Self Development Idea (12) - Team and Grow Rich

-----8< ----- Article Cut & Paste from Scientific American MIND, Vol 17 No 3, June/July 2006 -----

Better Than Individuals

When three, four or five people gather to solve a problem, chances are they will succeed beyond the efforts of an equivalent number of individuals working separately, even if those soloists are the brightest available. So conclude researchers at the University of Illinois.

The investigators enrolled 760 of the school’s students to solve complex letter and word problems. Some toiled as individuals while others functioned in groups of two, three, four or fi ve. The groups of three, four and fi ve performed better than any set of individuals.

The dynamic is sensitive, however. Teams of two performed at the same level as two separate people, suggesting that this team size is too small to foster the dynamics that create optimal problem solving. Also interesting is that groups of three, four and five did equally well compared with one another; there was no advantage to adding people beyond a trio.

Study leader Patrick R. Laughlin says that in addition to tackling workplace challenges, problem-solving groups might enhance classroom learning. Further research is needed to determine whether student groups perform better than individuals do in academic settings and, if so, at what ages and tasks.

— Mark Fischetti

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Although the result of the above research is nothing new for those who had studied the books by Napoleon Hill, I think it is an excellent articles to illustrate the important point of teamwork.

Napoleon Hill called it the "Master Mind Group"- the power beyond science. In short he described that "The Master Mind effort is to get those of like mind, form an alliance with about 5-6 people as optimum number, to work actively in a spirit of perfect harmony towards accomplishing of a definite purpose."

In my view, this concept is now more valuable than any of the historical time. This is because the knowledge that need to achieve success in the modern society has become so complex that not only the depth, but also the breath of subjects are increasing rapidly which fuel by modern technology.

For example, in the past, a farmer, scientist, doctor, teacher, engineer or any person who have a full time job can concentrate in their work and entrust their life-time saving to the fund managers and banks that would be needed for retirement. But, in this dog-eat-dog era, with too many "Bad Apples" in the market, people has to worry about the ethical issues of their brokers/fund managers, bankruptcy of banks... And even with the possibility of bankruptcy of certain states or the whole country... or yet another round of financial turbulence that might wipe out their saving or loose their job!!! Think about it, what a joke (though not funny but a sad one) for the thousand years of evolution of human history.

Working harder on the job would not solve such problems. Think of it this way:- one would need to fill up a bucket of water as accumulating enough personal retirement fund. But, one cannot fill up a bucket if there are a few leaking holes on it. The more water one fill into it, the more it would leak out.

Anyway, here is a little suggestion... Individual can form team to handle their financial matters, and make sure that at least one person in the term have a compass to navigate through the turbulence market in the future.

"A dwarf standing on the shoulders of a giant

may see farther than a giant himself."

- Didacus Stella.

Here is a blog link for those who are not familiar with the term "Master Mind Group".

Self Development Idea (2) - Thought is the First Step Towards Success

(This is just a note taken from study the Napoleon Hill's books and Audio CDs)

Every person would has his own definition of success (if any), here are Napoleon Hill's definition of Riches of Life:-
Napoleon Hill's Twelve Great Riches of Life
1. Positive mental attitude
2. Sound physical health
3. Harmony in Human Relationships
4. Freedom from fear
5. The hope of achievement
6. The capacity for faith
7. A willingness to share one's blessings
8. A labor of love
9. An open mind on all subjects
10. Self discipline
11. The capacity to understand people
12. Financial security
(Note that the finanical part come the last. As it is basically a reflection of what a person has become.)

