Think Points

What follows are ways of being and doing that I believe are transformative personally and professionally. This is some of what I’ve learned so far…

• Learning is a lifestyle. It is an art realized through practice, a way of life based on patterns of research, action and reflection. As we approach situations with a learning attitude we begin to see integrated systems rather than dead ends or dichotomies, and we start to look beyond our disciplines for insight.
• Collaborate. Ecologists call the zone between neighboring habitats an “ecotone.” The life that thrives in this overlap-area thrives only there. The same is true of collaboration. Work created through a supportive, imaginative, flexible collaboration lives in a unique environment and will surpass expectations 99% of the time.
• Consult. Full, free and frank consultation is remarkable. It is the coming together of minds to discover something new, something no one person could have dreamt-up. Ideas expressed by individuals become property of the group, freeing people to think creatively without fear of deflating criticism or inflating praise — both of which can stifle creativity.
• Life’s a dream. We analyze our dreams and draw meaning from their symbols. Why not apply the same use of symbol analysis to our waking hours? Why didn’t you grab the umbrella this morning? What color is your front door? Where do you store your diaries?
• Ask questions. Without good questions, you won’t get good answers. And be flexible with the answers you get. Sometimes the wrong answers open the right doors.
• Talk to the divine/universe. Do it in a way that works for you — by dancing, through words, during a walk… The means are unimportant. What is important is seeking to align hopes and plans with the greater plan of the universe.
• Ponder. Daydream. Reflect. Bahá'u'lláh says that all artistic and scientific advancements come about through the power of reflection. Just as gravity has obvious physical outcomes, reflection has obvious mental/spiritual outcomes. Meditation is a mirror. If you tip it toward the ground if will reflect dirt. If you tip it toward the night sky, it will reflect the stars.
• Take risks. Tom Waits says we have all have “to risk something that matters.” What matters to you? Are you willing to put it on the line to learn something, to do excellent work, to enrich another person’s life?
• Serve. The highest station a person can attain is servitude. Why? Because life is about learning, we learn by doing, and the best doing is doing for others. It also feels great. When I help a friend or a stranger in need I get more out of it than they do. When I don’t, I rethink my motivation.
• Global culture is the new planetary ecosystem. Every person on the planet is connected to every other person on the planet. The air I exhale you will inhale. The song I sing, an ad on TV, graffiti on a building, a child running down the street all compose our mental/emotional landscape. This is our ecosystem. How do we care for it? Do we care for it? Why and why not?
• Values are keys to unlocking the right doors. If you took the values put forward by the advertising industry and created a world out them, no one could live in it. Why let the bottom line decide? Where is the place for truthfulness and beauty, humility and courage? When we follow principle, we improve our selves and our world.
• Laugh. Laughter is liberating to people and to ideas. Laughter frees mind, body and soul to respond in unexpected ways.
• Create. People are drawn to creativity and beauty. Creativity is a gift everyone has, but it’s a muscle that must be exercised. Don’t be bashful — create something.
• Make your stand. Life is short. Not everything must be done now. But, if the time is right, act.
• Overcome dichotomies with holistic models of learning and action. Rather than considering 21st-century challenges in isolation or accepting dichotomous, and ultimately paralyzing, views of society, we must make a rigorous study of constituent elements of integrated wholes — whole people, whole families and whole societies. How do our lives and work ripple through society? We have to look beyond our noses and recognize that our mental and physical environment must nurture life.
• Tell stories, use metaphors. People love stories and think in metaphors. Why avoid them? What’s your story? Could you tell it using a metaphor? It’s no accident that the world’s greatest teachers and storytellers used metaphors, from Socrates to Gandhi, Bahá'u'lláh to Toni Morrison. Metaphors stay with us and motivate action.