The Grameen bank and You

The Synergy in Life System — Section 20

Ever heard of the Grameen Bank?  No collateral, No legal instrument, No group guarantee or joint-liability.  And… unlike many banks right now, this one is doing FANTASTICLY well!

If there was ever a story worth telling it is of the Grameen Bank and Professor Yunus.  He is a pioneer or magnificent magnanimity.  Below is the 20th excerpt from my book The Synergy in Life System.  Please read about this Nobel prize winning professor and how he helps others.  It has a bearing in your life too.

Helping Others

Some will say that they cannot or should not have affluence because there are so many poor and unfortunate people in the world who have nothing other than misery in their lives.  As you likely are deeply concerned about the plight of poor and unfortunate people, you should spend some of your time helping them.  You can help them best, however, not by giving them some form of material things that will keep them in their place, but through giving them the power of hope and by developing pictures of affluence in their minds, and by helping them to realize their deserved expression of life.  Read the rest of this entry »

Beyond Ego-centrism !

Big word — ego-centrism.  It explains young kids.  They believe themselves to be the center of their own worlds.  Their egos are central to their experience.  Somewhere during the toddler years, almost every child has a profound experience of realization.  They realize that they are not in fact the center of the universe.  That they and others share a larger system in a dynamic dance.  Mankind had a similar – albeit slow — realization when the theories of Copernicus in the 1500’s were supported by Galileo in the 1600’s hundreds through the use of the telescope and mathematics.  It was at this time that mankind slowly began to accept that the earth is NOT the center of the universe.  An interesting parallel. 

A funny thing happens when children realize that there are in fact other people that have needs and wants that might conflict with or compete with their own.  They start to group.  A new phase starts and this new phase is punctuated by the coming together with others in ways that allow groups to identify themselves.  It is an extension of ego-centrism that I call social ego-centrism.  The structure of singular ego doesn’t go away, but is largely consumed by and morphed into a group ego.  This group then thinks that they — their likes and dislikes, their drama, triumph, and difficulty — are the center of the universe.  It is from this construct that we see prejudice, distrust of others that are unlike ourselves, stereotypes, and many other less than helpful mindsets that impede growth, development, and performance. 

The question that arises from this discourse is: “in your family, social group, or work-group do you transcend social ego-centrism and discover the liberated capacity for high performance, or do you live within your universe center, unable to see the systems you exist within?”    Gaining objectivity is the gaining of perspective that leads to the ability to change, adapt, leverage for power, and design systems for positive gain.  Living in the center of social ego-centrism is living lost in a tiny yet encompassing universe that generates, feeds upon, and supports itself in impotent ways.

Can your group see itself?

~ Confront the Elephant ~

This blog post has a special guest from the field of health medicine – Heidi Paul BSN is the manager of Health Promotion and Prevention Services in a major Canadian city.

How to deal with those things you DON’T want at work.

There are things about your work and work environment that you likely do not like.  If these things are commonly disliked throughout your entire corporation or through the group you work with most closely, then they exist as part of a social system.  Thankfully, systems can be influenced.

Systems are collections of interconnected and interrelated parts that we can say have an aim or goal or purpose, and those parts can most certainly be human beings; that is why there is a branch of systems thinking called Human Systems Thinking.  This post starts to deal with Human Systems Thinking in a very practical way that you will want to bring to your work or even to your family. Read the rest of this entry »

What’s Ahead in High Performance Information?

Two main pillars of information are coming your way!

In the next several posts, over the coming weeks and months, I will begin to chronologically post section upon section of information from The Synergy in Life System book.  There are quite a few sections to cover, so I will keep them in a logical order that you can follow and list that order in the title of each post.

Also, Systems Thinking and Synergy tools that I use in my business and which are useful to everybody in daily living will be explained through several posts.  The presentation of these tools is designed to be user friendly showing you ways in which you can view situations and events through a systems and synergy lens so that you can get the most out of every effort you put forth in daily life. 

Along with all of that… well there’s likely to be a smattering of various types of material meant to be helpful by increasing your daily effectiveness. 

Thanks to all of you who are subscribing; here’s to providing the very best in high performance information.

Douglas Leadbetter M.Ed

Hit the Wave ~ Head on

This is a great story metaphor you can use with your kids or even with yourself.  What’s the best way to handle difficulty?  Well, if you’ve lived for any length of time, you know the best way is to gather yourself together (synergize) and handle it head on.  Read the rest of this entry »