HELP WANTED:
I gotta say, this theme has already occurred to others:
by David Satterlee
Source: “Pursuing Human Strengths,” Martin Bolt, Preface
The weakness of psychology, during its short history as a science, has been its primary focus on human weaknesses rather than on human strengths. That began to change dramatically when Martin Seligman was elected president of the American Psychological Association. Seligman leveraged his research on learned helplessness and hopelessness into a new focus on learned optimism and happiness.
A primary focus of positive psychology is on human strengths, a core set of virtues. The intent is to study, measure, and understand these strengths so that they can be purposefully developed, increasing both subjective and objective psychological well-being. Continue reading »
by David Satterlee
Source: “Pursuing Human Strengths,” Martin Bolt, Preface
The weakness of psychology, during its short history as a science, has been its primary focus on human weaknesses rather than on human strengths. That began to change dramatically when Martin Seligman was elected president of the American Psychological Association. Seligman leveraged his research on learned helplessness and hopelessness into a new focus on learned optimism and happiness.
As “social animals” we are responsive to certain common preconceived notions and powerful trigger situations. Our reflex reactions are really very predictable. They form the necessary fabric of our society. We are taught and often disciplined to respect authority, conserve valuable resources, make friends and protect the helpless.
For some of you it may be shocking to realize how much advertising is crafted to motivate us and how much of what we say too others pushes social reflexes. On the other hand, it’s good to be aware of such influences. Awareness means that we can be in better control of how we respond and that we can be less callous or clumsy in how we treat others.
Don’t be cynical. People can be influenced. We behave in predictable ways. This is a normal part of our civilized behavior. We teach, sell and negotiate all the time in every facet of our lives. When you think that you’re right, you try to get your way. It’s not inherently bad to understand human reactions and apply that understanding. The evil is to use your knowledge of influence to move someone away from their best interests. Don’t be evil.
Sometimes you communicate just to share information or entertain. But, more often than not, you are trying to influence someone to achieve your desired outcome. Face it, you are trying to change someone’s attitude or behavior. Do you have that right?
Look at this question from another point of view. What is the point of any communication if there is no goal or desired outcome? Such a conversation would be as pointless (and probably as uninteresting) as a journey with no destination.
We all have things to share with others. We have unique backgrounds that combine our inborn characteristics with our personal experiences. You know things that are interesting. You have information that may be valuable to others.
When you have strong emotions about something, the ability to express yourself clearly and a kind sense of humor, you can really contribute a lot to a conversation. It’s okay to be you and express yourself to others. It’s okay to influence someone to your way of thinking or to make things come out the way you want IF YOU PLAY FAIR. But, remember, “influence” is not the same as “manipulate.”
Do you have the other’s best interest at heart? Are you telling the truth? Are you alert to the other person’s response? Are you flexible? Are you consistent? Does your desired outcome dovetail with what the other person wants or needs?
Have you noticed that some people have trouble learning from a book? They may learn better when someone explain things to them or if they try it for themselves. Do not assume that everyone experiences the world in the same way you do. Different senses affect some people more profoundly than others.
Auditory people respond better to what they HEAR. Visual people respond better to what the SEE. Kinesthetic people respond better to what they DO and FEEL. Everybody responds better to a POSITIVE goal. Recognize that these statements represent tendencies, not absolutes.
When you recognize how the person you’re communicating with responds, you can do a better job of getting through to them. When they imagine the end results you want to achieve, what are they hearing, seeing and feeling? If you are communicating well, they will have a clear and positive impression of your desired outcome.
Backtrack a minute. Before you can share your goal you have to know it clearly yourself. Take some quiet time to imagine how things will be when you get what you want. See how things will look. Hear how things will sound. Feel how you will feel. You need all of this. If you get “off the track,” come back to this moment and you will choose more clearly the best way to achieve your goal.
My aunt, Joy Marshall, taught me that the mind has several necessary, progressive stages that must be experienced in order to make commitments. Joy uses this technique for emotional healing therapy. It is especially helpful when a person needs to recognize and release specific negative emotions.
Could You? First, you have to acknowledge that the change is possible.
Would You? Next you have to acknowledge that you would be willing to make the change.
When? Finally, you have to commit to actually doing it.
This is very powerful stuff. In the case of old resentments, for instance, once you’ve said “yes” to the first two questions, your mind knows that the answer to the third is “right now” and the anger just melts away leaving you all clean and shaky.
I think the principal holds true for all kinds of decision and commitment making. This is well worth exploring.
These are twin faces of the same concept. Measurement assures recognition which can be all or only part of the reward. Look at it from another angle: why do something if nobody notices or cares? Notice the many ways that you respond to this principal and how you use measurement and reward to motivate others.
Unfortunately, this concept can be mismanaged for the bad. If a situation is set up to measure or reward the wrong thing, the wrong thing will get done. For instance, when I worked in a computer support group our new boss decided to rank us according to the number of problem reports that we cleared each week. That makes sense, doesn’t it? The lazy consultants grabbed up all the easy problems. The sneaky simply reported problems closed prematurely, forcing the person with a problem to call in a “new” report to get anything done. I didn’t like this game and wouldn’t play; I enjoyed the (rewarding) challenge (including the praise, recognition and reputation among the clients) of solving the tough problems. The new boss never wised up (and never seemed to like me, for some strange reason), but he did build an impressive rank-reporting database system that got him promoted. I see now that he was only doing the thing for which HE was being measured.
We have come to accept and expect that something has more value if we have to work harder or sacrifice more to acquire it. This is expressed in sayings such as “You get what you pay for” and “You have to pay for quality.”
A seller of tourist jewelry noticed that one rack was moving slowly and left a note for a clerk to reprice it by 1/2. Misreading the note the clerk doubled the prices instead. It didn’t take long for customers to buy most of the rack. The owner learned a valuable lesson.
You know people who collect, file, organize and trade coupons. They save a lot of money. You envy them. The fact is that not every coupon is valuable to you. What do you save if you buy something at discount when you don’t need it? Worse, merchants have discovered that people will respond well to a coupon even if it does not offer a real discount. If you sell, it would make sense to pay attention to coupon marketing.
We can not know everything. In an increasingly complicated world, it is increasingly necessary to accept the judgment of strong authorities for guidance.
The expertise of the medical establishment still holds a powerful grip on popular belief. Modern medicine embraces science and science is capable of experiment, analysis and proof. That makes it difficult to accept an alternate model of health. Fortunately, the same science that modern medicine employs is now exploring, explaining and validating the traditional uses of many herbs.
