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Remembering First … To Live
Posted by Joseph Riggio on Saturday, September 09, 2006"Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."
(Horatio, V.ii) - Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act V
Hello All,
Those of you who have been following my posts this week here in BlogNostra will have noticed that I've been considering what makes a situation challenging and how come sometimes the challenge generates the result ... or something like that.
The thing that comes up for me as well in this thread has to do with the way we organize ourselves to do what we do. I don't mean just what we do in a moment - although that fascinates me as well - but the way we organize ourselves to do what we do in the world. In essence I guess I'm referring to our life's mission or purpose. Now I've said before, and I still hold the same opinion, that we have no life mission or purpose as something waiting for us to find ... out there somewhere.
Our life's mission or purpose simply revolves around "having your life" ... being fully alive in every moment we have and expressing ourselves in the world as unique and distinct ... while remaining thoroughly connected to the greater context that contains us ... I call this the Journey To Becoming Human ... (a phrase I get from my study of Joseph Campbell's work).
What I find so fascinating about this starts with the realization that there seems to be a number of people out there who have discovered this and have begun to live their lives in this way, from this position. I'm referring to the position of expressing ourselves fully ... truly living the Journey To Becoming Human. I've really been thinking a lot this week about the tragic death of Steve Irwin, who many knew as "The Crocodile Hunter." - someone I think exemplifies what I'm referring to here.
I find myself in the strange position of being rather hard hit by the news of his death. Strange in that I only knew of Steve Irwin via television. Yet I actually have a sense of having known him personally ... and beyond that having admired and respected him as well. I think this was surely part of his magic, his ability to be doing what he was doing, while both allowing and inviting us into his world. I got the sense that for him it was personal and his commitment was infectious, engaging and adorable.
I'd have to say that Steve Irwin was truly a larger than life character, someone who transcended the limits of his individuality. As a result of his and his life's work ... his life's mission and purpose ... I found myself becoming committed along with him, not just interested in what he presented. He heard a calling and he threw himself at it with gusto and without compromise. As a result not only did he get to live his life's mission and purpose he did it so well he enabled millions of others to come along on the ride with him. In this way Steve Irwin became and remains one of my personal heroes.
It takes persistence, dedication and discipline ... a certain kind of tenacity ... to develop mastery. I think every hero I've ever had shares this quality of having attained a level of mastery where they'd committed themselves. Yet, with mastery there sometimes comes the jealously and envy of others. I think this too is a part of the price that every hero I have shares as well ... enduring the envy and jealously of those who too have heard the call and took the more common road.
I don't care what some folks have said or written about Steve Irwin, either before his tragic passing or since ... he remains an untarnished hero ... a "larger than life character" to me. I don't care if he took some risks people disagreed with, or that he might have made mistakes along the way ... "his way was not the way of comfort or security."You cannot do one without the other ... if you take risks you'll make some mistakes.
What I care about ... what made Steve Irwin a hero to me was that not only did he take the risks, he took the consequences as well ... and he didn't blame or accuse others when he fell ... instead he stood up again, shook himself off and went back out into the world and he did what he did without excuses or surrender ... and this to me represents the essence of what a hero does.
There are those who are now saying as a result of his choices that his family has to pay the price. Again, another gift of that Steve Irwin shares with us all was his beautiful family ... his wife Terri, his daughter Bindi, his son Bob ... and others ... he let us all the way in ... he opened his home, his life, his heart to us all ... what more can we ask from our heros??? And it will be true that his children will grow up with out him standing next to them from now on, but I assure you that he has already given his children the gift of imprinting upon their spirits what it means to be a hero - that they will always have ... and his unending love I am sure.
Steve Irwin's life was an example of what it looks like when someone lives each moment completely ... without compromise ... and does not save themselves up for a life not yet lived.
The people who truly knew this man show an unrestrained love for him ... for him and what he represented. He lived his life fully and in return his life was full up. This gift is precious ... to live life fully and without compromise for even an instant will always be more precious than living an entire lifetime of mediocrity. While most people are striving and clawing to preserve each extra moment of life they haven't yet had, they never lived in those moments they actually do have.
Personally ... I rather have my life cut short and my gift to my children be the knowledge and memory of what it looks like when someone treasures the gift of life we share ... than to live to be an old man who took the easier road, seeking a life of comfort and security. I have seen the twinkle in my children's eyes when we have shared the secret knowledge that we are alive and kicking ... and this moment we have ... right now ... has been enough for a lifetime.
