Saturday, February 17, 2007

Yes Attitude of Spirit

by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com

Yes! Attitude by Jeffrey Gitomer... How to Find, Build, and keep a Yes! Attitude for a lifetime of Success.

Yes! Attitude is loaded with proverbial statements, short truths and of course the Gitomer humor... the cartoons are LOL types.

Some things can sneak up on you and be life changing. The Yes! Attitude could very well be one of those things.The more I read it the more it was getting to me that I was not as optimistic, a Yes! Attitude person, as I thought I was. I walked past the book several times in the bookstore, before a friend told me to check it out.

Here’s the gist of it.

"You become what you think about all day long."
(Earl Nightingale)
Now just think about this... simply true.

"It's your thoughts behind the words you speak that create your attitude."
(Jeffrey Gitomer)

In short phrases, graphics, short quips, Gitomer processes you through the Yes! Attitude which he suggests you read, study, practice, keep and refer to a lot.

So it's short, progressively leading you through his 5.5 elements of the Yes! Attitude.

1. Insight to your inside attitude
"Attitude is Everything and Foundations of Everything." Yes! is better than positive... when things go exuberantly well we scream Yes! When we want it to go well we incite a yes deep inside of us. Positive attitudes start inside(your view of yourself) and then become attractive and contagious to others. Attitude-- your choice, your response, your control over the choice. Take the Gitomer attitude self test... Now, you know where to start and we all have some attitude lapses we need to work on.The Gitomer test shows us which ones.

2. Attitude Self-awareness
Cocky and the arrogant say "I know that."and move on. Confident and positive ask themselves, "How good am I at that?" and seek to improve. "Concentrate on Fundamentals.“ Most of all success is achieved that way. (Lay-ups win basketball games...make them.)

Attitude busters: Things and people. It's your reaction to them that matters. It's not their fault... "It's you!" And it always has been. Be aware of your attitude; be aware of others. "If you have nothing nice to say about someone, don't say anything." Be aware of being aware. Life happens. Get back to Yes!

3. Attitude Actions... become a person of attitude
Be a person who walks the talk. Be nice, be kind, smile, make friends, say nice things, praise others, take responsibility, be proud of work and accomplishments. Don't worry, be happy! Use great few words when starting phrases. Use words like....Great!, No Problem, I can Help!, Consider it Done.

Attitude actions include: It's no one's fault but me, it's a choice, invest in time in positive people, books, CD's, seminars. Avoid negative talk, negative news, unbecoming words; instead celebrate victories and count your blessings. Do this ALL the time. Learn good stuff, talk about it to others, act on it, and start each day on it. Do it with everyone you meet, live with, work with, are intimate with.

Build belief, your belief...uncovering your "why's" for belief. Put your Yes! beliefs where you see them all the time, say them out loud all day long... to self and others.

4. Attitude Attributes... think about your best qualities
"The main reason people rain on my parade is because they have no parade of their own." Laugh a lot, be funny, and make others’ laugh. Lead with a smile. "I believe that a smile is the attribute of a positive attitude, both for yourself and perception of others." Adjust your environments and associations " to be the best for you."

5. Attitude Achievements... the formula for Yes! Attitude Achievement
It will work if you work it. The Gitomer formula: “Decide you're willing to go for it. Decide it will take a year to set a new thought pattern. Start each morning with some positive exposure, wisdom, or expression.

Get rid of negative people in your life. Avoid the violence on TV and in movies. Ignore idiots and zealots. Make your own environment. Read books that will get you going at the start of the day. Listen to recorded messages of positive people. Surround yourself in the external environments that breed success. Create new associations that will boost your desire to be positive. Smile all the time. Respond to everything in the positive. Select one positive message or one passage everyday to focus on that day.

”Always wake up and read, write, think on something positive." At the end of the day, drain your brain of all the negatives. Write everything down--problems, challenges, obstacles, then take a Yes! Attitude to solve them. Do to-do, to-call, to-get, to-resolve, to-pay lists. Thinking solutions increases hope, positive feelings, more Yes! Attitudes.

5.5 Attitude Fulfillment
Fulfillment is wanting more, but being at peace with what you have. Give yourself permission to enjoy everything. Your attitude is a gift, a blessing... and it's one you can give to your self, give to others, and your special love.