If the issue matters to you personally and you have the ability to analyze the information, then it is more likely that you will take the time to evaluate the judgment of an expert. Unfortunately, complicated issues, time limits, fatigue and intrusive distractions make it less likely that you will think for yourself. It can be easier to ask a neighbor where they buy there auto insurance than to do due diligence for yourself.
When I bought a home several years ago, the real estate agent showed us several homes she knew we couldn’t afford right away. When she showed us homes closer to our price range, they suddenly seemed more affordable.
Salesmen use the same principal when they sell the most expensive part of a wardrobe or program first. After investing heavily, a customer is more willing to pay for accessories. When my family took a multi-day tour, we were reluctant to sign-up ahead of time for side-trips but were easier to convince later when the extra was so much less, in contrast to the full tour.
Try this experiment. Fill three buckets; one each with tolerable hot, cold and room-temperature water. Put one hand in the hot and one hand in the cold and wait a few minutes to get used to the extremes. Now put both hands in the room-temperature water. You’ll be surprised at how differently your hands interpret the same water.
When someone does you a favor, you feel the urge to return the favor.
When you ask a favor, after having done something for someone, it is very hard for them to refuse. Have you ever been in a public place and had someone press a flower, card or gift into your hand and then request a small donation? Even if you refused, I’ll bet it took an effort to suppress the reaction to comply. Not only do we feel social obligations to give generously and repay gifts, we also feel an obligation to receive whatever gift is offered, especially when we are surprised. Free samples trigger the urge to buy whatever you’ve tried. We frequently return from the grocery store with packages of foods that we agreed to sample while shopping.
We often feel the need to make concessions to others who make concessions to us. This is the core of the negotiating advice, “Always ask for more than you want.” People will feel more obliged to meet your request after you have agreed to “compromise.” Once you have agreed to do something (such as volunteer work) you are more likely to agree to do it again. Not only that, but you will feel some responsibility to do it again and feel satisfied with the arrangement! Of course, if the initial demand is too extreme, the bargaining is not in good faith and the tactic will backfire.
Once we make a choice, we have a strong desire to appear consistent with that choice. Even very small concessions can lead to progressively large commitments. We will do everything possible to justify our choice. Nobody wants to be seen as indecisive, scatterbrained or weak-willed. For another thing, sticking to a choice helps us avoid re-evaluating that choice.
As an example, if you agreed to give to a charity, you would be more likely to agree to collect for that charity on your block. This is the core of the “foot in the door” principal. Once you agree to a trivial request or make an initial purchase, your need to be consistent will influence you to agree to larger requests or buy much more expensive related items. When our boys were young, we agreed to buy a small box of Lego® building blocks. From that point on, we found it almost impossible to say no to a request for more Lego® sets. We even took pride in seeking out the latest variations.
Consistency is not inherently bad. People quote Ralph Waldo Emerson as saying “Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” What he actually said was “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”
Active public commitments such as offering testimonials or signing a pledge are some of the strongest motivators. For instance, if you write down a goal you are likely to pursue it. If you show people your written goal you are even more likely to achieve it.
The more effort you put into a commitment, the more power it has. This is why demanding initiation rituals (such as armed forces boot camps) are so effective at generating loyalty to organizations. If you have to fight for something you will value it even more highly. I have a ratty old sweater that my wife keeps trying to throw out. I never wear it but I’ve made such an issue of keeping it that I just can’t bear to let it go.
The strongest commitments of all are those we make our own by taking inner responsibility; believing that we want to because of our own convictions rather than because of outside pressure.
We feel a social responsibility to conform to group standards. It’s hard to stand out as different. When there is a group present and you are uncertain, you will look around at others for behavioral clues.
As an example, when I first started promoting my herb business I discovered a traffic location where cars backed up for a quarter mile on weekends. I printed a pile of flyers and went there to hand them out. Usually everything went well as my smile and I strode confidently from one driver to the next. People in the next car would roll their window down, accept my flyer and smile back. When I reached a fearful or grumpy driver, however, I discovered that the next driver was much less likely to take my flyer. It was time to turn around, walk back and wait for that group of cars to drive past the light.
We are very vulnerable to the influence of those we associate with. Children who are afraid of dogs lose their fear when shown films of a variety of other children having fun with dogs. On the other hand, “bad associations spoil useful habits.” Children become more aggressive when they watch films of people intentionally harming others. The powers of peer pressure on people of all ages are well known.
If someone is uncertain they will hesitate. If you give a direct command, they will often comply. At an accident don’t just cry, “Won’t somebody please do something!” Point at a specific person and say, “You, go call an ambulance.”
The typical routine for handling a product demonstration involves giving some very specific guidance to the hostess. You explain the routine of introducing you and passing around the sign-in sheet. (That’s another example. You just tell everyone to make an entry for themselves and they usually do.) Afterwards you have her go with you to the next presentation sponsored by her friend and say a few words. Before long, she is giving her own presentations. No muss, no fuss. It’s just the way things are done.
When we switched away from accepting checks for phone orders, we discovered that the best way to handle the situation was to not explain. Now we just ask which credit card will be used. This combines an indirect command (“use a credit card”) with the opportunity to make a choice. Frankly, it works very well.
Studies have show that 95% of people are basically imitators (followers) and that only 5% are initiators (leaders). When a follower is not sure what to do next, they are very open to the influence of the group and especially the group’s leader.
It’s hard to resist when a friend (someone you like) asks you to do something. By extension, it’s even hard to resist a stranger who seems to be likable (such as a Girl Scout with a smile and cookies). People who look good automatically seem more honest, kind and intelligent. This goes double for tall men and pretty girls. Those of us who are funny-looking, bald and squeaky-voiced simply have to work harder to make a good impression. Happily, when people do decide to like me, it’s easier to believe that it’s not just my flawless complexion and dazzling smile.
It is also easier for people to like others who seem familiar or are similar to themselves. (Working together for a common purpose builds familiarity.) It helps if you are the same age, have the same background or dress the same way. It’s a smart move to subtly imitate the body postures and speaking rhythms of someone if you want them to like you a little better.
I like to be liked. I’ll really go out of my way to please someone who really appreciates my efforts. When someone is grumpy, demanding and unappreciative, I just can’t seem to get as excited. Somehow I expect my labors will turn into another instance of “no good deed goes unpunished.”
