Knowledge Fulcrum

I recently read an interesting article about the effect that feeling helpless has on our emotional state and sense of control.

“Even the most laid back among us crave a sense of control, and when we feel helpless we scour our surroundings for anything that will restore predictability.  New research shows that when we lack control we don’t simply wait for order to return: we impose it, if only in our own minds, by imagining patterns and trends where none exist.

In six experiments, psychologist Jennifer Whitson of the University of Texas at Austin and Adam Galinsky of Northwestern University manipulated subjects’ sense of control. Results showed that not having control caused participants to mistakenly see an image in a field of static, to smell conspiracy in other people’s benign behavior, to embrace superstitious  beliefs and to perceive nonexistent stock-market trends.  Such illusory perceptions evaporated when participants were first denied control but then given an opportunity to write about their most deeply held values, an activity that bolsters psychological security and quells feelings of helplessness.”

So I now ask myself: is it therapeutic to write as much as I do, and about what I do?  It might be considered therapeutic.  But I also know that I have something to say.  I know that I have experiences to bring to the table in this current economy. As I write, and when I write, I find myself taking stock of my experiences in my 20 year career.  I ask myself — how can I wield those experiences and invest them, infuse them into this blog so that readers, and as a collective, we can all change the course, and apply what we know.  There’s a galaxy of collective wisdom among us.  The best and brightest in our Nation’s Capitol are at work on the issues of our day.

I’m not sure that my craving for control is real because after all, what is “real” anyway?  I do believe that it’s our nature to express our thoughts and beliefs and in the process we constantly shape and re-shape our own sense of reality and control — the sense of ourselves to ourselves.

So much of what we hear today is focused on negative banter about what’s happened, who’s to blame, etc.  Maybe we need to spend more time talking and thinking about what is possible. 

We are beings driven by our conscious and sub-conscious minds.  Our behaviors are directly linked to our thoughts.  We control more than we realize.

I’ve been a huge fan of R. Buckminster Fuller for many years.  In his first book “Nine Chains to the Moon” Fuller coined the term ephemeralization – which refers to the ability of people to use technology advances to continuously do more with less.  His vision was that ephemeralization will result in an ever-increasing standard of living for an ever-growing population despite finite resources.

Here’s a simple illustration of this idea.  In 1520 Magellan spent 2 years sailing in a wooden boat around the globe.  350 years later steam ships could navigate the earth in just 2 months time.  75 years later an airplane, made of alloys, took  2 weeks to fly around the world.  35 years later a space capsule, made from exotic alloys, needed one hour to circle the earth.  The rate of advancement is increasing at an exponential rate.  

How has ephemeralization affected what is possible?  Talking and thinking about what is possible starts with you, and it starts with me.  We define how and what we can do to make our world different.  Maybe it’s simply spending 1 hour a day thinking about what’s possible for your life, dreaming of what will make your life better for you, your family, and your fellow humans without any limitations.  I do know that we cannot turn back time and change the place we find ourselves living in today.  We’re being carried to the doorstep of “necessity” – as it becomes increasingly clear that our past and current ways of dealing with our crisis won’t yield the desired results.  Today we have the opportunity to elevate our culture, our society, and ourselves beyond our primal urges.  We can exchange greed and fear for collaboration and acceptance.   And, we do this simply by our actions right now.  Perhaps a starting place would be to think about one small thing you can do today – now — that will begin to make your dream a reality.   Inaction is our only means of failure.

Last Thursday was an indulgent day for me.  I spent it with my friend, Simon Sinek and a group of fellow entrepreneurs (EO).  For those of you who’ve had the chance to see Simon speak, you’ll understand what I’m about to share.  For those of you who haven’t – well, you owe it to yourself to find a chance to see him.   Simon’s sole mission is to inspire others into action.  If I were to draw a picture of this it would look like this:

Inspiration is something that’s difficult to describe, yet we all know what it feels like.  This is because inspiration comes from the part of the mind that words have a difficult time describing.  A good analogy is this: how would you describe the color red to someone who’s been blind their entire life?  

What’s so special to me about inspiration is the effect it has on people and their actions.  It’s inspiration that drives people to imagine unthinkable ideas, and it’s inspiration that keeps them moving toward their vision.  It’s the same feeling that drove Thomas Edison to endure thousands of failures before he found the one filament that worked for his incandescent light bulb.

I belive it’s this same source of human energy that motivates entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams.  It’s the same source of energy that motivates employees and customers to follow a leader – even through the face of adversity.  Last Thursday, I was able to look around the room as Simon spoke.  I saw something very special.  There were over 100 people – most of them highly charged, busy entrepreneurs, and each of them were on the edge of their seat for two hours.  It takes something very special to do that.  It takes someone who lives a purposeful life and is not satisfied until he has inspired every human being on the planet.  I wonder how much energy Simon created last Thursday?  It would be interesting to know.  I know he inspired me – thank you, Simon. Thank you very much.