Learning from Koko

We can believe what we choose. We are responsible for what we choose to believe. Cardinal John Newman 1801 – 1890 Are you good at deflecting blame? Do you act like Koko? Koko was a very famous gorilla. Her most notable claim to fame was the fact that she mastered over 1,000 words in American Sign Language: in other words, she had the ability to communicate with humans using sign language. One day she accidentally broke one of her toys. The incident was captured on video, so there was no question what had occurred. The next day, when her trainer …
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How big is your circus?

Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems. Scott Adams 1957 – Recently, my daughter introduced me to a wonderful Polish saying that many of us should take to heart. The phrase captures a wealth of wisdom in its few words: “Not my circus, not my monkeys.” The essence of the phrase is simple: the situation at hand isn’t yours to manage; it’s someone else’s problem. But the truth is, a lot of us go out of our way to take on other people’s problems. So why do we get involved with …
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Looking for solutions

Unless you change how you are, you will always have what you’ve got. Jim Rohn 1930 - 2009 Recently, I was working with a businessman who was concerned about the decline in his business. My first step was to get him to list all the reasons which, in his opinion, were responsible for the downturn. He mentioned the general economy and the local economy, a new competitor nearby, his “behind the times” supplier, and the list went on and on. When he’d finished noting all the reasons he could think of to account for the decline in business, I asked him …
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