Using gestures assists in learning mathematics etc.

Scientific American: Mind Matters -  May 19, 2009

With a wave of the hand

How using gestures can make you smarter

By Ellen Campana

Go into any busy coffee shop and you are likely to see people engrossed in conversation, waving their hands around. A man at the counter describes the coffee he wants to buy – in a mug, not a to-go cup – and his hand takes a familiar shape, as if he were already holding the cozy mug. Nearby, two sisters laugh, as one tells a story about a trip to the barrier reef and all of the fish that she saw, her hands wiggling and darting in an invisible sea in front of her. The drive to gesture when speaking is fundamental to human nature.

If you have thought about why we gesture you probably assumed that we gesture to help others understand what we are saying. Pretending to hold a ceramic mug can help the barista understand exactly which mug you want. Showing how the fish darted to and fro can help your sister get a more vivid picture of what the reef looked like to you.

But might gesture also serve another purpose? Many scientists now think that gestures can help the person making them -- that moving your hands can help you think. Researchers have become increasingly interested in the connection between the body and thought – in the ways that our physical body shapes abstract mental processes. Gesture is at the center of this discussion. Now the debate is moving into learning, with new research on how students learn to solve math problems in the classroom.

To understand the research, consider a math problem like 3+2 +8 =___+8. A student might make a "v" shape under the 2 and 3 with their pointer finger and middle finger, as they try to understand the concept of "grouping" – adding adjacent numbers together, a technique that can be used to solve the problem. Previous research has shown that students who are asked to gesture while talking about math problems are better at learning how to do them. This is true whether the students are told what gestures to make, or whether the gestures are spontaneous.

Now researchers are asking how. The new study -- by Dr. Susan Goldin-Meadow and Zachary Mitchell of the University of Chicago, and Dr. Susan Wagner-Cook of the University of Iowa – focused on third and fourth graders solving a problem that required grouping. Students who are coached to make the "v" gesture when solving a math problem like 3+2+8 = ___+8 learn how to solve the problem better. But students also do a better job even if they were coached to make the "v" shape under the wrong pair of numbers. The very act of making the "v" shape introduces the concept of "grouping" to the student, through the body itself.

But what, exactly, was the process that made this possible? During the study, all of the students memorized the sentence "I want to make one side equal to the other side." They were then asked to say the sentence out loud when they were give a problem to solve. The authors suggest that students who also gestured attempted to make sense of both the speech and gesture in a way that brought the two meanings together. This process, they suggest, could crystallize the new concept of "grouping" in the student's mind.

The same process could occur in any situation where the person who is speaking and gesturing is also trying to understand – be it remembering details of a past event, or figuring out how to put together an Ikea shelf. 

The study has important implications for the field of cognitive psychology. Historically, the field has viewed concepts, the basic elements of thought, as abstract representations that do not rely on the physicality of the body. This notion, called Cartesian Dualism, is now being challenged by another school of thought, called Embodied Cognition. Embodied Cognition views concepts as bodily representations with bases in perception, action and emotion. There is much evidence supporting the Embodied Cognition view. However, until now there has never been a detailed, experimentally supported account of how embodiment through gesture plays a role in learning new concepts.

The study also has more practical implications for teaching, suggesting that teachers can help students learn new concepts by teaching them gestures.

The results from this study may not generalize directly to the gestures you may see in your neighborhood coffeeshop. But the next time you are in a conversation with a gesturing friend, it may be interesting to ponder how those moving hands are subtly shaping her thoughts, as well as yours.

Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=with-a-wave-of-the-hand&sc=WR_20090520

Reflection on the Pursuit of Elegance [GRACE], [SIMPLICITY], [BEAUTY], [INTELLIGENCE]

In Pursuit of Elegance: 12 Indispensable Tips

Guy Kawasaki of How to Change the World | May 18th, 2009

(85) found this useful. Do you?

Matthew E. May is the author of In Pursuit of Elegance: Why the Best Ideas Have Something Missing and the ChangeThis manifesto called Creative Elegance. He spent nearly a decade as a close adviser to Toyota and works with creative teams and senior leaders at a number of top Fortune companies.

1. Question: How do you define elegance?

   Answer: Something is elegant if it is two things at once: unusually simple and surprisingly powerful. One without the other leaves you short of elegant. And sometimes the "unusual simplicity" isn't about what's there, it's about what isn't. At first glance, elegant things seem to be missing something.

2. Question: Why is it so important?

   Answer: Elegance cuts through the noise, captures our attention, and engages us. The point of elegance is to achieve the maximum impact with the minimum input. It's a thoughtful, artful subtractive process focused on doing more and better with less. That's especially important during this economic crisis when everyone is trying to move forward while consuming fewer resources.

3. Question: What is the essence of elegance?

   Answer: Elegant ideas — products, services, performances, strategies, whatever — all have some degree of these four elements: symmetry, seduction, subtraction, and sustainability. A great example is Sudoku. First, Sudoku is symmetrical, with its squares inside of squares and mirrored distribution of clues. Second, it is seductive—to the point of being irresistible and craze-worthy.Third, it's subtractive in design. The Sudoku puzzle designer crafts a complete solution and then symmetrically subtracts filled-in squares to arrive at the starting grid which is predominantly empty. Finally, and as a result of these first three, the game is sustainable in terms of both the infinite number of games that can be constructed, as well as players' interest in the game. And yet it's so simple.Sudoku could not be easier to learn: you do not even need to know how to count, its one rule can be explained in a single sentence, and it takes but a minute to grasp plus it is universal in nature unlike crossword puzzles which are knowledge-based as well as language-specific. And yet, the underlying complexity behind the logic needed to solve a Sudoku puzzle can be incredibly challenging.

4. Question: Which companies are your favorite examples or elegance?

   Answer: Toyota is one. With Scion, they refused to advertise, and they drastically reduced the number of standard features to allow Generation-Y buyers to make a personal statement by customizing their cars. The Scion xB flew off the lot when it came out.Another example is the British bank, First Direct. It is branchless and became the most highly recommended bank in the United Kingdom. Then there's the French manufacturing company FAVI that realized better employee relations when they eliminated their human resources department. W. L. Gore and Associates completely eliminated job titles and typical corporate hierarchy in order to release the creativity of its staff employees. And finally there's always the usual suspects like the Google interface and Apple's clean design.But my all-time favorite is In 'N Out Burger. a freakishly popular hamburger chain that started in Los Angeles a half century ago, that has built its brand on the "less is more" approach with an interesting twist. The menu offers only five items: a hamburger, cheeseburger, double burger, French fries, and a short list of beverages. By keeping things simple, founder Harry Snyder says he is able to provide the highest quality food in a sparkling clean environment.In 'N Out understands that seduction, and that subtraction can simply mean "not adding." By resisting formal menu expansion they've avoided the self-defeating overkill seen in consumer electronics, with its "feature creep," and the resulting "feature fatigue. "Their only rule is "to do whatever the customer wants done to a burger." In fact, Wikipedia shows a photograph of a 20X20, and on a Halloween weekend in October 2004, Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh and blogger What Up Willy ordered and ate—with a team of six others—a 100X100, consuming nearly 20,000 calories in less than two hours.The twist? There is a secret menu at the restaurant that only regulars are privy to – mostly just different combinations of the standard fare like three burger patties and three slices of cheese. But these special combos have never been on the regular menu, and apparently never will, because  they offer the customer a certain "mystique."

