In "Maslow on Management", Maslow talks about the necessity and importance of self-actualization, but realizes that frequently, "flakes and gurus" as he calls them, learn of a new trend and bank on that to earn capital. True, true, but we must also respect the passion of such "flakes and gurus". After all, while they may try to swindle money, they do connect with honest, healthy visions that people have to have a pre-existing, intrinsic interest towards in the first place. So they can exploit, but they exploit, in a way, something good and worthwhile and if it weren't for the money charge, it wouldn't be exploitation, but identification with intrinsic values!
Take vocabulary for example, Maslow wrote, "if one increased his vocabulary, he would also dramatically increase his learning by 10 to 100 percent" (Maslow 119). That's ginormous! He also pointed out that the increased vocabulary leads to an increased awareness of the world, and, in contrast, a lower vocabulary, sincerely increases paranoid behavior. Lowered vocabularies lower your awareness making you effectively somewhat "blind"! Now those socalled "New Age flakes and gurus" could surely bank a buck on this and have overly-expensive "vocabulary learning classes" . One could argue that such an exploitation inhibits a person's growth and steals their money, but the end result is the positive heightened awareness. Conclusively, it feels like the New Age exploiters utilize a manipulative process, but with a correspondingly energizing end result.
In the conclusive denouement of the correspondence between Andrew Kay, Maslow, and the editor of the book, the reached a correlation on the nature of "gypping" ideas. Maslow described that he would, for period, feel enraged at people stealing his ideas for papers or other various constructs, but now just finds it humorous and funny. He writes, "copying or stealing is a little like stealing the egg, instead of the hen that lays the eggs. In a word, money must be used; the mind must be used; creativeness must be used and one must spend it and be prodigal with it rather than to hoard it and be stingy with it and think that it can be used up or spent in decreased in quantity...The very process of talking about ideas helps the creativeness, and thereby makes it more likely taht there will be hundreds of ideas where there were only dozens before" (Maslow 120). In other words, unless you tackle it on your own, with your own process, your own voice, and apply your own creativeness, the outcome will have limitations. However, if you do apply your own creativity, the result becomes infinite.
And the infinte, unlike the finite, players have limitless outcomes. Take sexuality, for example. The finite seducer "proceeds largely by deception. Sexual desires are usually not directly announced but concealed under a series of feints, gestures , styles of dress, and showy behavior. Seductions are staged, scripted, costumed. Seductions are designed to come to an end" (Carse 82). See, in the finite game all the sexual interaction becomes imprisoning: "Moments once reached cannot be reached again...lovers often sustain vivid reminders of extraordinary moments, but they are reminded at the same time of their impotence in recreating them" (Carse 83). In infinite play, there lies no interest in "restricting the freedom of another to one's own boundaries of play. Infinite players recognize choice in all aspects of of sexuality," so because they always have choice, they never experience the confinements of a relationship. Infinite relationships always expand. Regarding sexual orientation, "sexuality is not a bounded phenomenon but a horizontal phenomenon for infinite players. One can never say, therefore, that an infinite player is homosexual, or heterosexual, or celibate, or adulterous, or faithful -- because each of these definitions has to do with boundaries" (Carse 83). In short, whenever you break into that seductive, staged, concealed feints , and pre-defined orientational style of play, you imprions yourself within an inhibiting inhibiting relationship arena that confines your soul and locks down your opportunities for spontaneity and creativity.
Even with an expanded vocabulary of which Maslow discussed and learning awareness heightened 10-100%, if you played your life finitely, your access to that profound awareness would function from a limitation, as though you could envision the most limitless expanse (with the vocabulary) but could only purview it through a miniscule viewing hole.
