Saturday, September 22, 2007

Assessing

"In assessing the enemy's castle, there is a saying that goes,`Smoke and mist are like looking at a spring mountain. After the rain is like viewing a clear day.' There is weakness in perfect clarity."

Hagakure,The Book of the Samurai page 277
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
English translation by William Scott Wilson

Monday, September 17, 2007

Don't break the chain!

Apparently funny man Jerry Seinfeld uses a system for generating results that involves a fat red marker and a over sized yearly view calendar. The basic concept is to keep doing something everyday until the goal is achieved.

Thanks!

Matthew, MB

Beat your Mental

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Communication: Now hear this

The other day I was fortunate enough to have met two new people involved exclusively in the unleashing of other people's creative potential. One was through discussion and the other was through acting.

Ms. Alison J Lester was the first of the two people I met.

She spoke about her book, Locked Out, and spoke about some of the challenges foreigners face while living abroad. What was more interesting to me was that she did stand-up comedy and improvisational theater. She explained that the skills she learned at the Tokyo Comedy Store prepared her for starting her own communications consultation agency. Improv teaches you to accept another's challenge openly and hand it back to them positively. In the process hopefully something is learned or something is communicated.

She put me in touch with the director of the Tokyo Comedy Store, Chris Wells. Apparently there was a new semester of the improv workshop beginning that day, so I made my decision in seven breaths and agreed to go.

I met Chris at the RBR space in Roppongi, behind the huge Roppongi Hills complex. The class was two hours of improv acting. Chris taught us many things that evening, but the thing that stuck in my mind most was his statement about the absurd.

"You can't take the express train to crazy town, you have to take the local if you want the audience to come for the ride."

Perhaps this is not a verbatim quote, but it cuts to the gist.

I agree and this is true for all communication. You may have an idea you would like to share and others may be ready to accept it, but if you don't build references and stabilize the foundation then you run the risk of clarity leak. When you take the local, it is slow because you make many stops along the way. These stops can represent clarity check points. By having many small clarity checks you iteratively build into your system safety values that assist in preventing clarity leaks.

Ms. Lester said having a fluid mind makes it easier to accept any challenge thrown at her from any angle. Clarity and heightened awareness without focusing on specifics too much, having no preferences (Miyamoto), mushin, mind like water (Bruce Lee), the themes resounding across cultures and time. Such a simple theme, but ultimately the most effective one we as humans have discovered so far.


Some questions for your mental:

Simply put communication is improving clarity between two or more parties.

Is communication exclusively external? Is talking to ourselves communication? Perhaps. But to whom are we communicating?
Memories, shadows, or some kind of Jungian collective unconsciousness? Is it god or God? Could it be the sum total of every experience recorded in our life time; both conscious and
unconscious?

Thanks for your time and attention!


Matthew, MB

Beat your Mental

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Standing at the Crossroads

In our busy world, making time for reflection is a luxury too precious and well beyond the scope of consideration for many. Sad but true, we drone away at our immediate tasks at hand playing the role of firefighter more often than strategist. But sometimes an unexpected series of events permit us a brief peak into a world beyond our sphere of reality. It can be anything from an acute disaster or a chronic slow moving juggernaut coming to a head but usually it is from somewhere in between. Regardless, it has taken the center stage of your attention and is demanding investigation.


This is what Joseph Campbell referred to as the crossroad. An often desperate place where
the only thing to do is to make a forever life-changing decision. In the Hagakure,a manual on what it means to hold the rank and title of samurai, it is stated that a decision should be made within the course of seven breaths. The pragmatism of these ancient warriors was firmly and deeply rooted in every aspect of their lives. The severity of their black and white attitude was attributed to the conditions of war; live or be killed. This was their sphere of reality. Living as if you will die at any moment.

Liberating is must have been for those who loved life so much they welcome death as a natural extension. This is what is meant to live according to the way. To dwell on death is too live in the future and thus moving your mind outside of the present; the mindfulness of the now. The same is true about allowing your mind to live in the past. Being cognizant of the present means allowing nature to happen and intelligently playing with its cues. By having this awareness one will be able to see the crossroad more clearly and distinctly.