5. Question: Which companies are your favorite bad examples?

   Answer: There's nothing elegant about excess. Open up Microsoft Word and get all your toolbars out in the open. Stuff you've never seen, don't need, certainly never use, and probably don't even know how to use. Look how much space is left for the primary value-adding function of Word which is writing. And not to beat the downtrodden U.S. automakers, but for all the divisions, brands, and bureacratic layers, you can count on one hand the number of truly compelling models.

6. Question: Why do companies with unlimited money continue to put out such crap?

   Answer: I'm not sure anyone has unlimited money at the moment, but even those less worse off than others probably suffer from a dire lack of two things: discipline and descrimination. The enemies of elegance are (1) adding and (2) acting. The notion of subtraction goes against how we're hardwired which is to push, collect, hoard, store, and consume. We're natural-born adders which is partly why elegance is so elusive. Whether we're talking about a product, a performance, a market, or an organization, our addiction to addition results in inconsistency, overload, or waste—and sometimes all three.And here in the US we have a cowboy instinct, where the bias is for action. In other words, Don't make me think, let me just do. Doing SOMETHING is deemed better than doing nothing. But that's not always true. I spent some time with National Geographic adventure journalist Boyd Matson. He taught me how to stand still when the hippos charge. If you act, and run, you're dead. Stand still, do nothing, they stop charging. But that is fiendishly difficult because it's so unnatural and counterintuitive. But that's what happens in business.

7. Question: What's the first step a CEO should take to get her company on the right track?

   Answer: When Fortune  named Apple "America's Most Admired Company" as well as "Most Admired for Innovation," honors owing largely to the success of the iPhone, Steve Jobs revealed that a "stop-doing" strategy figured centrally into Apple's approach. What he said was: "We tend to focus much more. People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I'm actually as proud of many of the things we haven't done as the things we have done."That's the mindset. And step one? Create a solid stop-doing list. Sounds simple, but few do it. Guru Jim Collins says you absolutely must have a "stop-doing" list to accompany your to-do list. As a practical matter, he advises developing a strong discipline around first giving careful thought to prioritizing goals and objectives, and then eliminating the bottom 20 percent of the list. If as CEO you do that, and demand that everyone do that, including designers and engineers with respect to the stuff they're building, your ugly crap quotient goes way down.

8. Question: Do you think there's a position for CTOs (chief taste officers) in companies?

   Answer: Probably, but then here's the tricky part: who do you appoint to find and hire them? You have to understand elegance first to find it. Ideally you'd like everyone to develop a sense of elegance in whatever they're trying to do. I'm really encouraged that schools like Stanford, with the D School partnering up with the IDEO brothers Kelley, teaching "design thinking" to MBAs, and the Rotman school, lead by Roger Martin and his "Integrative Thinking" discipline, are in the mix.They're teaching people how to balance and master the creative tension between getting it out and getting it right. It takes no discipline or genius to either spend money or to make broad cuts which inevitably tend to put everything on hold and inevitably destroy whatever value might exist.

9. Question: How should companies make engineering and user-interface design work together?

   Answer: Study the best: Google, Apple, Lexus, and Ferrari. They understand that complexity is their best friend, not an enemy. They understand it, so they can exploit it. The Google interface is clean and simple though the algorithm is massively complex. Even Einstein understood this. E=mc2 has an easy and immortal ring to it. Can you imagine if he rolled it out with the 40 page proof behind it?It's about finding the simplicity on the other side of complexity as Oliver Wendell Holmes put it. It's about playing chess, not checkers. Both are played on the same board yet chess demands more strategic thinking and much deeper experience to truly master the goal of immobilizing—checkmating— the opponent's king.Checkers, with its mostly single-step play, is far less demanding, easier to learn, and quicker to play. Chess masters understand the nature of complexity—that it is part of the game, and it's why they play it. The challenge and thrill lies in the endless search for ways to manage and exploit those complexities. Make it SEEM blazingly simple. That's elegance. Complexity isn't the enemy to a chessmaster—without it they'd be playing checkers. But there's times when we look at the stuff we buy or experience and we swear that the design and engineering weren't even playing checkers. They were playing Whack-A-Mole.

10. Question: Why do you think the Japanese have such a way with elegance?

    Answer: From a practical and business point of view, there's a historical event. The first helps you understand the second. Culturally, as the Zen philosophy took hold in Japan during the 12th and 13th centuries, Japanese art and philosophy began to reflect one of the fundamental Zen aesthetic themes, that of emptiness.In other words, less is best. Why? In the Zen view, emptiness is a symbol of inexhaustible spirit. Silent pauses in music and theater, blank spaces in paintings, and even the restrained motion of the seductive geisha in refined tea ceremonies all take on a special significance because it is in states of temporary inactivity or quietude that Zen artists see the very essence of creative energy. The goal is to convey the symmetrical harmony of nature through clearly asymmetrical and incomplete renderings; the effect is that those viewing the art supply the missing symmetry and thus participate in the act of creation.As for the second reason, it's kaizen — continuous improvement. It means "no best, only better." You see the word zen in there right? It's zen for business, and it came about during the US occupation, 1945-1952, under MacArthur. We flattened Japan. We had to build it back up from the ashes. Their economy was in shambles, and they had just begun to industrialize prior to WWII. We taught them continuous improvement, because they had no resources — no land, facilities, or money. They had human capital.To stop improving was to stagnate—which was to die. It was a war on all the things that make for crap: overproduction, overprocessing, defects, conveyance, unneccessary motion, inconsistency, and inventory. In short, Japan HAD to get elegant. They've never forgotten how they did it, and they've institutionalized it.

