The Integrated Success Principles Version 6

Here is the latest version 6 mind-map format of the Integrated Success Principles from the rich and famous like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Stephen Covey, Richard St James, the Millionaire Mindset, the Ancient Chinese Lao Zi and the Bible. The teaching of Lao Zi (chapter 64) is added from the previous version to get this one.

See also Watch-out for Learning from Quotations that you can't just take one famous quote and run with it. You need a more complete and balanced view.

Lim Liat (C) 29 Oct 2011

Watchout for Learning from Quotations

Quotes could be dangerous. They did not tell you the context and you can easily misunderstand and wrongly apply them. Know the danger and learn how to apply them wisely.

Many people on the social network like to share inspirational quotes, success quotes, etc. Quotes from the rich and famous are powerful. They are short and inspirational. However, their short-comings come exactly from their strength of conciseness and impact.

The Dangers are:

1. It is not the whole story. It is very high level and do not give the full picture.
2. It could be misunderstood and misinterpreted. The context and situation are usually not described.
3. It could be wrong due to the first two dangers for lack of details and misunderstanding.

The Precautions:

1. Understanding the dangers described above is the first step.
2. Know that there are other details that need to be filled in by you. The quote is just from a viewpoint. Get the other viewpoints. 
3. Determine the situation where it is applicable. I tell my students that the best answer to other questions is "It depends". The right answer is usually tied to a particular group of people for a particular situation. We need to expand the boundary and scope to see a better answer - more wins for more people.
4. Understand that there are seasons of life for everything. There is the right time for the right thing. 

Some Examples:

1. Some FB friend posted "Garden of Life Quotes- Life Choices"

1. Choose to LOVE rather than HATE.
2. Choose to LAUGH rather than CRY.
3. Choose to CREATE rather than DESTROY.
4. Choose to PERSEVERE rather than QUIT.
5. Choose to PRAISE rather than GOSSIP.
6. Choose to HEAL rather than STEAL.
7. Choose to GIVE rather than STEAL.
8. Choose to ACT rather than PROCASTINATE.
9. Choose to GROW rather than ROT.
10. Choose to PRAY rather than CURSE.
11. Choose to LIVE rather than DIE.

On first reading,  we are impressed and inspired. Many people click 'liked'. But it is actually not very correct. Love or hate should be dependent on the context or situation. We are to love the person and hate the evil deeds. Hating the slavery get people to start the freedom movement and pass the laws.

There is time for laughter and time for mourning. See for example The Best Time of Your Life - Now, Any time, Every time and All the time.

2. Inspirational Quotes for Start-up in E27.

Let just choose the 1st quote, the one from Jack Ma, Founder of Alibaba. "When you are small, you have to be very focused and rely on your brain, not your strength".

First, what is the meaning of his quote? What do you think?

I think he is saying that when you are small, you have no strength in resources such as money, people and assets. Hence, you have count on your brain. You have to be smart and align and focus your limited little resources on the key things. You have to do more with less. You cannot try to do too many things because of your lack of resources(strength).

But it is very easy for people to misunderstand. Under the picture, you can find a comment that says "But you can indeed rely on your strengths .. I trust .." which shows that there is a misunderstanding about the word strength and he may not have caught the essence of Jack Ma's message.


It is better to hear a presentation from Jack Ma and covered in Learning Entrepreneurship from Jack Ma. 

It will be even better to integrate the learning from many famous names like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and even the Bible in Success Principles - Version 5.

Learning Chinese helps one to think better

Chinese language is a language with more than 5000 years of history. With its rich culture, the words contain much insights and wisdom. Each Chinese word is made up of picture or pictures. The combine pictures tell you about the meaning of the word. More complex concept is formed by joining the words and hence giving you even more insights.

I have been sharing them on Facebook. But FB does not have a good search function unlike Google+ and what I shared in my FB Status gets lost very quickly. So here is a compilation of the words shared. I will continue to update this post when new words are shared. Chinese tells you to see a thing from both sides(Multiple viewpoints) and watch the context. Enjoy.