The Following are the short summary of the 17 Principle of Success:-
17 Principles of Success:-
1. Develop Definiteness of Purpose(When one has thoughtfully defined his personal goal(s) in life, then he can be focusing his energy in pursuing them. He can then create the environment and circumstances to achieve what he want rather than simply drift along with the environment aimlessly or simply accept what others have to offer him.)
2. Establih a Mastermind Alliance(Outstanding success in life had never been achieved by the effort of one man. The Master Mind effort is to get those of like mind, form an alliance, to work actively in a spirit of perfect harmony towards accomplishing of a definite purpose.) -- And the whole purpose of having this blog is to achieve this.
3. Use Applied Faith(Goal that's worth achieving always accompany with great challenges, and temporary defeats along the journey is almost certain. Faith is the "rocket fuel" of human endeavor. Applied Faith is the ability to hold on to the Positive Mental Attitude in mind when the going is tough.)
4. Going The Extra Mile(Make it a habit to contribute more than expected, with no expectation for immediate reward. It insures an increase in personal courage, self-reliance, personal initiative and it builds greater enthusiasm. Sooner or later, the law of compensation will bring its greater rewards.)
5. Assemble A Pleasing Personality(No man is an island. Before one can sell any product or service to others, he has to sell himself first. One should put in the effort in doing self-analysis and improve in this area.)
6. Create Personal Initiative(When one has a definite goal in mind and has the burning desire to achieve it, then opportunities for personal initiative are easy to find. )
7. Build A Positive Mental Attitude(Positive Mental Attitude is the cornerstone for success. The mind is the only thing one can control. In order to achieve the definite purpose of life, one must exercise that control and direct it by using Positive Mental Attitude.)
8. Enforce Self-Discipline(Self-Discipline is the first rule of all success leadership. It is the training which corrects, molds, strengthens, and perfects. When one gets himself under complete control, he then can be his own boss, and it makes discipline from the outside unnecessary. )
9. Control Your Enthusiasm(Enthusiasm is an emotion, the physical counterpart to one's idea. It starts the wheels of the imagination to turning. It is a feeling of confidence and harmony in working towards the definite goal. A man lack of Enthusiasm is like an automobile without gas. )
10. Control Your Concentration or Attention(Where concentration goes, energy flows. Controlled Attention is the act of focusing the mind on a given desire until ways and means for its realization have been worked out and successfully put into operation. Success comes after much concentration.)
11. Think Accurately(The ability to differentiate facts from opinions, and the ability to focus on important facts enable one to make effective decisions in achieving success.)
12. Learn from Adversity and Defeat(Adversity is part of life, and every adversity carries within it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit. A man's attitude in time of adversity determines much of its eternal effect on his life - for good or ill. All success is based on the experience learn from defeats. No one has failed until he accepts the defeats as failure.)
13. Cooperation(Cooperation is the beginning of all organized effort. True cooperation has no room for selfishness or greed. All achievement is the form of significant and successful cooperation and teamwork between individuals.)
14. Cultivate Creative Vision or Imagination(Creative Vision or Imagination is a demonstration of the use of subconscious mind to tap into the wisdom of the infinite intelligence in getting breakthrough solution for any challenge. And, one way to communicate with the subconscious mind is to repetitively thinking for the solution with the burning desire. Especially, the time just before going to sleep, and the time just wake up from the bed [while the brain is still at Alpha state.])
15. Maintain Sound Health (Various habits affect heal:-

• Mental Attitude affect health and it is something that one can control. Good thinking and feeling good generates harmony within one body and generates physical manifestations or order and system.
• Eating habit affect health. (No over eating, don't eat rapidly, no soft drinks, no candy bar or snack between meals, take more water, more fruits and balance of food.)
• Exercise/Meditation/Fasting.... Etc.

16. Budget Your Time and Money(In our "spaceship earth", there is certain amount of natural resources. Same as individual, one has limited time and money; therefore there is a need to have a system to spend them well.)
17. Use Cosmic "Habitforce".Cosmic "Habitforce" is so obvious and can be overlooked easily. The power is always there regardless if you aware of it or not. They are the physical laws which make our patterns of natural behavior operate in predictable order and regularity. Blending the natural laws of the universe with our own activities helps create the power, that force, that energy which bring harmony, peace of mind, success.

"We can let circumstances rule us, or we can take

charge and rule our lives from within."

- Earl Nightingale