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Since work takes up so much of our time and physical and mental energy, we often don’t seek out hobbies or extracurricular activities to create that "avenue for self-expression." So, if we don’t find that avenue through our work, we remain frustrated. Sometimes our work doesn’t allow us to show our true talents. Yet when we ensure there is a place in our lives for full self-expression, the payoff is huge! When you have a vehicle for self-development, you ensure that you have a way to grow. Sometimes we grow by the relationships we have in our lives. Everyone needs some kind of vehicle for self development. And then they need an outlet to use that new skill, an avenue for self expression. Self-development and self-expression bring me to a model I’ve been working on for more than 15 years. It is based on two basic elements, awareness and performance. Self-development coming from the increased awareness of where you are right now and learning what is needed in order to grow. And self-expression being how you perform, what you do. The basic principle of the fulfillment grid is that high awareness multiplied by high performance equals mastery. And mastery yields fulfillment. Awareness in its simplest form is knowing. Performance in its simplest form is doing. Your entire life is influenced by what you know and what you do. When you change either of these, in some ways you change your life. So, let’s start by looking at what you know. Your awareness determines how you think. The more you know about a subject, the more possibilities you can see for it. But when you learn only how things work, then you’re stuck with only processes, you have to do it that way all the time. If you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you will keep on getting what you’ve always gotten. This article is focused on how to use your new awareness to improve your life. You must know how to nurture your nature in order to continually grow. Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of my favorite philosophers, said, "If you learn only methods, you’ll be tied to your methods, but if you learn the principles behind the methods, you can devise your own methods." The difference between processes and purposes is bridged by principles. If you learn the purposes of why someone is doing something then you can see which principles apply and which processes make the most sense. I truly believe that the person who knows how may have a job, but the one who knows why will be his/her boss. When you know purposes, you can make better decisions. The more you’re stuck with processes, the harder decisions are. For example: the purpose of building a business relationship with someone is to secure a customer for life, not just during the process of doing the transaction. The purpose of making a sale is to generate a profitable flow of business, not just to correctly write up an order. The proper purpose of marrying another person is not just to have a wedding and set up housekeeping, but for the life-enhancing connection that results from that and the impact it has on both parties’ lives. Think of the why, and the how will become apparent. Become aware of the purpose behind every process. Why do you do things in that particular way? Do you do things a certain way because your mother did them that way? Are you blindly following tradition without knowing why? When you ask "Why," you’re more purpose driven. When you ask only "How," you become process driven; you are a slave to the system. Let’s simplify. Why is the Purpose. How is the Process. Which do you focus on most? The first factor in our equation is awareness, how you think. The second factor is what you do, the performance aspect. To bring about your future growth, I propose you think about doing more. "Doing more?" you may reply. "There aren’t enough hours in the day already! Jim, are you nuts?" No, I’m not. Let me explain. Simply put, we do not grow unless we stretch. Dr. Kenneth McFarland was a well-known motivational speaker back in the seventies and eighties who said, "There are no traffic jams in the extra mile." Going the extra mile always is rare territory. At the beginning, I said there was a formula: high awareness times high performance equals mastery. So let’s look at what I mean by high awareness and high performance.
The vertical axis is awareness, which is measured by knowing the purposes and
principles, the why of things. More than that, it involves raising your level of thinking
in any situation, the ability to get more information or think about the bigger picture.