11. Question: What websites do you consider elegant?

    Answer: I'll make you blush: I love the whole "create your own AllTop page." It's subtractive because I select from the universe of blogs. It's sustainable because the bloggers' continuous ideas that supply the ongoing content. It's symmetrical because something is symmetrical if you can do something to it and yet it looks the same: I select my topics, create my own magazine rack, as it were, yet the AllTop site remains unchanged. It's seductive because you don't get the whole blog, just a snippet, which whets your appetite for the whole sushi roll. [Matt's MyAlltop page is here.]Beyond that…Twitter! I'm relatively new to it, (http://twitter.com/matthewemay) but utterly addicted. Something about those 140 characters mandates creative subtraction. Therefore, a good tweet requires good editing. There's a certain symmetry…everyone is treated the same. There's built-in seduction because you always want to know more about who you're following. Sustainability—they're working on the financial aspect of the sustainability element, but I doubt with the mounting popularity that that will be a problem.

12. Question: Holy kaw, you are making me blush! Then how do we know features to add to Alltop/MyAlltop and balance elegance against feature requests?
    
    Answer: I spent some time with the late traffic designer Hans Monderman and the UK urban designer Ben Hamilton-Baillie. Together they have designed and redesigned high traffic intersections in the Netherlands and UK to be nearly devoid of traffic controls. I'm talking intersections with over 20,000 vehicles, pedestrians, and bikes daily.Flow and safety have doubled because they create "shared space" with no right of way. You have no choice but to be cautious and alert—and use your noggin. Ben says this: "Research shows that over 70 percent of traffic signs are ignored by motorists. What's wrong with how we engineer things is that most of what we accept as the proper order of things is based on assumptions, not observations. If we observed first, designed second, we wouldn't need most of the things we build." But it is not quite as simple as the trite cliché "look before you leap."What Ben really means is that we should become better detectives. That's how you keep feature creep in check. The one constant source of elegant innovation is observation. The Japanese call it genchi genbutsu which means "go look, go see." That allows you to triangulate around the customer: observe them not just by asking them what they want— they don't always know, can't always articulate it, and they'll change their mind tomorrow—but by becoming one yourself.You have to be a bit of an undercover cop. That way you don't get too clever and add stuff because you think it's cool—which is a design bias. Instead, you add stuff that adds value—which is a customer bias. You've done that with My.AllTop.com. You've added a customer-designed feature without cluttering up your interface. It's what In 'N Out Burger does: let the customer do the adding.

Source: http://blogs.openforum.com/2009/05/18/in-pursuit-of-elegance-12-indispensable-tips/

The virtues of Conviction and Integrity [HONESTY], [THOUGHTFULNESS], [FAITH], [COURAGE]

An insightful and well written article on an important concern for personal development.

Conviction

by Brian Tome

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Do you ever turn on the television at an unusual time for you and see a show that you haven't seen for years and years, something like Happy Days? And the episode that you see that day is an episode that you realize that you still think about? At that moment, aren't you astounded by how much mind space that meaningless show has taken up in your mind?

When Happy Days or Laverne & Shirley takes up mind space, it is wasted. I don't see what value is added to my life in remembering when Fonzie was perplexed dealing with his need to beat up Richie in order to save face. Remember what happened? Richie was in the bathroom with Fonzie, and the Fonze was so excited when someone opened the door and smacked Richie in the face. That way everyone assumed Fonzie punched him. How about when Lenny & Squigy had a towel that stood straight up? These episodes don't provide any motivation for the daily grind.

For me this phenomena takes place with various things I've heard people say. In seminary there was a professor who was asked by a student if there could ever be such a thing as a just war. He said, "Is there anything you would die for?" The student said, "Yes." Then he said, "If it is worth dying for, it is worth killing for." To this day, I'm not sure that I totally follow his logic or reasoning. But those are words that continue to bounce around in my brain. Those words have passed through my mind on the average of once a week over the past nine years or so. Preparing for this message was like revisiting that episode that has been taking up mind space.

Every time I think about that I ask myself what I would die for. Have you ever asked yourself what you would take a bullet for? If there are things you would take bullets for, you have no problem with the first aspect of integrity: Conviction. People who have integrity have a set of values that they are passionate about. Having convictions is the starting point of integrity.

Before we talk about convictions I want to set the stage by defining what integrity is. There is a lot of talk about integrity these days. Everyone thinks they have integrity, at least compared to the next person. At least that's what we'll be hearing in the next presidential elections. In order to really have integrity, not just claim we have integrity, we need to understand what it is.

1) Integrity is Totality

The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and contains the word that we translate as integrity. I couldn't have picked a better word for the word integrity. Whoever invented the Hebrew language was very insightful, because the word for integrity is literally "tome." That shouldn't be surprising to any of you. I always thought my last name meant a collection of books, but this makes much more sense. It is true to life. (As you'll see in a little bit, I wish this statement were more accurate.)

In the Old Testament book of I Kings there are instructions as to how to build the Jewish Temple. The state of completion of that edifice is the word tracing back to "tom." A building that is complete is one of integrity. Our mission in this church is to "walk with the seeker in becoming complete followers of Christ." That doesn't mean that we all want to believe the same things in every detail of life, though belief is a precursor to life change. Thinking right doesn't mean anything if it doesn't lead to living right.

Our church is seeking to work with people at different spiritual developmental stages in order to get us all to a place of completion, wholeness or integrity, where the totality of our lives is the way God wants it to be.

Chronicles 16:9
The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. (NIV)

Though God is willing and able to work with every life, those lives that are moving toward total full-out commitment generally receive the most strength from God. Actually, I wish the epistemology of my last name actually had more in common with my life. The truth is that I like to be liked, and liking to be liked is pressure to bend to what others believe and do, and that isn't always right. You link my like to be liked with the personality of an extrovert, and I have a lot of people that I'm trying to please. The more people you try to please the harder it is to consistently and totally follow through on your convictions.

I'm tempted to act like many politicians. We all know of politicians who flip flop on issues. Conservatives become liberals and vice-versa. These people have every right to change their views. New information can be presented to change our minds; that can be a sign of growth. But we shouldn't change our views just to make them more palatable to other people.

We do this, though, don't we? We teach our kids to do things that we don't do. And we discipline them for things we do. We expect our children to be innocent and well behaved, yet we don't apply the same standards to our own conduct.

• We tell them not to lie, yet we fudge figures or "position" the facts.
• We reprimand them for using bad language, yet we are pretty uninhibited when we are doing beers.
• We tell them to share, but if someone takes that parking space at HQ a split second before we do, we act like an immature kindergartner who has been drinking red juice.

We frequently change sides or at least change our verbiage on issues because we aren't people of integrity. Instead of having a conviction that says, "This is what is right, and this is where I stand," we compartmentalize. We think, "I'll act this way with you and that way with them, and when I'm over there, this will be my modus operandi..."

Maybe I'm a masochist, but the older I get the more things that I add to that list of things I would take a bullet for. That is because the older I get the more I see how all of life is interrelated.