We tend to believe compliments and especially love to hear ourselves being praised to a third party.
We have all been trained to color within the lines, do what the teacher says and obey policemen. We will often do what the boss wants even if we hate doing it.
This normally good response can become our most frightening social reflex. Strong leaders and governmental authorities have used their power of authority to influence armies and ordinary citizens to perform hideous atrocities against others and even voluntarily commit suicide. Think of Hitler, Jim Jones and terrorist organizations.
Part of the reason for the influence of authority (or even the appearance of authority) is our assumption that they know more than we do. Another aspect is their control of our rewards and punishment.
A practical example of mechanical, blind obedience to authority is the medical establishment. People routinely sign a release statement when entering a hospital (even for minor, non-invasive tests) that basically says that the doctors may do whatever they want to you. This is a mirror of the blind faith of generations of patients who meekly (and ignorantly) accepted whatever drugs or surgeries were prescribed. Hospital staffs are subject to a long tradition of submission to doctors’ orders. This is part of the reason that a typical hospital has a 12% error rate for patient medication alone.
“This is your last chance. If you react soon and for a limited time only, while supply lasts, and if your application is selected, you can be one of the lucky few to win a rare original, banned in France.”
It’s easy to assume that if something is difficult to get, it is more valuable. Also, we hate to lose our freedom of choice. When information is censored or hard to get, it is more persuasive.
I love auctions and going-out-of-business sales. I’ll buy stuff I don’t need. What if I need it later and I can’t get it?
You ask someone to do something. They hesitate. You say “because” and tell them why they should. They agree to do it. What happened? It may be more than your persuasive argument. “Everything has to have a reason” and people are influenced simply because there IS a reason. Researchers have discovered that many people wil comply if you use the word “because,” even WITHOUT a reason. It’s kind of scary.
The best way to protect yourself against being manipulated by these social triggers is two-fold. You must be aware of these methods and you must be aware of your gut feelings. When you notice that something feels wrong, stop in your tracks and refuse to respond further until you have figured out what is going on.
Are you vulnerable? Are you stressed, distracted, tired or rushed? If you are, you are more likely to make these automatic shortcuts to decision-making. These days we are assaulted by more information and under pressure to do more in less time. Knowledge is growing explosively and access to that knowledge is growing even faster. We can communicate instantly and have many times as many choices as earlier generations. We get used to making snap decisions based on minimal direct evidence.
When you notice that funny feeling in your stomach and realize that you are becoming emotionally involved in a decision, stop to decide why. Someone may be pushing your triggers. This might actually be a good thing. In this fast-paced world we need shortcuts for decision-making. But when someone falsely misrepresents the facts to get your compliance, it’s okay to JUST SAY “NO”.
People tend to resist change. They are used to old patterns and relationships and feel threatened. Their negative emotional responses can make it hard to create change even when it is obviously in their best interests. There are techniques to help.
Create a vacuum - Dismantle or discard the old system. When we needed to move our shipping department to the store, I took the initiative to remove everything from the space that would be used. That made it easier for my staff to “fill the hole.”
Create the new framework yourself - Leaders need to express their vision. If you do enough of the preliminary work for others to see and understand where you’re going, it’s is easier to delegate the completion of the work. Your people will feel like they’re stepping on rocks rather than wading through mud.
Create an artificial crisis – If you just have to get something moving, cause an emergency. People will work hard to get things back under control even if that requires accepting a changed situation. If your teenager won’t take his dirty clothes to the laundry, just let them accumulate until he has nothing clean to wear. When this artificial crisis finally gets his attention, you can make him begin washing his own clothes. Of course he can create his own crisis by doing it so badly that you decide to go back to doing it yourself. Some of this stuff can backfire.
Resistance to change is normal and can even be positive; it shows that people are involved and care about the situation. Listen sincerely to objections. Just letting people express their feelings can diffuse resistance. However, their challenges might also lead to improvements to the original plan. The resulting dialogue can improve communication and cooperation.
Communicate - Help people understand why you have decided on the change. Fear, uncertainty and doubt (the “FUD” factor) can be quickly neutralized by your courtesy of explaining the needs and benefits that led to your decision.
Involve others – People will usually support a change that they’ve helped to plan and execute. Why should you do all the work just to run into a brick wall?
Plant the idea – You don’t always have to ram change down someone else’s throat. It you start early and are patient you can gradually plant and direct the development of your idea so that others think that it is their own. When they “own” the desire to change, it is much easier to let them run with it and adjust their direction slightly as needed.
Reward and benefit – Everyone affected by a change needs to feel that there’s “something in it” for them. If they don’t, maybe it’s a bad move and really should be resisted. The timing may be bad or it may create additional burdens without benefits.
p.s. “Change happens.”
Copyright 1996, 2010, David Satterlee
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, which essentially says that you are free to share the work under the conditions that you attribute it fully, do not use it for commercial purposes, and do not alter it.
Most of us are in this business because we respect natural health. Mental health is a key part of our overall (natural) health. A well-recognized sign of strong mental health is creative service to others and freedom from selfishness. Such selfless service supplies a sense of calm satisfaction which further reinforces health. This positive cycle just keeps on going.
“It was never pushing this business that got us where we are today – it was helping others,” says Marge. “We don’t set goals; we help people. It’s the people, including our wonderful Managers, that make you successful. You couldn’t be in this business if you didn’t give from the heart. The only thing that keeps you going is the people.”
“The power of man’s virtue should not be measured by his special efforts, but by his ordinary doings.”
-Blaise Pascal
“You are a quack and a crook. You are unworthy of my attention. I’m not interested and I want you to go away.” Yikes! What a nasty thing to read! Are you OK? Take a moment, if you need, to put yourself back together. The rest of this page will help.
When you take your emotions and convictions public, you face some pretty personal assaults. Be prepared for this by having full faith in the value of your message. Then if (no, when) someone disrespects that message, you can bounce back. You can “shake the dust off your sandals” and move on.
Actually, rejection is no big deal. We expect a certain percentage of people to be so locked into their own ruts that they just can’t see out. Your message may represent a threat to their precious, comfortable rut. They would have to change if they took you seriously. On the bright side, maybe you gave them something to think about and their attitude will soften. It has happened. Then, when they come back seeking you out, your joy is doubled. Rejection is simply the way you know that it’s time to move on. You will find so many kind and appreciative people that you will not even worry about those who are ignorant or rude. As you keep on, your pleasure and satisfaction keeps on growing and growing.
