Why is The Glass Full and a Half?
Carlos Salum
Founder - Salum International Resources, Inc., Author, Keynote Speaker, TEDx Speaker and Mentor at LEAD Sports
I’m an optimist by choice.
I believe the glass is neither half-full nor half-empty - it’s full and a half.
For every obstacle I encounter, I seek alternatives that can lead to a solution.
I intentionally focus on “what can be,” on exploring possibilities and finding new ways of seeing.
Adopting a broad perception field allows me to generate new ideas and be both creative and constructive.
The glass is full and a half because the development of the Human Mind is open-ended. We are constantly learning, adapting and evolving.
As humans, we have the capacity and the opportunity to design Future.
I’m a fortunate man: I’m able to design my future. I’m privileged to be allowed to do so. I could have chosen a life path resembling a straight line, with clear goal posts, milestones and rewards.
If I had done it that way, perhaps I would judge my life as being half-full or half-empty, depending on my criteria, on what I would value most.
As a Leadership Performance Strategist, I’m a catalyst of Breakthrough and Opportunities. The catalyst inspires by transcending "what is" and transporting the listener to "what can be" so "what shall be" starts to germinate as a vision.
“The Glass is Full and a Half” book is a memoir about how I transformed my life and how you can too.
The path to Breakthrough is open-ended and the milestones of deeper Understanding are the stepping stones. It's an ascending spiral.
When you see the glass as full and a half, your meaningful achievements inspire, recruit, resonate and Transform.
Your Path to Breakthrough and Leadership
The fundamental idea in “The Glass is Full and a Half” is that you can design a life of meaningful achievements and lead others by creating a Breakthrough Blueprint that aligns four key factors: Imagine, Improve, Inspire and Ignite.
The four key factors are four lenses to see the glass full and a half and live in Possibility as a full human being.
The 4is are:
?Become Breakthrough
There is no “If… then” approach to Breakthrough. You already are what you want to be. Think, feel and act “as if” you are already there. Rehearse, explore and decide as if you have become “it.”
You are Breakthrough because you walk over the stepping-stones of your success at the same time you design them. The magic is in the doing.
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Why Designing Your Breakthrough Matters
The world has suffered a pandemic that changed the course of history and how we live our lives. Democracy is being threatened and sectarian, crystalized positions continue to generate long-term wars with deep geopolitical ramifications.
The depth, speed and degree of change are difficult to envision, so I find it imperative for leaders to become better thinkers who can adapt, decide and implement the best solutions possible to sustain life and secure a resilient future.
Being a better thinker translates into knowing how to manage energy rather than time, to prioritize our health and protect the health of others, to improve our scenario planning and forecasting and to focus on building trust - the most precious capital for an individual, an organization or a brand.
The ability to design Breakthrough will be an essential Leadership skill for decades to come.
When my father was working for U.S. companies in Argentina, I had the opportunity to have interesting conversations with the American executives who visited us regularly.
I remember one of them telling me that the American sociopolitical and economic system was resilient, built to bend so it would not break - but that required foresight and a fast reaction time.
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When we fail, it's usually a failure of imagination - an abdication of foresight - due to narrow perspectives and sectarian policies, leaving us with reactive measures and perversely innefective solutions.
The way forward might be inspired by the words of Andrew Zolli, an expert in Resilience: "From climate change to overpopulation to recessions, the threats facing the world are as unpredictable as they are varied — which is why we need to craft systems that are nimble, that can bend under stress rather than break.”
"If we cannot control the volatile tides of change, we can learn to build better boats," writes Zolli. "We can design — and redesign — organizations, institutions, and systems to better absorb disruption, operate under a wider variety of conditions, and shift more fluidly from one circumstance to the next."" - From the "The Power Grid: From Rickety to Resilient" [Adapted from an article by Bryan Walsh, Tuesday, July 17, 2012, on TIME Magazine.] (Walsh, 2012)
That’s Breakthrough Design: Foresight. Reaction Time. Redesign. Navigation. Fluidity. Learning. Loving the Challenge.
A Client's Story: Learning to Love the Challenge
My client Peter (I’ve changed his name to preserve confidentiality) personifies Breakthrough and he confidently succeeds in the world of finance.
As the driving force behind one of the top-rated international hedge funds, Peter has consistently demonstrated his ability to redefine success in his industry. He has achieved remarkable milestones representing billions of dollars in assets.
Peter was born in a middle-class family in a rust belt town, where becoming a renowned and respected doctor with a Harvard degree didn't seem like a possibility. Yet, that’s what he became, guided by his inner voice and his grit.
Peter’s journey is one marked by crucial decisions representing Breakthrough. He was a prestigious medical professional who later realized that his ability to identify outlying factors and forecast trends were better suited for the intricacies of international business.
With remarkable perseverance, he got a business degree (Cum Laude) from an Ivy-League school and was soon recruited by the hedge fund’s CEO, a legendary billionaire investor.
I met Peter at a business networking event and we connected through our love for tennis. He was intrigued by the Peak Performance approach I use with professional athletes and senior executives. Within weeks, I was coaching him while he was considering the most significant decision of his professional life.
During our coaching sessions, one of the fundamental principles that resonated the most with Peter was “learning to love the challenge.”
After studying a pharmaceutical firm’s development of a wonder drug, Peter forecasted that there would be a merger with a giant conglomerate. He proposed to his company’s CEO a variety of strategies, which heavily rested on Peter’s understanding of the confluence of science and finance.
Within a couple of months, they not only surpassed their financial goals but also achieved remarkable results in other mergers, thanks to Peter’s reliability as a strategist able to spot Breakthrough opportunities.
In the past, Peter had managed a substantial portfolio, but nothing at the global scale the CEO was suddenly offering him, including a move to their headquarters at a major financial center.
When we met to discuss the offer, we concluded that his unique ability was to “love the challenge” and deliver results like few people can, so why not make it a lifestyle and enjoy it for a lifetime. Living creatively was now significant.
I knew Peter as an anxious, multi-tasking professional, often worried about the potential failure of his ambitious strategies.
When I visited him at his offices at a tower overlooking the ocean, I was pleased to encounter a self-assured, relaxed leader in control of his destiny and the future of his company. In his new position at the top of the organizational chart, Peter has excelled at crafting a powerful, compelling vision for growth.
As I listened to the updates on his life and the description of the cutting edge science-related projects he manages, I realized that the backbone of his success as a thinker is his ability to generate a Hypothesis, elaborate a Thesis and structure the Demonstration of new value generated. When I was in medical school in Argentina, that's how they taught us to think as future doctors (like detectives) - and Peter is a master at it.
Peter is a peak performing leader and he trains for it. He supports his performance through regular physical and emotional training to sharpen his leadership skills. He's now focused, resilient and aware of his influence.
Peak Performers are Breakthrough catalysts. They are visionary, creative, versatile, nimble and situational thinkers who adapt to deliver extraordinary results.
You can always choose to be a better Thinker who aims to always be a Peak Performer – a Breakthrough catalyst.
You can love the Challenge because you choose to train for it.
In professional sports, as in business and life, designing your meaningful Future and fulfilling it is what sets you apart.
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The Four Key Questions of Breakthrough Design:
The answers to these questions can provide valuable insights for you to start aligning the key factors that will lead you to design Breakthrough opportunities.
Creative Interpretations of "The Glass is Full and a Half"
Ultimately...
The Glass is Full and a Half because we make it so.
Here are some interesting links to consider in your path to Breakthrough: