“All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten.”

The end of August, beginning of September always holds a special place in my heart.  It’s a magical time of rebirth, celebration and the excitement of future adventures.

Firstly, starting on August 17^th and running through to September 5^th, it contains the birthdays of my wife Suzanne, our daughter Jacqueline, and myself.  A definite time to celebrate and appreciate all that we have.

It also signals the return to school.

And having a spouse (very recently retired) who’s whole career was in the educational sector, as well as our daughter who is into her next level of education (University in Toronto and LA), it signals a very special, emotional response from us all.  A “childlike” excitement of what the future holds.

But more importantly it serves as a cue to myself that there are some very basic teachings we have to remind ourselves of time and time again.  We innately know these lessons, but sometimes we need to revisit them.

In this regard I think Robert Fulghum said it best…

“All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten.”

All I really need to know about how to live and what to do
and how to be I learned in kindergarten.

Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the
sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned:

Share everything.

Play fair.

Don’t hit people.

Put things back where you found them.

Clean up your own mess.

Don’t take things that aren’t yours.

Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.

Wash your hands before you eat.

Flush.

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Live a balanced life – learn some and think some
and draw and paint and sing and dance and play
and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.

When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic,
hold hands, and stick together.

Be aware of wonder.
Remember the little seed in the styrofoam cup:
The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody
really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even
the little seed in the Styrofoam cup – they all die.
So do we.

And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books
and the first word you learned – the biggest
word of all – LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere.
The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation.
Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any of those items and extrapolate it into
sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your
family life or your work or your government or
your world and it holds true and clear and firm.

Think what a better world it would be if
all – the whole world – had cookies and milk about
three o’clock every afternoon and then lay down with
our blankies for a nap.

Or if all governments had a basic policy to always put thing back where
they found them and to clean up their own mess.

And it is still true, no matter how old you
are – when you go out into the world, it is best
to hold hands and stick together.

(© Robert Fulghum, 1990.  Found in Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten, Villard Books: New York, 1990, page 6-7. )

WOW!  Let’s face it – this really says it all.  When we embrace, and put into action, these simple lessons what a magical difference we make in ourselves and the world.

As we move into a new school year please remember the “Magic” that special lessons like these – and more importantly the difference that YOU – can make!  It can be REAL MAGIC!

After all, Real Magic is nothing more than coming up with simple, effective solutions to complicated problems, and then doing something about it!  But Real Magic can happen only when people believe in themselves and are passionate about making a difference in their own life and the lives of others! Have focus! Be passionate about what you do! Create your own real magic!

PS: My BAND TOGETHER – No Bullies Allowed is a great way to reinforce these important messages.  For more information on how this can happen please CLICK HERE.

PPS:  Have a great time in school this year!

Revealing some Magic Secrets behind these, and many other, Canadian Credited Inventions.

There are hundreds of great inventions from all over the world, however in honour of Canada Day I wanted to explore the magic behind some of our own inventions.

If you were to ask any Canadian to name something invented in Canada, the more common answers you most likely would get are Insulin (Banting and Best), the Telephone (Bell) and the Robertson screw (Robertson).  In reality there many more, such as those listed in my title.

The Light Bulb, although credited to Edison, was actually first patented by Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans in Canada in 1874 two years prior to a patent being granted to Thomas Edison.  Edison later purchased this Canadian discovery when he was making his original investigations and before he obtained his own patents.

Five-Pin Bowling was invented in 1909 by Thomas F. Ryan in Toronto, Ontario, at his Toronto Bowling Club.  It was created in response to customers who complained that the ten-pin game was too strenuous and took too long to play. He cut five ten-pins down to about 75% of their size, and used hand-sized hard rubber balls, thus inventing the game of five-pin bowling.

Instant Mashed Potatoes was invented by the Canadian scientist Edward Asselbergs in 1962.  Although the mashing of a potato probably dates from antiquity, the industrial method of “preparation of dehydrated cooked mashed potatoes” was not created and patented until 1962 by Asselberg.

The list goes on and on:  the Canadarm, Electron Microscope, Wonderbra, Basketball, Superman, the Paint Roller, Bloody Caesar, the Pacemaker, IMAX, and the BlackBerry, just to mention a few more. For a more complete list of Canadian inventions visit:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_inventions

However as diverse as all these inventions are, the systems behind their creations remain quite similar (and not just Canadian).