So, to further underscore the importance of clarity, without it any goal attempted to be set will be undermined, any decision attempted to be reached will not be fully realized, and any crossroad approached may be glossed over or simply missed. By missing a crossroad, one forfeits the power to make a change in ones life and ultimately the road is selected for them for better or worse. Therefore by not making a decision within the course of seven breaths one runs the risk of losing the opportunity for change.

Conviction is a major key in creative development.

Thanks!

Matthew, MB


Beat your Mental.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Monday, September 10, 2007

Frankie Says Relax

Relax.
The word itself conjures up a variety of images. Some positive some negative. How do we relax? Perhaps I'm not alone when I say,"I find it difficult to relax."
However, a relaxed mind is a ready mind and thus a creative mind. On an episode of an NHK show they demonstrated how a mind looks at various stages of concentration. A young man,who could crunch numbers as soon as he saw them was hooked up to a brain scanning system.At his peak of calculating, the monitor displayed his mind as the as same as when it was relaxed. At his highest point of concentration he was relaxed.

So I can listen to Frankie with a new appreciation,perhaps we should just relax.
Thanks(^o^)/

Matthew, MB

Beat your Mental

Yet Another Foiled Attempt

How many times have you failed? How many more can you fail? As Anthony Robbins asked, "how many attempts do parents allow their newborns to try to walk before throwing in the towel?"
Sounds profound, but in all sincerity failing is learning. Learning to fail is learning what not to do.

The important thing to learn about learning to fail is not failing to learn the lesson.


At the end of a project having time set aside to review what happened to a great habit to get into. The value in allocating this time is definitely Quadrant 2 in the Steven Covey time matrix and in a busy business environment, many times the last thing people want to do at the end of a project is to get together and talk about it.

But make the time to talk about it. The last thing needed is repeated wasted effort. Innovation cannot take place when there are bad habits fossilized. The habits need to be rooted and new systems installed.

Again, easier said ...

However, just like the baby learning to walk it takes baby steps. Giving up is not an option, failing is not negative unless we don't learn from the failure. Try taking some small steps and not worry about falling. It's liberating.

Thanks!

Matthew, MB

Beat your Mental.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

"If you tell the truth, you don't have to have a good memory."

-Mark Twain

I found this quote on an article I was reading this morning. In it the author, James J. Asher, Ph.D., the creator of TPR (Total Physical Response), briefly explains how vital it is to play with language. In playing with language, the learner increases comprehension and is able to create the mental maps needed for future communication.

He likens the situation the first year of a new born. They do not speak but react to what they are hearing. The babies hear imperatives of their parents and learn the dos and don'ts this way.
"Don't eat that!"
"Drink this."
"Don' throw your spoon!"

Comprehension develops and truths are created. Soon the baby is speaking its first words.

The idea of play is quintessential in Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi's Bujikan School. His idea in training is for the students to have fun at what they are doing. In having fun they are able to be creative and innovative. Thus the shape of the style is only limited by the creativity of the students. Dr. Hatsumi asks only to be mindful of walking. All your actions should be done as if you were walking. Every completed action is one that you walk away from. "Doing without thinking."

Dr. Asher calls this idea of play, doodling. By doodling around with the target language in the target language the mind is able to begin making its precious network in the target language. Therefore further developing comprehension. Assigning truths to stored related and relevant vocabulary. He recommends doodling as often as possible every day.

It is an obsessive behavior, but in order to become something we have to begin by thinking. By developing "truths" in the target language we can stop thinking about what we want to communicate and start communicating.

We become what we think.

Thanks!

Matthew, MB

Beat your Mental

Thursday, September 6, 2007

More on Pure Thoughts

The title sounds a bit reminiscent of the KISS rule, Keep It Simple Stupid; but the pun is unintentional.

Your thoughts are your business but the idea that you become those thoughts over time. Then the business of your mind becomes public domain. This was the case and still is the case of many writers. This is the intention of said writers. To exercise the thoughts from their mind into a tangible medium.

