How Successful People Think
1. Cultivate big-picture thinking.
One reminds the other that the current difficult time is only a temporary season (benefit from thinking big picture)
You have to think, why not think big.
Big picture thinking brings wholeness and maturity to a person’s thinking (brings perspective)
Big-picture thinkers will:
Learn continually
Never satisfied with what they already know
They are always visiting new places, reading new books, meeting new people, learning new skills.
Able to connect the unconnected
Life-long learners
If you desire to keep learning, examine your day and look for more opportunities to learn
Listen intentionally
Listen to others who have more experience in areas that you lack in experience.
If you want to learn and grow, know what questions to ask and know how to apply the answers in your life
Listening teaches more than talking
When you meet with people, it’s good to have an agenda so that you can learn.
Recognize that you do not know a lot.
Frequently ask penetrating questions to enlarge understanding and thinking
Become a good listener
Look expansively
Who you are determines what you see and how you think
Realize there’s a world out there besides your own, make an effort to get outside of yourself and see other people’s worlds through your eyes.
It’s hard to see the picture inside the frame.
Become a good listener, get over your personal agenda and try other people’s perspective.
Live completely
Help live with wholeness and a very fulfilling life
People who see the bigger picture expand their experience because they expand their world, as a result, they accomplish more than narrow-minded people. They also experience fewer unwanted surprises.
Usually more tolerant of other people and their thinking.
Why you should receive the wisdom of big-picture thinking.
Big picture thinking allows you to lead.
See the vision before others do.
Size up situations, taking into account many variables.
Sketch a picture of where the team is going, including any challenges or obstacles.
Show how the future connects with the past to make the journey more meaningful.
Seize the moment and when the timing is right
When to move is as important as what you do.
Big picture thinking keeps you on target.
He that is everywhere is nowhere.
To get things done, you need to focus.
To get the right things done, you need to consider the big picture.
You will only stay on target if you put your daily activities in context to the bigger picture.
Big-picture thinking allows you to see what others see.
One of the most important skills you can develop in human relations is the ability to see things from the other person’s point of view.
All human interactions are enhanced by the ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes.
Look beyond yourself, your own interests, and your own world. When you work to consider an issue from every possible angle, examine it in the light of another’s history, discover the interests and concern of others, and try to set aside your own agenda, you begin to see what others see. And that is a powerful thing.
Big-picture thinking promotes teamwork.
It is important that the team members see the whole picture, no just their own part.
The better the grasp team members have of the big picture, the greater their potential to work together as a team.
Big picture thinking keeps you from being caught up in the mundane.
Big picture thinkers don’t let the grind get to them, because they don’t lose sight of the all-important overview.
The person who forgets the ultimate is a slave to the immediate.
Big picture thinking helps you chart uncharted territory.
The world was built by people who “crossed bridges” in their minds long before anyone else did.
The only way to break new ground or move into uncharted territory is to look beyond the immediate and see the big picture.
How to acquire the wisdom of big-picture thinking: You need to add big-picture thinking to your abilities. To become a good thinker better able to see the big picture, keep in mind the following suggestions:
Don’t strive for certainty
Big-picture thinkers are comfortable with ambiguity.
Don’t try to force every observation or piece of data into per-formulated mental cubby holes.
Think broadly and juggle many seemingly contradictory thoughts in their minds.
Get used to embracing and dealing with complex and diverse ideas.
Learn from every experience
Big-picture thinkers broaden their outlook by striving to learn from every experience.
Don’t rest on your successes, learn from them.
Learn from your failures.
Remain teachable.
Varied experiences, both positive and negative, help you see the big picture.
The greater the varieties of experience and success, the more potential to learn you have.
Get out there and try a lot of things, take a lot of chances, and take time to learn after every victory or defeat.
Gain insight from a variety of people.
Learn from experiences you do not have.
Learn by receiving insight from others, from customers, employees, colleagues and leaders.
Seek out counselors to help you. (Be wise in who you ask for help)
Gaining insight from a variety of people does not mean stopping anyone and everyone in hallways and grocery store lines and asking what they think about a given subject. (Be selective)
Talk to people who know and care about you, who know their field, and who bring experience deeper and broader than your own.
Give yourself permission to expand your world.
If you want to become a big-picture thinker, you will have to go against the flow of the world. (Society wants to keep people in boxes)(Want what can be, not what was)
2. Engage in focused thinking
“Knowledge is power only if a man knows what the facts are not to bother about.”
Focused thinking removes distractions and mental clutter so that you can concentrate on an issue and think with clarity.
Focused thinking can do several things for you:
Focused thinking harnesses energy toward a desired goal.
Focus can bring energy and power to almost anything, whether physical or mental.
The greater the difficulty of a problem or issue, the more focused thinking time is necessary to solve it.
Focused thinking gives ideas time to develop.
The birthing of a potential breakthrough often results from sharing many good ideas.
Shift from being expansive in your thinking to being selective.
A good idea can become a great idea when it is given focus time.
When focused thinking is at its best, not only does the idea grow but so do you.
Focused thinking brings clarity to the target.
Goals help motivate. Goals do motivate.
Focus on a clear target.
Focus helps you to know the goal- to achieve the goal.
Focused thinking will take you to the next level.
The only way to get to the next level is to focus.
The immature mind hops from one thing to the other; the mature mind seeks to follow through.
Where should you focus your thinking?: Be selective, not exhaustive, in your focused thinking. Dedicate in-depth thinking to four areas; leadership, creativity, communication, and intentional networking.
