Technology: Living Faster

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Nothing is "Unrealistic"

         People are never overly influenced by unrealistic claims and misleading images. As time goes by, everything is changing, and improving. Although, something looks unrealistic today, it may become real in next day. Imaginations propel the whole world. “Unrealistic” does not exist. If ye seek, ye shall find. Everything can become true in the future, so there is not any claims called unrealistic, and leading called misleading.
         Centuries ago, when Copernicus indicated the heliocentric theory, no one believed him, and think he became crazy. If one lived in that age, he might possibility say Copernicus’ theory seems unrealistic or a misleading image. However, as time goes by, more and more people prone to believe Copernicus is right and realistic.
         Hundreds years ago, people thought fly in the sky seems impossible. No one could reach high enough to the moon. However, after Russian launched the first sputnik after WWII. Everyone began to realize that the idea they used to think unrealistic became wrong. People are able to get out of the earth and get in other planets. The possibility is extremely realistic. “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions. (Einstein). However many people often wrongly regard imagination as “unrealistic”.
         If ye seek, ye shall find. If one wants to do something, the first thing he needs to do is to believe in it. Imagination is the orientation of humans’ history. An age exists without the orientation will lose its way and become dead.

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Seven College Dropouts Who Made It Large

We all know a college degree is pretty useless when it comes to being an entrepreneur - networking value aside, there has been a high degree of correlation between dropouts and their success in being entrepreneur.



DISCLAIMER: Even though a lot of successful entrepreneurs are college dropouts, the converse is not always true.

#1 - Bill Gates

Net Worth: US $59 B | Dropped Out At: 18 | Alma Mater: Harvard

No list about college dropouts is complete without adding the Big Kahuna - Bill Gates. Though not as charismatic and personality cult-ish as Steve Jobs, Bill is arguably the most successful college dropout till date.

#2 - Steve Jobs ( R.I.P )

Net Worth: US $8.3 B | Dropped Out At: 17 | Alma Mater: Reed College

If Bill is in a list, Steve can’t be farther away!

Even though Steve is nowhere near the other personalities in our list in terms of net worth, he’s by far the most charismatic entrepreneur so far.

Steve’s not around, but he continues to inspire many, myself included.

#3 - Mark Zuckerberg

Net Worth: US $17.5 B | Dropped Out At: 21 | Alma Mater: Harvard

The legendary founder of Facebook who has now become a household name thanks to the movie - The Social Network is number three in our list.

He is the youngest billionaire ever, and is also very quickly catching up with Bill Gates at the top spot.

#4 - Larry Ellison


Net Worth: US $33 B | Dropped Out At: 20 | Alma Mater: University Of Illinois

Larry runs the hugely successful database company Oracle. He’s also one of the richest people in the planet with a net worth exceeding thirty three billion dollars.

A little know secret about Larry is that he actually has three spouses - he sure knows how to live life large :)

#5 - Michael Dell

Net Worth: US $17.5 B | Dropped Out At: 21 | Alma Mater: Harvard

Considering the fact that I’m writing this article on a Dell laptop, it would be an understatement to say that Michael Dell has succeeded in his mission.

A fact that is not known to many is that he’s a college dropout that went on to create one of the most iconic computer companies in the planet.

#6 - Ted Turner

Net Worth: US $17.5 B | Dropped Out At: 20 | Alma Mater: Brown University

Many of us have grown up watching Ted Turner’s CNN, without realizing that Ted was actually expelled from Brown University for having a female in his dorm room.

Brown University later gave him a honorary BA after he started CNN.

#7 - David Geffen


Net Worth: US $4.6 B | Dropped Out At: 20 | Alma Mater:Santa Monica City College

David Geffen is a world renowned record label and movie producer who is also one of the founders of Dreamworks.

David was part of not one but three Universities and dropped out of all of them.

Do you think you have it in you to become the next big business success?