1. Crisis 危机

We are all well aware of the word Crisis 危机. Crisis in Chinese is made up of Danger and Opportunity. There is an opportunity in every crisis and danger in every opportunity. In a crisis, we learn to see the opportunity. In growth, we learn to see the danger and do risk management.

2. Sensibility or Reasonableness 情理

Now, I like to share another word, Reasonableness or Good Sense 情理.
Two things are needed to make something reasonable or sensible - it is emotion and rationale. Either alone is not enough. It must be rational and emotionally acceptable (or good for the relationship).

This is good advice for business. It is the secret of Apple's success and failure of many. Apple products appeal to both the mind and the emotion. Zig Ziglar even said, "People don't buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons.". But actually, we buy for both - we buy not a product but a wow experience.

It is important for nation-building. I think we over-emphasize the rational mind, the tasks, and the meritocracy to the extent that we ignore the emotions, and the feelings of people. We don't understand how to build good relationships with people and even with other nations. That neglect stops us from being better people, more successful people, and a nation that people admire with love.

We must learn to do both well, a rational mind and a feeling heart for good relationship building.

3. Morality or Moral 道德

The third word to share is Morality or Moral. In Chinese, it is 道德.
It is made up of Dao 道 - the Way ( of heaven, God, the universe, the right way). and
De 德 - which is Virtue or Character. Strictly speaking, De is how much one has acquired of the Way (of Righteousness). '德' in old Chinese, is used also as 得 obtain or gain.

Morality has to be defined in two parts -
1. knowing the right WAY and
2. Assimilation(Becoming, Obtaining) of the Way.

Again, either is not enough. Not knowing the right Way means one is not moral. Knowing and not behaving according to the right way is not moral either.

To be a moral person, we must know the Way and become like the Way.

So, the morality of a person is measured as to how much one has acquired of the Way (of righteousness).

If you are a Christian, the way to measure the quality of maturity of a Christian is how much they have become like their Savior Jesus Christ. Rom 8:29 (ESV) For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. Christ is the Way!

Hope you can see the power of the Chinese.

4. Life 生命.

Life is a common word. Life in Chinese is 生命.
生 sheng is Birth or Born.
命 ming is Order, Destination, Mission, and Fate for some people.
Hence, Life is not just about being born into this world and mere existence. Life is about living to fulfill a mission or calling.
The purpose of life is not just about living, but living meaningfully. Living with a mission.

Each of us has uniquely created a mission that only we can fulfill.
By doing the mission we are called, we shall be satisfied. We are given the strengths and talents to do this unique mission.

It also means that we are not to live the calling of other people. When we are trying to be somebody else, while we are not gifted in it, we shall be struggling and we will never be like that someone. Don't waste your life trying to be somebody you are not made for.

That does not mean we cannot have role models. We shall have quite a few role models so that we can become the very best that we are called to be.

Hope you like Chinese and become a better person.

5. Remember 记 Remembrance 纪念 or 记忆 Write and Recall
To remember, Chinese uses the word 记 Ji which means to record. We usually use the word 记忆 to refer to the mental storage of past events and things. To remember someone, we use the word 纪念.

The word 'remember' or 'record' 记 is made up of two words 己 I and 言 saying. This means that my saying is the record. Make a record and see if I keep my word! I recalled a western cowboy movie that I watched in my youth. The Red Indian Chief was telling the white Captain something like "white men treaty was recorded down to be forgotten and it was not trustworthy, whereas we recorded them in our hearts to be remembered and kept".

If you use the two words version, 纪念 or 记忆, we can see that remembering is made up of two things:

纪念: 纪 records (in book or tablets) 念 recite it, often in the heart and mind.

记忆: 记 record, write it down 忆: recall it.

To truly memorize things, we need to do two things: write it down and read or say it back!

6. Intellectual Capability /Knowledge 学问
One's intellectual capability, scholarship, or knowledge in Chinese is 学问. It is made up of 学 study and 问 ask. Effective learning is about studying (reading or hearing) some article and then asking questions. Asking or Questioning is a key part of learning. Studying without asking is not learning in depth. Greater understanding can only be gained by questioning what we have studied. Some simple and good technique to guide us to ask questions is the 5W1H and the Yin-Yang (Bi-polar, Dialectics).