Identify your priorities.
Take account of your priorities- for yourself, your family, and your team.
“A conclusion is the place where you get tired of thinking”
You do not want others to set your agenda.
Focus on your strengths, the things that make best use of your skills and God-given talents.
Focus on what brings the highest return and reward.
Do what you enjoy and do best.
Use the 80/20 rule; give 80 percent of your effort to the top 20 percent (most important) activities.
Give your attention to the areas that bear fruit.
Discover your gifts.
Set more immediate goals for yourself.
Interview positive friends and family members to see where they think you shine.
Spend time reflecting on past successes.
If you’re going to focus your thinking in your areas of strength, you need to know what they are.
Develop your dream.
If you want to achieve great things, you need to have a great dream.
If you’re not sure of your dream, use your focused thinking time to help you discover it.
Once you find your dream, move forward without second guessing.
The younger you are, the more likely you will give your attention to many things. (That’s good because if you’re young you’re still getting to know yourself, your strengths and weaknesses.)
If you focus your thinking on only one thing and your aspirations change, then you’ve wasted your best mental energy.
As you get older and more experienced, the need to focus becomes more critical.
The farther and higher you go, the more focused you can be- and need to be.
How can you stay focused?: Once you have a handle on what you should think about, you must decide how to better focus on it.
Remove distractions.
Maintain the discipline of practicing your priorities.
Don’t do easy things first or hard things first or urgent things first, do first things first- the activities that give you the highest return (in that way, you keep distractions to a minimum.)
Insulate yourself from distractions.
The best way to resolve the tension is to understand the value of both activities.
Remove yourself periodically so that you can unleash the potential of focused thinking.
Make time for focused thinking.
Once you have a place to think, you need the time to think.
Multi-tasking is not always a good idea.
Switching from task to task can cost you up to 40 percent efficiency.
You will get more done by focusing on one task at a time, according to researchers.
One way to gain time for focused thinking is to impose upon yourself a rule that on company implemented.
Focus on your energies on your number on priority.
Put non-productive time wasters on hold so that you can create thinking time for yourself.
Keep items of focus before you.
Concentration is the secret of strength in politics, in war, in trade, in short in all management of human affairs.
Keep important items before you.
Ask someone to keep bringing an important item up over and over again, also to give you additional information in reference.
Set goals.
The mind will not focus until it has clear objectives.
The purpose of goals is to focus your attention and give you direction, not to identify a final destination.
Goals should be:
Clear enough to be kept in focus
Close enough to be achieved
Helpful enough to change lives
Be sure to write down your goals.
If you can’t write your idea on the back of a card/paper, you do not have a clear idea.
Question your progress
Take a good look at yourself from time to time to see whether you are actually making progress.
Looking at yourself to see if you are making progress is the most accurate measure of whether you are making the best use of focused thinking.
Ask yourself, “Am I seeing a return for my investment of focused thinking time? Is what I am doing getting me closer to my goals? Am I headed in a direction that helps me fulfill my commitments, maintain my priorities, and realize my dreams?”
What are you giving up to go up?: Find the one thing you do well and don’t do anything else. You have to give up many things.
I can’t know everyone.
Choose a strong inner circle of people.
Ask certain friends to catch you up on what’s happening in other friend’s lives.
I can’t do everything.
There are only a few exceptional opportunities in any person’s lifetime.
Strive for excellence in a few things rather than many things.
Practice the 10-80-10 principle with the people whom delegate a given task. Help the first 10 percent by casting vision, laying down parameters, providing resources, and giving encouragement. Once they have done the middle 80 percent, help them take whatever it is the rest of the way, if you can.
I can’t go everywhere.
Traveling is one of our great joys.
So much time is consumed doing what you are called to do.
I can’t be well rounded.
Ninety-nine percent of everything in life I don’t need to know about.
Try to focus on the one percent that gives the highest return/
It’s a good way to stay in balance with life.
Being willing to give up some of the things you love in order to focus on what has the greatest impact is not an easy subject to learn.
The sooner you embrace it, the sooner you can dedicate yourself to excellence in what matters most.
3. Harness Creative Thinking
The most valuable thing you can offer the world is your creative thinking.
Creative thinking is a composite of other thoughts discovered along the way.
Characteristics of creative thinkers:
Creative thinkers value ideas.
Highly creative people are dedicated to ideas. They don’t rely on their talent alone; they rely on their discipline. Their imagination is like a second skin. They know how to manipulate to its fullest.
Creativity is about having ideas- lots of them.
You will have ideas only if you value ideas.
Creative thinkers explore options.
Creative thinkers love options, if that’s not in the equation then you are not using the complete extent of creative thinking.
Exploring a multitude of possibilities helps to stimulate the imagination, and imagination is crucial to creativity.
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Place a very high value on options. For best result.
High value on options provide the key to finding the best answer- not the only answer.
Good thinkers come up with the best answers.
Create back-up plans that provide alternatives.
This will help you influence and lead others.
Creative thinkers embrace ambiguity.
Creative people don’t feel the need to stamp out uncertainty.
Take delight in exploring those gaps-or use imagination to fill them in.
Creative thinkers celebrate the offbeat.
Creativity, by its very nature, often explores off the beaten path and goes against the grain.
To foster creativity in yourself or others, be willing to tolerate a little oddness.
Creative thinkers connect the unconnected.
There is great value in being able to connect one idea to another, especially to seemingly unrelated ideas.
