The Emerging Lynchpin

Herds Happen

Will we emerge as individuals with choices and freedoms or herds without? Herds can be big or small. The individual question may be how you will influence your herd, or how your herd will influence you? That decision could change our world, and it is only a few months away.

From the term herd mentality is the word herd, meaning "group of living creatures," and mentality, implying a certain frame of a thinkable mind. The condensed and personalized definition might be: "how large numbers of people are influenced to act in the same way at the same time."

Herd behavior is distinguished from herd mentality because it applies to animals and people, whereas the term mentality implies a uniquely human phenomenon. Herd mentality can also imply a fear-based reaction to peer pressure which makes individuals act in order to avoid feeling "left behind or left out" from the group. Herd mentality is also sometimes known as "mob mentality.”

Today, we are being conditioned by unexplained and unchallenged polls, undocumented news information, articles and posts, corporate edicts, labor groups, political organizations, various religious movements, and a zillion other herding influences.

Considering the stakes, it would be well worth each of us to take a reflective inventory of how we are interconnected to these herds (e.g. all social networks are a form of herding).

The answer to how all of this may turn out could be:

“Who will influence the herds?”

As always…you will decide.

　

Zillion Dollar Thinking: Do You Have a Problem or a Decision?

Zillion Dollar Thinking: Do You Have a Problem or a Decision?: On the surface many will call these synonymous, but maybe not so fast. Often, we may gloss over this slight distinction when faced with ...

Do You Have a Problem or a Decision?

On the surface many will call these synonymous, but maybe not so fast.

Often, we may gloss over this slight distinction when faced with a decision disguised as a problem. But, if we apply the Zillion Dollar Thinking MODEL, we may come to a more extensive alternative.

To refresh, the MODEL has four distinct steps.

Discovery (the problem to be solved)

 Commitment
(the missing link)

Solution (the marriage of the real problem to the ideal remedy)

Action (the proactive plan of execution)

So using this model, finding and identifying the problem is just the first step of four in the process. Important point: Step Two often becomes the differentiator…the step of commitment.

Commitment comes in several forms: promise, pledge, vow, obligation, assurance, binder, word, guarantee, warrant, etc.

But again, when was the last time you approached problem solving with the cornerstone of commitment in the process? The reason that is vital is that without commitment it is easy to abort the issue, not dig deep enough or not follow through for a zillion other reasons.

Take away…next time you are faced with a decision you instantly brand as a problem in search of a cursory solution, consider a model approach that is sealed by a solemn and carefully crafted commitment.

The higher the stakes, the more you may need to re-consider.

As always…you decide.







　

Best Decisioning POV

“I decided not kill myself. I had been through some hard times emotionally, but I just decided to suck it up, get over it, and get on with life. It was my best decision! The world can be a great place.”

At a Wilmington rally for Democratic Delaware Senate candidate Chris Coons, President Obama laid to rest any remaining speculation that Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden might switch jobs in 2012, telling a packed crowd in Biden's home state that his choice of Biden was “the single best decision I have made.”

“Ordering AWAI's Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting was one of the best decisions I've ever made.”

“One of the best decisions I ever made was purchasing a recreational vehicle. This decision led my family and I to experience some of the most enjoyable times together that we ever thought were possible. Traveling down the road in the RV allowed us to come together for large amounts of time, but also have enough space to not feel overcrowded and infringed upon. The day I bought our family RV was the day I got my family back.”

John McCain had no regret about the biggest and most controversial decision of his unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign. Speaking to Sean Hannity on Tuesday evening in New Hampshire, McCain said naming Sarah Palin his running mate was "still the best decision I've ever made."

Alice Cooper changed his first name from the more masculine Vince…insisting it was one of the best decisions he has ever made. The veteran rocker - born Vincent Furnier - legally renamed himself in the late 1960s but admits his mother Ella Mae still can't get used to the idea. At this point, Alice Cooper is woven into Americana. "My mum's the only one to still call me Vince. She says, 'Hey, superstar, take out the trash.'"

Amazing. From a POV (Point of View) perspective, we all have decisions we may consider our best, and then those that we will regret until eternity. With all the gloom and doom news out these days, it just seemed refreshing to share a few notables from those considered their best. Maybe you have one to share?

As always…you decide.

　



　

Can the Trend be Your Friend?