Note the Jeffrey Gitomer web:
www.gitomer.com

There is also a Book in the Bible that is a Super Yes! Attitude little book. Mark in the New Testament is loaded with the miracle power behind being a yes person, a person of belief, a person of faith. One supreme thought in it is when Jesus said “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too." (Mark 11: 23-24, NLT)

If we carry with us a forgiving heart, we can believe God grants justice to us above what we can do. If we leave it in His hands, He will respond also to all our requests. It is to believe in your heart, your deepest soul, that what you pray for, If You Believe, you will receive.

Jesus goes on to say through John 14 that "if you ask for anything in my name I will do it." That is according to His will for you and others around. We are part of a gigantic team. We all inter-relate and each of our lives affect someone else in all we do. So being forgiving and doing things to Jesus plan, lays the ground work for incredible miracles in our lives. Just look at Yes Attitude results just in this little book of Mark's, the Apostle.

Faith, The Yes! Attitude, in Spirit grew massively.
Selections from Mark: (NLT)
That evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. So Jesus healed many people who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons.

A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.

The news about his miracles had spread far and wide, and vast numbers of people came to see him.

She fell to her knees in front of him… And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

“Your daughter is dead. Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”
“Little girl, get up!” And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! They were overwhelmed and totally amazed.

All these people believed in Jesus, they had the Yes! Attitude in Spirit. Because of their faith, they were healed.

Jesus scolded His disciples when they lacked faith. “…a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water... When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Jesus will even heal your lack of faith, if you ask.
What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes. ”The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

“Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” For the ability to believe, have a yes attitude in Spirit.

Take the Faith, Belief Scriptures and write them everyday, say them everyday, think on them constantly and make them your mental anthems, and constantly proclaim it verbally as true for you.

Prevailing prayer prevails.
“Persevere in full assurance that we will have what we ask for. He so highly prizes our confidence in Him. With such faith we cannot fail to inherit the blessing."
The Ministry of Intercession by Andrew Murray.

Jesus will perform miracles for you if you just ask, believe, forgive and respect what He is about. He begs us to just say Yes! to faith in Him and what He wants to do for us. "Ask what you will and He will do it."

This is the ultimate gift of the Yes Attitude. If you believe, have a Yes! Attitude of Spirit. When you pray, you petition the whole universe and it will respond to what you ask for with unbending Belief. Our biggest obstacle is ourselves… the lack of our own Belief. The Belief in His Mission for us. Work on your own belief, His power and love for you, and begin to see things change.

Do you seek after His Mission or just self interest? He promises to equip you with Supernatural gifts of His Spirit when we seek to fulfill His Mission for us.

“...loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. He gave up his divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave... He humbled himself in obedience to God... (Philippians 2: 2-7, NLT, Note all of Philippians 2.)

He will say Yes! to The Mission you have for your life.
He will build the skills you need for this mission,
and respond to requests with a
Yes! Attitude in Spirit.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Made to Stick Using Heavenly Powers

by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. This is a great guide book for anyone in the business of communication that it’s imperative what they communicate makes a difference.

Made to Stick is a guide on how to make your ideas stick. This means that your ideas are understood and remembered, and have lasting impact--they change your audiences opinions or behavior. The principle of "Sticky Ideas" include these traits: simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, and story. So the acronym is created "succes."

Using this as a system, creativity can be created systematically. Most non-creative people will find this helpful in formulating sticky ways to make their ideas grab a hold of others and stay. So they coined the phrase "systematic creativity." (Personally, I used this method when producing videos for companies. It creates effective unique twists through the process.)

Simple
Finding the core of the idea. Stripping the idea down to its most critical essence, eliminating the superfluous and tangential elements, weeding out the important and getting to the most important element of the idea. Getting from knowing the idea to effective sharing and achieving the idea's priorities.

So Simple = Core + Compact. Finding the most important, making it concise so it quickly zings through. Create clever metaphors and proverbs that hit home with depth and quickly.

Unexpected
This is what gets people's attention--which you must do. Surprise gets our attention; interest keeps our attention. Point out things people don't know. Find the knowledge gap. Propose you have a solution.

