The following contains excerpts from the book, Tactics (the Art & Science of Success) Edward de Bono.
At our music school in Midland, Texas we believe that music is more than sound, it is relationships. In the study of Leadership, relationships matter. And in studying relationships, the understanding of empathy becomes of high importance.
In the author’s thesis, “There are clearly many different ways of looking at success…we shall be looking at the lessons that might be learned from a number of people who would generally be regarded as ‘successful’…We can gain new perspectives; we can learn what works for them and what does and does not work for us; we can learn what to focus upon; we can learn broad strategies that do not rely for their efficiency upon our teacher’s personal style…The purpose of this book is to provide an environment for such learning.”
At our music school in Midland, Texas we see music as an important part of any student’s education process, giving insight into multiple ways of approaching the solution to problems, especially through the development of empathy, or the ability to see from another’s perspective.
“Successful people are often very single minded and determined…The positive attitude says that natural talent can be maximized and also that without further effort natural talent will be wasted…Even if successful people show a variety of styles, is there one style which – if adopted – would be likely to lead to success? The traditional image is that of a person who is strong-minded, ruthless, and hardworking. It is surprising how few of the people in this book fit that image.
“Stamina and hard work are not the same thing. There may be hard work in training or in putting together a deal. Stamina is the ability to maintain a high level of importance throughout the ‘confrontation’ or ‘operation’ time. Some hardworking people do not have stamina, and some people with stamina hate hard work…Successful people so often enjoy their work that it does not seem like work. Then they retire and quickly deteriorate through lack of the stimulus of work…Efficiency is a function of effort and result…Any style of success must also include a style of failure. How does a successful person cope with failure?…We can survive mistakes and we can learn from them…If we treat the past as an experiment, then we devise a better experiment for the future…I’d much rather climb into the head of someone who has lost and see what made that person come back to be a victor, than to climb into the head of a winner.”
At our music school in Midland, Texas we try to help students see ‘failure’ differently, by learning from the difficulties and turning the experience into part of the growth process.
“What stimulates success?…First, there is motivation to get going in the beginning…Second, there is the motivation to keep going…Third, there is the motivation to focus on one particular area that is to become the basis of the success…Early in the life of a successful entrepreneur there are anxieties and there are pressures. What is interesting is that with successful people the anxieties are ‘propellant’ rather than ‘retardant’. The anxieties push the entrepreneur forward rather than hold him back. There does not seem to be a search for the easy way or for security as such…The value of a challenge is that it wonderfully focuses energies and thinking.
We endeavor to challenge students at our music school in Midland, Texas by giving them opportunities to stretch beyond their current capabilities, yet within the reach of their current skillset.
For some people, this sharp focusing is something to be desired. Instead of drifting about, there is something definite to be done. There is almost a therapy in being focused in this manner. There is a destination and a target and also a measure of achievement. The complex world is reduced to the specific challenge, and as that is overcome, so is the world…Motivation seems to be a natural part of the expectation and self-image of the successful person. Be positive and cultivate such an expectation. Expect to succeed…Probably the most important factor is ‘expectation’. This can be within your environment or within your mind as your ‘self-image’.
At our music school in Midland, Texas we have a positive expectation for each student to achieve their optimum result through commitment and hard work.
The notion is that success should be just as much part of your expectation of life as getting married and having children. If you are a parent, such expectation is the most important thing you can provide for your children. The expectation is that an individual can work toward success – not that success will be provided as of right…Don’t wait for the right place and timing to happen to you, but be sensitive to place and timing, and plant the right seed at the right time in the right spot.”
“Psychology seeks to trap as analytic truths what are really no more than plausible stories. There can be a dangerous dogmatism in explanation; ‘This is your problem; this is what is wrong.’…The best we can really say is that ‘this is one way of looking at things, and this is another way of looking at things’. This perceptual enrichment does have a value, but it is not the value of dogmatic explanation.”
“Sting: ‘I find I can write things much more readily than I can play them. I was always more of a composer than a musician. The two things seem to separate. I tell myself it is the analytical side of the brain that can play an instrument and the other side of the brain that tells the instrument what to play. An ability to create things that are original superseded the technical ability to play in a band. Today, as my composing facility improves, it leaves behind my musical virtuosity. This is why I have recently taken up manuscript score writing.’”
We teach students in our music school in Midland, Texas both how to ‘play by ear’ as well as how to read music and write scores. We teach the disciplines of performing as well as composing, helping them discover their unique strengths and aptitudes.