Back in the day, as a resident estate planning specialist with a major securities firm, my office was right next to the commodity office and the “squawk box” that routinely issued breaking market alerts and trends. The futures market had a famous and classic mantra that is still a bellwether icon even today.

"The trend is your friend" is the magic slogan that the futures market lives by every minute of every day. The odds do not favor negative market patterns or consistently mistaken decisions made by management, or major red flags from any of a zillion other categories. Betting on the future of a commodity can be a costly and even dangerous game. It’s a world where leverage and timing rule.

During my many years with that organization, I personally witnessed a trend that was consistent on a different level. It was amazing that a particular client would come in and high five about the killing that he was making as if it would never stop. I got to be friends with several of them. And, when I stopped seeing them come around, I would question their broker. The typical response was “he bought the farm…he went belly up…but most often, he ignored the trends.” Many of them lost it all.

The futures market is a good barometer of what is going on right here and now. We are looking at several trends that can only be labeled as alarming. We will all have our own pet topics, but the elephant in the room is also one of leverage and timing (as above). The upcoming election will be upon us very quickly, and much like the futures market, we will be faced with a decision that will have consequences no matter how we respond.

This may be the very time in history to divorce ourselves from party affiliations and pre-set agendas and look independently at the trends. If you see and feel that what is trending is leading to an economic or personal catastrophe…“let the trend be your friend.”

Unlike the commodities market and the requirements to become a player, we will each have an equal stake in this decision that will only require our vote.

The leverage of your vote, and the timing of this election cannot be more important.

As always…you decide.

　

　

　

　



　

　

　

　

　

　

Zillion Dollar Thinking - BlogTopSites.com

Zillion Dollar Thinking - BlogTopSites.com

Signs of the Times?

Current reports are claiming that almost half of the adult population trusts and/or believes in astrological signs, stars, tarot cards, visions, readings, charts and other techniques.

Now, stir in many of the other subjective alternatives into the world of decisioning:
Instincts and Gut Feelings
(Intuition, Abstraction, Baseless, Feelings, Hunches, Small Voices)
Herd Thinking
(Crowd Mentality, Blind Faith, Parties, Non-objective, Fraternal Rushing)
Pure Chance
(Cards, Dice, Coins, Eight-Ball, Roulette, Abstract Devices)
Various Traditions
(Calendars, Ceremonies, Celebrations, Holidays)
Social and Fraternal Influences
(Codes, Signs, Symbols, Handshakes, Rituals, Secrets)
Cultural Ideologies
(Sacrifices, Rituals, Customs)
Technological Influences
(Mobile Connections, Social Networks, Chat Rooms, Sites, Blogs)
Gadgets and Apps
(Computers, Smart Phones, Programs, Media Players, Digitals, Wireless)
Clairvoyance-Psychics-Readings
(Visions, Readings, Signs, Symbols)
Family, Friends and Business Influences
(Bias, Prejudice, Tradition, Influence, Habit, Rituals)
Other Beliefs and Cults
(Evolution, Scientology, Church of the XXX, Zen Buddhism)
Churches, Denominations and Religious Organizations
(And countless others)

Question? With all these subjective alternatives, why would anyone go to the trouble to objectively model a pending decision?

Each day we are getting ominous news, threats and alarms from various media sources. With this news and information, we are mounting increasing pressure to make intelligent decisions. They will affect not only us, but many of those around us.

Yes, the subjective route is easier and leaves a broad excuse if things do not pan out. But, the higher the stakes, the greater the need for tangible wisdom.

Going forward, will you look for a sign from a UFO, or will you seriously weigh your objective commitment with a pending dilemma?

As always…you decide.

　

The Dangers of “Cut and Paste”

Back in the day, a “cut” required a knife or scissor blade where the artist extracted information usually from a paper sheet to “paste” to another surface…all done manually…blades, glue, rulers and all the rest.

To make this physically real, your’s truly was in the midst of a publishing company graphic project, and during the “cut” phase the Exacto knife (razor sharp blade) decided to roll off the table toward me. In my haste and respect for the instrument, I tried to catch it and accidentally jabbed it even harder on the down stroke into my leg. After several stitches (and a near bleed out), my paradigm shift and appreciation of “cut and paste” was completely reversed.

Today, “cut and paste” does not represent a physical threat, but it may represent other cautions that could be far worse. Software developers have kept the iconic title, but they have also opened a whole new world of transference of information.

Just think about it.

