3 ways:
1) Keep the Faith
2) Live according to Principles
3) Reflect on your Actions
I believe many of us already know that. The question is, why some of us are not doing it? Common sense may not be common practice. Or do we try to rationalize it intellectually that we spend time trying to reason instead of practice.
Personally it is a struggle for me to put them into practice. But how I see it is that, it is through these struggles that I grow. If there are no struggles then it would mean that I am living within my comfort zone.
In fact, when there are no challenges then we'll be doing the same old, same old. Which also translate to, if we are always doing what we've been doing, then we'll always get the same results; ceteris paribus.
These days, if we have stood still, or doing what we've been doing, we will be overtaken by our competitors or new competitors that have emerged from out-of-the-blue.
So, if we keep doing what we're doing, we may even get poorer results over time.
I think one of the most significant lesson for me in this aspect was when I was in Primary 1.
You see, I got the exact same scores for my mid-year and year-end results. But my position in class slipped from 13 to 25! I was puzzled, yet worried at the same time as I would need to account for my results when I get home!
I asked my form teacher how could this be so? Her immediate response was, "others improved, you did not." That was my first lesson on the need to keep up.
From that day onwards, it created a competitive streak in me to want to do better than my classmates. And with that thinking, I then sometimes become selfish. Not willing to share notes even. And being the only child (up until when I was 12) didn't help. The concept of "share" is just alien to me!
When I was in University, I majored in Economics, which then reinforced my perception of a scarcity mindset.
But what happened changed my thinking about sharing notes and explaining concepts to my classmates. I realized that when I do that it actually helped me as I now understood the concepts better.
Thing is, it was still about how I can benefit. So while seemingly I was 'helping' my friends, I was in fact helping myself.
It was not until when I started my own business and especially when working with the Schools that I realised that helping others can be such great fun, it can also be rewarding, and at the same time bring tremendous satisfaction at a level that money can't buy.
You see, I kept the Faith by looking through the world with an abundant mindset. Why ponder over if the cup is half-filled or half-empty with water; what if we see that the water is of unlimited supply? Meaning, who cares if its half-filled or otherwise, drink the content, quench the thirst, and you'd know that the next time you need water, it's there!
How can the water be of unlimited supply? Well, if we think about the traditional way of where we can get water then it would be limited. Or maybe we can seek ways to improve, enhance, and refine the ways we get water. If we can do it faster, cheaper, more efficiently, more effectively, reduce the defects per millicubic, etc. In other words, we turn to excellence.
What if, we thought of creative and innovative ways to get water? Water can come from the ground, the air, trees, animals, plants, insects, and so forth. If there are unlimited ways in which we can get water, then there will be unlimited water!
Next, how do we come up with such creative and innovative ways? Of course, we must have strong foundation of how to get water. Else, we'll be no difference from a mad man who thinks that monkeys come from trees. Hence, we need to continually learn and grow. Only when that takes place, then we can come up with unlimited ways to get water.
Now, finally, it all boils down to one final element, and if that element is not there, then all the preceding discussions were just hot-air. And that element is the courage to know that there is water in the first place.
So, how does it link to our 3-steps to ace our test in life?
First, we must have the courage to keep the faith. In our above example it was water. It could be "value" for customers, "hope" for the future, or just "food" on the table for some. Having said that, this faith must be good faith or else we'll never see sustainable impact of greatness. It would be impact of evil, like Hitler.
Next, live by a set of principles that transcends culture, time, and space. These principles in our above example were learning & growth, creative & innovative, and abundance. Think about the work you do, if you keep on learning through the synthesis of new learnings and existing knowledge you'd inevitably grow! And with such rich knowledge and experience; you now can be creative and innovative in your work! You need a lot of foundational practice before you can create an innovative piece of work!
With your ability to now create your own knowledge you'd not be afraid that someone else might steal it. Because you'll always have new ideas flowing! Just like the unlimited supply of water! How wonderful!
And course, finally, reflection is a behavior of individuals of greatness. You reflect, you search for ways that are consistently sound; you find new ways to improve, enhance, refine; that in short is the spirit of excellence!
So, my friends, I hope we can embark on this journey together and have you share your experience with me. (Is your cup half-filled or half-empty? Hee)
Respectfully yours,
Melvyn Tan
(Sent from my Blackberry Bold)
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