Diversity isn’t something we do just because it is the right...

Diversity isn’t something we do just because it is the right thing to do, morally. It IS the right thing to do, morally speaking, but it’s much more than that. 

In almost every instance, a group or organization that is diverse is stronger and richer as a result. By combining the talents and sensibilities of a very diverse group–no matter whether the diversity comes in the form of specialized experience, education, race, religion or culture–we get a much broader set of choices, a stronger set of options that if we keep our group homogeneous and made up only of those most like ourselves.

So, if you want to build a more successful business, organization or community of any kind, it’s time to learn how to encourage and embrace diversity of all kinds. You will create a stronger group, and a richer life for yourself.

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2gB8fmS
via IFTTT

Have you consciously created an experience for someone else...

Have you consciously created an experience for someone else lately? We do create experiences for others every time we meet them, but seldom do it consciously. Experience is what transforms us, and others, so learning to create one can be a key tool of those following the Wizard’s Way.

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2fnsqTC
via IFTTT

No Place for Self-Pity, No Room for Fear: Toni Morrison on the Artist’s Task in Troubled Times

No Place for Self-Pity, No Room for Fear: Toni Morrison on the Artist’s Task in Troubled Times:

So this week, our difficult times continue. Our president-elect has suggested the cast of a hit Broadway show was “rude” to speak to the vice-president elect with a plea for tolerance and kindness. He suggested “we must protect the theater.” In that, I’d have to agree… but for precisely the opposite reason he was suggesting. Rather than attempting to muzzle artistic expression, as he suggested, this is a time to celebrate it. To encourage the kind of art that confronts us with difficult ideas, to support the artists who celebrate “other” thinking. 

As is so often the case, Maria Popova’s Brain Pickings blog hits the nail on the head with this piece on Toni Morrison. Read and enjoy.

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2gaTruK
via IFTTT

Your Filter Bubble is Destroying Democracy

Your Filter Bubble is Destroying Democracy:

Here’s a thought provoking article. The events of the past few weeks (specifically our election and the aftermath) are really reinforcing my “Wizard Motto” dictum to question everything. In many cases, that means entertaining ideas that make me uncomfortable. Here is one of those:

I assume that social media that keeps me in touch with my friends, new feeds “specially tailored” to my preferences, etc. are all good. I get to keep up with friends and news that interests me. HOWEVER: that also means I’m being ‘protected’ from things those news feeds and social streams don’t think I want to see. They want me to spend more time liking them, so I’ll see more of their ads and they can make more money. I get that. However, if I don’t actually make the time and take the effort to seek out news from “the other side,’ I find myself, like so many of my friends and colleagues, shocked and amazed to discover the level of anger and intolerance that much of the population of our country is feeling. I find myself without the information and experience to even begin to understand what is happening.

Here’s the thing about that: If I don’t understand what’s going on, I have no ability to affect it. If anything else, what is happening now proves that top-down, legislated change doesn’t work. It only pushes the anger, the hatred, the intolerance down just beneath the surface. If we pretend otherwise, as we apparently have, it will pop right back to the surface when there is a bit of pressure.

So, how do those of us like myself, with my capabilities, my sensibilities, really make a difference? How am I being, what am I doing (or not doing) that has allowed this to be? What have I been missing, and how can I educate myself to stop missing it.

Here’s something I can start with today: I’ve been seeing a lot of things in my social media streams I would normally ignore–some that would normally cause me to unfriend the people posting them. I think I’ll start attempting to engage at least some of them. Perhaps I’ll even search some of the terms that make ME uncomfortable on Twitter, and follow some of the folks posting in those streams. And when I’m feeling triggered by what they say, when I’m most triggered to respond with negatives, I’ll resist that urge, and see if I can manage to hear what they are saying, to understand why they are saying those things. I’ll resist my urge to challenge them, and just listen (read) what they have to say.

That’s just something I know I can do. I’m sure some of you might have other ideas, as well… and I’d love to hear them. After all… if you’re reading this, you’re probably already inside my filter bubble. I promise I’ll still read what you have to say anyway.

