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Then Things Got Complicated

Growing up I had one number; my phone number, no area code, it was just seven simple digits. There were five of us in the family and we all shared the same number. As a kid the only password I knew was “open-says-a-me” that was it, no other passwords, no barcodes, PIN numbers ~ life was so simple and we didn’t have a clue.

Today, I have home, cell, office, fax, toll free, I have Skype password and security codes; man, do I have security codes. I have a door code, garage code half a dozen credit card PIN numbers; I have codes to get into my computer and passwords for ThinkWorldClass, facebook, twitter, linked-in, You Tube plus more website passwords than I can remember. I have ATM codes, online banking codes, and a different number for my debit card, I have codes to shop and codes to retrieve messages I really don’t want to hear. I have cards to swipe numbers and letters to remember that make absolutely no sense, I have codes to scan and one ~ just one retina scan.

I have so many numbers that I put them all together in a password protected file. I am just not sure what the password is.

There is a reason that the most popular password is “password” of if a numerical sequence is required the most popular choice I, 2, 3, 4, 5 in ascending order or, to be really tricky 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

This is a true story; I was at the ATM machine on a Saturday night. Half a dozen tries and I keep getting the same message “PIN number invalid”. I was convinced that my account had been compromised; someone had stolen my identity and changed my password. I went home paranoid and penniless. I was about half way home when I realized, I had been using my office door code at the ATM. I think from now on I am going to make all my passwords “open-says-a-me”.

Keep smiling ~ Think World Class

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Doing a “Felix” The Ultimate Leap

Can you imagine doing something ~ anything; so big and outlandish that your name has the potential of going down in modern lexicon as a verb.  How would it feel to be at the center of an accomplishment that instantly becomes a metaphor for achievement an achievement that is beyond anything previously imaginable?

I suspect this is going to be the fate of Felix Baumgartner, Austrian skydiver and daredevil who literally stood on the edge of the stratosphere and jumped into the great unknown. It really is mind boggling to imagine jumping into space 24 miles above the earth and falling at a speed greater than the speed of sound,  prepared to endure the physical force of 2.5 g’s (that’s 2.5 times the force of gravity) WOW!

Obviously this event took great planning and preparation by a team of World Class experts. A team that included some of the smartest and greatest minds in the world who came together to mitigate the risks, calculate the probabilities, develop viable solutions and diminish the odds of disaster or loss of life. Clearly, all of this could not have happened without the significant financial sponsorship of Red Bull. The fact remains that after all the planning was done and it came to take that step into the great unknown, there was only one pair of shoes on the door step of the capsule. Felix stood there alone, steadfast and committed, then, he jumped.

Ask yourself what is holding you back from doing a “Felix”, holding you back from taking that giant leap forward toward the goals that you have yet to pursue.

Take a “Felix” size leap toward your dreams ~ Think World Class

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Being Progressive

New media outlets and communication sources seem to pop-up almost daily. Granted most of these are not only new but amazingly innovative as well, which in and of itself is pretty amazing. While new and innovative media sources appear on the scene with increased frequency the points of view being expressed seem to become very singular in their attempt to position for the attention of a specific demographic or to support a dogmatic proposition. All of them seem to have an exclusive mandate as they ravenously compete for a piece of our mind with their myopic message. Little room is left for alternative views. And debate (if at all) becomes argumentative, relying exclusively on volume to win the day while logic is unceremoniously tossed out the window or vehemently dismissed.

We seem to have found a fondness for elitism and watch approvingly as the select few in control promote their own interest and use their available access to leverage and spin for the singular purpose of attaining greater wealth and influence. As a social consequence of over exposure to a repeated message we have morphed into an acceptance of these grand illusions (political, social or corporate) looking for a one dimensional answers to satisfy social ills or answer the big looming questions.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not promoting a socialist agenda here. My thoughts are neither left nor right, pro wealth nor am I advocating on behalf of the poverty class.  What I am advocating is that each of us takes responsibility to be progressive in our thinking and look at things critically. Collectively we need to open up the debate, with an honest and respectful dialogue. Our collective intelligence is powerful beyond measure and if we harness its ability and respectfully seek answers to the right questions then our society, community or families will become progressive while actionable solutions present themselves.  

World Class thinking is progressive thinking ~ Think World Class