Can you pass the Simplicity Test...?

The simplest solution is usually the best... 

William of Ockham was born in 1287 and died in 1347, and became famous for the development of a principle of decision making called Ockhams Razor, which states that;

"Among competing hypotheses, the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions should be selected."

The principle has since been translated in to the KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid approach much loved in contemporary business books and workshops...

In my experience - we do tend to make things too complicated. We think too much and talk ourselves out of achievement and success because we ignore the obvious...

To check this out - have a look at the Problem below...

It is known as the Circle Problem and has fascinated mathematicians and psychologists for decades - and it is a simple demonstration of complexity failing over simplicity...

The Problem is this;

Look at the diagram on the right. 

It shows a Circle with a Radius of 10cm and a box with a diagonal line struck through it set within the circle.

Given that the Radius is 10cm, the box height is 6.35 cm;

What is the length of the diagonal line X - to two decimal places..?

Remember;

Area of a Circle = Pi x Radius Squared.
Diameter of a Circle = 2 x Radius.
Circumference of a Circle = Pi x Diameter.

Spend a few minutes playing with the Problem - you may find a piece of paper and a pencil handy to make notes and explore the calculations...

The Answer is at the base of this Blog - no cheating... 

How did you get on...?

8% of people work out the correct answer within 2 minutes - 92% of people take considerably longer, with around 35% of people simply giving up because they never did Maths at school or it just looks to hard...

Here is what usually happens...

Our minds asses the Problem and our instinctive or emotional reaction kicks in. For many of us the reaction is;

"I can't do it it looks too complicated..."

Once we get over this, we attempt to use logic to arrive at a solution. We trawl through elegant equations that we crammed for our GCSE's all those years ago, consider getting a ruler out and measuring the line to save time, or we do the sensible thing and ask a 12 year old what the answer actually is...

We over complicate the solution because we are thinking too much - so much that we miss the obvious, get frustrated and eventually give up..

Same in Business and in Life - those who are highly educated and considered the brightest, do not always achieve the most, because they are thinking too much. In fact we miss the best opportunities in life because we talk ourselves out of them...

How to stop thinking so much...

1. Change your environment - get out of the office and walk around...

2. Trust your Instinct - we are all brighter than we think...

3. Tell Yourself - positive strokes only; " I can" rather than " I can't"

4. Create - draw, paint, play and engage the right brain for a change..

5. Trust - yourself to get it right, it reduces the risks...

6. Ask - a 12 year old for advice; they know all the best answers...


And finally...

The Answer...

The answer is 10.00cm...

If you simply change the diagonal line in the box to dissect it the other way, you will see that it is the same as the Radius of the Circle.

Works for any Radius of any Circle or Height of Box...

I bet you try this out on your colleagues and friends - just be carefull with youngsters; they are brighter than you think...

Drop me a note to let me know how you got on...

In the meantime - have a great week, I look forward to hearing from you...

Fighting for Air...

You can only Win what you are prepared to Fight for...

I had an telephone call from someone; they said that they weren't getting Results and asked if I could give them any tips - my advice shocked them...

From the age of 3 until I was about 25 I would get severe Asthma brought on by the effects of me breathing in air borne grass pollen...

It was so severe that I would have to take tablets; Piriton from memory, and use a Ventolin Inhaler to ease the symptoms and have a series of injections too...

If you have never had Asthma try this simple demonstration to see how it feels. Take a single thin drinking straw, hold it in your mouth and then attempt to breathe in and out through it.

See how difficult it is...?

Now imagine having to live like that...

When it got really bad the only way I could breathe was through the flow of water ejected from the shower head in the bathroom - so I would spend nights kneeling at the side of the bath in a steam filled room breathing through the jets of warm water. The water and steam seemed to reduce the amount of pollen in the air and eventually eased my breathing.

I was the only child I knew that was prescribed playing the Trumpet by his Doctor - in order to strengthen my lungs and muscle control; I was also told that if I smoked it would kill me so I never did and to this day never have...