This topic has been contributed by Todd Bently who works closely with the Nipissing University’s courses in the School of Nursing and their School Of English Studies

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How To Beat Self-Sabotage

Perfectionism Overcoming All-or-Nothing Thinking

Have you ever been labeled a "perfectionist"? Or do you consider yourself to be one? While we all need to do high-quality work, excessive perfectionism can do more harm than good. For instance, it can be damaging to your self-esteem and to that of the people you work with. It can put a strain on your relationships, and, in some cases, it can lead to health issues.  Aiming for perfection can be damaging. © iStockphoto/OrangeDukeProductions

In this article, we'll look at why excessive perfectionism is unhealthy, and we'll think about what you can do to overcome it. What is Perfectionism? Perfectionism is a set of self-defeating thought patterns that push you to try to achieve unrealistically high goals. In his book, "The Pursuit of Perfect," Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar explains that there are two types of perfectionism: adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism. Adaptive perfectionists work on developing their skills. Their standards are always rising, and they approach work with optimism, pleasure, and a desire to improve. This is clearly a healthy type of perfectionism. Maladaptive perfectionists, however, are never satisfied with what they achieve. If something isn't perfect, they dismiss it. They may experience fear of failure   , doubt, unhappiness, and other painful emotions. It's important to understand the difference between maladaptive perfectionism and a healthy quest for success. Maladaptive perfectionists see mistakes as unacceptable, as they think that these lead others to see them as incompetent. By contrast, people striving for excellence in a healthy way see mistakes as an opportunity to grow; they understand that mistakes are part of the learning process, and they accept them. In this article, we'll focus on dealing with maladaptive perfectionism. But Shouldn't Things Be Perfect? Clearly, you need to work hard and deliver the best results possible. This is particularly the case when lives are at stake, or when the consequences of failure are significant: here, a casual approach to quality can be catastrophic. However, even with situations like these, you need to do your very best, test and check your work thoroughly, and then deliver. When the consequences of imperfection are small, then it can be wasteful to seek perfection. Here, "good enough" genuinely is good enough. You are also being wasteful if you keep on tweaking your work once you have completed a thorough, disciplined, well-thought-through, successful test plan. Consequences of Perfectionism When it gets out of hand, perfectionism (in the form of maladaptive perfectionism) can hold you back, both personally and professionally. We'll look at some of its consequences below: General Health According to an analysis published in the Journal of Counseling and Development, perfectionism has been linked to health issues such as eating disorders, depression, migraines, anxiety, and personality disorders. An excessive quest for perfection can also result in decreased productivity, stress, and troubled relationships. Self-Esteem Perfectionism has a negative impact on self-esteem    (members). Perfectionists see their own self-worth tied in to what they achieve, and they believe that others judge them on this as well. Because they're never satisfied with their achievements, they can never live up to the standards they set for themselves. This can lead to a downward spiral of self-criticism and blame. Procrastination Perfectionism is closely linked to procrastination   . For instance, a perfectionist might not start a new project until he's found the perfect way to approach the problem. Because of this procrastination, perfectionists often fall behind with their work. This can affect their reputation and their work relationships. Affect on Creativity One of the consequences of perfectionism is that it has an inhibiting nature: perfectionism keeps us from taking risks, and it constrains our playfulness and our desire to dream. This, in turn, reduces our ability to innovate and to be creative. How to Spot Perfectionism It can be quite easy to recognize maladaptive perfectionism in yourself, if this is a problem. Look for some of these actions and behavior: You have very high or unrealistic goals. If you can't be the very best, you sometimes give up. You see any mistake as a failure, and, if someone does a task or project better than you, you feel that you've failed. You might also conceal your mistakes from others. You often hand work in late, because you keep redoing it, or you keep procrastinating. You feel uncomfortable whenever you don't achieve your definition of perfection. You don't like taking risks, because there is then no guarantee that you can do the task perfectly. You stick with safer tasks, because you know that you can achieve them. You don't enjoy the process of learning and working; you only care about the result. You often exhibit all-or-nothing thinking: either something is perfect, or it's a failure. You have an unhealthy attachment to others' opinions. You feel that if your flaws are exposed, others will reject you. You don't handle criticism and feedback well. You may apply your own unrealistic standards to those around you, becoming critical when colleagues don't meet those expectations. As a result, you may not have many close relationships at work. You have a difficult time delegating tasks to others. Do you recognize any of these traits in yourself? If you do, don't be too concerned – we'll look at how you can manage these behaviors next. Challenging Perfectionist Behaviors and Beliefs The following steps, which are adapted from an approach developed by the Perth Center for Clinical Interventions, will help you challenge perfectionist behaviors and beliefs: Step 1: Identify Behaviors Start by listing everything you do that must be "perfect" - at work, in your home life, in your hobbies, and in your personal relationships. For example, perhaps you check your work multiple times, or turn it in late because you