Concrete
Move from the abstract to the tangible, specific... in concept, common analogies work well. What makes something concrete is being able to examine something with your senses. V8 engine is concrete; "high performance" is abstract. Concrete foundations must be built... it is essential to teach abstract principles. Naturally, sticky ideas have concrete words and images. Create concrete images to see, and it can become memorable. More experienced/ educated people see more images than less experienced/educated people. So to be sticky their images must be reconstructed to the other level.

Memory works like Velcro.. the more loops that you can find hooks for, the stronger the memory. Find the loops, past experiences, and create hooks, relevant ideas, and stickiness increases proportionately.

Credible
What makes someone believe in you, your idea? Experts with extensive credentials; celebrities with their notoriety are viewed as authorities. But authority can be found through antiauthority ...someone with an experience that is true, honest, and trustworthy... can many times out perform authorities in credibility (such as, common people wit, exceptional experience, unsung heros).

Also, a person's good handle on details extends authority... especially details compelling and human, meaningful and support our core idea. Statistics work when a relationship is drawn within human, everyday context. And then making a cross over to a similar application or situation. "If it can make it here, it can make it there."

Emotions
For people to act, they got to care. Associate ideas with emotions that already exist. Tap what's already there. Don't over use or an idea will lose its kick. Use "uniquely," timely, sparingly. So an idea is uniquely associated. People must care about something to relate it to something they do care about. Appeal to self interest, their identities, to who they are now as well as the people they'll be like.

Story
Stories are powerful. They provide “simulation (knowledge about how to act) and inspiration (motivation to act)." Credible makes people believe, emotional makes people care, stories make people act. We play out mental simulations and re-enact them in real life. When we lead someone through the process, of mental simulation (via stories) they are more likely to re-enact the process again. Stories carry the concrete, emotion, credibility, suspense (the unexpected) and are simple to follow.

How do people spot (become drawn to) a great story. The art of spotting includes three plots: The challenge plot, the connection plot, the creativity plot.
People being drawn to the little guy who overcomes a great obstacle (challenge plot); two unlikely partners help each other (connection plot); someone went about to solve a problem in a most unusual way (creativity plot).

For an idea to stick it has to make your audience...
1. Pay attention (unexpected)
2. Understand, remember (concrete)
3. Agree/believe (credible)
4. Care (emotional)
5. Be able to act on it (story)

The Made to Stick easy reference guide.
1. Simple--find the core, share the core
2. Unexpected--get attention: surprise, hold attention: interest
3. Concrete--help people understand and remember, help people coordinate (find common ground)
4. Credible--help people believe, external credibility(authority, antiauthority--those who have been there); internal credibility (convincing details, relating statistics, cross over test)
5. Emotional--make people care, use power of association, appeal to self-interest, appeal to identity
6. Stories--stories as simulations (tell people how to act), stories as inspiration (give people energy to act).

More on Made to Stick at:
www.madetostick.com

Jesus was a master of the Made to Stick findings.
His message was simple... love God with all your heart, soul, mind and love your neighbor as much as you love yourself, and you will fulfill all the commandments. The Religious groups of His day made things very complex... they had just hundreds of commandments and laws in that no one could keep at all.

He used the unexpected. Put mud on and spit on eyes to heal blindness. He didn’t condemn a woman who lived a whoring lifestyle.

It was concrete...Whatever you do to the least you are doing to me. The least being the hungry, thirsty, strangers, prisoners, despicable. He gave attention to crooked accountants, rebels of the day, beggars, widowed women, little children.

He walked in credibility and walked with authority and antiauthority. Those who heard Him said He spoke with authority and wasn't like the scribes and religious show offs who delighted to wax eloquent in their speeches. As a common-looking person, from a simple family, Jesus’ lifestyle showed off true spectacular events, ideas and character.

"Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. (Luke 20:46, NLT)

The prophets' predictions pointed to Jesus. The predictions came true with what He was doing. His many miracles proved He had authority from Heaven.

He cared with His emotions. He looked at the crowds and had compassion for them. Even fed them with a miracle by taking a family size meal and converting it into a meal for thousands. No one had a clue how He did it, but His compassion for the masses, which He saw as individuals, moved Him.