Learning can also be done the other way around, start with a question and then try to find the answers.

Just remember that learning has two parts, studying and asking.

For some, they should be asking more, and for others, they should be studying more, It takes the two activities to give a better understanding and insight in a particular subject.

   Intellectual Capability = Studying + Questioning

7. Forgive 原谅 Original/Source + True Understanding

Forgive in Chinese is 原谅

原 - the original
谅 - the true understanding. 谅 is made up of 京(Large) 言(Speech) (note Chinese goes from right to left). So whale is a large fish and is written as 鲸. Another meaning of '谅', a large important speech, is trust or integrity.

So forgiveness is actually returning back to the original true understanding or state of trust or integrity.
It is as if the hurtful thing or the lies or betrayal has not happened at all. It is back to a trustworthy state.

Forgiveness is easier when we understand the reason and motivation for the hurtful act.

Forgiveness is also possible when the offending party sincerely and seriously apologizes (Large Speech).

A true apology that seeks forgiveness is about saying in words sincerely and the action to restore the damages back to the original state if it is possible. Many things done are not reversible. It takes the great heart of the offended to impute it as if it did not happen.

So if you say you truly forgive someone, you are saying and treating him as if he did not do the hurtful act to you. At the very least, you can remember the deed but not the hurtful feeling.

The Bible tells us that God's forgiveness is precisely like that - just as if we did not sin!

8. Wisdom 智慧 is Left-Brain Cold Logic and Right Brain Creativity and Warm Feelings
See Wisdom in Chinese includes Both the Left & Right Brain...

9. Friends 朋友 

A friend is made up of two words:

• 朋 meaning of the same kind, same group. It is two flesh put together,
• 友 mutual love, close relationship.

Ancient Chinese literature has a saying, “同门曰朋,同志曰友。”
朋 is the same family (literally, it means the same door) and
友 is the same ambition, goal, beliefs, philosophy.

A friend is someone who shares your values and cares for each other forming a team of oneness.

10. Operate 经营

Operate is made up of two words:

• 经 the Book, the paths, the ways, the principles
• 营 the camp, the layout of the army camp. In the old form, it is
  
  
  It means to plan, to layout, to organize, and to operate.

So to operate well, one must study books to learn the principles and how-to's and then plan and organize well to ensure efficient and effective operations. 先取经后营业。

The layout of the camp tells us much about how to get organized. There is the need for a fire to keep warm, and for cooking - we need to get our logistics done well. There is a boundary to stand guard for against attack. We need to be vigilant and to expand our boundaries. The troops are organized in tents, separation of duties and yet connected. When we specialize we must also communicate to ensure effective co-operation to achieve the shared mission.

If you like to know more about Chinese Wisdom and Philosophy, please see Ancient Chinese Wisdom

11. Upbringing 教养

How do we bring up a child? The Chinese word for Upbringing is 教养.

• 教 - Teach, train, discipline. This is for the mind and character.
• 养 - Feed, provide for food and living and safety. This is for the body.

The famous primary school textbook of the older Chinese is 三字经 3-word-text says: 

苟不教，性乃迁。教之道，贵以专。。。。养不教，父之过。教不严，师之惰

If you don't train, the character will shift (from good to bad).
The principle for training is to have focus.
Just feeding and not training is the fault of the father.
Training without discipline is the fault of the teacher.

A major portion of the 3-word text is about how to be a good man. More details can be found in Understanding The Chinese Mindset in One Minute ...

12. Wealth 富贵
“富贵” is frequently translated as wealth, but it is made up of two Chinese words 富 (richness) and 贵 (honor). The correct translation should then be wealth and honor. Another way of looking at it, the truly rich is someone not just with money but also with honor. In an interview in 2007 in PRC, Li Ka Shing said that there were many rich people but fewer people with honor. The truly rich and honorable people are those who have love and give back to society what they have earned. （李嘉诚：富的人很多，但贵的人不多。我认为真正的富贵在于，将自己所赚到的钱有回馈于社会的爱心。）。 So, a person is truly rich when they have both money and honor. Honor is about doing things of love, and righteousness, making contributions to society, and gaining the respect of others. Money alone without honor explains the bad behaviors of the rich, and especially of their second-generation sons and daughters.