“Every great movement must experience three stages: ridicule, discussion, adoption.”
-John Stuart Mill
What frightens you? Disapproval? Failure? Fear is death. You can take your death by fear all at once or in little bits. You have heard of people who have been so afraid of a shadow that they brought on a heart attack. Could they have had more mental control?
Fear leads to both inaction and indecisive action and both can kill. Texas roads are littered with dead armadillos and squirrels. Armadillos will stop still in the road. Squirrels will dash madly back and forth, unable to decide which way to run. I have known people who give in to their fear, bit by bit, until they are unwilling to leave their houses. I have known others who dash from one get-rich idea to another without pursuing one long enough to benefit from their efforts. Could they have had more mental control?
A key to overcoming fear is to want something strong enough that you are finally willing to plunge ahead despite your fears. Once you decide to act, you can redirect the energy of your fear into unexpectedly decisive action.
“Has fear ever held a man back from anything he really wanted, or a woman either?”
-George Bernard Shaw
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.”
-Ambrose Redmoon
“Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain but for the heart to conquer it.”
-Tagore
“His flight was madness: when our actions do not, Our fears do make us traitors.”
-Shakespeare, Macbeth
“I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do …”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
“Fear always springs from ignorance.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Nothing is terrible except fear itself.”
-Francis Bacon
“We have nothing to fear except fear itself.”
-Winston Churchill
It can be discouraging if your friends don’t understand why you are “doing this strange herb thing.” You have a choice. You can fearfully give in to their ignorance or you can boldly persist in educating them.
For many years, I just deep down solid didn’t get it. My wife would try to tell me about herbs but it didn’t make sense so it irritated me. I wouldn’t eat anything that was “good for you” and I certainly wouldn’t take any capsules! Eventually it began to make sense and I changed. Give it some time.
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
-Mark Twain
“Don’t listen to friends when the Friend inside you says ‘Do this.’”
-Gandhi
Have you heard the story of the explorer who burned his boats upon reaching the far land? His troops then had no option but to stay. They were irrevocably committed.
I operated my network business part-time for years and never grew much beyond the minimum sales required to stay a manager. When I gave notice to my employer, however, there was no turning back and I REALLY paid attention to product sales and recruiting. When I put more at risk, I generated commitment.
“I have learned this at least by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
-Henry David Thoreau
“There are costs and risks to a program of action, but they are far less than the long range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.”
-John F. Kennedy
“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”
-T. S. Eliot
The Chinese pictogram for “crisis” is composed of the symbols for “danger” and “opportunity.” People tend to resist change but when a crisis strikes, change forces itself on you. Your only choice is how to react.
A crisis can be your excuse for feeling sorry for yourself and quitting. Maybe a natural disaster wiped out your home and business. Now what do you do? You could lose heart and quit. The other option is to simply start over and rebuild with what you have left. You may not have much but you still have your experience. You can be determined to do an even better job this time. When the universe hands you an opportunity, take it.
“Prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue.”
“A man must make his opportunity, as oft as find it.”
“A wise man will make more opportunity than he finds.”
“Chiefly the mould of a man’s fortune is in his own hands.”
-Francis Bacon
You shouldn’t agonize over your failures but you should dwell on them. Think about what happened and why it went wrong. When you understand why you failed, you free yourself to try again.
History is full of inspiring stories of those who failed repeatedly but kept on trying again until they were successful beyond any expectation. I always think of Thomas Edison trying thousands of materials for the filament for his new electric light bulb. Although people seem altogether too happy to remind you of your failures, I really believe that some failures are evidence that you are out there doing something. Just don’t keep making the same mistakes.
“You only fail when you fail to try,” according to Dr. Daniel Litchford, who was the motivational speaker at a New Managers’ Convention. He taught: “I’m not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed. And the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I fail and keep trying.”
“There is nothing left to you at this moment but to have a good laugh.”
-Anonymous Zen master
Does it seem today that business ethics favors the sharp operator and that no one notices or punishes all the little dishonesties that people commit all the time? Don’t believe it. When we act from bad motives, it catches up to us. When we are greedy, selfish and covetous, the stream of good that was refreshing us seems to dry up.
A manager from California, urges others: “Don’t do anything you know is wrong or later you will feel sorry and it will affect your energy, your business. If you make mistakes, don’t let them get you down; keep trying and you will do very well!”
When you do wrong, the best course is to turn it around as quickly as you can. Admit the wrong, ask forgiveness, repay or repair the damage that you have done, forgive yourself and move on.
“How pleasant it is, at the end of the day, No follies to have to repent; But reflect on the past, and be able to say, That my time has been properly spent.”
-Jane Taylor, Rhymes for the Nursery. The Way to be Happy.
Isn’t it funny? You can convince yourself that you want to do something but still put it off indefinitely. As long as you keep the goal private, it’s just too easy to procrastinate.
The cure is to make your goal public; then you have to follow through or else “lose face.” Once you have made a public commitment, you feel a real obligation to begin and then keep on keeping your promise.
You might use this technique to strengthen your commitment to lose 15 pounds or to send out a monthly newsletter. When people ask you how much weight you’ve lost or want to know when they’ll receive your next newsletter, you will be more likely to get back to work in order to meet their expectations.
The hardest part of any task is getting off to a good start. Once you actually get started, it’s easier to keep going.
“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”
-Plato
Copyright 1996, 2010, David Satterlee
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, which essentially says that you are free to share the work under the conditions that you attribute it fully, do not use it for commercial purposes, and do not alter it.
How do you interact with those around you? How do you see yourself? How do you resolve problems? If you understand these things about your personality, you can make more progress with less confusion. You will engage your creative energies consciously and constructively. Consider some typical psychological models:
Hero - The explorer, decision-maker, adventurer, leader, servant of humanity.
Showman - The entertainer, artist, master of perception, imaginative creator.
Warrior – The persistent achiever, master of focused concentration, craftsman; powered by aggressive energy.
Scholar – The eternal student, wise teacher, steward of knowledge, compassionate nurturer.
“Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig.”
-Marcus Aurelius
Life should be rich, full and satisfying. Life is our gift to enjoy. Life is our obligation to produce and serve. Life should be lived with style and grace; it is its own art. When you create something, make it appealing as well as functional. Your extra effort is an act of love for yourself, your Creator and your society.