“I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” - Jack London
Steve sleep well ... and, thank you.
Joseph Riggio, Ph.D.
Princeton, NJ
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Taking Care of Business
Posted by Joseph Riggio on Thursday, September 07, 2006There are many ways to success ... all of them probably make performance improvement an issue ... (so would I) ... yet a significant question regardless of the path would be, “Does the path I’m on “HAVE HEART"?”
Does the path your on address the whole of your life ...
Hello All,
The challenges continue ... but as can happen they've gone from intense to absurd ... and to some extent that brings out the humor inherent in them.
I sit in my world and it comes up swirling around me ... there has never been any question for me in having things to do ... or as I prefer to say, "Life Comes Up." The most appropriate response to this seems to me to be to continue going on. Not, just in a "herky ... jerky" way, but in a more precise way of responding to what actually emerges and becomes present. Maybe the easiest way to say this would be, Taking Care of Business.
I think often life presents us with opportunities to take care of business ... and get on with it. I don't mean this in terms of "just business" ... but also in "life in general" ... with my family, with my friends, in social or civic engagements ... all around. So again I find myself in "real life" - (a little aside, many times I've come up against the idea that people think that this term ... "real life" only applies to certain circumstances and situations ... and that some circumstances and situations are outside the domain of "real life") - and hear I am taking care of business ... AND IT AIN'T ALL BUSINESS THAT HAS COME UP!
Instead of just putting my head down - or maybe more to the cliche "my nose to the grindstone" - I keep finding myself wanting to put my life into my life. Instead of taking it in bits and pieces, I find myself wanting to keep it in wholeform. This means to me that I make sure that I relate what I'm doing in each moment to the whole of my life.
It seems easy to allow myself to take life in pieces and to forget that it really comes all connected ... in one piece ... of one thing. Yet when I hold my life of in "wholeform" it works ... regardless of what comes at me.
This seems to be a kind of a "secret" or a "trick" as I like to say. The "trick" being that you keep your life together ... REFUSE to allow the things that seem to be bits and pieces to remain apart from the wholeform.
What I find specifically interesting about this approach has been that when I do take my life as it comes to me ... in wholeform, things become apparent to me that would not have been apparent to me before. When I "forget" to do this and take life in bits and pieces ... life becomes chaotic and unstable. Life can generally be "chaotic" ... the distinction comes from the sense that life makes sense only when I'm taking it in wholeform.
This just makes so much sense to me overall in my life ... MY LIFE OCCURS ONLY IN "WHOLEFORM." And yet ... I also recognize that it remains critical to include the details AND the wholeform structure ... the details count as well. By addressing the structure of the wholeform the details become apparent - AND they do not overwhelm. So now by operating in this way ... I am able to hold BOTH -the wholeform in place, and attend to the details as well. Holding this position in regard to what comes up ... LIFE ... in this way my performance dramatically improves.
I even think that this "trick" may be one of the critical components of what I've referred to again and again as "Exquisite Performance" - if not "the critical component." So let's leave it there for today ... putting the pieces together within the structure of the wholeform ... to generate your results.
Joseph Riggio, Ph.D.
Princeton, NJ
Take a quick look at the short introduction to EPC2 - Exquisite Performance Coaching series audio CD, Beyond the Obvious ... you'll get the full taste and flavor for what I think resides Beyond the Obvious the EPC2 - Exquisite Performance Coaching process.
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Getting More Done
Posted by Joseph Riggio on Tuesday, September 05, 2006Knowing how to organize yourself for success takes you beyond just getting great results ... it takes you to the position where you’ve built a “trend” to being successful.
Good Evening,
Some days are just more challenging than others ... I don't really know what makes that so all the time, it just seems to be the case.
For instance today was a challenging day. I don't mean it was in any way a "bad day" ... just challenging. Even as I write that I recognize myself the difficulty in precisely framing what I mean by calling it challenging. I know that in part I mean that I had to get myself up for it.
While the specifics of my day aren't necessarily what I want to be writing about today, in this case it may help to have some of them. Generally speaking today was one of those days that there was a tremendous amount to be doing ... or if you'd prefer ... to get done. Probably this second statement more accurately describes my take on the day ... just one of those days where there was a lot to get done. That alone created the challenge to begin with.