When I was on my knees snatching every breath I could, my only wish was that I could breathe. I didn't care about anything else, how my hair was, how my exams were going, if I was popular at school or what my career prospects were..

All I was focused on was being able to breathe - nothing else mattered. Sometimes I would pass out from a mixture of exhaustion and lack of oxygen, only to come round later and have to do it all again.  I used to look forward to passing out, at least it stopped fear and the fighting for a few minutes...

Success is like Oxygen...

I guarantee that if someone held your head underwater - your focus would be simple a clear. "How do I get air...?"

In fact you will fight with every last ounce of strength you have to gulp just one more breath of air - everything else will fade into insignificance...

You won't care what smart phone you have, how your hair looks or what car you think you deserve to drive, you won't be considering how much money you have in your account or even what your dress or waist size should be...

You will simply be fighting for that next breath so that the previous one doesn't become your last one...

This is focus and clarity combined and it is what you need in order to be successful and achieve your full potential... 

The number one reason that people don't achieve what they are truly capable of is because for them success is an optional extra...

Success is built in - not Bolted on...

Your success must be non-negotiable, it must be something that you will fight for as if your life depended on it - when you want success as much as I wanted air as a child, only then will you will achieve anything of significance...

How do you know when your Success is truly Non Negotiable...?

1. You stop blaming others for your results...

2. You will forget to eat for a few days at a time...

3. Work and Life merge & you discover that Caffeine rocks...

4. You forget to sleep and get up at 03.00 to write your Blog...

5. When you have NO alternative - your bridges are blown to bits...

6. When you take advice and guidance and drop the Ego...

7. When you are so scared you cry but decide to carry on...

8. When money becomes secondary to achievement...

9. You think going to the supermarket is a novelty...

10. You get rid of the TV and stop buying Newspapers...

If you are sleeping well, eating regularly and watching TV - you are simply not trying hard enough...

You haven't earned the right to Sleep, Eat and watch TV yet - so stop complaining about what isn't working and get on with it...

OR - you can Quit and pretend that it is just too hard...

Imagine having me as your Coach - where your Goals are non-negotiable, and I have more ambition for you and your business than maybe you do - think what we could achieve together...

Drop me a note to find out how it will be the best decision you ever make...

Is History Conspiring against You...?

What if what you Believe is wrong...?

I remember being taught all about History, Geography. Politics and Religion at school. I sat in the classroom listening to what I thought were "facts" about the world, how we got here and where we came from; turns out it was not all true...

Brace yourself...

Civilisation is broadly accepted to have started around 12,000 years ago during the Neolithic Revolution; during which time humans began to cultivate crops and settle into static communities rather than adopt the nomadic and independent hunter gatherer lifestyle.

Technology would have been limited to basic tools and implements - the Bronze Age did not start until around 5,500 years ago and the Iron Age not until around 3,500 years ago. This was the Stone Age - that flourished as the Glaciers began to recede at the end of the last Ice Age...

However...

The Map on the right is known as the Piri Reis Map; It was produced in 1513 from a series of older source maps by the Ottoman Naval Commander Piri Reis. 

The map was found on the 9th October 1929 by the German, Gustav Adolf Deissmann during his work to catalogue the works contained within the Topkapi Palace. The find caused a sensation at the time and the map is currently kept at the Palace for safe keeping.

The Map has always been somewhat controversial, and it was Professor Charles H Hapgood who in 1960, submitted the details of the Map to the United States Airforce for investigation.

The letter sent from Harold Z Ohlmeyer Lt Col USAF Commander to Professor Charles H Hapgood on the 6th July 1960 is shown below...

 So what..?

Well the really interesting thing about the map is that it appears to depict the coastline of Queen Maud Land in Antarctica as defined by the seismic profile of the land mass produced by the British Antarctic Expedition of 1949.

This is a coastline that is not visible to this day - it is completely covered by ice, as it was In 1513 when the map was first produced...