The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts, therefore guard accordingly; and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue, and reasonable nature.In the case of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (AD 161–180), his intention was just that, to take the thoughts out of his head and attach it to a tangible object. His diary, Meditations, was intended for his eyes only. It is a rare glimpse into the world of a man who had a difficult job bestowed upon him. He had to rule the Roman Empire. And rule he did. Classified as the prime example of the golden age of Rome, he did a great many things in his time. The driving force he used was a set of principles that held him accountable not only for his actions but his thoughts as well.

"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts, therefore guard accordingly; and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue, and reasonable nature." —Marcus Aurelius

In order to create anything, having a clean slate to start with is ideal. Often times this is not always possible, but it is an ideal nonetheless. Having clear thoughts is the first principle on how to achieve your goals.

Going back to the idea of the importance of clarity, if we take it a step further we can see how we can actually improve resolution. By having a clear mind going into a project, the outcomes will be limitless. By going into a project with an agenda, these barricades will obstruct clarity.

How then is the best way to go into project? Of course we have an idea of what we want to or would like to accomplish. Otherwise why would we have a meeting?

If the meeting to tell the other side what we (as a group) are going to do, then it is not a collaboration, but a directive. If we first seek to understand each other and offer solutions based on the needs analysis of the situation, then we are a step closer to having clarity.


Are you the kinda person that waits to speaks, or listens?In Pulp Fiction, Uma asks "Are you the kinda person that waits to speaks, or listens?"


Do you really listen?


Thanks!

Matthew, MB



Beat your mental.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Natural Rhythms

"Knowing without doing"

"Acting without Thinking"

Metaphors to help explain the unexplainable. The challenge of communication is knowing how to find common frames of reference and then to use them as an anchor into a new idea.

It's like a flying trapeze team. There are two suspended bars (trapeze), a flyer on one end, and a catcher on the far end. If you are the flyer and you want to communicate to the catcher, you must use the tool available to complete communication. The trapeze is a tool. Communication is not only limited to that one tool. If it were that easy, I guess everyone could be a flyer.

But that's not the case, people fall. Perhpas you had a bad start and didn't leave the platform on time and not be ining sync with the catcher. Perhaps the catcher is tired and/or is distracted for whatever reason. Therefore another quick drop to the net is the probable outcome.

What makes a good flyer and catcher team communicate effectively? Being aware of the natural order of the moment. In doing so the natural rhythms of the present will help achieve the desired result by streamlining the action. Not fighting nor forcing things to happen but rather giving nature permission to be natural.

"Go with the flow"

"Go with the grain"

Patterns in nature are here to help us. Following these set principles and not trying to be too creative, will ensure good and often great results. The all or nothing wildly creative ideas are reckless and often will go against the grain or the flow. Thus adding effort needlessly.

When I was a kid I liked building things. I had a hammer and some nails and some scrap wood from the construction site down the street. My grandfather came over and watched me banging away at my project. It would take up to 12 swings of the hammer to get a nail in. That is if it went in unbent. Well he taught my first lesson in physics through a bet. He said he'd give me a dollar if I could hit the nail into the wood in 3 or less hits. I thought wow a dollar! OK, you're on.

So like just like a gamer hunting the peeping rodents in wack-a-mole I tried in vain to pop those suckers into the two by four will all my might. There were nails flying everywhere, pieces of wood splintering off the board and when I finally slammed by thumb I guess he took pity and told me to simply hold the hammer in a different position.

I was holding it near the head like most kids. I didn't trust him until he demostrated. He did it in one shot! Now I owed him a dollar.

This principle of natural rhythms. It is elegant by nature's course. It is usually a simple solution that changes how we think from that point on. A small step in the long path.

Little by little to build something great. It is like acting without doing. "Rome wasn't built in a day" and it still isn't finished.

Thanks!

Matthew, MB

Beat your mental

The Elegant K I S S

My junior high school art teacher was a funny man. I could tell you many jokes he told us, but I'd rather remember him for his rules of simplicity in design rather than his sailor mouth.