Then on top of the knowledge that there was a lot to get done, I also know that there was a time crunch to get it done. I taught three classes today at the university where I am an adjunct professor - that means beginning at 12:00 Noon and finishing up my last class at 8:40PM (20:40). I only have a twenty minute break between classes, so I had no time while I was in the university to get the "stuff" done that I had to get done. And, I'm leaving tomorrow for a business trip for three days and won't be home again until the weekend ... with each day full from morning to evening.
All in all ... a lot of stuff to get done - and little time to do it all (or any of it really). So maybe the idea of calling it a challenging day makes some more sense against this backdrop. But, I find the amazing thing about it all to be:
Often the busier I find myself ... the more I find myself getting done.
Take today for example ... I actually got done most of what I'd hoped to ... I taught all my classes, I produced an audio CD, I'm getting this blog posting done ... all that in addition to the "normal stuff" that goes on ... showering, getting dressed, answering e-mail ... So when I think about this, having challenging days and still getting all the stuff done I begin to wonder, How does this happen?
In response to my own question I've begun to respond ... because the busier I get the more knowing how to set myself up to take it all in AND to take it in, in stride makes a huge difference. This has been a "key" for me for the longest time ... at least consciously since I began apprenticing with Roye. The "key" of knowing precisely how to set myself up has made a huge difference in what the incoming data means to me.
Instead of perceiving the incoming data as overwhelming, which I could understand would be an easy thing to do under these circumstances, from the position I choose to hold ... let's call it a "position of possibility" ... the incoming data remains "just data". And, as just data the only question that comes up for me has to do with what I want in regard to my outcome as the data relates to it (or not).
So from a "position of possibility" all data ... regardless of what that may be ... has equal value in regard to moving me closer to getting my outcome ... even when I don't get my outcome.
That last phrase ... "even when I don't get my outcome" may seem a little enigmatic. However, from the point of view I'm holding that doesn't apply to it for me ...
I may or may not get my outcome ... but regardless the data remains only data getting me closer to my outcome ... even when I don't get the outcome I want. Approaching the data in this way can never move me further from my outcome that it would have if I had approached it from the position of being "overwhelmed" in response to it ... in fact I am assured of getting closer to achieving my outcome than I would have when I'm holding a position of possibility ... even when I don't get the outcome.
The learning in this for me includes that I don't have to get my outcome to succeed ... sometimes moving in the right direction can be enough. Doing this often enough ... i.e.: moving towards my outcome ... has proven to me that over time this will generate a "trend" towards getting outcomes. This trend builds to create a habit of success ... so now rather than perceiving "too much to do" as overwhelming, I know that simply beginning and moving in the right direction will get me to where I'm going when I stick with it.
So go ahead ... Get Started!
Joseph Riggio, Ph.D.
Princeton, NJ
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A Tribute to Steve Irwin
Posted by Joseph Riggio on Monday, September 04, 2006An unabashed tribute to one of our modern bright lights and a personal hero of mine ...
Good Morning,
Today as usual I was scanning the news and my blogs and the first thing I came across was a headline about Steve Irwin - "The Crocodile Hunter" had been killed by a stingray off the coast of Queensland in Australia. The last record of an attack like this that resulted in a death was recorded in 1945.
The experts interviewed said that these animals only attack under threat or from fear ... i.e.: defensively. Therefore the thinking about what happened seems to be that the stingray was acting defensively and not aggressively.
I am a great fan of Steve Irwin and the work that he's done to promote wildlife conservation and awareness. I think of him also as someone who found his fascination and pursued it without compromise. His work was an expression of his life and this kind of individual always gains my immediate respect - especially when the work they do has the value that I think of Irwin's work as a conservationist.
My work continues to be largely devoted to assisting my clients find this kind of passion and joy in their life. Having models who demonstrate living in this way makes it more accessible to those who are on this path themselves. I am a great believer in keeping our heroes intact (not the approach favored by some "journalists" who perceive their life's work to be or at least include tearing down our heroes). For me Steve Irwin will remain a hero who chose to live his life with incredible passion and commitment.