The last time that the coast of Queen Maud Land was visible, was before the last Ice Age, so around 50,000 - 75,000 years ago. So the fact that a map exists that shows Queen Maud Land suggests that it must have been copied from source maps produced by people with suitably advanced technology 1,000's of years before the beginning of what we call the Stone Age...

A slightly different take on history than we were taught at school...?

Instead...

What if "facts" that you believe to be true, simply aren't - what if what you have been taught about success and business aren't true either...?

What if instead of listening to the accepted voices of knowledge and reason, we ignored them and simply got on with building our own remarkable lives rather than being constrained by other people's theories and belief systems..?

What could you achieve if you held a different belief about yourself, your ability and your capacity to make a difference..? 

What if you looked for a different set of evidence to support a more positive and supportive belief - compliance with which would enable you to enjoy learning, achieving, being and doing more..?  

What the Academics and Experts have taught us is probably not 100% true - it is only true for them because it serves them with a career and fits the evidence they choose to recognise...

Remember - your past does not have to guide your future, unless you allow it to.

I will be presenting a series of Engaging and Fun Seminars relating to alternative history and conspiracy theories; not to support or promote the theories, but to simply demonstrate that there is always another way of looking at things...

If you'd like to find out more about the Conspiracy Files - their part in your Future, just send me an email - LINK

It was a Dark & Stormy Night...

It was a Dark and Stormy night; three men sat in a cave, and one said "Captain, tell us a tale..." and this is the tale he told...

It was a Dark and Stormy night, three men sat in a cave...

I remember sitting with my Grandfather and listening to him telling stories about how he learned to drive in the 1920's, moved from Bradford to Birmingham, courted my Grandmother and helped design the Jules Rimet World Cup, the Ford Mustang Badge and other iconic designs that have become known throughout the world...

It turns out the story was derived from the work of  Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, the First Secretary to the Colonies - LINK

Harold was a Yorkshireman, so had a fierce pride in the County of his birth and also a dry and comical sense of humour when it came to telling us about his exploits; he was a great story teller, and even if he told us the same story time and time again, we never grew tired of hearing them. 

Sometimes he would start telling us the story of the "Three Men in a Cave..." a circular and meaningless tale that drew groans and smiles each time he mentioned it; it became a family "standard" and formed part of our language between each other...

What is your Story...?

People may care about what you know; but they care more about how you came to know it...

People like stories; they like to know about you, your business and why you do what you do. It is something that truly defines you as unique and different, it allows people to make an emotional connection to you before they decide to connect with you or buy from you.

If I join the dots, and look at where most of our clients have come from, there is a common thread;

1. Liking - I believe that at some level they all like Lynn and I and respect what we stand for and where we have come from...

2. History - our story resonates with them; they can see that we have earned the right to work with them and we keep our promises...

3. Trust - they can find about who we are and what we do before they meet us through our books, articles, blogs and videos...

4. Ability - our services and achievements are published, and we have testimonials and feedback that demonstrates the fact that what we deliver actually works...

Maybe some of them will comment here too.. :-)

Telling your story is critical when it comes to attracting people to your business, but beware....

Putting your story together will mean that some people are naturally attracted to you and what you stand for, however, others will be put off...

Is this a good thing...?

Yes - a very good thing, and here's why...

We only engage with people that like our story, others don't bother and avoid us. What this means is that we only attract like minded people who we enjoy working with and get great results as a consequence - we don't have to waste time with those that "don't get it..."

How can you achieve the same...?

Here is your 5 Point Plan for telling your compelling story and attracting the clients that  you truly deserve...

1. Get Published - write a book. Not as hard as it seems, if you can put 15,000 words together in a sequence that makes some sense, you can get published. 

2. Story - be prepared to tell the real story of how you arrived, why you do what you do what difference you make to the world.

3. Spread the Word - do a Blog (like this one...) get a YouTube Channel, get on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and tell everyone what you are doing and why you are doing it.