There are several alternative forms of cut and paste in that they represent moving digital information, verbal or graphic, from one place to another. Depending on the application, the temptation occurs in the need or want to alter or enhance the information.

Photoshop
There are literally thousands of “tweaks” that can be applied to a given subject. Yes, there is the simple straight up “cut and paste” app that can be applied, but with all those other goodies, e.g. “let’s see how this looks,” the danger comes when the artist (or other authority) decides to take these liberties of alteration without gaining the original owner’s approval. Then come the lawyers.

Using line extension, this dilemma applies to countless other software apps, and countless more lawyers. The message here is relatively simple. The original application of manual “cut and paste” had some physical risks, but the digital apps are now wrought with land mines of a different sort.

In the old days, the artist needed the time, patience and diligence to transact the alteration, while today a zillion apps are only a nano click away. And, as faster and more savvy hardware and software is developed, the greater the risk evolves.

Along with the decision to “cut and paste,” will come the increasing responsibility and diligence to keep from using unauthorized techniques and technologies.

As always…you decide.



　

　

　

　

Zillion Dollar Thinking...Forward and Fast Forward

"Gadgets that can recognize handwriting, receive wireless data from TV shows, and read minds through artificial intelligence were among the hottest tech toys at the American International Toy Fair in New York."

At the American International Toy Fair, a new interactive toy that will be marketed to children was introduced. It employs artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic and psychographic profiling.

This device attempts to model one’s thinking and decision making paths. After a few trial questions, this "toy" can be alarmingly accurate in mimicking thought patterns. These kinds of instruments could potentially become convincing enough that a young impressionable mind might allow the device to do some important thinking or deciding for them.

Fifty years ago there was the Magic Eight Ball with yes, no and maybe answers. The Eight-Ball was a toy. This technological device is scary, is named RADICA, and it only costs $10.

The UCD (Universal Communication Device: AKA Smartphone; Smart Tablet; Smart Devise) is equally as concerning. It has full audio, full video, instant access, worldwide reach, 24/7, total portability among many (and daily increasing) other features and apps.

That said, the temptation is also to let this UCD do our thinking for us. Picture this. A banner ad pops into your WiFi [or other wireless] community delivered by an enticing and engaging professional with the promise of a "now or never" opportunity that costs no front-end money yet pretends to have everlasting benefits. Because it is such a no-brainer...you bite...you’re hooked with a single signal from your device.

“A bit later with your UCD, you switch to your news chapter for your favorite media rep to tell you what and how to think about the events of the day surrounded by unexplained and undocumented polls, out of context comments, staged video clips and various other influential techniques, persuasions and controlled data.”

These events are all operative now...or about to be. What is even more alarming is that when we surveyed a reasonable random sampling of people of various ages, conditions and stations in life in research for this book, the consensus was "I’m too busy to think about making decisions or how I make them."

In other words, "I’m too busy to think or make objective decisions."

Large corporations, the various branches of government, many trade and professional organizations, institutional organizations and others want us and encourage us to practice "herd mentality." They generally do not promote independent thinking and/or decision making. Do you ever wonder why?

Going along with the crowd has really never been an acceptable alternative to independent decision making. Blindly following the trends will remain an increasingly oppressive threat.

Technology is a magical thing. It can potentially cause us to live longer, healthier and more productive lives. But here’s the caution: the tail cannot wag the dog. We need to use and control technology and not allow technology to use and control us.

The primary distinction of our individual skin-on thinking versus the kind that comes from a machine or device is the creative, innovative and emotional kind. We must stay in control of that distinction and direction for our own survival and existence.

Summary

This Zillion Dollar Thinking introduction was written over ten years ago. But, if we had only one of these events that should warrant scrutiny in today’s particular season…it should be how recklessly, gullibly and believably we blindly accept polls and poll data. And, if they were not effective, they would not be showcased as they are in today’s media. Why is that?

They are easy to mis-state, mis-source, mis-inform and manipulate. And, if you look at the typical margin of error, it can often represent a ten point swing. So, it is not unusual that margins are footnotes in very small type.

The major point here is (more prophecy) that polls are and will be a primary vehicle in trying to influence the next (and some say…most important) election. From a decisioning perspective, it is vital to get to the real truth behind any polling information which includes the questions and the way they are framed. It is truly worth your search and discovery time to research the dynamics of polls and poll data.

As always…you decide.

Right Brainer. Left Brainer. No Brainer.

