FLASH

Be it a camera flash light, the lightening that flashes in the sky, a flash in the pan or a flash of inspiration, a FLASH is the Fleeting Light Appearing Suddenly & Highlights. The camera flash light captures the most vivid image of what flash means but a flash mob or a flash back would paint vivid images of joy whereas a flash flood or a flash of pain would trigger images that are more diabolic. A key quality of a flash is the fleeting moment that it appears. That moment is what is critical, important and relevant to make the happening significant.

The light appears both literally and figuratively depending on the context of the flash. In case of a camera flash or lightening or a flash flood, the flash is clearly visible. In most other cases the flash is felt, be it in terms of pain, an image or a brainwave. Since flashes especially positive flashes appear momentarily it is essential that we capture the moment or it may be lost forever. This is particularly true in the case of new ideas, fresh perspectives, creative visualization or radical thoughts. Similarly flashes with a negative connotation appear momentarily but can leave behind a trail of destruction and / or trouble. Anticipation and precaution are the antidotes to negative flashes like lightning strikes and flash floods.

While all flashes appear suddenly, it is important to realize that it can be anticipated. This offers immense possibilities to harness the power of a flash as we can clearly see in how a flash is used in a camera. More importantly, to get new ideas and flashes of inspiration we must not passively wait but aggressively seek them out. A problem for example cannot be solved until one works towards a solution and most inspired answers come in a flash because one is working on finding a solution.

Remember a FLASH is a Fleeting Light Appearing Suddenly & Highlights options, possibilities and solutions while also making you realize that it has another side that can be dangerous and painful but which can be anticipated and prepared for.

Action Points

Think about the following:

You are accidentally locked in on the terrace of an empty building. Unfortunately it also happens to be a  long weekend. You also realize that your voice won’t carry to anyone and it is just impossible to attempt to climb down. The you look around and except for  the national flag fluttering in the wind from the flagpole on the terrace, the terrace is absolutely bare. You want to desperately get help and get out. What can you do?

Your boat has capsized and by sheer providence you manage to stay afloat on some debris. You notice that the debris is actually a broken dressing table floating on the water. You can see a lady’s vanity bag complete with combs, lipsticks, powder, a small mirror, nail polish, sprays and perfumes that has somehow got entangled in the debris. Fortunately for you in the distance you can see some vessels and boats. However they are too far from you for them to notice you. What will you do to survive and ensure you can be rescued at the earliest.

Did you get  a FLASH of inspiration and get some solutions?

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FIRST

Our obsession with standing first in every aspect of life has often been both a boon and a bane. As a boon standing first is motivation to perform well, but it becomes a bane when the expectations are not correlated with the person’s ability to achieve the first place. However, this concept of standing first is based on the popular perception of what is considered to be standing first. In reality if we change our perception of what it means to stand first, each of us can achieve the distinction of standing first frequently.  To begin with one needs to view standing first as Foremost In Reaching Set Target.

Notice now that being first is possible when we can show improved performance for ourselves. This assumes that we have some objective in mind and we set about achieving that target in more optimal ways than we have ever done before. Assume for a moment that the best academic result you achieved was struggling to get a first class. Now if you target to get a distinction without really measuring the effort required, the probability of not achieving that is very high. However if the target set is to improve your score by 10% and then you set about diligently working towards it, any improvement over what you have achieved in the past would make you stand first as compared to your past achievement.

You can also view being first from the stand point of attempting anything new. Anything you do that you haven’t attempted before is a first for you. Here again you are only competing with yourself to overcome you apprehensions and fears about attempting something new. The first day of school, the first time you went on stage, the first time you participated in a race, the first time your drove a car all alone, the first time you attempted a dare the list goes on and on.  Then there is a first that brings in to play your character, your values and your ethics. The times you refused to pay a bribe, the times you refused to cheat in an exam, the times you stood up to tell the truth, the times you apologized for a mistake, the times you kept your temper in check, the times you pardoned some one who wronged you. Every single time you are able to resist giving in and taking the easy way out because it was against your conscience you achieved a first.

The thrill of overcoming the perceived risks, the exhilaration of achieving what you set out to do and the relief that you did what you set out to do are the collateral benefits that come out of you daring to be the Foremost In Reaching Set Target.

Action Points:

Identify 3 bad habits that you want to eliminate. How will you go about ensuring you manage to overcome it? So what is the first step that you are going to take and when ?