4. Get on Stage - the ability to tell stories to a live audience is the best way to build your brand; talk in front of whoever will listen and build your following.

5. Collaborate - with like minded people, share networks and material. Go to events and build a community of people that Like, Know and Trust you..

Regardless of the business you are in, Your Story is the most compelling aspect of your business; be prepared to tell it and you'll be surprised at the response you get..

Have a great week...

Do you have a Promising Business...?

I do...

...the longest sentence in the World...

On the 4th October 1986 at 3.00pm, Lynn and I stood next to each other in front of our close friends and family and made a promise to each other, and the world, that we would live by and uphold our marriage vows...

As the years have gone by, we have seen friends get married, have children, get divorced and sometimes get married again - sometimes to the same person again...

When we get asked how we have done it, how we have stayed together so long (we have been together since we were teenagers - so over 34 years now...) we both struggle to find a simple answer that does the question justice...

It seems that one of the key aspects, apart from Lynn being very lucky to have got married to me, (I am in trouble now...) is that we simply made a promise to each other, and regardless of what happens we stick at it until it is sorted out...

Every day of our married life has been pure bliss - for me at least. When we were asked if we had ever considered divorce we both looked at each other and responded;

"Never; Murder yes, but divorce no..." 

Duty of Honour - the psychological Promise contract...

29 yr old Captain Robert Campbell was captured by German forces on the 24th August 1914 during WW1.

Whilst in the PoW Camp in Magdeburg, he learned that his mother was dying from Cancer. So he wrote a letter to the Kaiser asking for permission to return to England to be with her and say goodbye. 

The Kaiser granted his wish, on the understanding that he would return to captivity in Germany following the visit. So Capt Campbell travelled to Kent, spent a week with his mother and then returned to the PoW Camp as agreed. 

Simply put, he had made a promise and therefore had a duty to keep it. Interesting to note that according to records, upon his return he immediately attempted to escape, but only after he had kept his promise..

It is also possible that after the horrors of the Western Front in 1914, he decided that being in Magdeburg was a lot safer than being in France...

You have a Promising Business..

Business is a very simple process based on reciprocation. I will pay money for the delivery of a product or service that I perceive as equal to or superior in value to the amount of money I forfeit as a consequence of the transaction.

One of the key attributes of a successful business is that it keeps the promises it makes to its customers on a regular basis; it doesn't mean that the relationship has to be perfect, just that the overall value must exceed the price paid. 

The promises we make in business include our Marketing, Reputation, Agreements & Contracts - we have promises to keep on a number of levels, some of which are more obscure than others...

Plenty of promises are constructed in the mind of our customers before we even know, but our success will be based on us first recognising what promises our customers are anticipating that we keep - and secondly, actually keeping them...

1. Marketing - do you actually deliver what you are promising in your marketing. Is the quality, service and reliability you offer actually as described..?

2. Reputation - people will hear about you and recommend you to others. Providing you deliver consistently then the promise made on your behalf by others can be kept. if you let down someone who recommends you by not living up to their expectations, you may well lose two customers.

3. Product & Service - do you do what you say on the tin...?  In a crowded market, we need to deliver 110% of expectation to our customers. If I cannot be differentiated in terms of the quality and standard of the service I provide; the only differentiator will be price and I will simply be compared with the cheapest in the market.

4. Relationship - is the relationship with your company simply on the basis of a single transaction based on money, or can customers actually become long term patrons on the basis of mutual value...?

There is a psychological trigger that means humans fundamentally keep their promises - not everyone does, but overall we value agreements, contracts and promises. In business providing we deliver the promises we make, or allow our customers to perceive we have made, then business will be good.

Regardless of what business you are in, my belief is that we are all in the business of Customer Service and keeping our Promises...

The more quality promises we keep - the more profit we will make...