The idea of integrity in the Bible means wholeness. It means that the totality of your life is the same. You are the same when you go to church; you are the same when you are at work; you are the same if you go out for drinks; you are the same when you determine what you are going to be entertained by. You are a whole person, not a bunch of fragmented pieces that behave differently depending on the compartment. Conviction is where we get the energy to connect the dots and become a person of wholeness and integrity. Leadership guru Warren Bennis says,

Effective leaders ... have a strong sense of purpose, a passion, a conviction for wanting to do something important.
Warren Bennis

The best long-term leaders are not those who live a double life. They are those who have an overriding God-honoring set of convictions that guides them every day, regardless of the terrain. You can be a short-term leader without integrity but not an effective leader over the long haul.

2) Integrity is Tenacity

Integrity is like oxygen. The higher you go the less of it there is and the more you need. At the same time, the deeper you go or the lower you go, the more pressure there is to come apart. In the navy, before a submarine submerges, the crew checks to see if the vessel's hatches are battened down. When the first mate receives the confirmation from the rest of the crew that their station is secure, the captain will get the report: "This is a ship of integrity." What that means is that the ship is watertight.

It quickly becomes obvious when a hatch is not shut. It is obvious that the vessel isn't in a state of integrity. But there is far more work involved in ensuring that the ship will remain a vessel of integrity when the pressure is on. From time to time, every seam, every weld, every rivet needs to be inspected. Because if it is not a totally strong ship, one leak can wreak major havoc and cause serious damage.

Some say that there is an apparent honesty void at higher levels of organizational structures, that the higher you go the less oxygen there is. A similar thing can be said when the pressures of life start to push you down. The lower you go the more pressure you feel and the greater the likelihood there is that you will spring a leak.

Best-selling author and activist Rita Mae Brown says,

People are like tea bags; you never know how strong they'll be until they're in hot water. In times of trouble, you not only discover what you truly believe but whether or not you can act on your beliefs.
Rita Mae Brown

We think that people of integrity never do anything really really bad like run away on their wife and kids. In reality the break of integrity doesn't happen then; it happens long before then, when people don't tend to the small cracks and stress fractures. When pressures start to mount, whether they be financial worries, issues with boredom, pressure from peers or something else, they can explode and cause people to do things that aren't right. Even when things seem fine on the surface, there are sometimes problems beneath the waterline that no one else can see.

• The person who runs away on their spouse had stuff going on beneath the water line. The paint looked good, but barnacles were eating at the hull.
• In the next few days, you'll be doing your taxes, and only you will know what is completely accurate. Are you demanding that your kids be totally honest?
• You have been having beneath-the-waterline conversations about someone who isn't present and doesn't know what you are saying. Is it accurate? Does it match what you have told that person? Would you say it if he or she were in the room?

A teacher in grade school once made an offhand comment that said, "You know when you are mature when you act the same no matter who you are with." I think about that a lot. So I combine that statement with the statement from my seminary professor, and I'm looking to kill whomever I'm with. Kidding. Teachers can be powerful change agents. Let's see what some students once said to Jesus, the greatest teacher of all time.

Matthew 22:16
They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. (NIV)

I don't think Jesus received nearly enough compliments. Generally people didn't go out of their way to encourage Him. But here is one of the biggest compliments He ever received. At least if someone were to say this to me, I would take it that way. They say, "You aren't swayed by the opinions of others." This doesn't mean that Jesus is a stubborn hardhead. It means that when He knows something is right He executes against it; it doesn't matter who He is with. He was the same person in every situation and eventually even died for the sake of truth. These guys said to Him, "When we go beneath the water, you are the same person. You are a man of integrity who has the totality of your life headed in the same direction - the right direction."

Our church is engineered to provide a place for those of you who aren't Christians to examine the claims of Christianity and to seek whether or not God is worth devoting your life to. We try to speak your language in our weekend services, recommend reading materials, put on seminars, host seeker small groups and provide other learning opportunities. We know that people look for watertight arguments and rationale for why Jesus is the only way to truly experience an eternal relationship with God.

There are some compelling arguments and data within the Bible that need to be examined closely. But the Bible's purpose is not to provide us with watertight arguments and rationale; it was written to give us a watertight person: Jesus Christ. No matter where He was, no matter what He did, He consistently did the right, loving and courageous thing

As much as we don't like some things that the Bible and Jesus teach, you don't hear about people who have disrespect for the person of Jesus. He was historically a watertight person of integrity. When Jesus asked people to come to Him, the other things took care of themselves.

The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.
General H. Norman Schwarzkopf

I have three statements I want to make that tie integrity and conviction together. I'm leaving a blank not for you to fill in the one word I'm going to give you but rather as an exercise for you to fulfill. Filling in any God-honoring value and conviction will accurately complete the statement.

I have a conviction that _________ will alter my quality of life

Or as an example, I have a conviction that being selfless with my spouse will alter the quality of my life. I have a conviction that God has established rules in terms of how this life is to be lived; how wholly committed I am to those principles will have a direct reflection on the quality of my life.

Proverbs 11:3
The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. (NIV)

Many lives are destroyed by duplicity and compartmentalization, lives which don't have lines drawn in the sand along with a sign that says, "I'm not going there!"

I have a Conviction that _________ will dictate the quality of my faith.

If you are a selfish person and your selfishness is coming into your home, I know that it directly affects your ability to connect with God. Show me a person who isn't honoring and serving their spouse and I'll show you a person outside of God's favor.

Psalm 25:21
May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you. (NIV)

Conviction that _________ will set the pace for generations after me.

I was speaking with Cyndi King, our Director of Children's and Family Ministries, recently; she was telling me of breaking research that indicates that the strength or power base of one's parenting begins even before people are married. In those years, their integrity and character are forged; opinions of what is right and wrong are drafted, and parenting is simply the natural expression of that parent's life up to that point.

If your parents drummed into your head that money was supreme, guess how long they have been acting that way? Long before you were born. My parents are here this weekend. They set the pace in some areas that prepared me to set the pace for my kids. I can remember going to functions with my Dad; when a friend at the front of the line waved me up, he wouldn't let me go. Cutting in line wasn't acceptable. I still can't cut in line to this day.

1 Kings 9:4-5
As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever...(NIV)

Whether or not you are a person of integrity right now directly affects the likelihood of your kids becoming people of integrity.

3) Integrity is Tempting

The reason I say that integrity is tempting is because we don't really want it. It is too much work. It is too hard. Following through on convictions takes too much effort. There is a price to pay that is high enough to overcome the temptation. As I shared a couple weeks ago, I've been tempted to buy a new car. The only reason I haven't yet is that I haven't been willing to pay the price.

