I don’t know if you’ve read Conversations with God : An Uncommon Dialogue (Book 1) , but it’s *interesting.*

My three take aways are:

“Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” — Walt Disney

Whether you are a “one-man band” or a large organization, your customers are why you are in business. By having clarity on the customer segments, the customer needs, and the potential profitability of each segment, you can choose more effective segments to serve for a more sustainable business.

“Change is inevitable, growth is intentional.” — Glenda Cloud

The field you’re in can slow you down or it can speed up your career success.

“There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction.” — Winston Churchill

To predict explosive change before it occurs, you need to be able to distinguish a “spider” from a “starfish.” A starfish can replicate and spread a fluid set of ideas, beliefs, values, and norms. This is the hidden power behind things like Wikipedia, craigslist, Skype, and even the early days of Alcoholics Anonymous.

“You do not merely want to be considered just the best of the best. You want to be considered the only ones who do what you do.” — Jerry Garcia

It’s a Darwin world. If you want to survive, or thrive, in a Darwin world, you have to play to your strengths. More than that though, you need to differentiate and specialize. Specialization is nature’s strategy for winning.

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Here’s another lens to use when you think about the role your peers played in shaping your personality. When we think of “peer pressure,” it’s easy to think of the negative. Obviously, this depends on who you hang with and their habits and practices whether the peer pressure is negative or not.

“Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.” — Tao Te Ching

Not all power is created equal. If you know the six sources of social power, then you can influence yourself and others more effectively.

“If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” — Mary Engelbreit

I’ve written about the Elephant and the Rider before. This post puts it together into a simple way to remember a change framework. Change isn’t easy, but a framework helps makes it easier and helps you build skill.

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” — Maria Robinson

When you have to think your way through things, you wear yourself out. This is why routines and going into automatic pilot serve you. You don’t have to think your way through the basics and you can focus your thinking on higher level things up the stack.

Every now and then I come across a metaphor that really sticks and helps me think differently about something I see every day. The metaphor helps me look at these situations with a new lens, and, as a result, think, feel, and act more effectively.

I’ve heard of several ways to think about our thinking. I’ve heard of the left-brain and right-brain. I’ve heard of the emotional side and the rational side. This time, the metaphor is the Elephant and the Rider.

“Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves – regret for the past and fear of the future.” – Fulton Oursler

If you carry regrets around with you, this post just might lighten your load. It’s easy to regret. It’s easy to second guess yourself, especially with 20/20 hind-sight. It’s easy to ponder the “what if’’s” and “what could have been’s.” It’s not so easy to let your regrets go.

While reading Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life , by Martin Seligman, I thought it was great to see how the explanation of human behavior has changed over time.  In the earlier days of psychology, popular opinion was that people are the product of their environment.  Eventually, psychologists figured out that habits of thinking can be changed and that individuals can choose the way they think.
I didn’t realize how many competing schools of thought there were.  I also like the fact that eventually it was possible …

If you want to lead an optimistic life, learn to argue with yourself. The secret of optimism is not positive thinking. It’s non-negative thinking, according to Martin Seligman in the book Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life.

Don’t Ruminate. Don’t dwell on things that go wrong. According to Martin Seligman, in the book Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life , people who mull over bad events are called ruminators.

When something goes wrong, be careful how you explain it to yourself. According to Martin Seligman in Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life , A pessimist explains it as permanent, personal, and pervasive.

The stories we tell ourselves can limit us or enable us. In any given situation, we’re telling ourselves stories about other people, the situation and ourselves. In these stories, we can play the victim or we can be the hero.

When it comes to sleep patterns, some people really are night owls or early birds. According to John Medina in the book, Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School , 30 % of the population is an owl or a lark (an early bird in scientific literature.) The rest of us are called hummingbirds where some of us are more owlish and some are more larkish and some are in between.

I’m a fan of using checklists to improve results. Checklists are powerful tools for jogging your memory, reducing stress, and sharing know how. Fighter pilots use checklist effectively to eliminate task saturation, take away workload, and avoid forgetting something critical. Many businesses use checklists to train new hires as well as run everyday operations.

I’m a fan of lenses to help me get a better perspective or vantage point. If you’re looking for a job or thinking about your career, you can use Holland’s theory of career choice to help you find a better fit. John L. Holland identified 6 personality and work environment types. According to Holland, if you can match your personality type and your work environment, you can improve your success and satisfaction.

I like learning the language around a given topic to build precision and depth. When you have a language for something, it helps you think, organize, and share knowledge more effectively. The same is true for strengths. Your strengths are among your greatest assets. Simply put, they help you give your best where you have your best to give. To find, study, and explore your strengths, you should know the language of strengths.