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2fRyIJu
via IFTTT

Authority is what those who want to stop you from thinking will...

Authority is what those who want to stop you from thinking will claim to have over you. As long as you have the courage and mental toughness to think for yourself, no one can claim true authority over you. As Gandhi once said, “No one can make me a slave without my permission.”

This is but one of the reasons that the Wizards’ motto, like that of the scientists, continues to be “Question everything.”

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2fx4j5h
via IFTTT

Learning to really listen is one of a wizard’s...

Learning to really listen is one of a wizard’s metaskills–those skills which make the acquisition of other, more specific skills, much easier. We all think we know how, but it’s actually not as easy to listen, to really connect, as you might think. When you “listen” just enough to know when the other person is finished speaking, when you find yourself preparing your response before they’ve finished, or looking away from their face as they are speaking–you’re not really listening. And they know it.

I’m sure you can remember times when you became acutely aware that your conversation partner wasn’t really giving you their full attention. As a speaker, I’m always noticing if my audience is engaged or not. I seek to engage individuals in the audience, and to get them to respond to my talks. If I can’t catch someone’s eye and get a nod of agreement, I know I’m not really connecting… but when I can, well, that’s exciting, because real communication is happening. At the point, I can actually make a difference. I can build a relationship. I might even make a friend.

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2eWwruN
via IFTTT

Tesla made more money last quarter than the entire US oil industry made last year

Tesla made more money last quarter than the entire US oil industry made last year:

Here’s an interesting bit of news… or at least a take on the news. Though I am delighted for Tesla’s success… the outlook and probable disruption in the oil industry seems a bit frightening. Just one more disruption of the chaotic times in which we live.

I believe we have choices to make… either rail against the change or learn to dance with it. To do that, we must take the wizard’s path and learn new metaskills… those which allow us to learn other specific skills and ways of seeing and being quickly. Old ways will fall away quickly, and if we allow ourselves to be too attached to those ways, we will find ourselves floundering. On the other hand… learn to dance, and we may to guide the change, to create the world anew.

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2g7HhDV
via IFTTT

Authentic8 Silo

Authentic8 Silo:

For both business and political reasons, I know some of my readers might be concerned about having their every move on the internet tracked. Your browser is one of the key ways you can be spied upon, and your machines can be hacked. But not this one. Worth a read. 

FYI: I use this whenever I’m out of my home. It is fast and secure. I DO give up some of the wonderful add-ons etc. from Chrome. But I feel secure. Highly recommended!

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2fONROo
via IFTTT

Richard Branson Is Ready To Take On Trump's "Worst Ideas"

Richard Branson Is Ready To Take On Trump's "Worst Ideas":

Whichever side you voted on… Branson’s attitude has merit, I think. 

If we rely on government–or any outside force–to create the world we want to live in, we’ll fail. That goes for ANY government, not just the one about to come into power here in the US. We live in a time of rising nationalism and the worst aspects of what we’ve come to think of as right-wing thinking. It is a part of a natural social cycle… and will pass. But we must live through it without destroying the planet. Let’s follow Branson’s advice and take the actions that will get us there!

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2eSr6HZ
via IFTTT

How do real wizards get the experiences that give them their...

How do real wizards get the experiences that give them their wisdom and secret powers? They say yes to experiences others might refuse. Too many of us say yes only to experiences we have experienced before, to experiences well within our zones of comfort. Those experiences seldom teach us new things, or expand our capabilities. If you want wisdom, if you want real power, say yes to the experiences that will make you slightly uncomfortable. Say yes to those opportunities you first feel inclined to say no to. That’s how you grow!

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2fzt8y9
via IFTTT

A sobering thought… or an empowering one. It depends on...

A sobering thought… or an empowering one. It depends on your point of view, and who you are. Are you one who relishes taking on more responsibility, or one who prefers to let others take the reigns? Whichever choice you make–you’re still one of us, and still, in some way responsible. The only real question is whether you want to be a large contributor to change, or a small one.

As an example, you can pay particular attention to the way you recycle. You’ll make a small positive difference. If you pay less attention, or don’t bother to recycle at all, you’ll have less of a positive effect, or perhaps even a negative one.