13. Good Luck or Good Fortune 造化
If we take a closer look at the origin term 造化 that stands for what we today use as good fortune or good luck,  we can see that it is made up of two words Creation 造  and Change or Transform 化.
The original meaning is about the evolution of the change and growth of nature. The fortune or luck you have now is not by accident but according to what you do, the development and learning, that you build on your natural talents or strengths that you are born with.  Our inborn talents and strengths must be developed through education and experience, then we can build a destiny or fortune.

The lesson for us is:

Develop your strengths and outsource your weaknesses to become a champion. 

Corollaries:

1. Relying on your natural strengths without development will not get you far in life.
2. Focusing on your weaknesses alone, ignoring your strengths will only get you to be a mediocre average if you succeed.

14 Harmony 和谐

The first Chinese character is 和 which means together peacefully. The components characters are 禾 the rice or wheat group of plants and 口 mouth. It shows that there is rice/wheat for the mouth. Everyone has food to eat, and there need not be any fighting over the food.

The second Chinese character is 谐 which means a right fitting or getting the right fit and with an extended meaning of fun and joy (诙谐, 谐趣). The secret of getting agreement is revealed in the components of the character 諧. They are 言 speech，白 white or plain, 比 compare to be the same resulting in befriending。 The correct way to get agreement is then plain truthful talk and sharing the same standards and objectives. 比 is hexagram number 8 of I-Ching signifying the union of friends. Confucius has a saying on this:

《论语．为政》子曰：“君子周而不比，小人比而不周”。
  Gentlemen cooperate without ganging up whereas
  Villains gang up and cooperate not.

  The explanation is that gentlemen co-operate to achieve the whole group's benefits whereas villains gang up to achieve their own sub-group's benefits at the expense of the whole.
 Here we see the perspective of groups and sub-groups.

  There is another saying of Confucius on harmony:

《论语．子路》子曰：“君子和而不同，小人同而不和。
  Gentlemen harmonize though they are different whereas
  Villains are alike, yet they harmonize not.

  This clearly shows that harmony does not need uniformity or sameness. What is needed is a shared and committed mission with each different part contributing its strength to the achievement of the common mission. The same attributes without a shared objective will lead to infighting and destruction. Synergy comes not from sameness but from the harmony of diversity.

14b 和平

The Chinese words for peace, of oneself, is 平安, with others and the world is 和平.

Let's take the Peace for ourselves. 平安
平 is, as explained in an earlier post, the "all clear" signal of a warning system. There is no danger. All is well.
But lack of danger is only a negative side of a concept. What about the positive side, having something, like joy in peace?
Hence, the Chinese added 安 to 平, 平安 to make it complete.
安 is 宀，新房 new home for the（女，新娘）bride.
造字本义：男子建房娶亲成家，内心踏实过日子。
A man having a wife in his home makes his life complete.
Satisfied and no longer running or fooling around.

World Peace is the words 和平
和 is mouth blowing a wheat stem or pipe.
吹奏用禾管编成“排笛”，发出谐调共振的乐音
It represents the harmony of different sounds to make a lovely tune.
Peace begins with the harmony of differences, languages, races, religions, and people even within the same family!

Hebrew is a language like Chinese. It is made up of pictures, each letter of the alphabet is actually a picture or icon.

The Hebrew word for Peace is Shalom, which is made up 4 icons:
1 shin "teeth/eat/consume"
2 lamed "shepherd's staff, control, toward, authority"
3 vav "peg, nail, join together, attach
4 mem "water, also represent chaos"

So a positive interpretation of peace is enjoying the shepherd's care and supplies of water (which can be extended to means all the needs for a living). So, Ps 23v1 The Lord is my shepherd and I have no lack. No lack is Complete.

If you use the image of water in a negative way like the roaring waves, then it represents confusion. So peace is about consuming the authority that brings the chaos. i.e. Peace is about lack of chaos.

So, peace has the same meaning in both Chinese and Hebrew.

1. Lack of chaos, danger.
2. Make complete with having a wife or a shepherd to care for us.

Enjoy the wonders of your languages.

