One of the most important things we can teach students in our music school in Odessa, Texas is how to think clearly and strategically. This will produce successful results in their artistic goals as well as in how they influence their community at large.
The following contains excerpts from the book, How Successful People Think (John Maxwell).
John Maxwell’s premise for his book is that changing one’s thinking isn’t always easy, but it’s always worth it. He gives eleven main points throughout the book to challenge the reader to more productive thinking.
Maxwell initially gives six basic rules in his introduction to help change one’s thinking for the positive: 1) Expose yourself to good input, 2) Be around good thinkers, 3) Only spend mental cycles on positive thoughts, 4) Act on those positive thoughts, 5) Schedule out time for thinking, 6) Repeat the process
Big Picture Thinking
Successful people don’t get lost at the tree level but look at the whole forest.
We hope to help students in our music school in Odessa, Texas see a larger picture of artistic culture and how they fit into the big picture to influence it positively.
Most leaders are big picture thinkers
They see the vision before others
They size up situations and variables
They sense where the team is going
Connect the past and the future
Seize the moment
Learn continually by visiting new places, reading new books, meeting new people, learning new skills. Become a listener. Try to get “outside yourself.” Take in other people’s thinking. Look for opportunities to learn.
Focused Thinking
Successful people have very clear targets. A very clear target allows you to get highly relevant feedback in a short period of time which, in turn, will allow you to take strides towards you goal.
At our music school in Odessa, Texas, we endeavor to help students focus on specific goals and deadlines in order to teach them discipline and strategy. This translates into all aspects of their personal development.
Set aside time to focus. Focused thinking removes distractions. It clarifies the target. It gets you through this milestone and to the next step. Be selective and choose your priorities (Top Five, High Five). Do personality profile assessments and reflect on past successes. Focus on your strengths. What brings the highest return?
You can’t know everything, pursue everything, or travel everywhere. Releasing the incidental or urgent for what is important is not an easy lesson to implement.
Creative Thinking
Creative thinking is the ability to make connections and association in a way that the final product is different that the sum of all the inputs. To think creatively, it means you sometimes have to tolerate some craziness.
Creativity is being able to see what everybody else has seen and think what nobody else has thought in order to do what nobody else has done. Joy is in creating, not maintaining.
Creativity is the most valuable resource you can bring to your organization. Few people figure out how to use this principle in abundance. Often, creative thinking is really dot connecting using a lot of previous learning. But you will not be able to create or connect those dots if you don’t understand the value of the thoughts.
Einstein held that “Imagination is more important than intelligence.” By keeping your options open for other ideas, you find the key to getting the best solution.
“Creativity is especially expressed in the ability to make connections, to make associations, to turn things around and express them in a new way.” (Tim Hansen)
Creative thinkers are fearless. You don’t use up creativity, the more you use, the more you gain.
We hope to inspire creativity in students in our music school in Odessa, Texas, helping students fearlessly step out into uncharted waters in their own creative pursuits and collaborations with others.
Realistic Thinking
Leaders must be grounded in reality and take into account best case scenarios, worst case scenarios and likelihoods.
The leader must define reality. Realistic thinking will protect your game plan. Staring at reality will be a healthy catalyst for change. After you have dealt with the worst case and come to terms with it, what’s the worst it could be? Harry S. Truman used to say of communicating with his staff, “I never give ‘em hell. I just tell them the truth and they think it’s hell.”
The value of a good idea is in using it.
Winston Churchill said, “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.”
Ted Koppel said, “Our society finds truth too strong a medicine to digest undiluted.”
When facing reality, why not learn all you can from those who have faced it before you? Some of your best thinking can be done by others.
In our music school in Odessa, Texas, we start with each student from the standpoint of honest evaluation, and from there set a course for positive development.
Strategic Thinking
Strategic Thinking requires that you put your ideas and solutions on a bigger plan. Basically, thinking contingencies and how to actually make it happen.
“Most people spend more time planning their summer vacations than planning their lives.” (Anonymous)
Tips on how to do strategic planning
Unpack the issues
Ask “Why?” before “How?”
Get to the real issue (The issue is often not the issue)
Assess your resources available in time, people, money, etc.
Come up with the plan
Put people in place (make your assignments carefully with respect to skills, strengths, trust)
Repeat the process periodically
Possibility Thinking
Winners have a can do attitude. They believe in possibilities and believe there’s a way to achieve anything.
“Nothing is so embarrassing as watching someone do something you said could not be done.” (Sam Ewing)
It is often thought to be arrogant and mystical to be a possibility thinker. But there are many instances of great things being done by people who thought it could be done and endeavored to do it. Conversely there are many more stories of people not doing things because they believed it could not be done, so they did nothing.
George Bernard Shaw said, “Some men see things as they are and say, ‘Why?’ I dream of things that never were and say, ‘Why not?’”
Reflective Thinking
Reflective thinking takes time to ponder things. Block out time and only dedicate it to thinking over your ideas.
How to think reflectively:
Intentionally set aside some time….block it out
Get away from distractions (Phones, people, TV, etc.)
Review your calendar and journal
Ask yourself the right profound questions
o Personal growth – What have I learned today?
o Add Value – Did I help someone? Did I add value?
o Leadership – Did I lead by example?
o Personal Faith – Did I represent God well today?
o Family – Did I impact my family positively today? Did they feel the love?
o Inner Circle – Have I invested in my key players lately?
o Discovery – What did I discover today/lately?
Put aside some time to reflect on your life. Create three columns on a sheet of paper. Label the columns: Year, Turning Point, and Impact. List the events that shaped your life by year, reflect on the turning points they represent and what the impact was on your journey.
Question Popular Thinking
Sometimes you need to escape and distance yourself from widely held views if you want to disrupt and come up with something groundbreaking.
“The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping the old ones.” (John Maynard Keynes)
Benefits of Shared Thinking over Solo Thinking:
It is faster moving
It is more innovative
It works around our blind spots
Has more power
Returns greater value
Only path to consistent great thinking
Many times, pop culture dictates what seems to be successful, but only equates to ‘candy,’ while true artistry requires going against the grain to produce lasting quality and long-range success.
Unselfish Thinking
Givers are the happiest people in the world. If you want to improve yourself and the world, adopt unselfish thinking and learn to be a giver.
Giving Principles:
1. Put others first; it’s not about you.
2. Expose yourself to others who have needs (at home, in your community, in the world).
3. Give quietly; it’s not about you.
4. Have an intentional plan when you invest in others.
5. Four principles of Win/Win:
a. I win, you lose – I only win once
b. You win, I lose – you win only once
c. We both win – we win many times
d. We both lose – goodbye partnership!
6. Check your motives often.
Bottom Line Thinking
Bottom line doesn’t necessarily mean thinking in dollar terms. But it means knowing what you’re after, so that you can filter out your decision based on what you really want.
What Bottom Line Thinking Can Do for You:
1. Provides clarity
2. Helps you assess the whole
3. Facilitates great decision making
4. Lifts morale
5. Ensures your future
Tips for Bottom Line Thinking:
1. Identify your organization’s actual bottom line
2. Make it all about the bottom line
3. Create a plan to get to the bottom line
4. Get alignment and ownership on your team as to what the bottom line really is
5. Stick with your targets and monitor results often