Creativity is especially expressed in the ability to make connections, to make associations, to turn things around and express them in a new way.
You may know where you are going, but only as you move toward your destination can you see and experience things in a way not possible before you started.
Think→Collect→Create→Correct→Connect
Once you begin to think, you are free to collect.
What material relates to this thought?
Once you have the material, you can figure out what ideas can make the thought better.
After that, you can correct and refine.
What changes can make this idea better.
Creative thinkers don’t fear failure
Creativity demands the ability to be unafraid of failure because creativity equals failure.
“Anxiety is the essential condition of intellectual and artistic creation.
It means getting out on a limb-knowing that the limb often breaks.
Just don’t let the ideas that don’t work prevent them from coming up with more ideas that do work.
Why you should discover the joy of creative thinking: Creativity can improve a person’s quality of life.
Creative thinking adds value to everything.
Creative thinking gives you limitless reservoir of ideas that you could draw upon at any time.
No matter what you are currently able to do, creativity can increase your capabilities.
Creativity is being able to see what everybody else has seen and think what nobody else has thought so that you can do what nobody else has done.
Creative thinking sometimes lies along with the lines of invention.
Other times it moves along the lines of innovation, which helps you to do old things in a new way.
Either way, it’s seeing the world through sufficiently new eyes so that new solutions appear, it always adds value.
Creative thinking compounds
Creative thinking is hard work but, creative thinking compounds given enough time and focus.
Perhaps more than any other kind of thinking, creative thinking builds on itself and increases the creativity of the thinker.
The more you use, the more you have.
Too often creativity is smothered rather than nurtured.
If you cultivate creative thinking in an environment that nurtures creativity, there’s no telling what kind of ideas you can come up with.
Creative thinking draws people to you and your ideas.
Creativity is intelligence having fun.
People admire intelligence, they are always attracted to fun-so the combination is fantastic.
If you cultivate creativity, you will become more attractive to other people, and they will be drawn to you.
Creative thinking helps you learn more.
Creativity is the joy of not knowing it all. The joy of not knowing it all refers to the realization that we seldom if ever have all the answers; we always have the ability to generate more solutions to just about any problem.
Being creative is being able to see or imagine a great deal of opportunity to life’s problems.
Creativity is having options.
If you are always actively seeking new ideas, you will learn.
Creativity is teach ability.
It is seeing more solutions than problems.
The greater the quantity of thoughts, the greater the chance for learning something new.
Creative thinking challenges the status quo.
If you desire to improve your world-or even your own situation-then creativity will help you.
The status quo and creativity are incompatible.
Creativity and innovation always walk hand in hand.
How to discover the joy of creative thinking: How do I find the creativity within me? Here are five ways to do it:
Remove creativity killers.
Value the warmth of creativity over cold facts.
Eliminate attitudes that devalue creative thinking.
The following phrases are almost guaranteed to kill creative thinking any time you hear (or think) them:
I’m not a creative person.
Follow the rules.
Don’t ask questions.
Don’t be different
Stay within the lines.
There is only one way.
Don’t be foolish.
Be practical.
Be serious.
Think of your image.
That’s not logical.
It’s not practical.
It’s never been done.
It can’t be done.
It didn’t work for the them
We tried that before.
It’s too much work
We can’t afford to make a mistake.
It will be too hard to administer.
We don’t have the time
We don’t have the money
Play is frivolous.
Failure is final.
If you think you have a great idea, don’t let anyone talk you out of it even if it sounds foolish.
Don’t let yourself or anyone else subject you to creativity killers.
You can’t do something new and exciting if you force yourself to stay in the same old rut.
Don’t just work harder at the same old thing, make a change.
Think creatively by asking the right questions.
Creativity is largely a matter of asking the right questions.
Wrong questions shut down the process of creative thinking. They direct thinkers down the same old path, or they chide them into believing that thinking isn’t necessary at all.
To stimulate creative thinking, ask yourself questions such as:
Why must is be done this way?
What is the root problem?
What are the underlying issues?
What does this remind me of?
What is the opposite?
What metaphor or symbol helps to explain it?
Why is it important?
What’s the hardest or most expensive way to do it?
Who has a different perspective on this?
What happens if we don’t do it at all?
If you do not ask ‘Why this?’ often enough, somebody will ask, ‘why you?’
If you want to think creatively, you must ask good questions. You must challenge the process.
Develop a creative environment.
A creative environment:
Encourages creativity:
When innovation and good thinking are openly encourages and rewarded, then people will see that that they have permission to be creative.
Places a high value on trust among team members and individuality:
Creativity always risks failure.
Trust is so important to creative people.
Trust comes from people working together, from knowing that people on the team have experience launching successful, creative ideas, and from the assurance that creative ideas won’t go to waste, because they will be implemented.
Embraces those who are creative:
Creative people celebrate the offbeat.
Be filled with energy, ideas, and laughter.
Focus on innovation, not just invention:
You don’ necessarily need a groundbreaking idea to make a career out of creativity.
A good definition of creativity is the logical result in a new concept.
The best way to make a living with your imagination is to develop innovative applications, no imagine completely new concepts.
Is willing to let people go outside the lines:
Most limitations we face are not imposed on us by others; we place them on ourselves.
Lack of creativity often falls into that category.
If you want to be more creative, challenge boundaries.
Appreciate the power of a dream:
A creative environment promotes the freedom of a dream.
A creative environment encourages the use of a blank sheet of paper and the question, “If we could draw a picture of what we want to accomplish, what would that look like?”
