THE STRATEGY OF CHANGE – TO ARM THE BRIGHT FORCES OR CONVERT THE DARK ONES?

Today a bright friend sent me a brilliant clip from Brendon Burchard, the coach. And I reacted directly. Cause I usually don’t have that many frustrations, but what Brendon is talking about IS one of the frustrations in my life ?? Is it also yours? And what path do you choose for transforming that frustration into something positive that even makes an impact on the world and others? It is worthwhile reflecting on, cause it will mean the difference between success and failure, between happiness and sadness, impact or no impact.

People hating things

You know how people tend to say: I hate this, I hate that. I hate this weather. I hate when people have bad manners. I hate that actor. I hate short skirts. I hate filthy toilets. I hate…

Sometimes it seams people just about hate everything. Or at least anything ??

I usually don't hate things. Instead I am mostly accused of being an extremely happy guy, and I tend to love most things (even Challenges which I think is the Meaning of Life).

But there are a few things that can make me less happy :-O One of them is exactly the thing Brendon is talking about in this clip (https://bit.ly/2T2bGDH). People with negative energy, people looking for problems more than solutions, people seeing dark clouds where I see the rainbow. People who, generally, go around minimizing risks instead of maximizing possibilities.

For themselves, for their environment, for the world, or whatever.

The urge for motivating people

So, this is truly something that makes me go nuts ;-) (together with two other things, but that’s another story). So, yes, me too - like Brendon - get totally frustrated when people with all that potential don’t seem to have any goals in life, when they are not motivated and enthusiastic about their life, their jobs, their vacation, their house, their family, the results at the gym, or whatever.

This is even more so after having worked intensively with refugees in Iraq, Syria and all over the Balkan route, i.e. working with people who are true - ! - victims, with not artificially constructed problems (“oh I feel soooo depressed”), but with real authentic issues like murder, torture and starvation (where, btw, I’ve found some of the strongest, most motivated - and sometimes even most "happiest" - people I've ever met, https://bit.ly/2VX0ZTF).

And then we have those other people. Those whiners who don’t understand that they should be happy that they have (!) a job, that they can have (!) vacations, that they have (!) a house, have time (!) to go to a gym, or even that they have (!) a family :-/

And me too - like Brendon – I am also a coach. A coach who always want to assist in motivating people, catalyzing that spark that brings out the best of them, trying to make them look on the bright side of life, detecting all those virtues and possibilities they have, however small, in order for them to wake up and actually start "living", making the best out of their situation, or...

….simple be a little happier ;-)

The responsibility to motivate

And regarding how to achieve this Brendon is very right about some things. Like the nr 1, "participation", which is the most scientifically proven recipe in social psychology through decades, while "offering good role models" is another. But I actually believe the most crucial point he’s making is before all this, the more pragmatic one. I.e. that "you are not responsible for other people’s ambition and energy".

It took me decades (!) to understand that :-O

But after that, from the minute I understood that simple fact, it took me exactly one week for a total pivot of my whole life (and venture) trying to "help" all the grumpy whiners I meet in life, people who are totally hooked by their basal ganglia and don’t even want to get help. And instead start the journey for enabling all millions of magical winners - people who are hungry enough, what I call, “daring to live”, or what professor Dweck would call having a growth mindset who loves challenges - and want nothing else but to make a difference, for themselves or for others, for society or for nature.

Enabling the already motivated

There are today more than 7,7 billion people on earth. and 6,5 billion of them live in emerging markets or developing economies. Why don’t we take the 10-20% of the latter people that already are (!) motivated, and enable these 0,65-1,3 billion instead???

Can you even imagine what force that would be in the society? What positive force, and what impact that would be for people themselves, but also for their environment, the economy and even the planet?

This is exactly what we are doing in AIAR. We are humble enough (or "smart" enough, whatever turns you on) to admit that we cannot give you the motivation you need to generate the discipline needed (https://bit.ly/2WNpdEd) and responsibility so crucial (https://bit.ly/2Kel0kO) towards yourself and your environment.

That one you have to fix yourself.

But we can give you the other.* We can empower you with the knowledge needed to elevate that motivation, and we can do it no matter where you live, and no matter how poor you are.

And once you have it. When you established that motivation from within yourself, and received the knowledge enabled by us, then you can become exact, precisely who you want.

And when you are precisely who you want, you can achieve exactly what you want. For you or for the society.

Your call :)

The choice of arming bright forces or converting dark ones

So in the choice of "motivating" those grumpy few whiners, or enabling those motivated millions of winners, I made the latter the destiny of my life. And the thing is that I actually don’t think it is only a choice for making my personal journey happier, I am actually 100% sure that it is the most effective way to produce some genuine change in this world.

And the strategist who knows his Sun Tzu, he also knows that the one who tries to succeed with everything, he is exactly the one who usually succeeds with nothing. There is thus a clear choice:

Arm the bright forces with the strongest weapons, or use all your energy trying to convert the dark forces into bright ones.

All science within change management tells us that while the latter definitely is an honorable task, the former renders enormously more impact to the world.

Now I’m wishing you all a happy day – and a highly motivated and enabled journey in your life ;-)

Me, I'll go on catalyzing the biggest enabling power ever developed for those 1 billion motivated men and women in the emerging markets on this planet.

Wish me luck - we will need it. AND, you know what? We will (!) get it :)

/Rufus

* The one that Brendon calls his nr 2, competency (which in turn gives confidence, i.e. again all looping back to motivation).