Emulate the Great

How can you learn whatever you want from any of your favorite heroes? By modeling what they think, feel, and do. In Think and Grow Rich, Napolean Hill writes:

"Experience has taught me that the next best thing to being truly great is to emulate the great, by feeling and action, as nearly as possible."

Imaginary Council of Heroes
Hill writes about using an "imaginary council" to shape his character:

"I followed the habit of reshaping my own character by, by trying to intimidate the nine men whose lives and life-works had been most impressive to me. These nine men were Emerson, Paine, Edison, Darwin, Lincoln, Burbank, Napolean, Ford and Carnegie. Every night over a long period of years, I held an imaginary council meeting with this group whom I called my "Invisible Counselors."

The procedure was this. Just before going to sleep at night, I would shut my eyes, and see my imagination, this group of men seated with me around my council table. Here I had not only an opportunity to sit among those whom I considered to be great, but I actually dominated the group, by serving as the chairman.

I had a very definite purpose in indulging in my imagination through these nightly meetings. My purpose was to rebuild my own character to it would represent a composite of the characters of my imaginary counselors."

Example Dialogue
Hill includes an example of his dialogue with his imaginary council:

• "Mr. Emerson, I desire to acquire from you the marvelous understanding of nature which distinguished your life. I ask that you make an impress upon my subconscious mind of whatever qualities you possessed, which enabled you to understand and adapt yourself to the laws of nature."
• "Mr. Burbank, I request that you pass on to me the knowledge which enabled you to harmonize the laws of nature, that you caused the cactus to shed its thorns and become an edible food. Give me access to the knowledge which enabled you to make two blades of grass grow where but one grew before. "
• "Napolean, I desire to acquire from you, by emulation, the marvelous ability you possessed to inspire men, and to arouse them to greater and more determined spirit of action. Also to acquire the spirit of enduring faith, which
  enabled you to turn defeat into victory, and to surmount staggering obstacles."
• "Mr. Paine, I desire to acquire from you the freedom of thought and the courage and clarity with which to express convictions which so distinguished you! "
• "Mr. Darwin, I wish to acquire from you the marvelous patience, and ability to study cause and effect, without bias or prejudice, so exemplified by you in the field of natural science."
• "Mr. Lincoln, I desire to build into my own character the keen sense of justice, the untiring spirit of patience, the sense of humor, the human
  understanding, and the tolerance which were your distinguishing characteristics."
• "Mr. Carnegie, I wish to acquire a thorough understanding of the principles of organized effort, which you used so effectively in the building of a great industrial enterprise."
• "Mr. Ford, I wish to acquire your spirit of persistence, the determination, the poise, and self-confidence which have enabled you to master poverty, and to organize, unify and simplify human effort, so I may help others to follow in your footsteps."
• "Mr. Edison, I wish to acquire from you the marvelous spirit of faith, with which you have uncovered so many of nature's secrets, the spirit of unremiting toil with which you have so often wrested victory from defeat."

My Take Aways
There's a few things I like about this example:

1. I like the idea of turning your favorite heroes into a personal sounding board.
2. It doesn't matter whether you model from someone alive or from the past. It's an imaginary council.
3. I think the process of visualizing helps you clarify what you really want.
4. I think the act of visualizing from multiple perspectives helps you reflect on where you really are with regard to where you really want to be. It's a good way of exposing opportunities for improvement.
5. I know from experience that modeling the success of others is an effective way to speed up learning cycles.
6. I particularly like the fact that Hill called out that it's more than just modeling action, it's modeling the feeling. If you just go through the motions, it's not the same as being in the same state of mind or feeling your way through.

My Related Posts

• Idea Techniques (Group C) (see "Hall of Fame" and "Board of Directors" from )
• Idea Techniques (Intuitive) (See "The Shadow")

Launch a Crusade

The fastest companies have causes that they use to launch crusades. In It's Not the Big That Eat the Small...It's the Fast That Eat the Slow: How to Use Speed as a Competitive Tool in Business, Jason Jennings and Laurence Haughton write about launching crusades.