I will miss his quirky and engaging way of sharing his passion with his audience - and of course the amazement at his skill and bravado in working with some of the world's most dangerous animals. He did something I have found to be a common denominator of all true masters ... he made the impossible seem simple. I'd watch him handle poisonous snakes and spiders and for a moment I'd think, "I could do that." Or, I'd see him working with his beloved crocodiles, and again I'd think, "I could do that." Then I'd remember what he was actually demonstrating and realize how much knowledge, skill and experience was being demonstrated so consummately ... and I'd know ... "NO WAY COULD I DO THAT!"
But that was part of the wonder of Steve Irwin his ability to draw aside the veil of wonder and draw us into his world so absolutely that what he was doing seemed "normal" ... often belying his incredible mastery in his corner of the world. I will appreciate all the moments I was able to experience through him the thrill of being present to the "gorgeous" animals he would so often tell us were "a beauty". I am also appreciative of the hours of time I've gotten to spend with both my son and my daughter sharing time with them enjoying Steve Irwin's work and building a greater appreciation for the wonders of this world we share.
For many of his family, friends and fans I'm sure that Steve Irwin's untimely death will be experienced as a tragedy. I can assure you that for me personally I see this as the case. I will miss knowing that his star continues to brighten this world as it has for some time now. I think we've lost a true citizen of the world who devoted much of his life to what he loved in a way that benefited many ... what more can be asked of a man?
So I'm saddened by this news this morning ... and yet also choose to celebrate the wonders of a world where I am able to have a sense of connection with someone I've never personally met except through an invitation into my home via his television shows and specials. I also choose to celebrate what I think of as a bright life lived in awe and wonder ... following his bliss. As an example of what can be possible when one choose to life life in this way my sense of Steve Irwin has been that he's done it as well as could be done.
So I offer this short post today as an unabashed tribute to a man I respected and admired from afar ... and I wish grace and blessings upon his family in this time of their mourning.
Joseph Riggio, Ph.D.
Princeton, NJ
PS - For more information on this story go to BBC,including Steve Irwin's Obituary and there are videos as well at CNN and BBC, (also see the tributes by the famous naturalist David Bellamy and the Queensland crocodile farm owner Jeff Lever).
PPS - I also recommend the coverage in "The Australian" on-line, which I found after my original posting of this message. Their coverage seems more complete than the sources I've listed above, but without the video clips.
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Burning Desire to Change the World - Part II
Posted by Joseph Riggio on Sunday, September 03, 2006The most interesting part of wanting to change the world may be the realization that all change begins from within ... in the instant you get that the entire world in fact becomes different ...
Afternoon All,
Yesterday I said I'd be picking up where I'd left off ... somewhere after Graves Five transiting to Graves Six on the way to Graves Seven.
In yesterday's blog post Burning Desire to Change the World - Part I I put up a few short descriptions of what you might expect of someone operating out of Graves Four, Five and Six value sets positions. These are values associated with each of the positions that Dr. Graves described.
The value set that could be associated with a Graves Seven position would be thinking about the world and the events in it in terms of the "system". At this level the individual begins to transcend the limitations of the duality of "this and that" or "self and other" as examples. Instead the individual begins to perceive themselves in relation to the "system" and the dynamic that exists where the individual emerges from the system and the system simultaneously emerges from the individuals that comprise it. The Graves Seven position holds the distinction in the Graves Model of being the first level where duality drops away and gets replaced by an Integrated Systems View.
The Graves Seven position remains unique in that it constitutes this movement from "duality" to "integration" as I've indicated above. However, beyond that while the Graves Seven position shares in common an individual and external point of view, this is mediated by the simultaneity at this level of the group and internal view remaining present at all times to someone holding this postion. This simultaneity of views generates a fuller representation than would be held by more dualistic views of the world and the events in it.
Due to this fuller representation someone holding a Graves Seven position will tend less to perceive the world and the events in it in "us vs. them" terms. Instead I'd expect to see that someone operating from a Graves Seven position to be freer to allow others their point of view without a desire to make it different, or to have it match their own. This of course allows for a greater willingness to allow people to hold opposing positions without perceiving them as threatening or wrong ... just different.
In fact what I'd expect from someone operating out of a Graves Seven level position would be that they would abstain from significant judgment in terms of "right" or "wrong" ... and make their judgments in regard to the effect and impact in the system-at-large. While they want the world to be they way they want the world to be, they are willing to allow others to retain their own distinct positions within this world they perceive themselves to be co-creators in and of ... to the extent that it doesn't put the system-at-large at threat.