• What Promises are you making and not keeping...?
• Are your Team keeping your Promises...?
• Do you need to make better Promises to clients...?
• Is your business keeping it's Promises to you...?

David Holland is a Coach, Writer, Speaker and Business Educator. To find out how working with him and his team will benefit you, your business and your team - simply drop him a note to:

 davidholland@resultsrulesok.com

A Man walks into a Supermarket...

A man in a supermarket walks up to the check out and passes the assistant one small tin of baked beans, a small loaf, a banana, a pot noodle and a small carton of milk...

The assistant looks at the man and says;
"You're single aren't you...?"

The man replies;
"As it happens I am, how on earth did you know...?"

To which the assistant answers;
"Simple, because your an ugly £#@% er..."

The Moral to this story is that, regardless of what we choose to believe about ourselves, others may have a different opinion, our behaviour and appearance send out signals to people even though we don't realise it..

Whilst the Personal Development Master Wizards may tell you that other peoples opinion of you is none of your business; try that out when you are leading a Team, Managing a Business, Selling or doing a Presentation..

Other peoples opinions are your business - not everyone's, but certainly of those people that matter to you...

A surgeon who thinks they are amazing, but all his patients die in theatre, is not a good surgeon; regardless of his own levels of belief...

There are three personalities we need to contend with..

1. Who we think we are...
2. Who we display to the World...
3. Who other people perceive us to be...

Delusion is reality...

In around 1400 King Charles 6th of France held a belief that he was made of Glass and that he would shatter if touched by other people - he even wore reinforced clothing that protected him from bumps and collisions..

The psychiatric condition was so widespread in the Middle Ages that it became known as the Glass Delusion. In 1561 in Paris another sufferer was so concerned that he would shatter at the lightest touch that he attached cushions to his buttocks and refused to sit down to "relieve himself"...

He was cured by the administration of a good thrashing across the buttocks by his physician Dr Chris Lorch - sounds like a pre cursor to the English Public School system..

For these people, they held a conviction that they would break if they were touched or bumped into, there is no evidence of anyone actually shattering on impact, however, to these poor souls life became really fragile...

What we believe to be true about ourselves may not be true to others.

As any fans of the X Factor will know there is a broad gulf between self belief and actual talent. Contestants regularly have absolute conviction that they are gifted, talented and worthy of a record contract. 

When they attempt to perform however, it is clear to see that their confidence is somewhat misplaced..

The fact that a group of judges or an audience see through them seems to have little or no effect - the delusion simply continues and generally turns to hostility and anger at some point...

So What...

Whilst self confidence and belief are all good positive traits, necessary to enable us to perform to the best of our ability, we also have to be wary of the Glass Delusion ..

I have met a number of people over the years that have told me that they are either very good or excellent as Speakers, Presenters, Sales People and Entrepreneurs..

The fact that they tell me they are really good is probably a warning sign; if someone tells you they are brilliant, watch out...

I have seen them on stage, in meetings and at events and on a regular basis the person they described to me simply doesn't show up, and yet they continue to believe that they are amazing...

Who they think they are is not displayed to the world and therefore the perception of others is at odds with their intentions...

How do we change this...?

• The first step is to refine your art; get good at what you do and get recognition for it from those that matter. Even if you do some pro bono work to begin with, achieving positive feedback is a great way to build real confidence...

• Once you start to be recognised as excellent, begin to market yourself and attract new clients who will believe through "social proof" what others say about you..

• Keep the ego in check and keep learning and developing your skills - humility combined with ability is much stronger than confidence combined with hope... 

• Build your reputation and protect it - but never get carried away with the delusion that you are somehow better than anyone else.

By doing this we will actually display to the world the person we believe ourselves to be and better still, others will recognise the skills and abilities we have. 

Our personality, persona and third party perception will all be aligned; this is where magic happens...

Getting £@#ked...!

The Game of Hangman is known throughout the World; the rules are very straight forward...

