Don't compete, CREATE!

Tue, 17 Aug 10

As a small business owner, you've probably heard about the growing need for creativity and innovation.

Let's put things in perspective.

Firstly, we know that franchised businesses are generally more profitable and successful. We've heard the rule-of-thumb regarding the 80/20 rule. 80% of small businesses go out of business in the first 5 years, while the reverse is true of franchises - 80% of franchises are not only still in business, but thriving.

So what do franchises get right? Good systems, and strong marketing. Do you need to be a franchise in order to have good systems? No, there's good-value help available from companies such as "Brain in a Box" who focus on providing robust, effective systems for small businessesE-Myth. At the very least, reading and applying Michael Gerber's E-Myth material (on systemising the business) is invaluable to your future business success.

But having good systems is only half the story - creativity, innovation or being imaginative is highly important to small businesses, and increasingly so.

Research confirms that Einstein was right all along. Imagination really is more important and profitable than knowledge. Experience, and what you know about your market, together with good systems is helpful, but new data reveals that entrepreneurial startups are the real engine of economies:

The Power and Importance of Blindspots

Tue, 23 Feb 10

Blindspots in our awareness can have devastating effects upon our lives.

Blindspots can be bad for business, health and personal wellbeing.

See the forest AND the trees
  • Business and Finance
    The recent Global Financial Crisis was a blindspot that caused havoc for millions. In business, blindspots are commonly known as inefficiencies, poor employee morale, or unproductive investments that can end in bankruptcy.
  • Wellbeing and relationships
    Research reveals that the majority of relationship breakups are initiated by women, and that men usually don't see them coming. Many men report being caught off-guard and left feeling bereft and suicidal. "In a study of 4000 suicides ... 70 per cent were caused by relationship breakups. Men were more likely to commit suicide than women by a factor of nine to one."1
  • Health
    Cancers, and other illnesses are example of blindspots in our awareness that can lead to physical impairment and death.
  • Accident and injury
    With the latest research from the field of quantum physics, we can appreciate and learn to use the deeper interconnections of events, both good and bad. That is, we can learn to check for the ubiquitous (albeit subtle) nonlocal2 signals that can help us avoid danger, accident and injury.

By their very nature, blindspots are difficult to spot - hence the name. But as the world recently witnessed, their effects are highly visible and almost impossible to ignore. Blindspots can remain blind to us on approach, but prove devistating on arrival.

  1. 1. Source: Richard Yallop, “Macho man pressure blamed for suicides,” The Weekend Australian, News Ltd., June 13-14, 1998, page 27 - citing research by Professor Pierre Baume, head of the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention at Brisbane’s Griffith University.
  2. 2. "immediate, unmediated (nonlocal) connections are present not only in rare and exotic circumstances, but underlie all the events of everyday life. Non-local connections are ubiquitous because reality itself is non-local." Dr Nick Herbert, Quantum Reality

Rest-stops in the sky

Sun, 29 Aug 10

Over the years I've come to more fully appreciate the extent to which many people seek refuge in illusory ideals ... be it religious perfection, or scientific certainty. As I've explained elsewhere on this and the Belief Institute website, the ideal of perfection (and of perfect scientific certainty) was born around the time of Plato, and has persisted ever since.

In spiritual new-age teachings and practices, it's the seeking of spiritual perfection -- of transcending one's ego and finding one's perfect higher self1; in religion it's the perfection of God and of the Pope's infallibility; in science it is the certainty and control of life expressed through some equation or theory, perhaps most tellingly exemplified by the incorrect and unsupportable assumptions surrounding the solutions to Zeno's Paradoxes that date back nearly 2,500 years.

In light of the enormous number of people who pursue these illusory outcomes (in religious, spiritual and scientific spheres), the pertinent question to ask is "Why?" Why pursue, or believe in that which does not exist?

  1. 1. ... even worse than seeking one's supposed perfect higher self is the pursuit of Nirvana or 'oneness', a mindless state devoid of individuality. See "An ego by any other names still smiles like one".

Normal as ?

Sun, 29 Aug 10

Earlier this evening I rang and asked a friend her advice concerning some directions I intend to take with my work.

She replied it was pointless asking her, as she was far from the norm.

But, on reflection, I suggested she was more normal than most, at least as far as her allowing others to dictate how she felt: a protracted, messy divorce from her partner has caused her many anxieties, and emotional difficulties. I suggested to her that the vast majority of the populace was just like her ... allowing others, the world 'out there', unfavourable or unpleasant circumstances to 'control'1 how we feel.

  1. 1. As I've explained elsewhere, it can be helpful to replace the loaded term 'control' with terms such as 'attract', allow, invite, cause...

An ego by any other name still smiles like one

Fri, 27 Aug 10

Last night while enjoying a wonderful dinner I had the pleasure of engaging conversation with a number of intelligent men on matters philosophical.

It became evident that some held beliefs that were rooted in the ideal of perfection: the age-old belief that when we get 'over there' or perhaps 'up there' everything will be 'perfect' (at which time, we'll have 'transcended' the troubling, fault-ridden ego).

The way forward

Thu, 26 Aug 10
Avalon Beach, NSW

Yesterday while chatting over coffee at Avalon, the conservation turned to world-views, politics, anthropology, evolution, masculine-feminine natures, immunization, and the different cultures of chimpanzees versus Bonobo monkeys (patriarchal and matriarchal, resp.)

Throughout it all I was amazed at how little supporting evidence there was for each particular view that was discussed.

Fascinating politics

Mon, 23 Aug 10

The current hung-parliament situation in Australia is a wonderful catalyst for reflection on the deeper rhythms and energies of life. The fact that there have been similar hung-parliaments in the democracies of U.K and Canada is also a telling indicator of deep changes in the psyches of people around the world.

Let's get great outcomes

Fri, 20 Aug 10

In recent blog posts I've alluded to a new direction that I'll be heading with my work1. This direction became clear after having had a long chat with a friend. But first some background:

During the 90's for about 6 years I facilitated a small group of professionals in Sydney ... we would meet every 4 to 6 weeks to discuss our lives within the context of having created all of it, including the good and the bad. It was an informal group, free flowing and spontaneous. Those meetings were a wonderful catalyst for my budding interest to write. In fact, the first chapter I wrote for my book Be and Become came out of my yearning to write about the deeper causes for some of the issues we discussed.

Not only were those meetings the catalyst to write what is now Chapter 7 of the book, but it was during one of those meetings that I first intuited The Table of One and All, around which all my work is now based.

  1. 1. It's not really 'new' but a revisit of a previous half-hearted attempt at this idea - that of running small business groups, using some of my experience gained when a member of The Executive Connection.

Control of 'psycho-destiny'

Thu, 19 Aug 10

Recently I had a fairly involved, long chat with a friend about the deeper frameworks and dynamics of life. What came to light was how much we both knew but weren't applying to our own lives.

In particular was the realisation that we were both on the path of learning, and needing to learn how to 'let go' the pressures of society to be responsible, and to simply be ourselves, independent of the opinions of, and commitments to others.

Key ideas, focus

Fri, 13 Aug 10

In a nutshell my focus as The Belief Doctor is to provide examples and information that reveals the power and productive benefits gained from combining "masculine" and "feminine" energies in one coherent approach to life.

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