Tip: Always be looking!
Tip of the Week
07/22/13
Tip: Always be looking!
This Tip is about two things: 1) To encourage you to always be on the lookout for good information, and 2) To share with you what I found the other day when I was looking. For this to make more sense, continue to read.
I carry a small notebook in my back pocket because I think it is wise to always be looking for good information and I want to be prepared to write it down. If I hear something that touches my life in some way, I jot it down. If I hear the name of a good movie, it gets recorded in my little book. If I come across a good quote, that gets entered, too. I am amazed at how many good bits of information I come across!
However, I do not think it is an accident; I think it happens because I am looking for it.
There is actually a scientific term for this phenomenon that is called Reticular Activating System or RAS. In really simplified terms, it is the process by which you find what your mind has been alerted to look for and see. Let me show you how it works.
Look around the room you are sitting in right now. Go ahead – it will only take 5 seconds! Next, scan the room again and look for something red. Did you see what happened? Immediately your RAS went into action, looking for the color red. Perhaps you caught a quick glimpse of red the first time I asked you to look around, but the second time, because that is what you were specifically looking for, you saw it right away. That is what I am talking about. When you live your life being aware and looking for better opportunities and for new ways of doing things, it won’t be long until you see them because your RAS has been alerted to look for them.
So, here is the second part of the Tip…the part where I tell you what I found the other day when I was looking.
I was in an office waiting for a friend of mine. Hanging on the wall was a framed picture of Albert Einstein which had something written beneath the picture. Since the writing was small, I walked closer to it so that I could read it. It said, “Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding!” That is so true! We cannot “make” someone like another person, but we will all get along better when we understand each other and learn how to communicate more effectively.
A couple of years ago, I met some wonderful people while on a business trip in Russia. It was an incredible experience and they were so hungry to learn what I had to share.
During our last evening together, I told them that I grew up being taught to hate Russians and that since we were all about the same age, I imagined that they grew up being taught to hate Americans as well. They nodded in agreement as the interpreter shared my words. I said, “Isn’t it interesting that after spending a few days together, rather than wanting to kill each other, we want to be friends who want to do business together? We want to help each other. We want to learn and grow because of our friendship.”
Certainly there are things in their lives that are very different from mine and vice versa. But, the point is, when we were able to understand each other, meet family members, talk about business issues, and learn about what each of us desired out of life, everything changed. Because of understanding, there was a peaceful relationship.
I was reminded of that experience as I read Albert Einstein’s quote on the wall that day. I have been mulling it over in my mind ever since. Understanding really is the basic premise of having a good relationship with anyone. The wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon, said many times in the book of Proverbs that the key to success in life is to gain understanding in all that you do. If understanding was important to King Solomon and Albert Einstein, then I want it in my life as well!
So, there are the two things I want you to get from this Tip. Keep your eyes open looking for things that can improve your daily life, and then when you do find something great, like the quote from Albert Einstein, write it down and apply it to your life and business. Life is too short to miss out on great information like that which can make your life better and understanding is too important to the health of your relationships! Both are needed to help give guidance to your life and future. Now, go buy a little notepad, start looking for good information, gain understanding in all that you do and let it influence your life! You are going to be amazed at what you begin to see!
Tip: Always be looking!
Have a great week! God bless you!
Dr. Robert A. Rohm