Name the most important value that you hold most dear to you. How often were you able to hold on to that value. Can  you recall an instance when you were gravely challenged to hold on to that value with succumbing to pressures from others?

What do you consider your first and foremost achievement in your life?

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IDEA

Each and every one of has had an IDEA or may be many ideas, to make life more enjoyable,  be it to make more money, find more happiness, enjoy healthy relationships or experience bliss.  Each IDEA would have seemed exceptional to us because each one was based on an Innovative Dramatic Exclusive Assumption. Perhaps one of those unique and exclusive prerogatives granted to the human race is our ability to generate ideas for the progress that the human race has made is only due to our constant evolution by leveraging ideas.

On and individual level though, time and time again we would have discovered that almost every idea of ours after the initial euphoria would have created a number of self doubts, seem to have innumerable problems in execution and largely fizzle out. The idea itself maybe very sound to begin with but they fizzle out because ideas are quick to germinate but like plants require to be nurtured with care and patience. To appreciate this one needs to understand the intricacies of an IDEA as under:

Innovation is the key to an idea. It refers to the ability to generate thoughts that are new and different from the existing. This is also the crux of an idea. The focus is on being different, thinking out of the box and generating thoughts that are novel. Yet the problem with innovation is that they take wings immediately but when they attempt to fly  they realize that the wing span is neither ergonomically right nor well developed to soar high as anticipated. This means that the innovative idea has to be studied in depth and redesigned painstakingly to ensure success. Most of don’t have the self belief , the patience and / or the technical, financial and managerial ability to make the innovative idea fructify.

Dramatic ideas refer to the realization that the idea can be revolutionary and dramatically alter our existing world. When an idea strikes us the impact is euphoric because we believe that now we can revolutionize the world with our dramatically different idea. Yet when we attempt to find out more about the acceptance of the idea we have, we are often stupendified to note that ideas similar to ours have existed in varied forms and the whole drama then ebbs out of the idea. At this point for most of us the idea now becomes deflated balloon and we are too weary and fatigued to attempt to adapt our idea to make a dramatic impact again.

Exclusive idea is the belief that the way our idea pans out will be unique, different and just the prerogative of our fertile mind and imagination. In a world full of ideating individual’s exclusivity is a very rare privilege and even that privilege has to be backed by tremendous confidence, financial support and exceptional marketing to ensure that the difference is visible and noticeable. For many of us the exclusivity of the idea loses steam no sooner we realize the price one has to pay to ensure that exclusivity. We are also drawn into a inner conflict of being pragmatic about our idea and daring to risk everything for it. Most of us then retreat to the safety of mediocrity for then we can continue to sustain ourselves.

Assumptions are the common thread that runs through each element of an idea. At every stage we assume that the idea we have is new, impactful and privileged to us alone.  When the realization that our assumptions were wrong in varying degrees hits us we first do a double take as if someone has hit us on the solar plexus. The wind is taken out of us and unless our mental makeup is that of a gritty boxer we do not hear the count of 8 and close our eyes and allow ourselves to throw in the towel. The fault is not in our ideas, it is in our approach to the idea; we cannot take on and build up on our ideas with kid gloves; what we need is the grit, guts and panache of a world beater heavy weight champion.

Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Larry Page & Sergy Brinn and the Zuckerberg’s of the world are both testimony and inspiration to the power of ideas. You need not necessarily have to be them but certainly you can try to emulate their ideations, their self belief, their grit and hopefully some glory will also rub off on you when you let your IDEA bloom and allow your Innovative Dramatic Exclusive Assumptions to bear fruit with persistence, fortitude and passion.

Action Points:

1. The simplest idea is to draw up an elaborate New Year Resolution List. For certain you would have done it in the past and by and large the list has remained as it is or perhaps grown in length. Read the post above and notice how almost all of what is said above is reflected in your failure to effectively stick to your resolutions of the past. Do you have an IDEA how you can ensure your current New Year Resolutions can be effectively implemented. ( hint : put a time frame to each resolution, mark timelines to review progress, announce key resolutions to family and friends so that you are more committed to it etc.)
2. Come up with 5 ideas to enhance your income this year by 25 %. Now work on one or more of these ideas and by March end review the progress. If you are faltering find out the reasons why.
3. Come up with 5 more ideas on how YOU will contribute to environment protection and any one of your favorite social causes. Review progress quarterly.

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