“We have come to think of art and work as incompatible, or at least independent categories and have for the first time in history created an industry without art.”
“The vocation, whether it be that of the farmer or the architect, is a function; the exercise of this function as regards the man himself is the most indispensable means of spiritual development, and as regards his relation to society the measure of his worth.”
-Ananda K. Coomaraswamy
“To love is to transform; to be a poet.”
-Norman O. Brown
“The secret of art is love.”
-Antoine Bourdelle
“The art of life, of a poet’s life, is, not having anything to do, to do something.”
-Henry David Thoreau
“… a first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting.”
-Abraham Maslow
Do you have what it takes to run your own business? There are some personality traits that are common to entrepreneurs.
A representative of the Kravis Leadership Institute at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, explains about entrepreneurs: “They have a high need for achievement. They have a high tolerance for ambiguity and are comfortable adding their own structure to ambiguous situations. They usually have a single vision they do not swerve from, and they believe they control their own destinies.” Entrepreneur, February 1996, p. 30.
“Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.”
-Albert Einstein
“I call intuition cosmic fishing. You feel the nibble, and then you have to hook the fish.”
-Buckminster Fuller
Anything less than achieving “manager” leadership level in a network marketing plan is haphazard. It’s OK to be a distributor, but both the commitment and the rewards are limited. The big jump in responsibility (and financial reward) comes with being a manager. It takes planning to stay a manager.
The first step up the “ladder of success” is deciding that you want to be a manager. This is an important commitment. You want to start out well balanced and firmly committed. Once you begin climbing and you take others along with you, your responsibilities increase. You will want to plan first and know what you need to do.
Learn how to become a manager. Go back and read the marketing plan brochure and the distributor manual. Ask your sponsor or their manager for advice.
Learn how to stay a manager. One company ran a statistical analyses of their computer records and found that managers with 10 or more active distributors rarely had problems staying managers.
“No one knows what he can do until he tries.”
-Publilius Syrus
“One comes to be of just such stuff as that on which the mind is set.”
-Upanishads
Once you have achieved “Manager” status, you’ll realize that you certainly didn’t do it alone. Your distributors will teach you more than you ever taught them. And, you’ll get letters like this (real) one:
Dear [Manager],
I’d like to take the time to thank you for being a great manager and a good friend and for all of the good things I’ve learned from you. You are why I am where I am today. Last month I ranked 2nd among recruiters (Area Managers). I have 7 first line managers and 2 second line managers. I have been invited to Convention again this year, all expenses paid. My husband and I have been invited to [the president’s] house for dinner next Saturday night and to a special photo session before the Awards Banquet. I am very excited but also overwhelmed by all of this. I still don’t know why. I do nothing but educate my people and it just makes my organization grow. Again, I’d just like to tell you and [your spouse] ….
Thank You
“Casting your bread upon the water” is a reference to the scripture at Ecclesiastes 11:1. It refers to the rewards of exceptional generosity. Bread is the “staff of life.” When you are willing to part with something valuable, your generosity will be repaid. (As long as we’re on the subject, compare Luke 6:38.)
Lillian from Bakersfield, California, says “Caring and giving genuine service is like casting bread upon the water: it always comes back. I just keep going at the business of helping people to better health, and I keep talking about the benefits of the business. There always seems to be people who want to hear more.”
One of the most valuable things we have to share with others is our time and attention. Time is stuff of which our lives are made.
“He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much; he who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly.”
-James Allen
Every moment that is wasted is time you will never get back.
Take advantage of every available opportunity to advance your purposes. Feel free to share the Nature’s Sunshine philosophy with just about anyone you meet. Share your success with others and help to enrich their lives.
Make time to relax and enjoy the rest that you have earned – and then get right back to work doing good and enjoying every minute of it!
“I was so full of sleep at the time that I left the true way.”
-Dante
“Sed fugit interea, fugit inreparabile tempus. (But meanwhile it is flying, irretrievable time is flying.)
-Virgil
“Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them.
-Dion Boucicault, London Assurance (1841)
“No time like the present.”
-Mrs. Manley, The Lost Lover (1696)
Integrity - the things that you choose to do should not conflict with your best values. Your actions should have purpose and meaning. They should be responsible and honest.
Service – Your actions should build up and create rather than destroy or take. Contributing to the welfare of others out of love will make you stronger and “make the world a better place.” “Consciously or unconsciously, every one of us does render some service or other. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger, and will make, not only for our own happiness, but that of the world at large.” Mahatma Gandhi
Enjoyment – When you find joy in doing what you love to do, your life will flow. Your creativity and enthusiasm will bring success. It is a gift that we can rejoice and do good and see good for all our hard work.
Excellence – If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. Why commit to doing something if you don’t care enough about it to be persistent, determined and see it through to a conclusion you can remember with satisfaction?
“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
If your neighbor was lost and confused and you knew how to solve his problem, wouldn’t you speak up? Who really is your neighbor? The world is filled with people who know that they’re getting progressively less healthy. They are confused and frightened. They don’t know where to turn and they don’t like it. You can help. You’ve tried something that worked for yourself and your family and you can tell them about it.
At one NSP convention, the Senior National Manager shared his philosophy with the attendees when he pointed out that “There’s a hurting world out there. Who is going to help them? If not me, who? If not now, when? If not, why?”
“Today … we know that all living beings who strive to maintain life and who long to be spared pain – all living beings on earth are our neighbors.”
-Albert Schweitzer
“When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness.”
-Joseph Campbell
If you haven’t been somewhere before you may need good directions and a road map to get there. When you have a goal to reach, decide how you want to get there and plan your route ahead of time. Follow your map and you will find your treasure.
Verlyn tells distributors to map out a plan. “Draw a ‘treasure map’ – things you’d like to have or accomplish within one year’s time. Don’t quit until you accomplish them. Don’t just dream… also have it come true! Decide you can do it, then do it with enthusiasm. If you can get on fire about what you are selling, others will feel your excitement.”
We start from the foundation of our values. This allows us to develop a vision of where we want to go. When we commit to that vision, we have goals. Next we develop a strategy to guide us in achieving our goals. We commit to specific tactics; the things we must do next. If the things we do are truly consistent with our values, then we will be happy and feel productive.
“Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.”
-Seneca
Copyright 1996, 2010, David Satterlee
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, which essentially says that you are free to share the work under the conditions that you attribute it fully, do not use it for commercial purposes, and do not alter it.