You aren't a person of integrity and you don't have any guiding principles until they start costing you and you willingly pay. I'm not as together as you may think I am. In fact, I have an outage in my life. I'm not a person of integrity when it comes to... recycling. I don't have a deep enough conviction about recycling to go down the steps to the basement at 11:30 at night. I sometimes put bottles in the garbage under the sink. I'm not wholly committed to it. I'm making light of something that many of you don't think is funny at all. Why? Because you are committed to paying the price. It doesn't matter if you are in Yellowstone National Park, at work, at home or at Mt. Rumpke. That Mt. Dew bottle isn't going to go in the garbage.

We succeed only as we identify in life, or in war, or in anything else, a single overriding objective, and make all other considerations bend to that one objective.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

I've had a relationship with the watertight person of Jesus for almost 18 years. As best as I've been able, I've made Him and His values my single overriding objective. Some friends of mine, who became Christians at the same time I did, don't even think of Jesus any more. Being in full-time ministry for 11 years I've grown accustomed to seeing people fade away. Even in this only 3-year-old church, there are people who have just walked away from God. He doesn't play any role in their lives anymore.

There are a number of different reasons for this. You may be one of those people in the making. Let me give you just one reason why it may happen to you: You never intended to have your whole life come under God's direction. You never had the kind of conviction that said, "All of my life. All of it in totality. I don't know if I fully understand what 'all of it' means, but as I continue to grow in my relationship with Jesus, as I become aware of what He wants me to do, I'm up for it." You are tempted to think like that. You may make comments in public that tempt others to think that you think like that, but deep down under the water you know you don't.

We don't want an integrated life or a life of integrity. We want some perks that come from integrity. The last time I mentioned anything about integrity in a message, a woman came up to me after the service and said, "I want to be a person of integrity." Then she paused and said, "Actually, what I want is for people to think I'm a person of integrity." In that moment she came a step closer to her originally stated goal, because she realized that her statement wasn't whole. There was more to it than met the ear.

We aren't talking about being a moralist in this series. That isn't what God-honoring integrity is about. We are talking about drawing on a relationship with Christ that infiltrates every nook and cranny of your life including that which is beneath the surface. I encourage you to start paying the price that it takes to become a person of integrity. It will be the best investment you'll ever make.

Source: http://realplace.org/notesonline/1999/041199.html

Characteristics of successful leaders

This survey relates to Church leadership, but contains valuable lessons for any situation!

THE CRITICAL ISSUE IS LEADERSHIP

Warren Bennis, one of the most respected authors on the subject of leadership and founder of The Leadership Institute at USC, wrote this month that the crisis of leadership in our institutions and governments is in many ways the most urgent and dangerous threat facing the world today because "it is insufficiently recognized and little understood."
Writing in the July issue of Executive Excellence and drawing on 40 years of studying leadership, Bennis says that effective leaders share five characteristics.

1. They have a strong sense of purpose, a passion, a conviction, a sense of wanting to do something important to make a difference.

2. They are capable of developing and sustaining deep and trusting relationships. They seem to be constant, caring and authentic with other people.

3. They are purveyors of hope and have positive illusions about reality.

4. They have a balance in their lives between work, power, and family or outside activities. They do not tie up all of their self-esteem in their position.

5. They have a bias toward action and while not reckless, they do not resist taking risks.In speaking to a select group of doctoral students at Asbury Seminary last week, Carol Davis, a staff leader at The Church on Brady, identified critical changes of church leadership development, five of which are summarized in the following chart.

(Number 50 July 22, 1996 © Leadership Network)
Source is here.

Changing Patterns of Leadership Development

Equipping

Past

Contemporary

Emerging

The What

Knowledge

Methods

Principles

The Why

To Minister...people

To Manage...structures

To Multiply...new units

The When

Weekly

Formal

As Scheduled

Formal & Informal

As Needed

Formal, Informal & Nonformal

The How

Formal

Theory...removed from practice

Case Studies

Projection...simulation

Hands On

Practice...relational

The Focus

Personal Evangelism

Pastoral Care

Discipleship

Use of Gifts

Mobilization of Laity

Reproduction

The value of HUMILITY in Management [HUMILITY], [TACT], [CARING], [CONSIDERATION], [UNDERSTANDING], [WISDOM]

 

Humility

The Most Beautiful Word in the English Language
By Bruna Martinuzzi

Many years ago, one of my university professors mentioned that "windowsill" was voted the most beautiful word in the English language. Being an armchair linguist, this factoid naturally stayed with me. Words have enormous power. They can make us erupt into laughter or bring tears to our eyes. They can influence, inspire, manipulate and shock. They can build and destroy. Some words have different effects on different people. One such word is humility. It is one of those words that are seldom in neutral gear. Some, like me, love the word and all it stands for. Some almost fear it and interpret it synonymously with lack of self-confidence or timidity.

The dictionary defines humility as modesty, lacking pretence, not believing that you are superior to others. An ancillary definition includes: "Having a lowly opinion of oneself, meekness". The word "humility" first struck me in the context of leadership when Jim Collins mentioned it in his seminal work Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't. In this book, Collins examined companies that went from good to great by sustaining 15-year cumulative stock returns at or below the general stock market, and after a transition point, cumulative returns at least three times the market over the next 15 years.

Among the many characteristics that distinguished these companies from others is that they all had a Level 5 leader. Level 5 leaders direct their ego away from themselves to the larger goal of leading their company to greatness. These leaders are a complex, paradoxical mix of intense professional will and extreme personal humility. They will create superb results but shun public adulation, and are never boastful. They are described as modest. An example of such a leader who epitomized humility is David Packard, the co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, who, in Jim Collins' words, defined himself as a HP man first and a CEO second. He was a man of the people, practicing management by walking around. Shunning all manner of publicity, Packard is quoted as saying: "You shouldn't gloat about anything you've done; you ought to keep going and find something better to do."

Another great leader is Patrick Daniel, CEO of North American energy and pipeline company Enbridge, who espouses two leadership attributes: determination to create results and humility, shifting the focus away from himself and continually recognizing the contributions of others. "I have learned through the lives of great leaders," he said, "that greatness comes from humility and being at times, self-effacing."

Clearly these leaders, and many others like them, don't espouse the meaning of humility as "meek". On the contrary, it is a source of their strength. But the notion of being self-effacing is one that we struggle with in our competitive culture, prescribing that we take every opportunity to toot our own horn, and that we don't dare leave the house without our dynamic elevator speech all rehearsed.