A word has to be worked out between players based on the ability of one to guess which letters appear in the target word - a correct guess means that the letter is added to the blank space, however, an incorrect guess means that one more piece of the Hanged Man is added to the gallows..

If the word is guessed before the Hanged Man is completed - then he is spared and lives on. If however, all limbs are added to the Hanged Man - usually just six attempts are allowed - then he dies and the game is lost...

Same in Life and Business...

The  key word for us in Life and in Business is PICKED; we need to get picked before it is too late and we run out of attempts...

First Rule - if you are selling yourself you are selling the Invisible and Intangible. In order that you get PICKED over your competitors and peers, you have to become more Visible and Tangible; here's how it's done...

So how do we ensure that we get PICKED at the earliest opportunity...?

Simple - personal and professional Branding...

Personal Branding used to be the domain of celebrities, moguls and politicians but there have been three key developments that have conspired to make Personal Branding of critical importance for all professionals...

Here's a basic introduction...

1. Social Media - there are 100's of Social Media sites online and the ability. You must have the following as a minimum;

• Facebook - full profile including photo's and daily updates...  
• LinkedIn - full profile and plenty of articles and thoughts updated daily... 
• Twitter - get found and get your thoughts out there...
• YouTube - get your thoughts and expertise out on video...

The rule with Social Media must be that you give your own original thoughts on subjects, not just cut and paste the latest quote from Branson, Trump or Einstein; people want to know what you think, contribute to groups and add value to discussions..

2. Self Publishing - it has never been easier to publish a book. Having a book published will set you apart and get you noticed;

• Lulu - free to publish you manuscrip and easy to use. There are plenty around so do your homework...
• Blogger - write weekly Blogs and then every six months publish your Blogs in a book, easy way to get two books every year...
• Distribution - your ideas, Blogs and books can be circulated with ease through LINKS, Updates and Invitations to download.

Second Rule - only upload images and comments that you would be happy for your employer or best client to see. Avoid politics, religion and sex; remember this is your brand and if you are serious about getting PICKED then take care about what you publish.

3. Generation Y & Millenials - the next generation of clients and consumers dont think like the Baby Boomers and Generation X - they think online...

• Buy Your Domain - buy your name and your books URL so that you can get found online when you choose to have a website...
• Get a Website - even as an individual, get a website and link all your information to it, using your own URL of course. Check out AliaVita to get started - LINK
• Mobile - get all your content formatted for mobile devices and be prepared to move around the world to get the best results. Act Local - Think Global...

Third Rule - be consistent. Your message must be consistent accross all media, when someone meets you they should get no surprises, you should be "as expected" based on your activity. Update regularly, an out of date site is worse than no site at all...

And Finally...

Fourth Rule - Avoid Photoshop - I have seen plenty of profiles where the image makes the person look like Tom Cruise or Kelly Brook and yet when we meet they look more like Quasimodo or the Weird Sisters from Macbeth...

Get a good photo with plain background and a nice smile, but you are not dating you are simply getting PICKED for the next big opportunity - before it's too late...

My next book will be about personal and professional Branding - if you'd like to contribute with your stories and anecdotes, please drop me a note...

davidholland@resultsrulesok.com 

The 10th Man, the Zombie and the Ostrich...

So far in Denial that the Crocodiles are biting...

Swissair was so successful as an Airline that it was called the "flying bank". The Board of the company believed themselves to be so good that they were invulnerable. 

Essentially they became a "mutual appreciation society" and developed levels of arrogance and delusional self belief that led them to adopt strategies, such as the ill fated "Hunter Strategy" and take risks that would eventually lead to the collapse of the company in 2001.

How could this happen...?  - simple Denial; no one thought to argue or contradict the people at the top, those who did were fired...

Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon, the symptoms of which mean that people in groups or teams will place so much value on group cohesion and harmony that they avoid all internal conflict and disagreements.

Irving Janis described the phenomenon back in the 1970's; in his 1982 book of the same name he describes the Three Types and Eight Symptoms of Groupthinking;

Type 1 -  Overestimation's of the group — its power and morality

• Illusions of invulnerability creating excessive optimism and encouraging risk taking. 