Dementia, Alzheimer’s, Brain Freezes, Memory Lapses and other mind related conditions…all seem to have at least some possible link to exercising and challenging the brain.

Whether this proves out to be relative or not, it could be good insurance. Logically, we are told by knowledgeable mentors (family-friends-physicians) that “if we don’t use it we could lose it.” It is possible that this connection has line extension from physical to mental.

I watched someone very dear to me waste away from Alzheimer’s very recently. What I observed was that even though she diligently worked the garden, ate healthy, had all the vital physical ratios, never even had a tooth cavity…in other words, no obvious physical exceptions that may have triggered this dread disease.

Through her life, she had very obvious creative talents in several areas that kept her challenged. On the other hand, she rarely dealt with logic and/or numbers. She did read the papers, but no cross-word puzzles and no writing.

In all, there were unchallenged areas that could lead one to conclude that “maybe if” all the dimensions of the brain had been highly challenged…?

My personal take away:

Read-Write-Create

Paint-Draw-Design

Add-Subtract-Multiply

Solve Problems-Communicate-Decide

In all, use the right, left, conscious and unconscious brain while you still have it.

As stated, when it comes to our mind/brain, probably one of the best things we can do is exercise it like any other muscle or organ. Don’t wait until you lose someone close to help you decide to take at least some initial action.

As always…you decide (while you are able).

　

　

　

　

　

　

Evidence That Demands a Verdict

This headline is a book title that is fitting in today's environment even though it was written over 40 years ago.

The author, Josh McDowell, has been instrumental in challenging the baseline of how to decide on critical life questions.

His testimony describes how he set out to refute and rebuke this core belief question, and to minimize it's consequences, but the tsunami of evidence changed his heart and life.

The steps he used to arrive at his decision are a mirror to the steps of the ZDT MODEL:

Step 1 - his ultimate destination

Step 2 - his total commitment to find the truth

Step 3 - his discovery and source of a singular path

Step 4 - his legacy road map for followers

One, he picked a topic that may apply to everyone with eternal consequences...what could be more enduring?

Two, he was committed, in his mission, to the point that he was willing to sacrifice his original core beliefs in order for the truth to prevail.

Three, considering the consequences, he knew that only the historical facts (not subjective feelings) would be sufficient to stand the scrutiny that would be leveled at him and his decision.

Four, once he described the only path to follow, he knew that his conclusions would create a major alteration to the activities (daily walk) of the subscribers or converts. Life changing.

Why re-visit this now?

This template could be played out a zillion times each day. We can have a core theory that we have believed from the beginning, only to find out that under hard scrutiny, it was a false premise.

Here we are 40 years later, and his premise and conclusions are still considered a classic. Run a search on Josh...check him out.

Daily App

Each day we see the current headlines, we are reminded that life on this earth is fragile and can change instantly, and the consequences and subject of eternity will take on a new meaning.

The point here is that eternity is a long, long time, and the decision to consider it is before a terminal event...after the fact is too late.

McDowell is one author on this subject. There are a zillion others. The striking deferential with him is that once he realized he was on the wrong side of this decision, he re-considered and then devoted his life to helping others come to a direction based on historical evidence.

Our days ahead could not be more uncertain.

As always...you decide (eternally).

Golf Lessons...Life Lessons

This weekend's golf tournament was both entertaining and instructional.

On one hand, there was the player who was leading while entering the final round, and it was his tourney to lose. A little further down the pack was the closest challenger who differentiated himself by an obvious trait and methodology.

What was the distinguishing factor?

The ability to make and commit to a decision.

The buzz on many sports channels leading up to the final round was the almost mockery of the leader's inability to “pull the trigger.” His approach and subsequent hesitation to commit to his swing was near comical. He was plagued with indecision. He had incessant starts and stops.

His ultimate challenger was just the opposite, even though he had to make up a few shots to gain the lead. You could immediately see the contrast. His approach and routine was more like a repeatable template.

His formula could be described using a familiar model (ZDT):

Step One: Assessed the situation and the shot needed

Step Two: Chose the club and committed to the shot

Step Three: Executed the swing and shot without hesitation

Step Four: Positioned the ball to get it in the hole with the fewest shots

And notably, this exercise was done in less than a minute. The major point was that the routine was repeatable, predictable and in this case, produced a winning result.

The leader became the loser, and the challenger became the winner. Chalk another decisioning result up to a repeatable model.

As always...you decide.