15 Integrity 诚 - 誠

Integrity is 诚 in simplified form, or in the traditional form, is 誠 which is made up of 言 speech and 成 accomplishment. Integrity is the accomplishment of what we say. It is fulfilling the promises that we make. It is making sure that our talk and our walk are the same.

16 Business 生意

Doing business in Chinese is called 做生意 or 做 Do 生 Life/Grow 意 Intention/Wish with an implied meaning of blossoming life and vitality. So before you start any business, you must first have an intention or vision and the know-how to grow and fulfill your vision. You must also do it with passion and vitality. If you are not working with passion, then perhaps you can reexamine your intention and vision of your life and then see if there is any mismatch between what you are doing and what you wish. You need to get both aligned so that you can really grow in what you really want in life.

17 Buddhism 佛教 The Religion of Buddha

The essence of Buddhism is captured in a few Chinese Words. When a person wants to become a monk, the Chinese word used to describe the process is called 出家 which means leaving his family.

A monk is Chinese is 僧 which is made up of 曾(have been, previously) and 人 (man).

If the monk upgrades himself well he can become a Buddha 佛 which is made up of 弗(not) and 人(man).

Buddhism is then about leaving the attachment to the world, especially to family, and slowly ridding oneself of the human desires to become a have-been-man, and then eventually attending nirvana of not being a man. egolessness, but Buddha.

18 The word that combines both Know and Do is:
The Chinese Word for Know and Do

19 Relationship 关系

"Relationship" in Chinese is made up of two words 关系:

关： means close. The original word refers to the horizontal bar that closed and secured the doors tightly. Since it means closing, it is used to represent the immigration or point of entry like 关口.

系：means to tie up, to connect, to fasten.

So, to build good relationships, we need first to connect and tie up and also to close and shut out other interferences. Relationships are about filtering out and connecting closely.

20 Change 变

The Chinese Newspaper Word for the year 2016 is "变", Change.

The traditional word form is 變.
Its top part is made of "small talk small", which is from '戀', the love between man and woman. The bottom part is 'pu', which means to hit. Hence, '变' is actually the betrayal of love-bond.

The 'pu' part can be found in 教 to teach, 牧 to shepherd, 改 to correct, etc. It all involves the use of some form of beating.

21 颠 dian.

It has two meanings -
1 top, summit
2 inverted, fall down.

Kind of ridiculous, one word with two completely opposite meanings isn't it?

But that is typical Chinese Yin-Yang Cyclical change. What goes up must come down. At the very bottom, the only way left is to go up. If you are in your very best time, please be careful so to avoid 乐极生悲 too happy leads to sorrow! In Yi Ching saying, 窮則變，變則通，通則久 poverty leads to change, change leads to flow, flow leads to long-lasting. But, a long period without any change will bring back poverty.

Back to 颠. We can tell whether it is top or inverted by the associating words. such as 巅峰 summit or 颠倒 inverted, 颠覆 overturn.

The word components are real and page.
But Chinese writes from right to left, so the real page was in the wrong inverted order.

Some say the right-hand side part, the face, was actually an inverted head 首 - the horns of the head went to the bottom to become legs as 頁 so it is really upside-down now.

Now, what does 癫 mean, knowing that sickness is 病?

Yes. It means mad.

Hope you like Chinese words.
(Mandarin is easy to pick up for conversation because it has no grammar, but difficult in writing and reading).

22 福 Blessing

http://mind-value.blogspot.sg/2014/01/the-best-chinese-new-year-wish-for-you.html

23 变化 Change

It is typical for Chinese to use two words to represent a complete concept.  We have 1 Crisis 危机 as the first concept in this post. Here we discuss “change”. Change is 变. But what changed? So we have changed in color 变色, change in tone 变调, change in movement 变动, etc. But the more powerful concept about Change is 变化 - 变 as change and 化 transformed. As the external situation changes, we transform ourselves, and make improvements, to adapt to the changes. We come out stronger and grow up. We don't let the change defeat us but like the change makes us better. We are transformed.