• Unquestioned belief in the morality of the group, causing members to ignore the consequences of their actions. 

 Type 2 - Closed-mindedness 

• Rationalising warnings that might challenge the group's assumptions. 

• Stereotyping those who are opposed to the group as weak, evil, biased, spiteful, impotent, or stupid.

Type 3 - Pressures toward uniformity

• Self Censorship of ideas that deviate from the apparent group consensus. 

• Illusions of unanimity among group members, silence is viewed as agreement. 

• Direct pressure to conform placed on any member who questions the group, couched in terms of "disloyalty" 

• Mind guards— self-appointed members who shield the group from dissenting information.

Classically this happens in Cults, Gangs & Religions in addition to Boards, Teams and Franchises...

It is a disturbing paradox of many businesses that their Success defines their path to Failure...

Zombie Lessons...

In the Movie World War Z - there were only two countries that were able to stem the tide of marauding Zombies;

1. North Korea - they simply removed the teeth from everyone so that the "infection" could not be spread by people biting each other. 

2. Israel - they used the 10th Man Rule - in a group of 10 advisors, when ever 9 of them were in agreement, the 10th Man would be instructed to attempt to convince them that an alternative strategy should be considered.

Essentially the 10th Man's job was to disrupt the symptoms of Groupthinking...

Ostrich beats the 10th Man...

In business and in life it is all to easy to assume to stay in our Comfort Zone and assume the Ostrich position - pretending that if we simply ignore reality, it will somehow go away. 

We need to get uncomfortable to get our best and most sustainable results, listen to the voices and ideas from others, drop the ego and stay open to the possibility that we don't know everything.

1. Work - with People who don't always agree with you...
 
2. Bring - an outsider into your business...

3. Be - the 10th Man...

4. Keep - learning and upgrading your skills...

5. Drop - the Ego and stay Open...

From Swissair to the Bay of Pigs, the dangers of Groupthinking are clear; don't allow the group to overwhelm your Results...

Find out how working with David could bring the 10th Man to You, your Team and your Organisation. Simply drop him a note here, or email to davidholland@resultsrulesok.com
to arrange a time to explore the possibilities..

Alternatively you could comfortably assume the Ostrich position...

Have a great week...

The Barbarians, The Prince and The 1%...

"Ultimately a society produces only two groups of men; the conditioners and the conditioned, the active and passive barbarians."

Lewis Mumford, 1951

Watching the documentary "Born Rich" by Jamie Johnson, raises questions about wealth, meritocracy and how the top 1% of the population own 90% of the assets of the USA.

A long thoughtful Blog with lots of LINKS for a cold winter nights reading...

The 99% are the Passive Barbarians - here are some statistics that may surprise you...

• 95% of the Global Population earn less than $40,000 per year - Source Kutoa

• 70% of Americans hate their jobs - Gallup June 2013

• 1 in 76 Americans are disabled by a mental disorder - an increase of 250% in 20 years, for children the increase in the same period is 3500%  - Angell 2011

• The average age for the diagnosis of depression is now 14  - Seligman 1998

• 23% of women between 40 & 59 are taking Antidepressants - CDC 2011

• Bipolar Disorder in children has increased by 4000% between 1994 and 2003 - NYTimes

The DSM - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - the Psychiatric professions "bible" for diagnosis was first published  by the American Psychiatric Association in 1952. DSM -1 included 106 disorders, by 1994 when DSM - 4 was published there were 365 diagnoses to chooses from - one for every day if the year...

In May 2013 DSM - 5 was published and while there were not many additional diagnoses to choose from, however, the qualification criteria for many flavours of mental illness have been reduced - especially when it comes to depression. 

This resulted in an open letter and Blog being published in the Huffington Post regarding the potential for Grief being diagnosed as depression during the first two weeks following the death of a family member... 