worry you didn't do it correctly. Perhaps you arrive at appointments very early, because you're afraid of being late. Or you might spend an inordinate amount of time tidying up your desk; time that you could spend relaxing or working on other projects. Also, examine things that you don't do, because of perfectionism. Step 2: Identify Beliefs Next to each behavior, write down why you believe this action must be perfect. For instance, imagine that you never delegate tasks to your assistant, even though this is why you hired him. You often stay late at work to finish tasks that he could have done. So, why don't you delegate tasks? Because you believe he'll do them incorrectly, and you'll look bad. Step 3: Challenge the Behavior Once you've done this, come up with one specific step to overcome each behavior. For instance, you could try delegating one non-urgent task to your assistant. Once it's complete, review it once to make sure that he completed it correctly. Or, if you check your work endlessly because you believe you may have made a mistake, resolve to read it over twice: once after you finish it, and once at the end of the day. Step 4: Evaluate the Results Once you successfully challenge the behavior, look at what happened. Chances are, there weren't any negative consequences. What did you learn? Then, practice this regularly with different behaviors. You'll likely experience some anxiety while challenging your perfectionist behaviors. This is normal. However, you'll probably find that your anxiety decreases dramatically once you see the results. Tip: Challenge just one behavior at a time: trying to change all of your behaviors at once may cause you too much anxiety. Other Strategies for Dealing with Perfectionism As well as the steps above, you can use these strategies to deal with perfectionism: 1. Set Realistic Goals Perfectionists often set goals so high that there's little hope of achieving them. Instead, learn how to set realistic goals   . Come up with several lifetime goals and then break these down into yearly and monthly goals. It can feel great to achieve these smaller goals! Tip: Perfectionists often put their wants and needs aside to live up to the real or imagined expectations of others. Focus on your own dreams! 2. Listen to Your Emotions Whenever you're feeling anxious, unhappy, or scared about a task, ask yourself whether you've set your goal too high. Your emotions may be telling you that you're trying to achieve an unrealistic goal. If you catch yourself engaging in self-sabotage    (members), such as telling yourself that you're not good enough, stop. Remember that your thoughts influence your mood and, often, your actions. Instead, focus on using affirmations   , which are positive statements about yourself and your abilities. Affirmations can raise your self-esteem and reprogram your thinking. Remember, you always have a choice in what you think and do. 3. Don't Fear Mistakes Mistakes are part of life. They can even provide rich learning experiences, if you have the courage to examine them. Your mistakes can teach you far more about life and your abilities than your successes will. Make a real effort to learn from each mistake that you make. You'll grow as a result. 4. Readjust Your Personal Rules Perfectionists often live by a rigid set of rules. These rules could range from "I must never make mistakes" to "There must never be a crumb on the kitchen countertop." Although it's healthy to have high personal standards, they need to be flexible and helpful, not unrelenting and unrealistic. Identify one rule you live by that's rigid, unfair, or unhelpful. Then reword it to be more helpful, flexible, and forgiving. For instance, imagine you never suggest new ideas during team brainstorming meetings, because there's never enough time to think them through. You fear suggesting an idea that might make you look bad, so you always keep quiet. Your personal rule is that you should never offer an idea until you've had plenty of time to perfect it. You could readjust this rule by saying, "Ideas don't have to be perfect during brainstorming sessions. The team's purpose is to take rough ideas, talk them through, and determine whether they're sound. My team will appreciate my input." Then put your new rule into practice! 5. Focus on the Whole Perfectionists often exhibit "tunnel vision": they focus on one small part of something and ignore the rest. For instance, if you're on a diet, you might obsess about slipping up and eating dessert at lunch, while ignoring the fact that you've stuck to your diet for the past three weeks. Challenge this by making an effort to look at what you've done right. Don't focus exclusively on the negative! 6. Watch What You Tell Yourself Whenever you tell yourself that you "must," "should," or "shouldn't" do something, pay attention to how this demand makes you feel: perfectionists often use these words when they're setting up personal rules. Some examples are "I must never make mistakes" or "I should have done that job instead of delegating it." Be careful using these words in your thinking; they can often lead you to create unrealistic expectations. 7. Relax and Be More Spontaneous Perfectionists often find it difficult to relax and be spontaneous. Relaxation and spontaneity are not only necessary for a healthy life, but they can also improve your productivity and well-being. Take regular breaks when you're at work to stretch, walk around, or do deep breathing   exercises. Add spontaneity to your life by stopping to watch the sunset, or by picking up a new hobby. Key Points Perfectionism, in the form of "maladaptive perfectionism," can push you to set unrealistically high goals. It can also reduce productivity and creativity, and can lead to various health problems. To overcome your perfectionist behaviors, start by listing everything you do (or don't do) because of your desire for perfection. Next, identify why you believe that each task has to be perfect, and come up with an action that you can take to challenge this behavior. Focus on one behavior at a time - if you try to overcome several behaviors at once, it may leave you feeling stressed, which means that you're far more likely to quit. Also, set realistic goals, listen to your emotions, and don't fear mistakes. Orin: mindtool.com