24 舒  Relax, Comfort, Smooth Out

The word for ease and comfort is 舒. It is made up of two words, 舍 to give up, let go, reject, and 予 to give, grant, bestow. Hence, if you want to live at ease, then you must know how to let go (of past hurts, pains, revenge, bitterness...) and to give to bless others.  Pursuing your own happiness makes you unhappy whereas making people happy makes you happy. That is known as the paradox of happiness. So to be happy, remember this word 舒（shu), let go, forgive more, and live generously.

25 真 Truth or Reality

See the picture below which has the older form of the word.
Truth is lifting up the Straight or Right. 
Straight is transforming one concept by seeing the hidden or the inside of the heart.
（The original photo is missing, below is an approximate）

26 事情 Thing, Issue, the Matter

How should we do things or resolve the matter?
The Chinese words 事情 show us how.
It is made up of 事 shi, the thing, the issue, the facts and
情 the emotions, the relationship.

So to resolve any problem, we have to address two aspects the hard facts and the soft emotions or people involved.  Many of us just focus on the facts and often hurt the feelings of the people involved and we are left wondering why no one praises us for solving the problem.

27 忙 - Busyness

see A Word of Wisdom for this Digital AI-Assisted World

Lim Liat (c) 2011-2023

Seven Easy Steps to Great Success According to LaoZi

It is common to see the following quote:

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Lao-tzu.

It is good wisdom that tells us quite a few things:

1. We must get started to accomplish great things.
2. We must not despise the small beginning. 
3. Don't procrastinate anymore.

We have a similar one from B. Franklin "A good start is the halfway to success".

A search for the source of the original quote leads us to the "Dao De Jing" of Lao Zi Chapter 64.  I discover that the above quote of Lao-Zi is only translated half-way. In context, Lao Zi tells us not only about starting but also continuing the journey until completion. Furthermore, the short Chapter 64 also tells us much about how to have great success. So here is the mind-map of my learning and translation of Chapter 64. I titled it "Seven Easy Steps to Great Success".

If you want to discover the secret of easy (stress-free effort) and long-lasting success, then you must read Lao Zi. See The True Teaching of Lao Zi’s Dao De Jing in 1 Minute.

Here is the 7 Steps mind-map:

 

If you read it in reverse order, you will find the secrets of Steve Jobs' success principles. 

1. Steve Jobs begins with the ambition to make a dent in the world for the better. 
2. "Think Different" is the Apple tagline. IBM started with "Think" but Apple changes it to make a "Different"! 
3. Some people complained that Steve Jobs is a tyrant. They fail to understand that excellence comes from sweating out the details - be prudent and careful from beginning to end. Laozi tells us that there is no other way. Most people are destroyed by their initial successes.
4. Never give up half-way, especially not when success is near. 
5. Steve Jobs said that Death is the best invention. Facing and reflecting on Death every day give clarity to life. Never violate the natural principles of life. Flow with and adapt to them.
6. Don't just dream or talk about your dream. Take the step to realize your dream. Be bold. Be passionate. Follow your heart and live out your dream.
7. Do it at the right time and situation when it is easy. Steve Jobs said that the war on PC was over and Microsoft had won. He said he will wait for the next big thing. He actually creates the next big things by following his "Be Different" mantra. 

Maybe you are as surprised as I have been. I started with Lao Zi and ended with Steve Jobs! Ancient Chinese Wisdom is as powerful as for today!

Lim Liat (c) 14 Oct 2011.

Are They Less Worthy than Steve Jobs?

I made the post on Facebook. But FB post are not easily retrieved and hence I moved the post here. 

Today, Oct. 10 marks the 100th anniversary of the start of China's 1911 Xinhai Revolution, which ended 2,000 years of imperial rule and The fall of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

There were many young people, some just married, or with young babies, gave their lives up for the higher cause and benefits of a greater number of fellow citizens. Their revolutions were not successful. They were killed in battle or caught and killed. They therefore did not seem to make any impact on the world unless Steve Jobs who left behind many innovations that impact our lives. Nevertheless, they laid the foundational stones that lead to subsequent and successful revolution. Are they less worthy than Steve Jobs?

