A Lesson from a 4-Year-Old
A motivational article by Jim Stovall
If we were to conduct a poll among the readers of
this column to determine how many of you could sing or dance, I fear that we would
receive the overwhelming message that the vast majority of adults feel they have
no talent in these areas. On the other hand, if we were to conduct the same poll
among 4-year-olds, we would find that virtually all of them are convinced they can
sing, and virtually all of them have confidence in their ability to dance.
Most of the 4-year-olds have little or no real talent, but, instead, they are endowed
with incredible confidence in their own potential. This confidence, or certainty of
success, is something we were all born with but we later traded in for a strong dose of
what we call realism.
Shortly after we reach school age, we are taught lessons about the world that revolve
around us, limiting our vision and becoming realistic. I defy you to find a statue or a
monument ever erected to anyone because they were realistic. All dreamers, all achievers,
all great people kept their child-like faith in their own dream and their ability to carry
it out, and these great people had an inordinate gift to disregard the worlds cries
for reality.
I challenge you to go through a single day exploring every aspect, not from what is
realistic, but instead from what is possible. If we can master this, we will begin to
revert backwards and live our lives in the unlimited realm of the successful 4-year-old.
Today is the day!
Dog Decisions
We just finished production on a movie based on my novel The Lamp.
I’m really excited about the project, and I hope you have the opportunity to read the novel and
see the movie in the near future.
When you turn a book into a movie, there are a number of variables and uncertainties. Among these
unpredictable elements is the fact that you never know how a real audience is going to react to an
actor or the character they are playing. The Lamp has many outstanding stars including Academy
Award-winner Louis Gossett Jr.; Muse Watson, best-known for his current role as Mike Franks on NCIS;
Tony Award-winner L. Scott Caldwell who recently starred on Lost; Sarah Brown, a three-time Emmy
Award-winner; and I even reprise my role as the limousine driver that I have played in a number of movies.
The entire cast of The Lamp did a great job, and they’ve all been well received by the sample focus
group audiences we have screened the movie prior to its release; but there was one huge surprise
in the cast of The Lamp who brought a lot of star power and audience appeal.
Cooper is an eight-year-old mixed-breed dog who was rescued from a shelter before he might have been
euthanized (Cooper's
Facebook Page). This is a huge problem across the country as there are
more unwanted pets than shelters can deal with. Cooper was rescued by Beth Sharp who is one of my
colleagues at the Narrative Television Network. Beth trained Cooper extensively, and he became a
nationally-registered therapy dog. Cooper regularly visits children’s hospitals, nursing homes, and
libraries. On each of these occasions, Cooper performs a number of tricks.
When we finished the script for The Lamp movie, we needed a dog in several places, and I couldn’t
think of anyone I would rather have in the film than Cooper. In The Lamp movie, Cooper performed
a number of intricate maneuvers, including bringing a Kleenex to Louis Gossett Jr., hiding and
retrieving car keys, and befriending a young girl who had not been able to talk or interact with
anyone since a horrible accident.
If you ask Beth or other dog trainers how they get their dogs to perform complicated tasks, they
will tell you about a teaching technique they use called N.I.L.I.F. This stands for Nothing In
Life Is Free. Cooper and other highly-trained dogs quickly learn that if they perform a task on
cue, they get a treat or some other reward. If they fail to perform and choose to lie around doing
nothing or pursue some outside stimulus that is immediately attracting them, they do not get a reward.
I think it is amazing that dogs can learn this in a relatively short period of time, but I know many
adult humans who have never grasped this simple concept.
Any time you’re not succeeding or achieving up to expectations, if you will truly examine your
circumstances, you will discover you are probably violating the vital life principle known as N.I.L.I.F.
As you go through your day today, take a lesson from Cooper and enjoy the rewards.
Today’s the day!
The Power of Deciding
I believe and have
often said that we are all one quality decision away from anything we
want. A quality decision is a certain state of mind. It is not the
process of deciding to try, attempt, or pursue something until it
becomes difficult. A quality decision means that you have firmly set
your course. You are no longer flexible on your mission; however, you
may be flexible on your method.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Once you make a decision, the world conspires
to make it happen.”
As a blind person myself, I became frustrated with the inability to
access movies and television over 25 years ago. I made a quality
decision to do something about this issue for myself and the 13 million
blind and visually impaired Americans and their families as well as
millions more around the world. With some very talented colleagues, I
launched and built the Narrative Television Network.
Initially, it was our plan to provide companion audio cassettes that
would describe the visual elements of a TV show or movie. Unfortunately,
I learned the hard way that the best quality audio cassettes in 1988 had
enough tape stretch problems so that, by the end of an hour program, the
audio tape could be as much as a minute ahead or behind. If I had been
committed to this method of achieving my mission, it would have been the
end of our venture; however, next we began producing VHS tape, followed
by delivering our accessible programming via analog broadcast tape, and
today we provide special sound tracks to visually impaired people around
the world via a number of digital platforms.