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Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making

Hartnett's Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making (CODM) Model Developing Solutions Collectively

You've just brought your team together to kick-off a new project. However, you quickly run into problems agreeing the right way forward. Juan, the most dominant member of your team, immediately makes a suggestion and starts talking about its benefits. Katherine begins arguing with him, claiming that her idea is more efficient. Kerry, who often has brilliant ideas, is too overwhelmed by Juan and Katherine to speak up. You're soon ready to abandon the meeting! Involve everyone in the decision-making process. © iStockphoto/urbancow

If you work in a team, then this scenario may sound familiar. It can be difficult to get a group of people to reach consensus on a decision, especially when personalities, viewpoints, and attitudes clash. In some situations, you can cut through these problems with decisive leadership (our article on the Vroom-Yetton-Jago Decision Model  helps you think about when this is appropriate). In other situations, you need to find another way forward. This is where Hartnett's Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making (CODM) model is useful. In this article, we'll look at the CODM model, and we'll examine how you can apply it when you need to make a good group decision. About the Model The CODM model was developed by psychologist, Dr. Tim Hartnett, and it was published his 2010 book "Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making." The model uses a seven-step process. The steps are: Framing the problem. Having an open discussion. Identifying underlying concerns. Developing proposals. Choosing a direction. Developing a preferred solution. Closing. By using the model, you can get everyone in the group involved in developing a solution, so that each person feels ownership of the final decision. This helps you build a more productive, committed team. The model also encourages people to come up with creative ideas without fear of being judged. This helps the group develop better solutions and make better decisions. The model is most useful for complex projects and problems, where you need to decide on the best way forward, and where the solution to your problem isn't clear. However, you can tailor it to a variety of other situations as well. Tip: It's important to remember that consensus means general agreement, not total agreement. Although this model allows everyone to participate in developing solutions, not everyone will always agree with the final decision. How to Apply the CODM Model We'll now look at the seven steps in greater detail, and explore how you can apply the model with a group. Tip: Don't feel that you have to work through these steps all at once - sometimes it will take several meetings to complete the process, depending on the complexity of the decision that you need to make. Step 1: Framing the Problem In this first step, you need to ensure that you have the right people involved in the process, and that everyone has the information, tools, and resources needed to come up with good ideas. As part of this, identify and define the problem that you need to address, if necessary using tools such as Cause and Effect Analysis  and Root Cause Analysis . You also need to decide how your group will choose between options in later stages (Hartnett calls this the "decision rule"). For instance, do you want everyone in the group to agree on the final decision unanimously, or will a simple majority suffice? (Our article on Organizing Team Decision-Making  looks at several techniques that you can use to make group decisions, and our article on facilitation  teaches the skills needed to lead the discussion.) Step 2: Having an Open Discussion Next, meet with the group, present the problem again, and encourage an open discussion. Your goal here is to generate as many initial ideas or solutions to the problem as possible. Use tools such as Round-Robin Brainstorming  (members), Crawford's Slip Writing Method  (members), or the Stepladder Technique  to get everyone involved in the discussion. If the discussion seems to be in a rut or your team is generating only "safe" ideas, use creative thinking  techniques to encourage people to come up with fresh ideas. Remember that your objective is to get people to think creatively and encourage all ideas, even if these seem impractical at this stage. As you work through this step, note down all ideas, removing any duplicates. You'll return to this list in step 4. Tip: An alternative approach is to ask people to submit their initial ideas and solutions anonymously, before you meet face-to-face. Step 3: Identifying Underlying Concerns The next step is to identify what