As "social animals" we are responsive to certain common preconceived notions and powerful trigger situations. Our reflex reactions are really very predictable. They form the necessary fabric of our society. We are taught and often disciplined to respect authority, conserve valuable resources, make friends and protect the helpless.
For some of you it may be shocking to realize how much advertising is crafted to motivate us and how much of what we say too others pushes social reflexes. On the other hand, it’s good to be aware of such influences. Awareness means that we can be in better control of how we respond and that we can be less callous or clumsy in how we treat others.
Most of us are in this business because we respect natural health. Mental health is a key part of our overall (natural) health. A well-recognized sign of strong mental health is creative service to others and freedom from selfishness. Such selfless service supplies a sense of calm satisfaction which further reinforces health. This positive cycle just keeps on going.
"It was never pushing this business that got us where we are today – it was helping others," says Marge. "We don’t set goals; we help people. It’s the people, including our wonderful Managers, that make you successful. You couldn’t be in this business if you didn’t give from the heart. The only thing that keeps you going is the people."
"The power of man’s virtue should not be measured by his special efforts, but by his ordinary doings."
-Blaise Pascal
"You are a quack and a crook. You are unworthy of my attention. I’m not interested and I want you to go away." Yikes! What a nasty thing to read! Are you OK? Take a moment, if you need, to put yourself back together. The rest of this page will help.
When you take your emotions and convictions public, you face some pretty personal assaults. Be prepared for this by having full faith in the value of your message. Then if (no, when) someone disrespects that message, you can bounce back. You can "shake the dust off your sandals" and move on.
Actually, rejection is no big deal. We expect a certain percentage of people to be so locked into their own ruts that they just can’t see out. Your message may represent a threat to their precious, comfortable rut. They would have to change if they took you seriously. On the bright side, maybe you gave them something to think about and their attitude will soften. It has happened. Then, when they come back seeking you out, your joy is doubled. Rejection is simply the way you know that it’s time to move on. You will find so many kind and appreciative people that you will not even worry about those who are ignorant or rude. As you keep on, your pleasure and satisfaction keeps on growing and growing.
"Every great movement must experience three stages: ridicule, discussion, adoption."
-John Stuart Mill
What frightens you? Disapproval? Failure? Fear is death. You can take your death by fear all at once or in little bits. You have heard of people who have been so afraid of a shadow that they brought on a heart attack. Could they have had more mental control?
Fear leads to both inaction and indecisive action and both can kill. Texas roads are littered with dead armadillos and squirrels. Armadillos will stop still in the road. Squirrels will dash madly back and forth, unable to decide which way to run. I have known people who give in to their fear, bit by bit, until they are unwilling to leave their houses. I have known others who dash from one get-rich idea to another without pursuing one long enough to benefit from their efforts. Could they have had more mental control?
A key to overcoming fear is to want something strong enough that you are finally willing to plunge ahead despite your fears. Once you decide to act, you can redirect the energy of your fear into unexpectedly decisive action.
"Has fear ever held a man back from anything he really wanted, or a woman either?"
-George Bernard Shaw
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear."
-Ambrose Redmoon
"Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain but for the heart to conquer it."
-Tagore
"His flight was madness: when our actions do not, Our fears do make us traitors."
-Shakespeare, Macbeth
"I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do …"
-Eleanor Roosevelt
"Fear always springs from ignorance."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Nothing is terrible except fear itself."
-Francis Bacon
"We have nothing to fear except fear itself."
-Winston Churchill
It can be discouraging if your friends don’t understand why you are "doing this strange herb thing." You have a choice. You can fearfully give in to their ignorance or you can boldly persist in educating them.
For many years, I just deep down solid didn’t get it. My wife would try to tell me about herbs but it didn’t make sense so it irritated me. I wouldn’t eat anything that was "good for you" and I certainly wouldn’t take any capsules! Eventually it began to make sense and I changed. Give it some time.
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
-Mark Twain
"Don’t listen to friends when the Friend inside you says ‘Do this.’"
-Gandhi
Have you heard the story of the explorer who burned his boats upon reaching the far land? His troops then had no option but to stay. They were irrevocably committed.
I operated my network business part-time for years and never grew much beyond the minimum sales required to stay a manager. When I gave notice to my employer, however, there was no turning back and I REALLY paid attention to product sales and recruiting. When I put more at risk, I generated commitment.
"I have learned this at least by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."
-Henry David Thoreau
"There are costs and risks to a program of action, but they are far less than the long range risks and costs of comfortable inaction."
-John F. Kennedy
"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."
-T. S. Eliot
The Chinese pictogram for "crisis" is composed of the symbols for "danger" and "opportunity." People tend to resist change but when a crisis strikes, change forces itself on you. Your only choice is how to react.
A crisis can be your excuse for feeling sorry for yourself and quitting. Maybe a natural disaster wiped out your home and business. Now what do you do? You could lose heart and quit. The other option is to simply start over and rebuild with what you have left. You may not have much but you still have your experience. You can be determined to do an even better job this time. When the universe hands you an opportunity, take it.
"Prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue."
"A man must make his opportunity, as oft as find it."
"A wise man will make more opportunity than he finds."
"Chiefly the mould of a man’s fortune is in his own hands."
-Francis Bacon
You shouldn’t agonize over your failures but you should dwell on them. Think about what happened and why it went wrong. When you understand why you failed, you free yourself to try again.
History is full of inspiring stories of those who failed repeatedly but kept on trying again until they were successful beyond any expectation. I always think of Thomas Edison trying thousands of materials for the filament for his new electric light bulb. Although people seem altogether too happy to remind you of your failures, I really believe that some failures are evidence that you are out there doing something. Just don’t keep making the same mistakes.
"You only fail when you fail to try," according to Dr. Daniel Litchford, who was the motivational speaker at a New Managers’ Convention. He taught: "I’m not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed. And the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I fail and keep trying."
"There is nothing left to you at this moment but to have a good laugh."
-Anonymous Zen master
Does it seem today that business ethics favors the sharp operator and that no one notices or punishes all the little dishonesties that people commit all the time? Don’t believe it. When we act from bad motives, it catches up to us. When we are greedy, selfish and covetous, the stream of good that was refreshing us seems to dry up.
A manager from California, urges others: "Don’t do anything you know is wrong or later you will feel sorry and it will affect your energy, your business. If you make mistakes, don’t let them get you down; keep trying and you will do very well!"