In the case where someone holding a Graves Seven position would perceive the system-at-large to be threatened they would become willing to do what it takes to preserve it, so that the place they have established for themselves within it remains intact so they too can choose "to be"
NOTE: These descriptions of the positions in the Graves Model are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of others who work with this model. While I give full credit to these other Graves Model scholars, I took most of my information about the model directly from the collected papers of Dr. Clare W. Graves himself and my own years of observations based on my own work with this model.
Any errors in these descriptions or disagreements with those of other scholars are completely of my own construction.
Now understanding something about the Graves Seven position it may be clearer how it stands apart from the six levels that come before it. The transition to a Graves Seven position demands a letting go of ... and maybe even a taking apart of ... the values sets that have come before it for the individual who begins to move towards holding this position for themselves. From the point of view of someone holding a position at a level in the Graves Model between Graves One and Graves Six might see someone who holds a Graves Seven position as being a bit anarchistic.
While someone operating out of a Graves Six or lower value set might see the behaviors of someone operating out of a Graves Seven value set as destructive ... possibly perceiving them as operating from a Graves Three position ... the person holding the Graves Seven position might consider themselves engaged in a form of "creative destruction" - clearing out the old to make room for the new.
This will be difficult for anyone not yet able to access and hold the value set of Graves Seven because they are committed to the world as they know and want it to be.
The person holding a Graves Seven position also wants the world to be the way they want it to be ... AND THEY ARE WILLING TO FULLY ACCEPT THIS AS ONLY ONE POSSIBLE REPRESENTATION OF THE WAY THE WORLD COULD BE - NOT by any necessity the one that represents THE WAY THE WORLD "SHOULD BE" - they are willing to make room for other representations to co-exist as equal to their own representation of it.
From my point of view a great example of a Graves Six in transition to Graves Seven would be the Burning Man Festival that occurs annually on the playa of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. This festival began in 1986 when Larry Harvey and Jerry James (along with a few others) conceived of this project.
Now once a year for a week a temporary city emerges on the playa populated only by participants who are expected to actively participate in the event ... NO SPECTATORS ... being one of the ideas behind the Burning Man Festival. A list of "Ten Principals" guide the Burning Man Festival.
This movement continues to be dynamic and to grow over the years that the festival has been running. The principal of "Leaving No Trace" amazes me ... both in concept and in execution.
Leaving No Trace - Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace or our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them.
Volunteers clean up this site ... where a temporary city has been erected and populated for a week ... such that not a single article remains as evidence of their having been there. This kind of commitment to an ideal speaks to the value set of the Graves Seven position.
An example of taking the "ideal" further can be seen in this year's "Cooling Man" effort. A group has committed themselves to calculating the Global Warming Impact of the "burners" at the festival and are encouraging participating artists and others to offset this impact through "green" energy purchases.
The ideal that the collective of the "Ten Principals" of the Burning Man Festival represent a group of folks moving to the cusp of the Graves Six/Seven position. While many folks in the outside world consider the Burning Man Festival to be a collective of anarchists coming together for a week each year to build and destroy a city, those who "get it" from within this collective consider this to be an exemplary way to come together in "Radical Self-Expression" and living at least for a week at the edge of the evolution of the culture.
BTW ... Burning Man 2006 begins tomorrow ... take a look at the guide prepared for first-timers, the Event Survival Guide.
Joseph Riggio, Ph.D.
Princeton, NJ
PS - I devoted the entire current edition of the UncoventionalAdvice Audio Newsletter to the application of the Graves Model ... overviewing it from the point of view of the biological basis, neurological development, behaviors expressed, personal development, relationships and applications in business.
And ... you can still subscribe to the UncoventionalAdvice Audio Newsletter RISK FREE for 90 DAYS! Go to the UncoventionalAdvice overview page, read the complete description and take me up on my 90 DAY - RISK FREE SUBSCRIPTION. Even if you choose to take advantage of my NO QUESTIONS ASKED GUARANTEE - YOU GET TO KEEP THE THREE MONTHS OF CDs YOU WILL HAVE RECEIVED ... ABSOLUTELY FREE!
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