This scale ranges from complete ignorance, not knowing anything, at the bottom, to total
enlightenment, knowing everything, at the top. The horizontal axis, performance, ranges from doing nothing at the far left, to world changing behavior on the far right. On the left, we are simply doing the job and no more, doing only what is required. On the right is high performance, doing more than is required, overfilling your space, stretching yourself, growing, contributing a little bit more. In this model the resulting four quadrants help us identify four modes of operating. Everyone of us finds ourselves in each of these four modes at one time or another in all categories of our life. If you are low in awareness and low in performance then you fit into the lower left quadrant. In the fulfillment grid, I call that section the "bureaucrat." A bureaucrat, in this sense, is someone who does things without question. If you asked a bureaucrat "Why do you do that?" The answer would be, "It’s my job. It has to be done. Somebody’s got to do it. And besides that’s how I was told to do it." Since they are not very self-aware, bureaucrats constantly need to be motivated by someone else. However, as they move forward on the performance scale their operating mode will change. If they’re regularly getting outside of their comfort zone, they’ll start to stretch, grow and do more than is required, they’ll need less motivation and simply need to be empowered with good information, the right kind of tools, and the situation where they can control the outcome as much as possible. In my research I’ve found that people in the bureaucrat mode don’t seem to think very deeply. Rarely do they understand their own Acorn Profile nor do they see the uniqueness in others. So they tend to be highly judgemental. They don’t have the energy or motivation to question the process or authority. And they tend to be confused much of the time. They are passive, waiting for orders or permission. They rarely feel confident enough to take a leadership role. They tend to think as victims. Up the awareness scale, in the upper left quadrant, is the "philosopher." The philosopher mode also does only what’s required, but thinks about it a lot more. They’ve figured it out, they understand some of the reasons. A lot of times they slip into the mode of being merely a spectator, a back-seat driver. They sit in the stands at the stadium and call out the instructions that they think are right to the people on the field, and of course none of the people on the field hear what they’re saying or care. They may know themselves very well but they take no action to grow. If all we do is become more enlightened, but it doesn’t spill over to affect our behavior, we end up being an armchair quarterback in a very lonely situation. Most philosophers (in this model) tend to become cynical and skeptical, and they tend to become what my fellow speaker Brian Tracy calls an "articulate incompetent." They talk a great game but seldom play in it. What does a philosopher need to do to move into the realm of mastery? A philosopher needs to do more than is required, such as not just doing your work but actually solving the problem. Putting in whatever effort is necessary to achieve the needed outcome. This could also apply to simple social situations: cleaning up your room when you are a guest in someone’s home, or leaving a borrowed car with a full tank of gas when it’s returned, or going the extra mile for a neighbor, customer or employer. When you start to increase your performance, but not your awareness, then you move into the lower right quadrant, which is the "competitor." Competitors tend to be workaholics. It’s as if they’re running on a treadmill trying to win a race that doesn’t exist. They keep turning the speed up thinking that somewhere in the distance, they’re going to win. Well it’s not going to happen; all they will get is calluses on their feet! So they’re in danger of burnout; they’re operating from fear. They’re afraid that they’re not going to be first or most or best or biggest. They’re constantly looking over their shoulders, watching other people to see where they stand in relation to them. In a word, they’re competing. And that’s a hypertense, uncomfortable way to live because there’s no satisfaction in it, no fulfillment. There is a little momentary win . . . "Yes! I was number one," and then a moment later . . . "I’ve got to get back on that treadmill again." When Will You Know You’ve Won? If a person will simply improve their performance while staying focused on the goal and purpose, they will attain a new level of mastery. That’s when we enter the quadrant in the upper right-hand corner, the "master." That’s where life becomes fulfilling. Masters are contributors, they make a difference in the world, and experience a sense of personal fulfillment. Life matters to them and they feel great about the changes they bring about. To my way of thinking, the master quadrant is the only mode in which you will find a person achieving fulfillment. Personal fulfillment begins the minute you start doing more than you have to do and the minute you start focusing on why you’re doing it. If you’re purpose driven and you’re exceeding the requirements, you respect yourself more. The upper right quadrant of high awareness and high performance is mastery. You’re also a leader, whether your position shows it or not. Others will naturally follow your lead. Masters clearly had an appeal that defied definition. They knew how and why they were doing what they were doing and they did much more than they were required to do. You can have that too, whenever you operate from the position of mastery. Much of The Acorn Principle™ book leads you through the process of increasing your awareness, of yourself. But those who are only self-aware aren’t fully in the game. Without also mastering the art of self-motivation your situation never improves. When you can both understand and motivate yourself then you leave the bureaucrat mode and graduate into the mode of mastery. Purpose driven with high performance, a perfect formula for fulfillment. |