Money works for you Dad's Friend and Intellectual-Mind Works for Einstein Teaching
In Todd Temple's "Money: How to make it, spend it, nd keep lots of it", old Toddie gives some pretty hackneyed, pretty generic advice for getting work. All the material covered in the book is so easy and obvious, such as writing a resume, and channeling your money into savings, giving, and spending. A boatload of "duh!" if you ask me. However, when Temple says, again another cliche, "It's not what you know, but who you know", we can divide the professional world up, cleaving into to two distinct compartments. When you're out to make money, connections and people do, truly, make all the difference. However, what if you're trying to get job as physics professor at a prestigious university. Assuredly, you can have all the connections in the world, but if you don't know , for example, Einstein's major contributions: the special theory of relativity (that time and length could actuall change at speeds close to that of the speed of light), the photo-electric effect (Einstein proved that light is composed of quanta particles (quantum) withi na wave, proving light is both particle and wave, winning him the Nobel Piece Prize. The photoelectric effect lead to the existence of cd players, remotes, and other laser-guided technology), brownian motion (primarily dealing with proving that Brownian motion (the subatomic particle dance of molecules suspended in fluids) is caused by those subatomic particles, which proved the existence of those particles) , and e=mc2 (describing the algorithm of energy derived from mass and a cosntant), you won't make the cut.
Now Edison organized the construction of the first generating station in 1882 (Schwarz and Mcguinness 20). And then in 1916, only 34 years later, Einstein published his paper on general relativity. If anything, that functions as a telescoping presence of technology! We first build the generating station and then only 34 years later we're understanding the nature of the speed of light! What will happen in the next 34 years! That's like learning about cooking and then becoming Charlie trotter or Wolfgang puck in a few months with that pace of technological growth!
Maybe with technology we allow ourselves "error" so we get it right without pressure. "It's interesting to note that Wayne Gretsky, probably the greatest hockey player of all time, had a routine of purposely missing his first practice shot at the goal" (Secunda 79). He did this so he could experience taking the shot without pressure. If you don't aim to make the goal, pressure is removed and you can feel that performance and then apply it to have the same ease and grace, when other people might have pressure!
Buckminster Fuller talks about Tensigrity -- tension integrity, which is based on teh support structure for trees. Fuller says that "but only god can make a tree", commenting on its complex design. However, the tension integrity combines these supposedly contradiction flavors like wayne gretsky (the player who makes the most shots) missing a shot and like the expedited technological growth. We find tension integrity in nature and it truly works!
In regards to the telescoping of technology. Take the concept of the "gyro compass" versus the magnetic compass. You could find the magnetic compass on a variety of ships all throughout the world, but it had an offset and a navigator must make out a correction to make for its variation from true north. The gyro, on the other hand, automatically calculates for true north, so that calculation isn't even necessary. Technology changes the old practices, often eliminating them, but often the old practices serve a great purpose; like a navigator certainly would want to know how to do a variation check
Now, I really get a kick out of Ron Fry's great tips for interviews, they're right on! They will cause the telescoping nature of your job search to appear! In short, they are: "Think of the interview as an adventure; be polite; be enthusiastic; keep on smiling; make eye contact; be honest; be positive (always find the good reason why you did something, not what you didn't like about something)" and the best, most useful one is "don't let an unskilled interviewer torpedo your chances". I've had some terrible interviewers and you need to be able to convey your strengths, describe what you will be able to contribue to the company and float your own boat, so to speak (Fry 104). In short, as a skilled interviewee, you should know the typical interviwer questions, so if the interviewer doesn't ask them, then you can still share those responses and convey your strengths, confidence, and skills!
Now with those skills you can create image, but what about your own Journey? Johnson points out, "sometime it's important to let the dream be a mystery and jsut let it guide you, let it take you where it wants to go. Liek taking a trip--starting to drive somewhere without a planned destination -- just to see what happens" (Johnson 177). That, friends, creates a perfect resume scenario -- the road-trip adventure with no pre-defined destination other than the journey -- but you can still stay tethered to you core by trusting in yourself. We must understand our dreams as much as the adventure; the jewish talmud says "A dream which is not understood is like a letter which is not opened". We have to open those letters of our life!
Dave Pelzer, describes the most grotesque survival scenario imagineable in his childhood where, he "was banished downstairs to the garage. [His] was now an old army cot...[he] ran extra fast [to school] so [he] would have more time to hunt for food" (Pelzer 68-69). In addition to starvation, he also had soiled diapers wiped over his face, forced to drink clorox and ammonia, and was actually stabbed by his deranged mother. That, of course, is a journey we do not want to encounter, so when we trust ourselves we end up with a greater chance of avoiding horrendously frightening and crippling scenarios.