Also worthy of note is the fact that 69% of the DSM Task Force report having ties to the pharmaceutical industry...

So how does a political and financial "elite" numbering just 1% of the population manage to control 90% of the wealth and yet keep the other 99% from revolting against them and the system that enables them to flourish - simple - we call it Capitalism...

In order to control a herd there are some simple rules that have to be applied - for more information read  Machiavelli - The Prince 1517.

1. Compliance - laws, regulations and procedures must be enforced such that those falling outside the predicated norms are punished or removed from the herd.

You think you are free...? 

Look at what happened to Edward Snowden and Julian Assange when they attempted to publish a different version of the truth...

Radicals and Rebels will not be tolerated - VIDEO

2. Fragmentation - the members of the herd must be encouraged to fight amongst themselves such that they remain disorganised, thus reducing the threat to those in control.  

Religious Freedom will be encouraged - diversity and conflict between different tribes holding different but illogical beliefs in a variety of Sky Gods, under the control of Rule 1 keeps them from rising up under a common goal against the 1%.

The African Dinar -  why the USA actually went to war in Libya

3. Uncertainty - create waves of financial and economic uncertainty that destabilises the predictability of life for the members of the herd; where there is uncertainty there is dependency.

Making sure that the herd is shackled by debt from the Banks under the Government contrived scam of the Fractional Reserve system, controlled by the 1% ensures ongoing compliance - and consequential loss for those failing to payback the loans.

Get them early - make every aspirational job dependent upon the attainment of paper qualifications that can only be attained through student loans... 

Fear and uncertainty are the greatest motivators towards compliance.

How the 2008 Crash actually happened.

4. Control - ensure politics and governance are designed to support the objectives of the 1%.

When Governments manage the people, not lead or represent them, then the influence of the 1% can be effectively built in to the fabric of society - and the laws and protocols with which it should comply. 

Convince the Herd that they are ill if they are not able to cope - and then prescribe them drugs to control their behaviour accordinglyy...

Get rich producing Sugar - a no lose scenario for the 1%

5. Perfection - give them an impossible aspirational goal of perfection;  physical, mental and financial. Their perpetual, but ultimately futile, attempts at achievement will keep their focus away from challenging the very system that creates the false aspirations in the first place.

The Personal Wealth, Personal Development and the whole MLM industry is complicit here; from the selling of creams and potions to utilities and jewellery to the attendacen at mass rallies walking the Hot Coals with NLP Master Wizards; a sure fire way of keeping people out of mischief, whilst helping the Corporates make big profits.

It is a sad reflection of our world that those who earn just £12,000 per year are in the top 10% of  incomes worldwide - if you earn just £575 per year you are already in the top 50% of incomes worldwide...

We hold the Trumps, Kardashians and Buffets in such high esteem that we forget we are not here to simply get rich and famous - but to live healthy productive lives that will ensure that our future generations actually have a planet in our solar system that we live on...

Be part of our own 1%...

In the USA, around 7% of the population has a criminal record and 1 in 15 have spent time in Prison - so if you go to see an NFL game with 80,000 spectators, you could be sitting amongst 5,600 convicted felons, and over 5,000 ex cons...

There is another group calling themselves the 1% - the outlaw bikers - these are the rebels and radicals who choose to fight the Rules of the Herd and go it alone..

We too can become our own 1% - the mavericks who don't buy into the Rules of the Herd, who can actually make a difference to our lives and those around us - we don't fit in, we don't comply and we are all unemployable...

We are the Entrepreneurs - we have that dull ache in the back of our minds that tells us that we somehow don't fit with the society that we have inherited, that we should live on the outside and go our own way.

No longer the Passive Barbarians we are motivated and inspired Barbarians who work, live and love on the fringes - a fractured gang of leaderless breakaway radicals who have the ability to change the world.

It's the responsibility of our 1% to change the world - 97% of the population of Village Earth are out there waiting for us to step up...