He was a spell-bound story teller. The art of a connection plot came through in the good Samaritan story..."A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, 'Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I'll pay you the next time I'm here.' "
(Luke 10: 30-35, NLT)


Samaritans were socially, polar opposites to the Jews.
They were flagrantly hostile towards each other. Luke records many parable-like stories that Jesus used to explain Spiritual principles so regular folks can get it.

Jesus has one more secret to add to the made to stick formula...that we all would have access to the very Spirit of God. That, through His Spirit, we can talk directly to other hearts of men without using words. This is a powerful bonus to life. Hidden in prayer, when we pray, and made real. We then see the results of this Power of Spirit coming out of others.

"And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven." Luke 24:49

This power has the same Power of God that created Heaven, earth and all the elements of the universe. We have access to this power. This power makes ideas stick in minds, stay in hearts and changes behaviors for ever. This stickiness is the most powerful glue we can use in making impact in all we are involved in... making ideas stick. Through prayer we can make ideas grab a hold, change attitudes, opinions.
Develop the Prayer Skill.
(See John 16 and also note:
"Purpose in Prayer" by E. M. Bounds; try a Google search on it.)

"Ask of Me and I will give you the nations" (Psalm 2:8)
declares the prophet David about God's heart for you.
Ask God and the Holy Spirit will respond in great Power.

Ask and The Spirit of God will work with you,
in alliance with you, as your every-minute walking partner
in all your times, events and moments of your day.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Good to Great and Beyond

by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com

Good to Great (2001) by Jim Collins: "How to build a good organization into one that produces sustained great results." Six years since its release it is still a top ten biz best seller. It has enduring principles for business.

As we look over the last 5 years, the companies with buffooning problems would have solved their problems if they had applied Good to Great insight. Here is an outline of these stalwart business precepts that if all followed, applied, integrated within their systems, we could in decades move to new powerful heights as a business nation.

The first part of a business process is the build up. Then comes the breakthrough. But a certain path must be taken to get there. Here's the way:

The Build Up

Level 5 Leadership
Not Big personalities; but quiet, reserved, blending personal humility and professional will. The ambition is for the company, institutional success not personal success. Charismatic leaders need to learn lessons on how to involve others, build up others, and develop the skills of their team. It's having more plow horses than show horses. Their drive is for producing sustained results.

First Who... then What
Get the right people on the bus; the wrong people off. Most important asset--not people but the right people. Not ruthless cultures, but vigorous cultures. Put your best people on your best opportunities.

Confront the Brutal Facts(Yet never lose faith)
Maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties AND at the same time have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your reality. …"conduct autopsies without blame." Create a place where everyone can be heard. Get "motivated, self-directed people" and don't de-motivate them.

The Breakthrough

The Hedgehog Concept
Simplicity within the 3 Circles
Circle 1. What you can be the best in the world at.
Circle 2. What drives your economic engine.
Circle 3. What you are deeply passionate about.
In times of trouble go back to the 3 Circles.

The Council: people who can share openly, collect ideas, sort out honestly, and then come to a best idea resolved from great councils. It's a device to get a balance of perspectives of all parts of the company using the 3 Circles. Select people knowledgeable who work in critical areas.
Keep it to 5 to 10 people.

A Culture of Discipline
"When you have disciplined people, you don't need hierarchy."
"When you have disciplined thought, you don't need bureaucracy."

Technology Accelerations
"Pioneers in the application of carefully selected technology."
Use as a strategy to accomplish the 3 circles. It can accelerate the business clock. Avoid fads and use as a strategic servant to accomplish your values. Does the technology fit within your Hedgehog theme... it’s your slave, not your master.

The Flywheel and the Doom Loop
The flywheel builds results; the doom loop lacks results and sells the future. Relentlessly pushing a flywheel in one direction, turn upon turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough and beyond. When you skip the build up and move directly to breakthrough, you risk entering the doom loop…creating a negative momentum difficult to reverse.

The Collins’ research group based their conclusions on findings, facts, and characteristics they found. They did not use a hypothesis approach to prove or disprove an assumption. They found out what worked and explained why it worked.