Causes Over Visions
Jennings and Haughton contrast the definition of a cause with a vision:

• Cause - that which gives rise to an action, a motive, a principle, a belief, or purpose.
• Vision - someting perceived in a dream, trance, spell or stupor; something supernaturally revealed to a prophet.

Example Causes
Jennings and Haughton share example causes:

• Charles Schwab - "To be the most ethical and useful financial services company in the world."
• AOL - "To build a global medium as central to people's lives as the telephone or television, only more useful."
• Hotmail - "To revolutionize and democratize communications."
• Clear Channel - "Creating value for the shareholder."
• Telepizza - "Creating a world of Telepizza citizens."

Where Do Causes Come From
Jennings and Haughton write:

"Unlike missions and visions, which are generally created by commitees and sufficiently watered down to please everyone, offend nobody, and motivate no
one, a cause comes from a defining moment in a leader's life."

Criteria for a Cause
Jennings and Haughton found eight criteria that were common to the causes of companies that consistently demonstrated an ability to get to market faster than their rivals:

• Causes are never goals.
• Causes big enough for crusades come from the heart.
• The best causes are big, bold, and aspirational.
• Causes are inclusive.
• Causes aren't just about profit.
• Big causes have an aha! effect.
• A cause needn't be credible to the outside world.
• Causes are expressed in few words. Disney's was building a place to "make people happy."

Turning Causes into a Crusade
Visions and missions often fail to achieve the desired objective. Discovering and creating a cause, and turning it into action is a replicable model, but it's more than hanging a plague on a wall. Jennings and Haughton write the eight steps that successful companies do:

• The leader/founder/CEO must live the cause.
• Those around the leader must also live the cause.
• All key executives and managers must be seen as living the cause.
• Everyone is invited to join the crusade.
• Those not joining the crusade are invited to leave.
• Reward activities that advance the crusade and punish those that don't.
• Constantly celebrate the cause and crusade.
• Eventually, the cause and crusade become the reason for existence.

Key Take Aways
In my experience, I would agree that a compelling "why" or purpose matters more than the actual "what" or vision. "Why" is ultimately the motivation. Whether or not a vision is compelling depends on how compelling the "why" actually is.

"Can't Lose" System

The "Can't Lose" System is a way to combat your fear of failure. It works by listing your fears, exposing distorted thinking, and identifying ways to cope. In Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Revised and Updated, David Burns writes:

"You may feel hesitant to put your can'ts to the test because you don't want to run the risk of failure. If you don't run any risks, at least you can maintain the secret belief that you're basically a terrific person who's decided for the time being not to get involved. Behind your aloofness and lack of commitment lurks a powerful sense of inadequcy and the fear of failure.

The 'Can't Lose' System will help you combat this fear. Make a list of the negative consequences you might have to deal with if you took a risk and actually did fail. Then expose the distortions in your fears, and show how you could cope productively even if you did experience a disppointment."

Example "Can't Lose" System
Burns includes an example of a "Can't Lose" System:

Negative Consequences of Being Turned Down for a Job	Positive Thoughts and Coping Strategies
1. This means I'll never get a job.	Overgeneralization. This is unlikely. I can test this by applying for series of other jobs and putting my best foot forward to see what happens.
2. My husband will look down on me.	Fortune teller error. Ask him. Maybe he will be sympathetic.
3. But what if he's not sympathetic? He might say this shows I belong in the kitchen and don't have what it takes.	Point out to him I'm doing my best and his rejecting attitude doesn't help. Tell him that I am disappointed, but that I credit myself for trying.
4. But we're nearly broke. We need the money.	We've survived so far and haven't missed a single meal.
5. If I don't get a job, I won't be able to afford some decent new school clothes for the kids. They'll look scraggly.	I can get some clothes later on. We'll have to learn to get along with what we have for a while. Happiness doesn't come from clothes, but from our self-respect.
6. A lot of my friends have jobs. They'll see I can't cut the mustard in the business world.	They're not all employed and even my friends do have jobs can probably remember a time when they were out of work. They haven't done anything so far to indicate they look down on me.

Key Take Aways
This technique strikes me as a great way to put things in perspective. I'm a fan of thinking on paper. I think that organizing your thoughts goes a long way for dealing with fears and coming up with rationale solutions.