Goals may give focus, but dreams give power.
Dreams expand the world.
The more creativity-friendly you can make your environment, the more potential it has to become creative.
Spend time with other creative people.
Change jobs if your work has an environment hostile to creativity, and you possess little ability to change it.
If you want to continue to work there, try to find a way to spend time with other creative people.
Creativity is contagious.
It’s a fact that you start to think like the people you spend a lot of time with.
The more time you spend with creative people engaging in creative activities, the more creative you will become.
Get out of your box.
If you obey all the rules, you will miss all the fun.
Break out of the “box” of history and personal limitations in order to experience creative breakthroughs.
Expose yourself to new paradigms is one of the best ways to break out of the box.
Explore other cultures, countries, and traditions. Find out how people very different from you live and think. Read on new subjects.
If you want to break out of your own box, get into someone else’s.
4. Employ Realistic Thinking
Reality Check
Reality is the difference between what we wish for and what is.
You have to engage in realistic thinking if you want to solve problems and learn from mistakes.
We make realistic thinking the foundation of our business because we derive certainty and security from it.
Why you should recognize the importance of realistic thinking.
Cultivating the ability to be realistic in your thinking will not undermine your faith in people, nor will it lessen your ability to see and seize opportunities. Instead it will add value to you in other ways:
Realistic thinking minimizes downside risk.
Actions always have consequences; realistic thinking helps you to determine what those consequences could be.
Its crucial, because only by recognizing and considering consequences can you plan for them.
If you plan for the worst-case scenario, you can minimize the downside risk.
Realistic thinking gives you a target and game plan.
Hope is not a strategy.
Realistic thinking leads to excellence in leadership and management because it requires people to face reality.
They begin to define their target and develop a game plan to hit it.
When people engage in realistic thinking, they also begin to simplify practices and procedures, which results in better efficiency.
Realistic thinkers understand the difference between the important decisions and those that are merely necessary in the normal course of business.
The decisions that matter relate directly to your purpose.
Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment.
Realistic thinking is a catalyst for change.
People who rely on hope for their success rarely make change a high priority.
If you have only hope, you imply that achievement and success are out of your hands. It is a matter of luck or chance.
Change alone doesn’t bring growth without change.
Realistic thinking provides security.
Any time you have thought through the worst that can happen and you have developed contingency plans to meet it, you become more confident and secure.
Disappointment is the difference between expectations and reality.
Realistic thinking minimizes the difference between the two.
Realistic thinking gives you credibility
Realistic thinking helps people to buy in to the leader and his or her vision.
Leaders continually surprised by the unexpected soon lose credibility with their followers. On the other hand, leaders who think realistically and plan accordingly position their organizations to win.
The best leaders ask realistic questions before casting vision. They ask themselves things like:
Is it possible?
Does this dream include everyone or just a few?
Have I identified and articulated the areas that will make this dream difficult to achieve?
Realistic thinking provides a foundation to build on.
The value of a good idea is in using it.
Realistic thinking helps you to make an idea usable by taking away the “wish” factor.
Realistic thinking provides a solid foundation.
Realistic thinking is a friend to those in trouble.
Realistic thinking gives you something concrete to fall back on during times of trouble, which can be very reassuring.
Certainty in the midst of uncertainty bring stability.
Realistic thinking brings the dream to fruition.
If you don’t get close enough to a problem, you can’t tackle it.
If you don’t take a realistic look at your dream-and what it will take to accomplish it-you will never achieve it.
Realistic thinking helps to pave the way for bringing any dream to fruition.
How to recognize the importance of realistic thinking.
Develop an appreciation for truth.
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing has happened.
Our society finds truth too strong a medicine to digest undiluted. In its purest form, truth is not a polite tap on the shoulder, it is a howling reproach.
In other words, the truth will set you free-but first it will make you angry.
If you want to become a realistic thinker, however, you need to get comfortable dealing with the truth and face up to it.
Do your homework.
First, get the facts.
Learn the facts of the situation, make the decision which seems to you to be the most honest, and then stick to it.
It does not matter how sound your thinking is if it’s based on faulty data or assumptions.
You can’t think well in the absence of facts (or in the presence of poor information).
You can also find out what others have done in similar circumstances.
Your thinking doesn’t necessarily have to be original; it just has to be solid.
Some of the best thinking comes from others.
Think through the pros and cons.
It helps you dig into the facts, examine an issue from many angles, and really count the cost of a possible course of action.
Picture the worst case scenario.
The essence of realistic thinking is discovering, picturing, and examining the worst case scenario. Ask yourself questions such as:
What if sales fall short of projections?
What if revenue hits rock bottom? (Real rock bottom.)
What if we don’t win the account?
What if the client doesn’t pay us?
What if we have to do the job short-handed?
What if our best player gets sick?
What if all the colleges reject my application?
What if the market goes belly up?
What if the volunteers quit?
What if nobody shows up?
You need to think about worst case possibilities whether you are running a business, leading a department, pastoring a church, coaching a team, or planning your personal finances.
Your goal isn’t to be negative or to expect the worst, just to be ready for it in case it happens. That way, you give yourself the best chance for a positive result-no matter what.
You will be ready for anything.
Deliberate with caution, but act with decision; and yield with graciousness or oppose with firmness.
Align your thinking with your resources.
One of the keys to maximizing the realistic thinking is to aligning your resources with your objectives.
Once you know what those gaps are, you can use your resources to fill them.