For more on Good to Great note the summary:
http://www.mbadepot.com/partners/goodtogreat.pdf
and Jim Collins’ website and particularly note
the Collins’ Good to Great diagnostic tool:
http://jimcollins.com/

If we would read the Bible in this way, we would maybe be better off pulling out what it is saying, than trying to make it fit preconceived ideas we have. The Bible is a life study book, loaded with spiritual case studies and enduring principles of Spirit. Just read it for yourself. See what jumps out at you and comes to mind. You can trust that as the Spirit of God speaking directly to you. Share it with a friend and see what comes of it.

The theme for progressing from good and moving to great is to be good, be humble and have patience. Humility with frankness plus respect form a winning combination. "I am not better than you. I respect you as much as I hope you respect me."

What is good?
This is a word that is one of the most vague terms we use. Talk to 20 people and you will probably get 20 different versions. So what is good? For whatever it's worth, here's my version.

Paul, the Apostle in the Bible said to fight the good fight. When he referred to fight the good fight he referred to doing what's righteous (God is Holy and we do all things in the light of what Holiness is. That still is vague and we wonder what that means and we have 1000's of very righteous groups telling us exactly what that means.)

The Apostle Paul goes on to say it is being like God, it promotes faith, expresses love, stays persevering, and is always gentle and kind. 1 Timothy 6:11, 12

Good is God, God is Holy, and to be Good is to be in God. Through Jesus Christ we have this right, privilege and ability to be in God. Jesus said to not call a man Good... "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked him. "Only God is truly good." Luke 18:19

This is to be in the very presence, person of God Himself, The Spirit of Likeness of Himself. Becoming just like Him. Then we are good. So our ability to be Good is limited by our own humanness and we come up with many definitions of what Good is, of which most are partially right but not truly great definitions.

Jesus goes on to say that "I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and they who know me do as I do. We are all one who follow one voice. I lay my life down for my sheep."

He encourages us to take the back seat;
humble yourself before others. John 10:14-17

It's humility among men, not making more of yourself that will make you appear better than others. Being able to appeal for help when needed and not being embarrassed, or too proud. Do not think you should do it all. Ask for help when you need it. Accept help when it’s offered to you. Allow others to bless you with their gifts, abilities as they have them to share and give you. If you have the same gifts as someone else who works with you, lay yours down and let the other one use theirs. The more you give up so others can shine in what they do, and allow them to use their gifts and abilities, the stronger you become as a group.

Patience then comes into play. Jesus, when hearing of His dear friend's sickness, Lazarus, waited a few days before going to him. Consequently, Lazarus died. Martha, Lazarus' sister, was at first upset that Jesus was not there. She told Jesus if you would have come he would not have died. But then she also had confidence in Jesus in that He could do whatever He wanted.

Jesus knew everything has a time and purpose. He waited because there was a greater glory everyone was going to experience. His time was for a certain time so to bring Glory to God (raising Lazarus from the dead).

We can steal of God when we move ahead of His timing and disturb His timing for His Glory. Move on God's timing.

Even Peter, the Apostle failed to be patient. He wanted to take matters in his own hands and he even told Jesus He was wrong. Jesus told His disciples to wait. Wait until the very Spirit of God would come on them... before you take action on His Mission.

Breakthroughs come when we are patient and allow the Spirit to work and then move when that power is with us and goes before us. Not forging ahead on our own, but allowing God's Spirit to do its work, and this Power of Spirit going ahead of us.

So what is great?
According to Jesus, Greatness is living in Spirit Process.
“So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven ."
“But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven !" (Matthew 5:19-20, NLT)
“I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John (the Baptist). Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!” (Luke 7:28, NLT)
“So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 18:4, NLT)

John the Baptist lived a very humble life. A child is open minded and willingly learns, without a sense of self-importance.

So then what is Great?
It is being Holy, Being in God (true Goodness),
and not into just yourself,
being humble around others,
and being patient for God to act on your behalf.
God helps us to be Great like Him?

"I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances... I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations.” (Ezekiel 36: 27-30, NASB)

Take the back seat,
wait for Spirit,
then move with the flow of Spirit... Spirit Process!

Then, you will know the power of All God's Creative power
is with you and you will have penetrating breakthroughs.

Progress from good to Great by being in God’s Greatness.
Be humble and allow the talents of others to be expressed.
Be patient and watch Divine Power work on your behalf.