-situation. As I have mentioned in previous posts, self-improvement
is a never ending challenge. There is an ebb and flow in life; sometimes we'll do a specific attribute well and
forget or not practice another. We don't necessarily do this intentionally, it is the fluid nature of daily events.
What we are doing is realizing that a specific situation needs a specific response and that brings a specific attribute/quality
to the forefront.
Where am I going with this: As I look at the characteristics I have discussed and
will discuss I have the following observation. These qualities/attributes most people have or could have with some focus and
a commitment to growth. However, the characteristic of 'Responsibility' and the underlying
premise of 'The Courage to Admit Your Mistakes' I feel are harder and more difficult to practice.
Here's why: Having 'Passion, Focus, Heroes, Effective Time/Life Management Skills Etc, Etc,' everyone
has or could develop with some work. Now you can also develop the ability to be 'responsible for your actions and admit
your mistakes' but I feel it is more alot difficult
Taking responsibility and admiting your failures strikes deep
at the heart of who you are as a person. As I said in an earlier post on this subject, the reactions from a wrong or
bad decision can be brutal, tough and hard to hear and face. No one enjoys being ridiculed, demeaned, made
fun of or reminded over-and-over again they were wrong or made a poor choice. It takes a big person who is
comfortable with themselves to, with grace and dignity face and take 'responsibilty' for their choice. Most of us struggle
with this attribute because of the shear pain and embarrassment.
It takes a person who is comfortable deep down
inside their soul to admit they're wrong. What we end up doing is trying to ignore it or spin it in another direction. I think
there is a wonderful outcome or result that happens when we choose to embrace this attribute and it is this; RESPECT!
I honestly feel that if we face our choices squarely and take ownership for even our failures and poor choices people
will 'respect' you, your honesty and your candor. They might still talk about it and ridicule you, etc, etc, but in their
heart-of-hearts they respect and admire your honesty and candor. Their lack of ability to move past the mistake says
more about them internally than it does about you. However, it is when we spin, make excuses or try and hide it in someway
that diminishes us in other minds and hearts of other people.
I was flipping between two different channels on
Sunday and was watching the 'Busch Shootout'. (A Nascar event that happens the week before the Daytona 500.) In this
race one driver, Kurt Busch, was bumped (tapped) by another driver named, Mark Martin. Mark is one of the oldest
drivers in the sport and has a storied career. He is competing at a tremendously high level against other drivers that could
be his son, age wise. Well today when Mark 'bumped' the other driver it caused the other driver to careen out of control and
eventually after skidding for a 1/2 mile, run into the concrete retaining wall that surrounds the track......That drivers
race was over because of the 'tap'.
From the vantage point of the commentators and camera angles it was hard to
tell 'who' caused the accident. Just then Mark came over the radio to his crew saying: 'It was my fault, tell Kurt I am sorry
and I hope he is OK and not hurt'. Right after they 'aired' Mark's radio transmission one of the commentators said:
'That is just like Mark. He is a classy, straight-up guy who owns up to his mistakes.' I think that kind of honesty and candor
is lost in today's world but think it is so refreshing when you do see it demonstrated.
The CEO of one
of the companies I work with has always impressed me. Six years ago I was doing two large full-day meetings
for 200 key players in the organization, 100 each day. This was my first opportunity to work with this company and my only contact I
had had to that point was with the human resource VP. I had never met the CEO but had heard he may show up at one of
the sessions. My guess would be he would either kick off one of the sessions or pop in at lunch to say hi to the staff.
On the first day at one of the breaks, a gentleman approached me, introduced himself by his first name and
then expressed how he was enjoying the program. He also came up to me at lunch break and ask some additional
questions about the topic. It wasn't till the afternoon break when the HR VP and I were talking when she said: 'I see you've
met our CEO. He told me at lunch he's really enjoying what you've put together'.
I tell this story for several
reasons; #1 He didn't introduce himself as the CEO he just said his first name. #2 He was so engaged with the process and
asked such wonderful questions at the breaks in order to learn. and #3. He stayed for the duration of the program. He wasn't
on the phone all the time or late coming back from breaks, he was present the whole time. I have since that time, had this
individual sit through some of my smaller 25 person classes that I conduct at their facility. Whenever he attends, he
sits through class, interacts with everyone and is engaged in learning.
I recently had lunch with him and
we were talking about some up-coming things he wanted to see done from a training perspetive at the company. During our
lunch I was once again impressed, but this time it was around his candor about mistakes he's made leading the company. He referenced
one 'bad decision' he made and then went on to state that once he realized his error, he sat the 'Senior Team' down, took
ownership for the decision and apologized. Wow! When was the last time you had a boss, let alone a CEO, take ownership for
a 'bad' decision and then display the courage to apologize. That's the kind of courage I respect and only wish more people,
especially leader's of campanies, our government, etc, etc, would embrace. That's the kind of leader people want to work for
and be with on the same team, at least I would that's for sure!
I guess what I'm trying to say is this:
I think the art of living by and practicing this quality is sorely needed in today's professional and personal world. Here's
the challenge I'll leave with you: Next time one of your decisions/choices turns out to be a 'bad' one, remember the
two above-mentiond examples and: Face the 'truth' squarely in the eye, take responsibility for your decision/choice
and admit you made a mistake. What will you gain from it......how does a whole lot of R.E.S.P.E.C.T
sound. (Thanks Aretha!)
As always thanks for listening/reading and remember to: 'Dream Big and Dare
to Fail!'
8:44 am est
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