I remain committed to the goal of providing accessible entertainment and
educational programming for blind and visually impaired children and
adults; however, I am quite certain that in the coming years we will
deliver our programming through newly-developing technologies as well as
technological breakthroughs that have yet to have been even considered.
As you consider your goals and dreams, it is important to move them from
the state of a wish to the state of a decision. A wish is something that
would be nice if all the stars aligned, and it happened. For example,
most people would agree that winning the lottery would be nice if it
happened. On the other hand, a decision is a firm state of resolve that
closes the door marked “What am I going to do?” and opens a new door
marked “How am I going to do it?”
If you will remain committed to your course and open to all possible
ways to reach your goal, success is simply a matter of time.
As you go through your day today, find a worthy goal or project and make
a quality decision.
Today’s the day!
Knowing the Unknown
Humanity, itself, creates an ongoing set of problems that are inevitably
followed by solutions. These solutions create a new and ever-expanding
set of problems.
In the past, we were faced with the problem of finding reliable and
rapid transportation. This problem was solved by the automobile, which
then created the problem of pollution, traffic congestion, and
accidents. Solutions for each of these problems are being sought and
will eventually be found. Those solutions will create more problems.
Some pessimistic individuals might look at this ongoing cycle of
problems as a negative condition. This is simply because pessimistic
individuals have not learned the inevitable truth that all opportunities
come disguised as problems.
As a blind person myself, I struggled to deal with the lack of access to
the information, education, and entertainment that is provided by movies
and television. This problem created a sense of urgency in me that was
the beginning of my company, the Narrative Television Network, which
provides hundreds of hours of accessible TV and movie programming to the
13 million blind and visually impaired Americans and millions more
around the world.
Frustration arises when we try to deal with existing problems through
existing knowledge. The problem exists because we don’t know the
solution. It doesn’t mean there is not a solution. It simply means we
have yet to discover it.
Carl Sagan said, “Somewhere something incredible is waiting to be
known.” This knowledge that Sagan speaks of represents the solution to
many problems that will, in turn, create new problems which will result
in more opportunity and even more knowledge.
There are a myriad of current problems facing the world including an
energy crisis, climate change, world hunger, and many others. These will
be solved in time. Some might ask how I can emphatically state that the
most difficult problems of our age will be solved. It is quite simple.
There is knowledge waiting to be known. Once it is known, these problems
will be eliminated and new ones will emerge.
Everyone is looking for a great idea and a great opportunity. The only
thing you need to do in order to have a great idea is to go through your
daily routine and wait for something bad to happen. Then ask yourself,
“How could I have avoided that problem?” The answer to that question is
a great idea. The only thing you need to do to find a great opportunity
is ask yourself, “How could I help other people avoid that same
problem?” The answer to that question is a great opportunity. When
viewed through this new perspective, problems become welcomed
challenges.
As you go through your day today, welcome opportunities disguised as
problems, and seek the knowledge that is waiting to be known.
Today’s the day!
Reputation and Reality
Having just gone through a particularly aggressive political campaign
season, it seems more obvious than ever that there is a vast difference
between someone’s packaged and publicly-presented self and reality.
The late, great legendary Coach John Wooden said, “Be more concerned
with your character than your reputation because your character is what
you really are, while your reputation is what others think you are.”
I spend a lot of time working in the television industry through my
company, Narrative Television Network. Commercial advertising dollars
fuel the entire broadcast business. It is interesting when TV stations
or networks present their ratings to prospective advertisers. Commercial
ads are sold based on the rating points and ranking of a particular
program at a given time during the week.
I challenge you to call each of the TV stations in your local market and
ask them their ranking among local stations at any given point in time
throughout the week. I will be shocked if you do not learn from these
calls that every station is ranked number one at all times. You may
wonder: How can this be true?
The reality is that, depending on how you measure and segment the
viewers, every station can find some segment of the population where
they are the top rated broadcaster. They may have to get down to
counting teenaged left-handed Eskimos in order to find a subset of the
population where they are top ranked, but everyone will inevitably find
some criteria that will make them number one.
This is a difficult and delicate balance because all of us, in one sense
or another, succeed based on our ability to sell. We may sell actual
products or services, or we sell our ideas and our concepts.
One traditional selling technique involves presenting the best aspect of
your own product or service compared to the worst aspect of your
competitor’s. I believe we live in such a commercial society that some
of this hype is impossible to avoid. In the final analysis, it is
important that you be honest with everyone you deal with and totally
transparent with yourself.
If you allow yourself the luxury of skewing your performance in your own
mind to make you feel better, you have eliminated the possibility of
improvement for the future. Certainly, you want to put your best foot
forward and present your strongest points to the world around you while
you internally focus on your own weaknesses and commit to make
improvements.
As you go through your day today, seek a realistic assessment of your
current performance, and commit to improving a little bit every day.
Today’s the day!
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