We often confuse humility with timidity. Humility is not clothing ourselves in an attitude of self-abasement or self-denigration. Humility is all about maintaining our pride about who we are, about our achievements, about our worth - but without arrogance - it is the antithesis of hubris, that excessive, arrogant pride which often leads to the derailment of some corporate heroes, as it does with the downfall of the tragic hero in Greek drama. It's about a quiet confidence without the need for a meretricious selling of our wares. It's about being content to let others discover the layers of our talents without having to boast about them. It's a lack of arrogance, not a lack of aggressiveness in the pursuit of achievement.

An interesting dichotomy is that, often, the higher people rise, the more they have accomplished, the higher the humility index. Those who achieve the most brag the least, and the more secure they are in themselves, the more humble they are. "True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes". (Edward Frederick Halifax). We have all come across people like that and feel admiration for them.

There is also an understated humility of every day people we work with who have the ability to get the job done without drawing attention to themselves. Witness the employee who is working at his computer into the late hours, purely motivated by a keen sense of duty, the executive assistant who stays after 5:30pm on a Friday night in an empty office to await a courier, or the manager who quietly cancels an important personal event to fly out of town to attend to the company's business. This is akin to the philanthropist who gives an anonymous donation.

Humility is also a meta-virtue. It crosses into an array of principles. For example, we can safely declare that there cannot be authenticity without humility. Why? Because, there is always a time in a leader's journey when one will be in a situation of not having all the answers. Admitting this and seeking others' input requires some humility.

Another mark of a leader who practices humility is his or her treatment of others. Such leaders treat everyone with respect regardless of position. Years ago, I came across this reference: the sign of a gentleman is how he treats those who can be of absolutely no use to him.

Something interesting happens, too, when we approach situations from a perspective of humility: it opens us up to possibilities, as we choose open-mindedness and curiosity over protecting our point of view. We spend more time in that wonderful space of the beginner's mind, willing to learn from what others have to offer. We move away from pushing into allowing, from insecure to secure, from seeking approval to seeking enlightenment. We forget about being perfect and we enjoy being in the moment.

Here are a few suggestions on practicing humility:

1. There are times when swallowing one's pride is particularly difficult and any intentions of humility fly out the window, as we get engaged in a contest of perfection, each side seeking to look good. If you find yourself in such no-win situations, consider developing some strategies to ensure that the circumstances don't lead you to lose your grace. Try this sometimes: just stop talking and allow the other person to be in the limelight. There is something very liberating in this strategy.
   
   
2. Here are three magical words that will produce more peace of mind than a week at an expensive retreat: "You are right."
   
   
3. Catch yourself if you benignly slip into over preaching or coaching without permission - is zeal to impose your point of view overtaking discretion? Is your correction of others reflective of your own needs?
   
   
4. Seek others' input on how you are showing up in your leadership path. Ask: "How am I doing?" It takes humility to ask such a question. And even more humility to consider the answer.
   
   
5. Encourage the practice of humility in your company through your own example: every time you share credit for successes with others, you reinforce the ethos for your constituents. Consider mentoring or coaching emerging leaders on this key attribute of leadership.

There are many benefits to practicing humility, to being in a state of non-pretence: it improves relationships across all levels, it reduces anxiety, it encourages more openness and paradoxically, it enhances one's self-confidence. It opens a window to a higher self. For me, it replaces "windowsill" as the most beautiful word in the English language.

 

Copyright © 2006-2007 by Bruna Martinuzzi. All Rights Reserved.

Based in British Columbia, Bruna is the President and Founder of Clarion Enterprises Ltd, a company which specializes in emotional intelligence and leadership training. Click here to contact her or visit her website at www.increaseyoureq.com.

 

Source: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_69.htm

Simplify your life via gadget consolidation

Elgan: Simplify your life via gadget consolidation

Save time, money and headaches by reducing the number of devices you use

Mike Elgan

May 2, 2009 (Computerworld) Giant corporate IT departments do it. And so can you.

Server consolidation, which is the process of reducing the number of physical servers used at a company without reducing the total number of theoretical servers (through virtualization), can boost efficiency.

Companies do consolidation because new projects tend to get new, dedicated hardware. Only later does the total waste become apparent.

We all do the same thing in our personal lives. Each new "project" -- TV upgrade, new cell phone, new music system -- involves dedicated hardware. Only later do you realize that you've got cables everywhere, five remote controls, too many devices to be charged, and clutter and complexity everywhere.

By consolidating gadgets, you can free up space in your home, save money and make your life easier.

If you read my blog yesterday, you'll know that I've recently become semi-nomadic, living in a smaller house but traveling abroad most of the time. This project got me thinking about all the efficiencies of gadget consolidation.

Here are all the things I consolidated, or plan to consolidate, and how:

PC and laptop: Until recently, I used my three-year-old desktop PC (which had dual 20-inch screens) while at home, and a laptop while traveling. But this week I sold the PC with one of the monitors and now use my laptop full time. This works nicely because my laptop has an 18-inch screen. While at home, I plug into the 20-inch LCD display I didn't sell, which gives me the same two-screen experience I used to enjoy on my desktop.

TV and laptop: OK, the truth is I still have a big flat-screen TV. But because I'll be away from home much of the time, I made sure my laptop has Blu-ray support and even a TV tuner so I can watch high-def movies and local TV wherever I go. I can also watch clips or entire TV shows on Hulu and other Web sites.

Cell phone and remote control: A remote control unit is just a battery-operated device that throws infrared light around the room. Any device designed to work with a remote will be controlled by anything that produces the right series of infrared flashes.

There are a gazillion ways to set this up, depending on what kind of phone and home entertainment system you have. Simply search Google for your brand of phone plus "TV remote," and you'll get links to several options. The goal is to use the gadget you're already carrying, rather than one or more dedicated remotes that clutter the room or get easily lost.

Land-line phone and cell phone: Over the next few days or weeks, Google plans to launch Google Voice, which is a single phone number you can give to people. The trick is that you can choose online which of your phones the call goes to. It can go to your land-line phone at work during the day, then to your cell phone -- or any of your cell phones -- at night and on weekends. The service unifies voice mail and transcribes messages for viewing online or via e-mail. Google Voice will simplify life for you, because it gives you more control over incoming voice calls, but also for anyone who calls.

TiVo and PC: There are lots of ways to use a PC to record TV shows for viewing either on a TV or on the PC itself. The leading DVR company, TiVo, offers several options, for example, on its Web site.

Digital camera and camcorder: The line between digital cameras and camcorders is blurring to the point of nonexistence. Take your pick. My Sony CRX HD camcorder takes better still photographs than most digital cameras. And my $400 Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 digital camera takes breathtaking HD video at 30 fps. (It's waterproof and rugged, too.) There are so many cameras that "go both ways" that there is no longer any reason to have both -- or at least to carry both.