1. Cultivate big-picture thinking.
One reminds the other that the current difficult time is only a temporary season (benefit from thinking big picture)
You have to think, why not think big.
Big picture thinking brings wholeness and maturity to a person’s thinking (brings perspective)
Big-picture thinkers will:
Learn continually
Never satisfied with what they already know
They are always visiting new places, reading new books, meeting new people, learning new skills.
Able to connect the unconnected
Life-long learners
If you desire to keep learning, examine your day and look for more opportunities to learn
Listen intentionally
Listen to others who have more experience in areas that you lack in experience.
If you want to learn and grow, know what questions to ask and know how to apply the answers in your life
Listening teaches more than talking
When you meet with people, it’s good to have an agenda so that you can learn.
Recognize that you do not know a lot.
Frequently ask penetrating questions to enlarge understanding and thinking
Become a good listener
Look expansively
Who you are determines what you see and how you think
Realize there’s a world out there besides your own, make an effort to get outside of yourself and see other people’s worlds through your eyes.
It’s hard to see the picture inside the frame.
Become a good listener, get over your personal agenda and try other people’s perspective.
Live completely
Help live with wholeness and a very fulfilling life
People who see the bigger picture expand their experience because they expand their world, as a result, they accomplish more than narrow-minded people. They also experience fewer unwanted surprises.
Usually more tolerant of other people and their thinking.
Why you should receive the wisdom of big-picture thinking.
Big picture thinking allows you to lead.
See the vision before others do.
Size up situations, taking into account many variables.
Sketch a picture of where the team is going, including any challenges or obstacles.
Show how the future connects with the past to make the journey more meaningful.
Seize the moment and when the timing is right
When to move is as important as what you do.
Big picture thinking keeps you on target.
He that is everywhere is nowhere.
To get things done, you need to focus.
To get the right things done, you need to consider the big picture.
You will only stay on target if you put your daily activities in context to the bigger picture.
Big-picture thinking allows you to see what others see.
One of the most important skills you can develop in human relations is the ability to see things from the other person’s point of view.
All human interactions are enhanced by the ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes.
Look beyond yourself, your own interests, and your own world. When you work to consider an issue from every possible angle, examine it in the light of another’s history, discover the interests and concern of others, and try to set aside your own agenda, you begin to see what others see. And that is a powerful thing.
Big-picture thinking promotes teamwork.
It is important that the team members see the whole picture, no just their own part.
The better the grasp team members have of the big picture, the greater their potential to work together as a team.
Big picture thinking keeps you from being caught up in the mundane.
Big picture thinkers don’t let the grind get to them, because they don’t lose sight of the all-important overview.
The person who forgets the ultimate is a slave to the immediate.
Big picture thinking helps you chart uncharted territory.
The world was built by people who “crossed bridges” in their minds long before anyone else did.
The only way to break new ground or move into uncharted territory is to look beyond the immediate and see the big picture.
How to acquire the wisdom of big-picture thinking: You need to add big-picture thinking to your abilities. To become a good thinker better able to see the big picture, keep in mind the following suggestions:
Don’t strive for certainty
Big-picture thinkers are comfortable with ambiguity.
Don’t try to force every observation or piece of data into per-formulated mental cubby holes.
Think broadly and juggle many seemingly contradictory thoughts in their minds.
Get used to embracing and dealing with complex and diverse ideas.
Learn from every experience
Big-picture thinkers broaden their outlook by striving to learn from every experience.
Don’t rest on your successes, learn from them.
Learn from your failures.
Remain teachable.
Varied experiences, both positive and negative, help you see the big picture.
The greater the varieties of experience and success, the more potential to learn you have.
Get out there and try a lot of things, take a lot of chances, and take time to learn after every victory or defeat.
Gain insight from a variety of people.
Learn from experiences you do not have.
Learn by receiving insight from others, from customers, employees, colleagues and leaders.
Seek out counselors to help you. (Be wise in who you ask for help)
Gaining insight from a variety of people does not mean stopping anyone and everyone in hallways and grocery store lines and asking what they think about a given subject. (Be selective)
Talk to people who know and care about you, who know their field, and who bring experience deeper and broader than your own.
Give yourself permission to expand your world.
If you want to become a big-picture thinker, you will have to go against the flow of the world. (Society wants to keep people in boxes)(Want what can be, not what was)
2. Engage in focused thinking
“Knowledge is power only if a man knows what the facts are not to bother about.”
Focused thinking removes distractions and mental clutter so that you can concentrate on an issue and think with clarity.
Focused thinking can do several things for you:
Focused thinking harnesses energy toward a desired goal.
Focus can bring energy and power to almost anything, whether physical or mental.
The greater the difficulty of a problem or issue, the more focused thinking time is necessary to solve it.
Focused thinking gives ideas time to develop.
The birthing of a potential breakthrough often results from sharing many good ideas.
Shift from being expansive in your thinking to being selective.
A good idea can become a great idea when it is given focus time.
When focused thinking is at its best, not only does the idea grow but so do you.
Focused thinking brings clarity to the target.
Goals help motivate. Goals do motivate.
Focus on a clear target.
Focus helps you to know the goal- to achieve the goal.
Focused thinking will take you to the next level.
The only way to get to the next level is to focus.
The immature mind hops from one thing to the other; the mature mind seeks to follow through.
Where should you focus your thinking?: Be selective, not exhaustive, in your focused thinking. Dedicate in-depth thinking to four areas; leadership, creativity, communication, and intentional networking.