When you do wrong, the best course is to turn it around as quickly as you can. Admit the wrong, ask forgiveness, repay or repair the damage that you have done, forgive yourself and move on.
"How pleasant it is, at the end of the day, No follies to have to repent; But reflect on the past, and be able to say, That my time has been properly spent."
-Jane Taylor, Rhymes for the Nursery. The Way to be Happy.
Isn’t it funny? You can convince yourself that you want to do something but still put it off indefinitely. As long as you keep the goal private, it’s just too easy to procrastinate.
The cure is to make your goal public; then you have to follow through or else "lose face." Once you have made a public commitment, you feel a real obligation to begin and then keep on keeping your promise.
You might use this technique to strengthen your commitment to lose 15 pounds or to send out a monthly newsletter. When people ask you how much weight you’ve lost or want to know when they’ll receive your next newsletter, you will be more likely to get back to work in order to meet their expectations.
The hardest part of any task is getting off to a good start. Once you actually get started, it’s easier to keep going.
"The beginning is the most important part of the work."
-Plato
Copyright 1996, 2010, David Satterlee
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, which essentially says that you are free to share the work under the conditions that you attribute it fully, do not use it for commercial purposes, and do not alter it.
How do you interact with those around you? How do you see yourself? How do you resolve problems? If you understand these things about your personality, you can make more progress with less confusion. You will engage your creative energies consciously and constructively. Consider some typical psychological models:
Hero - The explorer, decision-maker, adventurer, leader, servant of humanity.
Showman - The entertainer, artist, master of perception, imaginative creator.
Warrior – The persistent achiever, master of focused concentration, craftsman; powered by aggressive energy.
Scholar – The eternal student, wise teacher, steward of knowledge, compassionate nurturer.
"Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig."
-Marcus Aurelius
Life should be rich, full and satisfying. Life is our gift to enjoy. Life is our obligation to produce and serve. Life should be lived with style and grace; it is its own art. When you create something, make it appealing as well as functional. Your extra effort is an act of love for yourself, your Creator and your society.
"We have come to think of art and work as incompatible, or at least independent categories and have for the first time in history created an industry without art."
"The vocation, whether it be that of the farmer or the architect, is a function; the exercise of this function as regards the man himself is the most indispensable means of spiritual development, and as regards his relation to society the measure of his worth."
-Ananda K. Coomaraswamy
"To love is to transform; to be a poet."
-Norman O. Brown
"The secret of art is love."
-Antoine Bourdelle
"The art of life, of a poet’s life, is, not having anything to do, to do something."
-Henry David Thoreau
"… a first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting."
-Abraham Maslow
Do you have what it takes to run your own business? There are some personality traits that are common to entrepreneurs.
A representative of the Kravis Leadership Institute at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, explains about entrepreneurs: "They have a high need for achievement. They have a high tolerance for ambiguity and are comfortable adding their own structure to ambiguous situations. They usually have a single vision they do not swerve from, and they believe they control their own destinies." Entrepreneur, February 1996, p. 30.
"Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions."
-Albert Einstein
"I call intuition cosmic fishing. You feel the nibble, and then you have to hook the fish."
-Buckminster Fuller
Anything less than achieving "manager" leadership level in a network marketing plan is haphazard. It’s OK to be a distributor, but both the commitment and the rewards are limited. The big jump in responsibility (and financial reward) comes with being a manager. It takes planning to stay a manager.
The first step up the "ladder of success" is deciding that you want to be a manager. This is an important commitment. You want to start out well balanced and firmly committed. Once you begin climbing and you take others along with you, your responsibilities increase. You will want to plan first and know what you need to do.
Learn how to become a manager. Go back and read the marketing plan brochure and the distributor manual. Ask your sponsor or their manager for advice.
Learn how to stay a manager. One company ran a statistical analyses of their computer records and found that managers with 10 or more active distributors rarely had problems staying managers.
"No one knows what he can do until he tries."
-Publilius Syrus
"One comes to be of just such stuff as that on which the mind is set."
-Upanishads
Once you have achieved "Manager" status, you’ll realize that you certainly didn’t do it alone. Your distributors will teach you more than you ever taught them. And, you’ll get letters like this (real) one:
Dear [Manager],
I’d like to take the time to thank you for being a great manager and a good friend and for all of the good things I’ve learned from you. You are why I am where I am today. Last month I ranked 2nd among recruiters (Area Managers). I have 7 first line managers and 2 second line managers. I have been invited to Convention again this year, all expenses paid. My husband and I have been invited to [the president’s] house for dinner next Saturday night and to a special photo session before the Awards Banquet. I am very excited but also overwhelmed by all of this. I still don’t know why. I do nothing but educate my people and it just makes my organization grow. Again, I’d just like to tell you and [your spouse] ….
Thank You
"Casting your bread upon the water" is a reference to the scripture at Ecclesiastes 11:1. It refers to the rewards of exceptional generosity. Bread is the "staff of life." When you are willing to part with something valuable, your generosity will be repaid. (As long as we’re on the subject, compare Luke 6:38.)
Lillian from Bakersfield, California, says "Caring and giving genuine service is like casting bread upon the water: it always comes back. I just keep going at the business of helping people to better health, and I keep talking about the benefits of the business. There always seems to be people who want to hear more."
One of the most valuable things we have to share with others is our time and attention. Time is stuff of which our lives are made.
"He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much; he who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly."
-James Allen
Every moment that is wasted is time you will never get back.
Take advantage of every available opportunity to advance your purposes. Feel free to share the Nature’s Sunshine philosophy with just about anyone you meet. Share your success with others and help to enrich their lives.
Make time to relax and enjoy the rest that you have earned – and then get right back to work doing good and enjoying every minute of it!
"I was so full of sleep at the time that I left the true way."
-Dante
"Sed fugit interea, fugit inreparabile tempus. (But meanwhile it is flying, irretrievable time is flying.)
-Virgil
"Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them.
-Dion Boucicault, London Assurance (1841)
"No time like the present."
-Mrs. Manley, The Lost Lover (1696)
Integrity - the things that you choose to do should not conflict with your best values. Your actions should have purpose and meaning. They should be responsible and honest.
