On a recent flight, I met a lovely woman named Sarah. I learned that
she travels often in her role as mortgage loan auditor and that she loves, loves
to work with numbers. We discussed her assignment in Philadelphia, and I gave
her a few restaurant suggestions. I explained to her what I do as a change agent,
my deep interest in the dynamics of human behavior, and then turned the conversation
to her story.
She was born in Louisiana, although she had lived in Houston for
more than 20 years. Her two grown daughters had blessed her with four grandchildren.
She bravely left Louisiana with her young girls because her first husband had
been abusive and she was determined not to end up like her mother. Her second
husband, Leon, was unlike anyone she had ever met. He loved her children and insisted
she go to school to pursue a career, so she could become self-sufficient. Her
eyes welled up with tears as she told me that he had tragically died three years
ago and she still missed him terribly.
I asked Sarah if she would be interested in a method I use in my
work that helps people realize that nothing is missing. I told Sarah that I could
show her how Leon was still with her, just in another form. She agreed, and so
I asked her to describe the traits she missed most about Leon. She cited his kindness,
his care, his love of travel, and his guidance of her career. Then I asked her
who took over those roles after Leon passed.
She said her sister had become extremely kind to her since his passing
and that was not their history together. She recounted how her grandson, who was
four at the time, came to her at the funeral and said, “Don’t cry
grandma, I’ll take care of you.” I asked her when she started traveling
for work and she said, “Right after Leon passed, I told the company that
I was willing to travel now.” When I asked her who was guiding her career
now, she responded that Leon was still there in her head telling her what to do.
I explained to her the four principles of transformation:
- Principle 1: Conservation. Nothing is missing, just transformed.
- Principle 2: Reflection. What you see in others is in you.
- Principle 3: Equilibration. Whatever trait you perceive was lost or taken away is right in front of you in another person or persons to the same degree.
- Principle 4: The Great Discovery. You will never have a gain without a loss, a praise with out a reprimand, or be put down without being supported to the same
degree simultaneously.
These same four principles apply to economics, the housing and stock
market, ecology, and even the revolution of the planets. Every cause sets into
motion an equal and opposite effect not separated in time, but perfectly synchronic
and simultaneous.
Our challenge lies simply in digging deeply enough to see it and
then to use the tools of transformational thinking to rise to the new levels in
business and life. The skills necessary to think out of the box are essential
in this world of rapid transformation.
You now have a method for transcending the blocks of the intellect
and the emotions allowing an understanding of events in the past, equilibration
of the strategies constructed in the present, and an acute predictability of the
dynamics of the near and far future in human behavior and business. PE