Identify your priorities.
Take account of your priorities- for yourself, your family, and your team.
“A conclusion is the place where you get tired of thinking”
You do not want others to set your agenda.
Focus on your strengths, the things that make best use of your skills and God-given talents.
Focus on what brings the highest return and reward.
Do what you enjoy and do best.
Use the 80/20 rule; give 80 percent of your effort to the top 20 percent (most important) activities.
Give your attention to the areas that bear fruit.
Discover your gifts.
Set more immediate goals for yourself.
Interview positive friends and family members to see where they think you shine.
Spend time reflecting on past successes.
If you’re going to focus your thinking in your areas of strength, you need to know what they are.
Develop your dream.
If you want to achieve great things, you need to have a great dream.
If you’re not sure of your dream, use your focused thinking time to help you discover it.
Once you find your dream, move forward without second guessing.
The younger you are, the more likely you will give your attention to many things. (That’s good because if you’re young you’re still getting to know yourself, your strengths and weaknesses.)
If you focus your thinking on only one thing and your aspirations change, then you’ve wasted your best mental energy.
As you get older and more experienced, the need to focus becomes more critical.
The farther and higher you go, the more focused you can be- and need to be.
How can you stay focused?: Once you have a handle on what you should think about, you must decide how to better focus on it.
Remove distractions.
Maintain the discipline of practicing your priorities.
Don’t do easy things first or hard things first or urgent things first, do first things first- the activities that give you the highest return (in that way, you keep distractions to a minimum.)
Insulate yourself from distractions.
The best way to resolve the tension is to understand the value of both activities.
Remove yourself periodically so that you can unleash the potential of focused thinking.
Make time for focused thinking.
Once you have a place to think, you need the time to think.
Multi-tasking is not always a good idea.
Switching from task to task can cost you up to 40 percent efficiency.
You will get more done by focusing on one task at a time, according to researchers.
One way to gain time for focused thinking is to impose upon yourself a rule that on company implemented.
Focus on your energies on your number on priority.
Put non-productive time wasters on hold so that you can create thinking time for yourself.
Keep items of focus before you.
Concentration is the secret of strength in politics, in war, in trade, in short in all management of human affairs.
Keep important items before you.
Ask someone to keep bringing an important item up over and over again, also to give you additional information in reference.
Set goals.
The mind will not focus until it has clear objectives.
The purpose of goals is to focus your attention and give you direction, not to identify a final destination.
Goals should be:
Clear enough to be kept in focus
Close enough to be achieved
Helpful enough to change lives
Be sure to write down your goals.
If you can’t write your idea on the back of a card/paper, you do not have a clear idea.
Question your progress
Take a good look at yourself from time to time to see whether you are actually making progress.
Looking at yourself to see if you are making progress is the most accurate measure of whether you are making the best use of focused thinking.
Ask yourself, “Am I seeing a return for my investment of focused thinking time? Is what I am doing getting me closer to my goals? Am I headed in a direction that helps me fulfill my commitments, maintain my priorities, and realize my dreams?”
What are you giving up to go up?: Find the one thing you do well and don’t do anything else. You have to give up many things.
I can’t know everyone.
Choose a strong inner circle of people.
Ask certain friends to catch you up on what’s happening in other friend’s lives.
I can’t do everything.
There are only a few exceptional opportunities in any person’s lifetime.
Strive for excellence in a few things rather than many things.
Practice the 10-80-10 principle with the people whom delegate a given task. Help the first 10 percent by casting vision, laying down parameters, providing resources, and giving encouragement. Once they have done the middle 80 percent, help them take whatever it is the rest of the way, if you can.
I can’t go everywhere.
Traveling is one of our great joys.
So much time is consumed doing what you are called to do.
I can’t be well rounded.
Ninety-nine percent of everything in life I don’t need to know about.
Try to focus on the one percent that gives the highest return/
It’s a good way to stay in balance with life.
Being willing to give up some of the things you love in order to focus on what has the greatest impact is not an easy subject to learn.
The sooner you embrace it, the sooner you can dedicate yourself to excellence in what matters most.
3. Harness Creative Thinking
The most valuable thing you can offer the world is your creative thinking.
Creative thinking is a composite of other thoughts discovered along the way.
Characteristics of creative thinkers:
Creative thinkers value ideas.
Highly creative people are dedicated to ideas. They don’t rely on their talent alone; they rely on their discipline. Their imagination is like a second skin. They know how to manipulate to its fullest.
Creativity is about having ideas- lots of them.
You will have ideas only if you value ideas.
Creative thinkers explore options.
Creative thinkers love options, if that’s not in the equation then you are not using the complete extent of creative thinking.
Exploring a multitude of possibilities helps to stimulate the imagination, and imagination is crucial to creativity.
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Place a very high value on options. For best result.
High value on options provide the key to finding the best answer- not the only answer.
Good thinkers come up with the best answers.
Create back-up plans that provide alternatives.
This will help you influence and lead others.
Creative thinkers embrace ambiguity.
Creative people don’t feel the need to stamp out uncertainty.
Take delight in exploring those gaps-or use imagination to fill them in.
Creative thinkers celebrate the offbeat.
Creativity, by its very nature, often explores off the beaten path and goes against the grain.
To foster creativity in yourself or others, be willing to tolerate a little oddness.
Creative thinkers connect the unconnected.
There is great value in being able to connect one idea to another, especially to seemingly unrelated ideas.