In Ignazio Siloneís ìBread and Wineî, thereís a moving scene between the main character, Don Paulo, and a girl where they stare at each other for some moments and then, ìDon Paulo was filled with great pity. ìWhy donít you believe me?î he said. Yes, now I believe you,î said the girl. ëIíve never believed anything so much. You have extraordinary eyes that donít lie. Iíve never seen eyes like yoursî (Silone 56). Was it the sensation of pity that made Don Pauloís eyes so believable? Many times when we show emotion in our eyes, others realize that we donít conceal anything. This does not suggest to go around wearing emotion in your eyes, but we must take the time to ìfeelî our emotions and live them, in addition to merely process and scrutinizing them. Living our emotions allows greater understanding, personal awareness, and, as shown from this excerpt, creates trust in others towards you.
Although the target age group is much younger with Robert Hawksí The Richest Kid in the World, he paints a scene of ìoverwhelmî quite well: ìFlashbulbs were popping and video cameras were whirring all around me. I felt as if I had just been tossed off the back of a boat without a life jacket: sink or swim, just donít say anythingî (Hawks 59). Here, the overwhelming amount of attention and hype caused the protagonist to feel panic and from that overwhelmed panic to fear communicating. Indeed, whenever we feel pressed into a new daunting situation with a lot of attention, the first instinct is to clam up. But, meanwhile, hundreds of people go about their lives competently talking to press in front of loads of cameras. We must focus on creating a positive intention with our life so we trust our words and have faith in our communicative abilities. From that faith combined with intelligence and practice and learning from our experiences, weíll always say the successful thing, never sink, and always swim!
In ìThe Strange Case of Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,î when people refer to Hyde they say, ìHe is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing; something downright detestableî (Stevenson 11). And yet, they cannot put their finger on what precisely is so displeasing. Because of the duality between respectable Jekyll and abominable Hyde, people couldnít feel the ìright vibeî. However, ìHyde was indifferent to Jekyll, or but remembered him as the mountain bandit remembers the cavern in which he conceals himself from pursuitî (Stevenson 77). In short, Hyde ìinhabitedî Jekyllís personality. People pick that up. We must wholistically know our entire personality to ensure stability in our life and certainty in our future.
We need to have stability -- wholistic stability. Buckminster Fuller talks about how most houses have a clunky design. His geodesic, dome on the otherhand has this all-around stability, creating, as he calls it, "insideness and outsideness" (Snyder 38). So pressure and geometry and physics aligns a certain way to distribute the design and stability throughout the structure. That pervasive stability can arise by following our dreams and maintaing that good "interview posture".
This type of "tension integrity" tensigrity and "insideness-outsideness" wholisticism can occur with our identity and personal presence ,too. Frederick Persl talks about getting into our centeredness: "Of course, the optimum withdrawal is the withdrawal into your body. Get in touch with yourself. Turn your attention to your physical existence. Mobilize your inner resources. Even if you get in touch with a fantasy of being on an island or in a warm bathtub, or to any unfinished situation, this will give you a lot of support when you return to reality" (Perls 68). That type of groundedness in knowing our desires, knowing who we are, has tremendous importance in avoiding those horrendous circumstances and staying tethered, connected to our insideness and outsideness and wholistic center. Persl also writes about the elan vital, "the life force, energizes by seeing, by listening, by scouting, by describing the world -- how is the world there. Now this life force apparently mobilizes the center -- if you have a center." Acquire that center by tapping into who you are to get that tensigrity of personality and attuning to your physical existence and your desires to start the journey of success.
Ignazio Silone. Bread and Wine. New York: Signet Classic, 1986.
Robert Lousis Stevenson. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York: Barnes and Noble Classic, 1886.
Robert Hawks. The Richest Kid in the World. New York: Avon Camelot, 1991.
Perls, Frederick S. Gestalt Therapy Verbatim. Toronto: Bantam Books, 1969.
Pelzer, Dave. A Child called "It". FL: Health Communications Inc., 1995.
Johnson, Julie. The Thundering Years. Rodchester: Bindu Books, 2001.
Fry, Ron. Your First Interview. NJ: Career Press, 2002.
Snyder, Robert. Buckminster Fuller. New York: St. Martins Press, 1980.
Rosenkranz, Ze'ev. The Einstein Scrapbook. Baltimore and London: The John Hopkins University Press, 1998.
Maslow, Abraham. Maslow on Management. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1998.