On the other hand, you might choose to make a large difference. You might choose to take on the job of organizing your community to create new recycling initiatives. You might seek out major corporate partners who have created businesses built on the use of recycled materials and would be willing to help your community to a better job, in exchange for their receipt of some of the recycled materials. You might even be an inventor or entrepreneur who creates just such a corporation or other entity that can make a large difference. At that point you’re taking on what I call “Radical Responsibility.” 

That’s when you enter the realm of the true wizards.

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2fsxuo6
via IFTTT

I love this little video animation, brought to my attention by...

I love this little video animation, brought to my attention by Digg. It provides another example of fantastic storytelling by the folks at Pixar, and a wonderful illustration of one of my favorite Merlyn quotes from The Once and Future King:

“The best thing for being sad,” replied Merlyn, beginning to puff and blow, “is to learn something. That’s the only thing that never fails.”

It also shows the way true wizards learn their “secret knowledge,”–by getting experiences others have not had! Thanks once again, Pixar, for a delightful few moments, and a new way of understanding these important principles.

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2fFPcYT
via IFTTT

This weekend we are working with a talented group of magicians...

This weekend we are working with a talented group of magicians who want to become better speakers & presenters, and a group of speakers who want to learn what magicians know about lifting the level of their presentations. An exciting challenge for Jeff McBride, Steve Shapiro and myself. The great thing is, we already know that magic and speaking are natural partners. The things that help make for a great talk: Connection, storytelling, a clear purpose and more–can really help the performing magician create better shows. In a similar vein, magicians know the importance of getting audiences involved, directing their attention, and the delightful power of surprise.

I’m really looking forward to inspiring and learning alongside my fellow faculty and all the students who will be with us. With an luck, before the class is ended, the difference between the “talks we gave, and the ones we wish we gave,” won’t be large at all.

Another experiment on the path leading us all to become more powerful and effective humans–real wizards!

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2eGUzSN
via IFTTT

All marketing, all business activity, has a purpose, and that...

All marketing, all business activity, has a purpose, and that purpose is to serve a particular market. Presentations are no different. Whatever business you are in, whatever the purpose for the presentation you are preparing–there is a particular audience, a particular set of people–you wish to serve, or influence. The more you know about that particular set of people, the better your chances of serving them well.

So do your research, do your thinking, and learn as much about each particular audience as you can. Do it even before you begin to design your presentation. Only when you know the particulars of your audience or market will you become aware of the best ways you can serve them. Once you DO know, then get busy and prepare the best product, the best presentation for that market.

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2eYmXmt
via IFTTT

We have early voting here in California, and since I’ll be...

We have early voting here in California, and since I’ll be traveling on election day, I’ll be taking advantage of that. I hope you’ll be voting, too. Please don’t vote out of fear–vote for your principles. Those that made our country great, like inclusion of immigrants, a dedication to principles and decency. Think about your own principles before you vote, and vote for those principles. When we cast our votes–whether in an important election or in life–out of fear, we allow our lives to be ruled by fear. Choose principle, choose adventure, choose life–not fear!

Above all else, THAT is the Wizard’s Way.

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2enELql
via IFTTT

Since I’ll be off to Las Vegas again this week to join Jeff...

Since I’ll be off to Las Vegas again this week to join Jeff McBride and Steve Shapiro in conducting our annual “Magic for Speakers and Presenters” class, I thought this little video I created a year or so back might be appropriate.

Why do real wizards work so hard to build their skill as speakers? Because we use presentations to persuade others to join our cause. If you want to change the world you must first change yourself, but THEN it helps tremendously if you can leverage the efforts of others–and a powerful presentation is one of the most direct routes to doing just that.

Of course, all of our efforts both at The Wizard Venture and at the McBride Magic & Mystery School involve helping people create more powerful and entertaining presentations of all sorts. Some of our students are entertainers–others run businesses or other organizations. If you want to learn more, just click the links.

I’ll be posting another “Wizard Minute” on creating more powerful presentations in another day or two.

from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2evZq9g
via IFTTT