Creativity is especially expressed in the ability to make connections, to make associations, to turn things around and express them in a new way.
You may know where you are going, but only as you move toward your destination can you see and experience things in a way not possible before you started.
Think→Collect→Create→Correct→Connect
Once you begin to think, you are free to collect.
What material relates to this thought?
Once you have the material, you can figure out what ideas can make the thought better.
After that, you can correct and refine.
What changes can make this idea better.
Creative thinkers don’t fear failure
Creativity demands the ability to be unafraid of failure because creativity equals failure.
“Anxiety is the essential condition of intellectual and artistic creation.
It means getting out on a limb-knowing that the limb often breaks.
Just don’t let the ideas that don’t work prevent them from coming up with more ideas that do work.
Why you should discover the joy of creative thinking: Creativity can improve a person’s quality of life.
Creative thinking adds value to everything.
Creative thinking gives you limitless reservoir of ideas that you could draw upon at any time.
No matter what you are currently able to do, creativity can increase your capabilities.
Creativity is being able to see what everybody else has seen and think what nobody else has thought so that you can do what nobody else has done.
Creative thinking sometimes lies along with the lines of invention.
Other times it moves along the lines of innovation, which helps you to do old things in a new way.
Either way, it’s seeing the world through sufficiently new eyes so that new solutions appear, it always adds value.
Creative thinking compounds
Creative thinking is hard work but, creative thinking compounds given enough time and focus.
Perhaps more than any other kind of thinking, creative thinking builds on itself and increases the creativity of the thinker.
The more you use, the more you have.
Too often creativity is smothered rather than nurtured.
If you cultivate creative thinking in an environment that nurtures creativity, there’s no telling what kind of ideas you can come up with.
Creative thinking draws people to you and your ideas.
Creativity is intelligence having fun.
People admire intelligence, they are always attracted to fun-so the combination is fantastic.
If you cultivate creativity, you will become more attractive to other people, and they will be drawn to you.
Creative thinking helps you learn more.
Creativity is the joy of not knowing it all. The joy of not knowing it all refers to the realization that we seldom if ever have all the answers; we always have the ability to generate more solutions to just about any problem.
Being creative is being able to see or imagine a great deal of opportunity to life’s problems.
Creativity is having options.
If you are always actively seeking new ideas, you will learn.
Creativity is teach ability.
It is seeing more solutions than problems.
The greater the quantity of thoughts, the greater the chance for learning something new.
Creative thinking challenges the status quo.
If you desire to improve your world-or even your own situation-then creativity will help you.
The status quo and creativity are incompatible.
Creativity and innovation always walk hand in hand.
How to discover the joy of creative thinking: How do I find the creativity within me? Here are five ways to do it:
Remove creativity killers.
Value the warmth of creativity over cold facts.
Eliminate attitudes that devalue creative thinking.
The following phrases are almost guaranteed to kill creative thinking any time you hear (or think) them:
I’m not a creative person.
Follow the rules.
Don’t ask questions.
Don’t be different
Stay within the lines.
There is only one way.
Don’t be foolish.
Be practical.
Be serious.
Think of your image.
That’s not logical.
It’s not practical.
It’s never been done.
It can’t be done.
It didn’t work for the them
We tried that before.
It’s too much work
We can’t afford to make a mistake.
It will be too hard to administer.
We don’t have the time
We don’t have the money
Play is frivolous.
Failure is final.
If you think you have a great idea, don’t let anyone talk you out of it even if it sounds foolish.
Don’t let yourself or anyone else subject you to creativity killers.
You can’t do something new and exciting if you force yourself to stay in the same old rut.
Don’t just work harder at the same old thing, make a change.
Think creatively by asking the right questions.
Creativity is largely a matter of asking the right questions.
Wrong questions shut down the process of creative thinking. They direct thinkers down the same old path, or they chide them into believing that thinking isn’t necessary at all.
To stimulate creative thinking, ask yourself questions such as:
Why must is be done this way?
What is the root problem?
What are the underlying issues?
What does this remind me of?
What is the opposite?
What metaphor or symbol helps to explain it?
Why is it important?
What’s the hardest or most expensive way to do it?
Who has a different perspective on this?
What happens if we don’t do it at all?
If you do not ask ‘Why this?’ often enough, somebody will ask, ‘why you?’
If you want to think creatively, you must ask good questions. You must challenge the process.
Develop a creative environment.
A creative environment:
Encourages creativity:
When innovation and good thinking are openly encourages and rewarded, then people will see that that they have permission to be creative.
Places a high value on trust among team members and individuality:
Creativity always risks failure.
Trust is so important to creative people.
Trust comes from people working together, from knowing that people on the team have experience launching successful, creative ideas, and from the assurance that creative ideas won’t go to waste, because they will be implemented.
Embraces those who are creative:
Creative people celebrate the offbeat.
Be filled with energy, ideas, and laughter.
Focus on innovation, not just invention:
You don’ necessarily need a groundbreaking idea to make a career out of creativity.
A good definition of creativity is the logical result in a new concept.
The best way to make a living with your imagination is to develop innovative applications, no imagine completely new concepts.
Is willing to let people go outside the lines:
Most limitations we face are not imposed on us by others; we place them on ourselves.
Lack of creativity often falls into that category.
If you want to be more creative, challenge boundaries.
Appreciate the power of a dream:
A creative environment promotes the freedom of a dream.
A creative environment encourages the use of a blank sheet of paper and the question, “If we could draw a picture of what we want to accomplish, what would that look like?”