E-book reader and cell phone: I love my Kindle, but I'm stunned at how enjoyable the Kindle application (and other e-book reader applications) on the iPhone is. By using your cell phone as an e-book reader, you can save $400 and reduce the number of gadgets you have to carry around.

PC and sound system: By splurging on a high-end audio card and speaker systems, you can avoid a dedicated stereo altogether and still have great sound.

Cell phone and sound system: My laptop is my sound system when I'm on the road, but when I'm at home, I simply plug my iPhone into a PC sound system, launch Pandora (a kind of custom-radio app) and enjoy great-sounding music.

Satellite radio and cell phone: I've taken a lot of heat for my frequent predictions about the demise of satellite radio. But I still believe that satellite radio is not long for this world. Besides the intractable financial problems of Sirius XM Radio, the experience of listening to streaming audio from a cell phone is just too great for satellite radio to compete with. And it's free.

Cell phone and alarm clock: I got rid of my dedicated alarm clock a year ago and now just use my phone. It's easier, more flexible and more reliable -- and I can make the sound as annoying as I want to.

Cell phone and GPS: I bought a nice GPS about five years ago, and it cost me more than $1,000. Those days are gone. Now, a cell phone can replace most consumer GPS functions, such as turn-by-turn directions and finding businesses.

These are just a few examples of what's possible. If you have one of the leading smartphones, such as an iPhone, BlackBerry or Windows Mobile device, the number of applications that replace random gadgets, tools or other things is truly amazing. The larger point is that gadget consolidation is worth doing and offers a whole lot of benefits.

Big companies consolidate for very good reasons. Maybe you should, too.

Mike Elgan writes about technology and global tech culture. He blogs about the technology needs, desires and successes of mobile warriors in his Computerworld blog, The World Is My Office. Contact Mike at mike.elgan@elgan.com, follow him on Twitter or his blog, The Raw Feed.

Source: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9132473

Facing the facts induces humility, brings success [COURAGE], [HUMILITY], [TRUTHFULNESS], [HONESTY]

 

An intriguing analysis of the virtue of "effective apology", from the intelligent Personal Branding Blog.

 

Personal Branding Interview: John Kador

Today, I spoke with John Kador, who is a New York Times bestselling author and author of the new book,  Effective Apology.  In this interview, John discusses how executives can earn more money by apologizing, the significance of the word "sorry," the power of authenticity, some great examples and more.

Can you explain how executives who apologize earn more than executives that don't?

Here's just one example of how executives who demonstrate the ability to apologize tend to earn more than executives who don't. In my book I describe some research that the Pearl Outlet, an online retailer, conducted. The company noticed that many customers (usually men) often presented pearls as part of an apology (usually to wives and girlfriends). For obvious marketing reasons— "Say you're sorry with pearls!"—the company wanted to know more about this relationship between pearl giving and apology.

The company commissioned a formal study of over 8,000 customers. The survey confirmed that customers who are willing to say "I'm sorry" earned more money—nearly twice as much—as those who rarely or never apologize. Stated another way, customers who earned more than $100,000 a year were twice as likely to apologize after an argument or mistake as those earning $25,000 or less. It turns out that a customer's willingness to apologize is a perfect predictor of their place on the income ladder. In addition, the relationships of those who apologize tend to be better (or at least longer-lasting) than of those who resist apology.

We can interpret these results in many ways. To me, executives who are confident enough to apologize tend to be very good at maintaining relationships. They are also good at accepting responsibility for problems, and, because of that, they are better at fixing them than those who blame others. All of these are the qualities valued and rewarded by any organization.

Do you really think that "sorry" is an important word if there is no meaning behind it?

The meaning of apology is in the action, not the words. You can't talk your way out of a situation you acted your way into. What makes apology so powerful is not what you say, but what you do. Apology must be observable. We should be able to see the action that accompanies the words. For example, saying "I'm sorry" is one thing. What the apologizer does to provide restitution is another.

The other most important action is whether the apologizer changes his or her behavior. If he or she can be seen not to repeat the offending behavior, then the apology is complete. It takes more than words. Every effective apology contains within it the answer to the question, "how is the apologizer to be held accountable for the apology?"

Personal branding is about authenticity. How can leaders harness their true self?

The first thing that authenticity requires—and why the willingness to apologize is such a critical path to harnessing one's true self—is a commitment to face the facts. One of those facts is that we all make mistakes. When we do, we have a choice. We can confront the truth about our imperfection and apologize, or we can deny, defend, and stonewall. When we acknowledge the facts—including those that make us look bad—we are on the road to authenticity.

This is far better than pretending that we are perfect. By acknowledging, naming, and ultimately accepting our mistakes, we embrace our humility and make room for our true selves, imperfect and all too human, just like everyone else. Apology is a way of honoring what we know to be true, while at the same time honoring ourselves and those we care about.

Can you give examples of 2 people and 2 companies that have apologized and earned back their respect?

Within months of each other in 2006, two CEOs came under fire for misstating their academic credentials. One CEO was forced to step down while the other is still at the helm. David Edmondson, CEO of RadioShack Corp., admitted that the company's web site gave him a credential he never actually earned. At yellow pages publisher R.H. Donnelley Corp., chairman and CEO David Swanson admitted that he never actually earned a degree from the university he attended, despite what the company said in news releases and what it posted on the web site. The CEO who chose Plan A (RadioShack's Edmonson) was forced to resign while Swanson who chose Plan B is still R.H. Donnelly's CEO.

Edmonson now acknowledges that a candid and immediate apology might well have saved his job. Currently CEO of Fort Worth based Easysale, Inc., Edmonson admits he made a mistake by not immediately correcting the biography that RadioShack distributed to the news media and posted on its Website. Then when a story appeared on the front page of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in February 2006, he should have apologized immediately. Instead Edmonson made three classic errors. He delayed. He got defensive by deflecting responsibility ("I wasn't responsible for the web site"). And he tried to explain. These behaviors lad to a death spiral from which no CEO can recover.

Over at R.H. Donnelly, Swanson went to his board before the issue became a public. Swanson accepted total responsibility and apologized. The company nervously issued a news release to correct the record, but it never became a problem. At the time, news reports about the incident praised Swanson for his candor. With hindsight, Edmonson recommends that CEOs incline toward more transparency. "When you own up to your own shortcomings, the fear of whatever you are guarding is released," he says. "Apology frees you from the burden of whatever you have in your past."

If you want an example of a company whose brand was at risk and that regained its credibility, you can look no further than the toy maker Mattel.

