Shaping the Future

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:00:00 GMT

by Jim Stovall

From our own individual perspectives, there are only three categories of time. There is the past, the present, and the future.

The past has conspired to make us who we are, but it cannot affect us going forward except to the extent that we allow it to do so. The past is a great learning tool, but it is only an indicator of the future if we allow it to be.

If you have ever invested any money, you have undoubtedly received a prospectus. Since no one ever reads a prospectus, I will give you the one key point that seems to appear in every one of these legal and financial documents. At one point or another, every prospectus says, “Past performance is not an indicator of future results.” This is easy to understand as it relates to finance but harder to grasp as it relates to our lives.

The present moment is a nebulous point in time. It is the product of the past and the gateway to the future but seems to be a mere blip on the radar. If your entire past were climbing a huge mountain and your entire future was the descent down the other side, the present moment would consist of that brief point at which you stand on the summit. The future is a clean canvas where we can create our own art or allow others and circumstance to randomly direct our destiny.

John Schaar, Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said it like this. “The future is not a result of choices among alternative paths offered by the present, but a place that is created—created first in mind and will, created next in activity. The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths to it are not found but made, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination.”

Unfortunately, the more we grow and learn, the more we seem to limit our futures. As small children, everything seems possible, but as we pursue our education and our career, we seem to narrow instead of broadening the future outcomes we are willing to consider. If anything is possible, we must realize that everything is possible. Both the limitations and the pathways to success exist in our mind and imagination.

As you go through your day today, own the past, manage the present, and imagine the future.

Today's the day!

This article may be copied or reprinted by Ultimate Productivity Members, courtesy of www.ultimateproductivity.com.

28-Jul-11 1:00 PM

Dog Decisions

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 15:00:00 GMT

by Jim Stovall

We just finished production on a movie based on my novel The Lamp. I’m really excited about the project, and I hope you have the opportunity to read the novel and see the movie in the near future.

When you turn a book into a movie, there are a number of variables and uncertainties. Among these unpredictable elements is the fact that you never know how a real audience is going to react to an actor or the character they are playing. The Lamp has many outstanding stars including Academy Award-winner Louis Gossett Jr.; Muse Watson, best-known for his current role as Mike Franks on NCIS; Tony Award-winner L. Scott Caldwell who recently starred on Lost; Sarah Brown, a three-time Emmy Award-winner; and I even reprise my role as the limousine driver that I have played in a number of movies.

The entire cast of The Lamp did a great job, and they’ve all been well received by the sample focus group audiences we have screened the movie for prior to its release; but there was one huge surprise in the cast of The Lamp who brought a lot of star power and audience appeal.

Cooper is an eight-year-old mixed-breed dog who was rescued from a shelter before he might have been euthanized (www.facebook.com/coopergoodboy). This is a huge problem across the country as there are more unwanted pets than shelters can deal with. Cooper was rescued by Beth Sharp who is one of my colleagues at the Narrative Television Network. Beth trained Cooper extensively, and he became a nationally-registered therapy dog. Cooper regularly visits children’s hospitals, nursing homes, and libraries. On each of these occasions, Cooper performs a number of tricks.

When we finished the script for The Lamp movie, we needed a dog in several places, and I couldn’t think of anyone I would rather have in the film than Cooper. In The Lamp movie, Cooper performed a number of intricate maneuvers, including bringing a Kleenex to Louis Gossett Jr., hiding and retrieving car keys, and befriending a young girl who had not been able to talk or interact with anyone since a horrible accident.

If you ask Beth or other dog trainers how they get their dogs to perform complicated tasks, they will tell you about a teaching technique they use called N.I.L.I.F. This stands for Nothing In Life Is Free. Cooper and other highly-trained dogs quickly learn that if they perform a task on cue, they get a treat or some other reward. If they fail to perform and choose to lie around doing nothing or pursue some outside stimulus that is immediately attracting them, they do not get a reward. I think it is amazing that dogs can learn this in a relatively short period of time, but I know many adult humans who have never grasped this simple concept.

Any time you’re not succeeding or achieving up to expectations, if you will truly examine your circumstances, you will discover you are probably violating the vital life principle known as N.I.L.I.F.

As you go through your day today, take a lesson from Cooper and enjoy the rewards.

Today's the day!

This article may be copied or reprinted by Ultimate Productivity Members, courtesy of www.ultimateproductivity.com.

29-Apr-11 10:00 AM

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Shaping the Future

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