Goals may give focus, but dreams give power.
Dreams expand the world.
The more creativity-friendly you can make your environment, the more potential it has to become creative.
Spend time with other creative people.
Change jobs if your work has an environment hostile to creativity, and you possess little ability to change it.
If you want to continue to work there, try to find a way to spend time with other creative people.
Creativity is contagious.
It’s a fact that you start to think like the people you spend a lot of time with.
The more time you spend with creative people engaging in creative activities, the more creative you will become.
Get out of your box.
If you obey all the rules, you will miss all the fun.
Break out of the “box” of history and personal limitations in order to experience creative breakthroughs.
Expose yourself to new paradigms is one of the best ways to break out of the box.
Explore other cultures, countries, and traditions. Find out how people very different from you live and think. Read on new subjects.
If you want to break out of your own box, get into someone else’s.
4. Employ Realistic Thinking
Reality Check
Reality is the difference between what we wish for and what is.
You have to engage in realistic thinking if you want to solve problems and learn from mistakes.
We make realistic thinking the foundation of our business because we derive certainty and security from it.
Why you should recognize the importance of realistic thinking.
Cultivating the ability to be realistic in your thinking will not undermine your faith in people, nor will it lessen your ability to see and seize opportunities. Instead it will add value to you in other ways:
Realistic thinking minimizes downside risk.
Actions always have consequences; realistic thinking helps you to determine what those consequences could be.
Its crucial, because only by recognizing and considering consequences can you plan for them.
If you plan for the worst-case scenario, you can minimize the downside risk.
Realistic thinking gives you a target and game plan.
Hope is not a strategy.
Realistic thinking leads to excellence in leadership and management because it requires people to face reality.
They begin to define their target and develop a game plan to hit it.
When people engage in realistic thinking, they also begin to simplify practices and procedures, which results in better efficiency.
Realistic thinkers understand the difference between the important decisions and those that are merely necessary in the normal course of business.
The decisions that matter relate directly to your purpose.
Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment.
Realistic thinking is a catalyst for change.
People who rely on hope for their success rarely make change a high priority.
If you have only hope, you imply that achievement and success are out of your hands. It is a matter of luck or chance.
Change alone doesn’t bring growth without change.
Realistic thinking provides security.
Any time you have thought through the worst that can happen and you have developed contingency plans to meet it, you become more confident and secure.
Disappointment is the difference between expectations and reality.
Realistic thinking minimizes the difference between the two.
Realistic thinking gives you credibility
Realistic thinking helps people to buy in to the leader and his or her vision.
Leaders continually surprised by the unexpected soon lose credibility with their followers. On the other hand, leaders who think realistically and plan accordingly position their organizations to win.
The best leaders ask realistic questions before casting vision. They ask themselves things like:
Is it possible?
Does this dream include everyone or just a few?
Have I identified and articulated the areas that will make this dream difficult to achieve?
Realistic thinking provides a foundation to build on.
The value of a good idea is in using it.
Realistic thinking helps you to make an idea usable by taking away the “wish” factor.
Realistic thinking provides a solid foundation.
Realistic thinking is a friend to those in trouble.
Realistic thinking gives you something concrete to fall back on during times of trouble, which can be very reassuring.
Certainty in the midst of uncertainty bring stability.
Realistic thinking brings the dream to fruition.
If you don’t get close enough to a problem, you can’t tackle it.
If you don’t take a realistic look at your dream-and what it will take to accomplish it-you will never achieve it.
Realistic thinking helps to pave the way for bringing any dream to fruition.
How to recognize the importance of realistic thinking.
Develop an appreciation for truth.
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing has happened.
Our society finds truth too strong a medicine to digest undiluted. In its purest form, truth is not a polite tap on the shoulder, it is a howling reproach.
In other words, the truth will set you free-but first it will make you angry.
If you want to become a realistic thinker, however, you need to get comfortable dealing with the truth and face up to it.
Do your homework.
First, get the facts.
Learn the facts of the situation, make the decision which seems to you to be the most honest, and then stick to it.
It does not matter how sound your thinking is if it’s based on faulty data or assumptions.
You can’t think well in the absence of facts (or in the presence of poor information).
You can also find out what others have done in similar circumstances.
Your thinking doesn’t necessarily have to be original; it just has to be solid.
Some of the best thinking comes from others.
Think through the pros and cons.
It helps you dig into the facts, examine an issue from many angles, and really count the cost of a possible course of action.
Picture the worst case scenario.
The essence of realistic thinking is discovering, picturing, and examining the worst case scenario. Ask yourself questions such as:
What if sales fall short of projections?
What if revenue hits rock bottom? (Real rock bottom.)
What if we don’t win the account?
What if the client doesn’t pay us?
What if we have to do the job short-handed?
What if our best player gets sick?
What if all the colleges reject my application?
What if the market goes belly up?
What if the volunteers quit?
What if nobody shows up?
You need to think about worst case possibilities whether you are running a business, leading a department, pastoring a church, coaching a team, or planning your personal finances.
Your goal isn’t to be negative or to expect the worst, just to be ready for it in case it happens. That way, you give yourself the best chance for a positive result-no matter what.
You will be ready for anything.
Deliberate with caution, but act with decision; and yield with graciousness or oppose with firmness.
Align your thinking with your resources.
One of the keys to maximizing the realistic thinking is to aligning your resources with your objectives.
Once you know what those gaps are, you can use your resources to fill them.