Service – Your actions should build up and create rather than destroy or take. Contributing to the welfare of others out of love will make you stronger and "make the world a better place." "Consciously or unconsciously, every one of us does render some service or other. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger, and will make, not only for our own happiness, but that of the world at large." Mahatma Gandhi
Enjoyment – When you find joy in doing what you love to do, your life will flow. Your creativity and enthusiasm will bring success. It is a gift that we can rejoice and do good and see good for all our hard work.
Excellence – If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. Why commit to doing something if you don’t care enough about it to be persistent, determined and see it through to a conclusion you can remember with satisfaction?
"All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
If your neighbor was lost and confused and you knew how to solve his problem, wouldn’t you speak up? Who really is your neighbor? The world is filled with people who know that they’re getting progressively less healthy. They are confused and frightened. They don’t know where to turn and they don’t like it. You can help. You’ve tried something that worked for yourself and your family and you can tell them about it.
At one NSP convention, the Senior National Manager shared his philosophy with the attendees when he pointed out that "There’s a hurting world out there. Who is going to help them? If not me, who? If not now, when? If not, why?"
"Today … we know that all living beings who strive to maintain life and who long to be spared pain – all living beings on earth are our neighbors."
-Albert Schweitzer
"When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness."
-Joseph Campbell
If you haven’t been somewhere before you may need good directions and a road map to get there. When you have a goal to reach, decide how you want to get there and plan your route ahead of time. Follow your map and you will find your treasure.
Verlyn tells distributors to map out a plan. "Draw a ‘treasure map’ – things you’d like to have or accomplish within one year’s time. Don’t quit until you accomplish them. Don’t just dream… also have it come true! Decide you can do it, then do it with enthusiasm. If you can get on fire about what you are selling, others will feel your excitement."
We start from the foundation of our values. This allows us to develop a vision of where we want to go. When we commit to that vision, we have goals. Next we develop a strategy to guide us in achieving our goals. We commit to specific tactics; the things we must do next. If the things we do are truly consistent with our values, then we will be happy and feel productive.
"Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind."
-Seneca
Copyright 1996, 2010, David Satterlee
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, which essentially says that you are free to share the work under the conditions that you attribute it fully, do not use it for commercial purposes, and do not alter it.
This series is derived from the publication Better Business Building which I wrote in 1996 while doing business as “Health Education Library Publications.” It was targeted at distributors of Nature’s Sunshine Products (NSP), a multi-level marketing (MLM) [“Network Marketing” is now more politically correct] company. The product was formatted as a set of index cards which could be studied serially, browsed for ideas, or turned up one-each-day for inspiration.
Better Business Building was a lot of fun to write (and enthusiastically used and endorsed by several senior managers), but it is no longer in print. For this site, I have removed the company-specific information and reformatted the cards into topic articles.
Some of the advice in these cards is contradictory or included just for humor. Some things work for some people but aren’t right for others. If something just doesn’t feel right to you, throw the card away or mark it up and put it in the back.
This guide is packed with clichés. Some people claim that clichés are trite and don’t always apply. Those critics are throwing out the baby with the bath water. I think clichés are the distilled wisdom of our culture. So it’s up to you; if the shoe fits, wear it; but if it’s not your ladder, don’t climb it. This guide is also packed with quotes. For instance:
“The words of truth are always paradoxical.”
-Lao Tzu
This information should help you generate ideas. But, YOU are the judge of the commitments that you accept and the choices that you make. Be warned – don’t start a business without deciding why you’re in it. Any business, especially one like this, can change your life.
These pages do not have to be kept sorted into any particular order. I figure that some people will want to reorganize them by type of idea while others will want to organize them by personal priority or how well they apply to individual situations. You will probably have an even better idea. But I numbered the cards just in case.
This is not a good book to read straight through. I suggest that you only read a little bit at a time. It’s more like a collection of poems than a novel. Scan it first to see what’s in it, read some of the pages that look interesting and then put it down for a little while. I hope that you’ll end up reading the whole thing but I’ve got a hunch that it will digest better in small bites, chewed carefully.
* You can search for ideas for distributors who are having trouble.
* Borrow ideas for your newsletters and business meetings.
* Clip the cards to a bicycle to make noise against the moving spokes.
* If you see a good idea, use it.
“I see the better way, and approve it; I follow the worse.”
-Ovid
“When one happens on a book of this kind, he is well advised to throw it away.”
-Shú-an
Dear Friends,
Although I have drawn from many spiritual and secular sources for the ideas and quotes included in this card set, I hold the Bible as my distinct authority and guide. In fact, I hold the Bible in such high esteem that I have deliberately held back from citing it in many instances where I recognized its influence on my philosophy. It didn’t seem appropriate to apply scripture to the secular activity of selling supplements.
I am more comfortable trying to keep a gap between the nutritional work I do for profit and the spiritual counseling done on a “receive free/give free” basis. I suppose this work falls short to the extent that my faith affects my overall thinking and the everyday conduct of life. By writing books and selling information, I expose my philosophical core.
Please do not conclude that the things I have written belong to some economic, political or popular religious school of thought. Although it is obvious that I subscribe to an ethic of personal responsibility, I also recognize that “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” -1 Corinthians 3:19
“Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life.”
-Herbert Otto
“Can it really be said that before the day of our pretentious science, humanity was composed solely of imbeciles and the superstitious?”
-R. A. Schwallerde Lubicz
“One way or another, we all have to find what best fosters the flowering of our humanity in this contemporary life, and dedicate ourselves to that.”
-Joseph Campbell
“The heart has its reasons that the mind knows nothing of.”
-Blaise Pascal
“Without love the acquisition of knowledge only increases confusion and leads to self-destruction.”
-J. Krishnamurti
Commitment means that progress occurs over time and that you need to stick with your goals in order to achieve them.
“Far away, there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.”
-Louisa May Alcott
“Moral courage and character go hand in hand – a man of real character is consistently courageous, being imbued with a basic integrity and a firm sense of principle.”
-Martha Boaz
When you do what you know is right, you are at peace with yourself.
“Cowardice asks the question, Is it safe? Expediency asks the question, Is it politic? Vanity asks the question, Is it popular? But conscience asks the question, Is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right.”
-Martin Luther
We should be aware of our spiritual need. Recognition of our relationship to our Creator keeps us balanced and secure. This respect and affection for the divine wisdom of our Creator makes us want to imitate His qualities and gives us appreciation for His creations.
Copyright 1996, 2010, David Satterlee
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, which essentially says that you are free to share the work under the conditions that you attribute it fully, do not use it for commercial purposes, and do not alter it.