SOLVE A PROBLEM!  The most successful inventions and innovations BEGIN by someone having a desire to “solve a problem”.  There is a need that already exists (whether commonly known or not) for something that solves a problem or advances our way of life.  And the greater the problem the easier to fuel the next step, passion!

PASSION!  Once you discover that something needs to exist to solve this problem, and YOU realize you can do this, a fire is born.  This fire becomes a burning passion!  An itch that cannot be scratched enough until this problem is solved – no matter what it takes!  You need to constantly feed this passion so seek out those who can help you do this and ignore the naysayer.

NEVER GIVE UP!  This in many cases is actually the hardest step – doing whatever it takes to achieve your goal, for as long as it takes.  In reality it can be easier said than done; because no matter happens you have to keep moving toward you goal!  The magic word here is “sacrifice” – how much are you willing to give up to do what needs to be done?

As a life long “magical student” I have become quite attuned to these “simple steps” that when employed correctly can produce truly magical results.  These are powerful results that can benefit not only our own lives, but the world at large.

So what is the take away?  Are there some basic steps that just might help us create our own magic?

Life is about the moment!   If something ‘sparks” a great idea in you – act on it – NOW!  .

Hang around positive people who will support YOU!  If you want to move forward you will need help from those that will build you up – not knock you down.

Be passionate! Sorry, life is over way too soon – go for it NOW!

Never quit.  As the old saying goes (but hey its true), when life gives you lemons make lemonade – or better yet a “new style” lemonade stand.   Keep going and always look for a better way to help others.

That’s how we make Magic happen!

Remember Real Magic is nothing more than coming up with simple, effective solutions to complicated problems, and then doing something about it!

But Real Magic can happen only when people believe in themselves and are passionate about making a difference in their own life and the lives of others! Have focus! Be passionate about what you do! Create your own real magic!

PS:  My program THINK LIKE A MAGICIAN – How to create a “making the impossible, possible” FOCUS shows students exactly how to do this.

PPS:  HAPPY CANADA DAY!

A Magical Story Of Wisdom And How To Apply It To Your Life.

There is a marvelous Shaman tale that has been passed down from generation to generation that truly speaks of the potential magic inside ourselves. It goes something like this.

An elderly Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, “A fight is going on inside me, it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

One wolf is evil—he is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self- pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, competition, superiority, and ego.

The other is good — he is joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.

This same fight is going on inside you my children, and inside every other person, too.”

They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

I first heard this tale when I was in University and its impact has stayed with me ever since. How simple, true and powerful a lesson this is; we become what we focus on.

If we constantly focus on what is good and on our positive qualities, we will eventually take on and pass on those traits. If we let those elements that are negative and destructive take hold, well we all know what will follow.

However as simple and true an insight this is, it can be difficult to constantly feed the right wolf all the time. Yes unfortunately life does have a way of forcing us into situations that can negatively impact us and cause us to feed that negativity. We can see this happen in our life, our work and our relationships.

The real magic secret here is to “never stop believing and never stop trying”! When we encounter a set back or a negative situation, we need to simply take a step back, take a deep breath, and remember which wolf we need to feed.

An approach I use is called “pattern interrupt”, and I practice it all the time. I wear on my wrist a number of elastic bands. Whenever I encounter a negative situation I pull the elastic band and let it snap back onto my wrist. At the same time I think only the positive answer to the situation.

For example in your work if the thought or feeling comes up that something “cannot be done”, when you snap your wrist make the thought inside your mind “nothing is impossible – there is an answer”. You can use this approach in every situation in life and in business; it simply is a matter of following through and coming up with the right positive response.

Technically what is happening is the snapping is shocking your system to take the focus off of the negative, and the implant of the positive thought affects your conscious mind (current mental state) and subconscious mind (which over time will affect how you feel and look at things). I personally have used this approach to break habits, solve problems and constantly empower my mental state. Try it, it really does work.

Right now put a couple of elastics on your wrist. Now for the next ten days whenever a negative situation occurs or negative thought pops into your mind snap the elastic band on your wrist and think the mantra “I am a good person – I am deserving – nothing is impossible – there is an answer”.

Or come up with something else that might be more applicable to you. But the point is try it. After all what do you have to lose? You may be surprised with the magic that it can create.

Remember Real Magic can happen only when people believe in themselves and are passionate about making a difference in their own life and the lives of others! Have focus! Be passionate about what you do! Create your own real magic!!

PS: Now remember you only have to do this for ten days, no longer. After all you wouldn’t want to work this kind of magic any longer, would you:)!