He introduced us to the KISS rule. His version was Keep It Simple Stupid! Sure it was negative, but that didn't keep Walter Matthau from bossing The Bad News Bears into a winning season.

I digress.

The KISS rule works if all you want to do is simplify. However, in complex situations does this rule still work?

In trying to achieve simple solutions to complex issues the wave of mutilation must first be surfed. The process of learning all that can be learned about a problem will ideally result in the satori of solutions, the elegant solution.


This effortless outcome that seems so obvious it is not even dared questioned.

When this idea falls in line with things that contain beauty with simplicity and functionality coupled with harmony, this is the frame work for ideal idea generation.

More on this later.

Beat your mental!


Matthew, MB

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Monday, September 3, 2007

Inspirational Quote and Samurai Writings

You have control over three things--what you think, what you say, and how
you behave.
- Sonya Friedman

I think that this quote by Dr. Friedman is true in many ways. I like to think of it like this, You can only control yourself. What you think is your business but be warned that what you do and say is a reflection of your thinking. So I suppose it is in your best interest to keep your thoughts clear. Otherwise you run the risk of losing control of yourself in many ways seen and unseen.

Musashi Miyamoto, a poet and swordsman from Japan's warring states period wrote about this idea in his book, The Book of Five Rings.

"Do not think dishonestly."

Very cut and dry, but it is to the point. He was a samurai and when your life is on the line, things tend to become very black and white.

In martial arts the idea of clear thoughts really is no-thoughts or no-mind, mushin (無心). It is a state of pure clarity. One that David Allen suggests in his book, Getting Things Done, can be achieved by empting your mind of everything into a trusted collection bucket for future reference, review, and processing.

I don't think that Miyamoto-san had this idea in mind when he penned those words, but perhaps he would have approved. His idea was that to have no preferences and to master all weapons and to know all walks of life is the task of the warrior. Once you begin having preferences you become comfortable and potentially weaken your position. If you prefer to use a spear and have to fight indoors your spear suddenly becomes useless. Learn all weapons in all environments, seems like a tall order but again, its your life. He was reputed to have been involved in over 60 duals and lived well past the retirement age of most Americans. He certainly was on to something. Knowing all walks of life provides the frames of reference and the insight into how your chosen path relates.

"
Comparing the Way of the carpenter to strategy

The comparison with carpentry is through the connection with houses. Houses of the nobility, houses of warriors, the Four houses, ruin of houses, thriving of houses, the style of the house, the tradition of the house, and the name of the house. The carpenter uses a master plan of the building, and the Way of strategy is similar in that there is a plan of campaign. If you want to learn the craft of war, ponder over this book.

The teacher is as a needle, the disciple is as thread. You must practice constantly.

Like the foreman carpenter, the commander must know natural rules, and the rules of the country, and the rules of houses. This is the Way of the foreman. The foreman carpenter must know the architectural theory of towers and temples, and the plans of palaces, and must employ men to raise up houses. The Way of the foreman carpenter is the same as the Way of the commander of a warrior house.

In the contraction of houses, choice of woods is made. Straight un-knotted timber of good appearance is used for the revealed pillars; straight timber with small defects is used for the inner pillars. Timber of the finest appearance, even if a little weak, is used for the thresholds, lintels, doors, and sliding doors, and so on. Good strong timber, though it be gnarled and knotted, can always be used discreetly in construction.

Timber which is weak or knotted throughout should be used as scaffolding, and later for firewood. The foreman carpenter allots his men work according to their ability. Floor layers, makers of sliding doors, thresholds and lintels, ceilings and so on. Those of poor ability lay the floor joist, and those of lesser ability carve wedges and do such miscellaneous work. If the foreman knows and deploys his men well the finished work will be good.

The foreman should take into account the abilities and limitations of his men, circulating among them and asking nothing unreasonable. He should know their morale and spirit, and encourage them when necessary.

This is the same as the principle of strategy.
"

---- from the earth scroll

His words resound deep into the areas of management and productivity. How does this relate to the idea of a clear mind? The foreman mentioned above is concerned in completing a task not in any kind of selfish activity. Therefore we can assume that his goal of completing his task to the best of his ability is foremost in his thoughts, nothing deceitful.