A key benefit of apology for leaders is that it reassures people that the leader is on their side. Leaders who acknowledge fault with a genuine apology argue against people's suspicion that they are indifferent to the pain their companies have caused. From this position, people are more likely to forgive. The truth of this was dramatically demonstrated at Mattel, when the toymaker had three recalls in one summer representing 18.2 million toys, the most in company history, because of lead paint and design flaws.

"I started every discussion on the recall with these words: 'I am sorry we are here. I'm sorry this recall happened," says Robert A. Eckert, chairman and CEO of Mattel. "Even though the lead-based toy recalls represented less than 1 percent of all the toys Mattel produced, it should have been zero. I'm sorry you have to worry about this." Eckert just kept on apologizing in person, on TV, and in print. He was even criticized for apologizing too much. But the results supported his commitment to accountability. Many analysts predicted that the Mattel brand would suffer. Instead, the company exceeded revenue expectations.

What is one situation in your life when an apology helped you?

Just recently an effective apology got me out of a well-deserved ticket when a state trooper pulled me over for speeding.

I was driving on a business trip and hurrying to get to my next appointment. A state trooper pulled me over. "Sir, are you aware you were going 75 miles per hour when the posted speed limit is 55 mph?" he said. Instead of giving an excuse, I decided to admit it and apologize. "Officer, you're right. I was speeding. I'm a guest in your beautiful state and I'm afraid I have abused the privilege. I'm sorry." He looked at me for a minute and I thought I detected a smile and then he said, "Sir, I'm going to issue you a warning today. Please observe the posted speed limits. Drive safe and have a good day."

Of course there's no way to know for sure what the trooper would have done had I not apologized. And had I received a ticket, the fine would have been my restitution. Apology is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. But what are most of us tempted to do when caught doing something wrong? We deny we were speeding or offer excuses or plead for mercy: all attempts to evade responsibility. Here's the paradox of apology: by admitting responsibility and accepting consequences, we often find that the consequences are not as dire as we fear. The world may not be as punitive as we sometimes think it is.

——
John Kador is an author, consultant, and speaker who acts as if every word is a moral choice. His work centers on identifying and describing best practices in leadership and promoting the highest standards of personal accountability, humility, and transparency. This book, which describes the benefits that leaders accrue when they embrace apology rather than shy from it, is squarely in that tradition. His personal credo is that different is not always better, but better is always different.  He is the author of over 10 books, including Charles Schwab: How One Company Beat Wall Street and Reinvented the Brokerage Industry, 50 High-Impact Speeches & Remarks: Proven Words You Can Adapt for Any Business Occasion, and the NY Times bestseller Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy (with Amir Hartman and John Sifonis).  His latest book is called Effective Apology.

 

A story of taking the path less traveled and following one's dreams -- [AUDACITY], [COURAGE], [FAITH]

This seems like pretty good advice in any situation! What are your thoughts?
(Excerpts:)

"...which decisions did you make that helped the most?
"- The decision to learn to speak in public...
"- The decision to commit. Commitment brings its own reward - in ways that are unimaginable things happen to speed you on your way. But you must commit."

Personal Branding Interview: Phil Town

• By: Dan Schawbel on May 1st, 2009
  

Today, I spoke with Phil Town, who is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Rule #1 and the upcoming author of Payback Time, which debuts in September.  In this interview, Phil tells his own story of how he's build his personal brand to be what it is today.  Also, he gives you the secret to getting a book deal and becoming a bestselling author, tells you how to invest in this economy and emphasizes the importance of social media in the world today.

Phil, how did you go from an average high school student pumping gas to a #1 NY Times bestselling author and world renowned speaker?

I took the path less traveled and followed my dreams. I wanted to be a soldier since I was a kid so I went in the Army and eventually was awarded the famous Green Beret and joined Special Forces. I liked some parts of what I did in Latin America and Vietnam but it wasn't for me so I got out at age 23. I got a job as a whitewater guide because running drugs looked too dangerous.

I loved running rivers, living outside and I did that on a bunch of rivers for ten years. I had a lot of time off season so I started reading philosophy, got stoned a lot to discover the secrets of the universe, turned to meditation instead, lived in India and France in ashrams so I could ponder the absolute and eventually was so absolutely broke I took an offer to apprentice with an investor who taught me the right stuff and then I went off and made my millions. And then wrote about it so you can do it, too.

There are hundreds of thousands of books published each year. How were you able to stand out? What marketing tips do you have for authors?

"The key thing to understand about the publishing industry is that they don't sell books, they publish them."

Since they don't sell books, they look for authors who can sell the books if they publish them. This ability is highly prized. They will pay you a lot of money for your book if you can show them how it will be sold in large enough quantities that they'll not only get their money back but also make a profit. In my case, I had been on a speaker circuit with several seminar producers and over 2 million people had seen me already. Plus, the seminar producers raised their credibility by raising my credibility so they featured me in ads after the book came out and they put the book out to their subscribers …. all of which drove it to #1.

"Here's the marketing tip of the century: create a large group of fans who will buy your book before you write your book."

In a horrible economy, what three pieces of advice do you have for hardcore investors and what three pieces do you have for a beginner?

• For the hardcores: Be careful. The best investments are usually the one's you don't make. And only buy wonderful businesses and only when they are on sale. Then go do something else and wait for the price to go up as it inevitably will.
• For the beginners: Ditto.

If you had to examine your personal brand throughout the past few decades, which decisions did you make that helped the most?

The decision to learn to speak in public. That led to being in front of people. That led to a book. That led to another book … and that will lead to a bigger audience. And that leads to a lot of fun.

The decision to commit. Commitment brings its own reward - in ways that are unimaginable things happen to speed you on your way. But you must commit.

You have another book coming out in 2010, and you're already preparing now for it's launch, with a Facebook page and Twitter. What role does social media play in your life now and in the future?

It is huge. Unimaginably huge. In two years I will not need a stage to speak on. My audience will be connected to me through social media and web 2.0. These are incredible democratizing tools that allow talent and skill to rise to the top. Learn how to use these tools. Do it now.

—-
Phil Town is the author of Rule #1: The Simple Strategy for Successful Investing in Only 15 Minutes a Week! (Crown Publishing Group, 2006)—the #1 New York Times best-seller and Amazon.com's top-selling business book of 2006. He heads the list of motivational speakers, addressing 500,000 people per year across the nation at the mega-seminar "Get Motivated."  An ex-Green Beret and former river guide, Phil is a self-made millionaire several times over.  Town usually is found sharing the stage with the likes of President Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, Colin Powell and Zig Ziglar, speaking to groups numbering 20,000.  His latest book called Payback Time: How to Outsmart the System That Failed You and Get Your Investments Back on Track, comes out in September.

Source: http://personalbrandingblog.com/personal-branding-interview-phil-town/