Hartnett calls "underlying concerns" - these are the constraints that you need to meet, and the problems that you want to solve, once you've made a decision. You'll then use this analysis to come up with and improve solutions in the next step of the process. Start by exploring what these concerns are with your group. Then, identify key stakeholders (including people outside your organization) who are affected by the decision. (Depending on your situation, you can do this by simply brainstorming stakeholders, or you can conduct a formal stakeholder analysis .) Talk to these stakeholders, or brainstorm and list possible underlying concerns for each of them, again ensuring that everyone in the group participates in the discussion. Tip: Don't confuse underlying concerns with solutions in this step. For example, if the problem you're trying to solve is to increase the quality of a product, a solution might be to use better components. However, underlying concerns might be to keep costs to a minimum (for shareholders), or to be able to use the product for longer (for customers). Step 4: Developing Proposals Now, using the initial ideas that you came up with in step 2, your group can come up with proposals that address the underlying concerns identified in the previous step. To do this, go through each idea in turn, and encourage everyone in the group to contribute to developing it into a possible solution. Again, it's important that everyone is open-minded about the discussion, that everyone focuses on one idea at a time, and that people don't criticize any ideas. By the end of this step, you will have developed initial ideas into more-detailed proposals that you can take forward. Don't dismiss any proposals yet. Step 5: Choosing a Direction You now need to decide on the best proposal to take forward. Begin by going through each proposal in turn, asking group members to highlight what they think are the pros and cons of each one. Again, make sure that everyone is involved in the discussion. Finally, decide on the best proposal to take forward, using the "decision rule" that you agreed on in step 1. Tip: See our articles on Grid Analysis , Multi-Voting  (members) and Nominal Group Technique  for some great ways of choosing between proposals. Step 6: Developing a Preferred Solution The aim of this step it to look for ways to improve the final proposal further. As part of this, look back at the underlying concerns that you identified in step 3. If there are any concerns that you haven't addressed, look for ways in which you can improve the proposal. Again, encourage group members to raise any further issues, and amend the final proposal to address these. Tip 1: If you're developing a solution for a complex project, it may take a while to refine and amend your proposal and project documents. Tip 2: Depending on the type of decision, it may still not be worth going ahead with the best proposal. See our article on Go/No-Go Decision-Making  (members) for more on this. Step 7: Closing By now, you should have a solution that most people in the group are happy with. To confirm this, use the "decision rule" that you identified in step 1 to ensure that there is still consensus to move forward with your decision. Depending on your situation, you can also use this step as an opportunity to ask for everyone's cooperation in implementing the final decision. This cooperation can be anything from simply supporting others as they implement the solution, through to providing resources and expertise. Tip 1: Be flexible in how you apply each step of the process. As we highlighted earlier, in some situations it may not be necessary to work through each step in detail. You also need to be prepared to move back to previous steps, if you cannot decide on an appropriate solution. Tip 2: While seeking consensus within a group is important, be aware that people may use consensus as a way to avoid taking personal responsibility for their actions or decisions. Don't allow this to happen. Key Points The CODM model was developed by psychologist, Dr. Tim Hartnett, and was published in his 2010 book "Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making." You can use it to make better group decisions by involving everyone in developing a solution. The model is most useful where you need to decide on the best way forward with complex projects and problems, and where the solution to your problem isn't clear. There are seven steps that you can follow to use the model: Framing the issue. Having an open discussion. Identifying underlying concerns. Developing proposals. Choosing a direction. Developing a preferred solution. Closing. Be flexible in how you apply the model - it won't always be necessary to work through each step in detail. Origin: mindtools.com

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