Perhaps I would like to idealize this passage in that regard, but I do think it shows how clear thinking can manifest itself in true actions and further into true communication.

Thanks and beat on!

Matthew, MB

Hyrum Smith's 10 Laws

The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management by Hyrum Smith

Summary: Hyrum Smith talk about natural laws that govern all of us while we manage our time, which essentially, is managing our life.


#1 : You control your life by controlling your time.

#2 : Your governing values are the foundation of personal fulfillment.

#3 : When your daily activities reflect your governing values, you experience inner peace.

#4 : To reach any significant goal, you must leave your comfort zone.

#5 : Daily planning leverages time through increased focus.

#6 : Your behaviour is a reflection of what you truly believe.

#7 : You satisfy needs when your beliefs are in line with reality.

#8 : Negative behaviors are overcome by changing incorrect beliefs.

#9 : Yuor self-esteem must ultimately come from within.

#10 : Give more and you'll have more.

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Bruce Lee was free

"Don't think, feel"
The ability to adapt to any situation quickly, correctly, and cofidently is the fruit of strict discipline and structure.
Freedom as a result of hard work.

Matthew, MB

Beat your Mental

The Importance of Clarity

Clarity is simply the state of how clear something is. Something is clear when it is free from obstructions, blemishes, errors, doubt, or confusion.

Clarity is a principle that is key to the foundation of true communication.

I recently watched a video where Steven Covey talked about the concept of execution gap. This where there are goals and there are people, but there is something missing in getting things done.

Mr. Covey goes on to say that clear goals needs to be communicated effectively. Communication only happens when a message is received and understood. If the second point is missing then no communication has taken place. Therefore the message is not clear.
How then is a message clearly communicated?

Simply stated, first seek to understand then be understood. This is much easier said then done, but clarifing communication in the beginning is much more useful then trying to communincate excuses towards the end. Have you ever said, "I thought you meant …" or "I heard you say …." This is an unfortunate reality of many miscommunicated messages.

The techniques for clarifying communication are beyond the scope of this post, but I will say that paraphrasing, albeit can sound condescending at times, it a powerful tool.

Regardless, this is the first key in communicating a clear message.

The next point assumes the goals have been clearly communicated but the new challenge is personalization. Not in the sense of customization. Rather what does this message mean to the person or people it is being communicated to? Is it personal? Does it connect with them in a meaningful way? This is an interesting parallel to Krashen's idea of meaningful input for second language acquisition. Meaningful communication learned naturally is retained at a higher rate than language learned by rote.

In other words, repeating the message won't clarify it, but relating it how it will be in the interest of the other person will help to make it meaningful. It is like the WIIFM theory
(What's in it for me) where the details outside of my personal sphere are of not interest to me.

The direct connection of meaningful input to an individual's buy-in is critical in providing motivation. This motivation can secure ownership. Mr. Covey suggests the individuals that do not take ownership of goal will not have the passion needed to make it happen.

Is the message clear and is it personalized? The answer to this question is the second key.

Finally Mr. Covey says if the communication is clear and ownership has been taken, the last obstruction to execution is clarity of role? If I am ready to jump in, I want to know what I should do when I land. David Allen says that a worker who cranks widgets at his job knows what his schedule is like everyday. He sees a beginning and an end (an often coveted lunch break too, I suppose). He role is to crank widgets at 9:00 - 17:00. At the end of the day, he goes home. (See interview from AC).

This is a clear role, this is the final key to closing the execution gap. As mentioned in an earlier post, Miller states that short term memory is limited to 7 ±2 chunks of information. Using this as a baseline it could be assumed that a role with more that 7 ±2 hats is not a clear goal. For the purposes of clarity a role should be limited to one hat. A resource can be assigned multiple roles, but each role should should be clear.

To sum this up, clarity is important because if the message is not communicated and not made personal and the roles are not unique then we can expect an execution gap to occur. By clarifying goals, meaningfulness, and roles we can increase our chances of success.


Thanks for you ear!


Matthew, MB

Beat your Mental