To understand what they had gave up, one of the revolutionist martyred left behind a farewell letter written to his wife. It was a letter that we had the privilege to study. Here is the reference http://www.lifeall.com/mem/1361/article-1689.ahtml. 

The English translation with more background info. Get your tissue ready as you read it. http://www.skypoint.com/members/tang/translations/linjuemin.html

More story about him and his family is in http://lin.bigan.cn/archiver/tid-1576.html. His house was later bought over by the grandfather of the famous female writer Bing Xin 冰心.!

A friend posted this reference Steve Jobs dead: Brilliant, yes, but he wasn't an Einstein

And I posted the following comment:

There is no need to rate who is greater since they are all along the chain of progress. Each one adds on top of the other and I can only say that all are great. Standing on others, as first said by Isaac Newton, and now clearly demonstrated by Steve, to bring what we know and created things that we never possible of, one more step further to better life, should be our aspiration.

The author, as I said frequently, is the limited either A or B mindset person. Technology impact us just with greater convenience but also change the way we connect and do things. Of course we all have to eat to live. We shall be doing the very same thing thousands of years from now. But we can eat warm food, get them almost instantly, and get our friends to join us with pre-planning, etc all which a touch of a button. The recent uprising and overthrown of government were made possible with technology. It is easier to get connected and grouped together for greater influence. It help keeps the government to be more transparent and open and to listen to the people. Our political, social, economic lives and well beings are changed by technology, especially by internet in the pocket.

On the other-end, the Einstein relative theory of the universal actually has much much less impact on the lives of people now than Steve Jobs iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad!

It is good to see where the contribution go to. Hence, I wrote on "What about the failures? Those to died in the unsuccessful Chinese Revolution of 1911. Are they less worthy than Steve Jobs? 

The discussion thread at Facebook is
https://www.facebook.com/cmtaycm/posts/133775873391380?  

The Least Known Strength of Steve Jobs - Standing On Others Shoulders

Most people just think of Steve Jobs as the great visionary, assuming it is all a one man effort. The reality tells us more. His real strength is learning and standing on others' shoulders. It is not easy, and you have to sweat it out. It is easier to criticize others than to see the value in them.

I have spent quite sometime collecting and integrating the sayings of Steve Jobs on success and innovations. Here are some posts:

• Follow Your Heart - Learning from Steve Jobs ...
• Steve Jobs on Leadership
• Steve Jobs Quotes on Innovation
• The Best Way to Honor Steve Jobs - Best Tribute is by ...

On deeper reflection, I think his greatest secret of success is the ability to see the potential of the things created by others that even the originators don't see.

The first Apple computer was built by Steve Wozniak who wanted to share it with the Homebrew Computer Club but was persuaded by Steve to start their own company to build and sell it. (Read Wozniak's story)

The Graphical User Interface and the Mouse used in Lisa and Macintosh was due to Steve Job visiting PARC in 1979. Xerox itself did not understand the value of the PARC technology.

He applied the calligraphy that he learned in Reeds College to the boring text centric computer and Desktop Publishing revolutionized the publishing industry and is a stronghold and savior of Mac computers.

iPod created in one year was not built by Apple per se. See iPod History. But we must recognize that the whole thing was put together by Apple.

You got to Sweat it out - Simplicity with Depth.
"Look at the design of a lot of consumer products—they're really complicated surfaces.  

We tried make something much more holistic and simple.

When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. But if you keep going, and live with the problem and peel more layers of the onion off, you can oftentimes arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions.

Most people just don't put in the time or energy to get there.

We believe that customers are smart, and want objects which are well thought through." Steve Jobs.

It is even better than what Steve thought.
Sometime, even Steve Jobs underestimate his own vision. On iTunes, "It will go down in history as a turning point for the music industry. This is landmark stuff. I can't overestimate it! On the iTunes Music Store. Fortune". It is much more than music but videos, iPhone/iPad apps, and anything digital.

What are the lessons for innovators ?

1. Lone genius is not that alone after all. Real true successful Genius rides on others and stand on their shoulders.
   
   
2. Try to see the value of any seemingly crazy ideas.
   "If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it." ~Albert Einstein
   

   Every idea has its value. You just need to the situation, the job or the person that may need it.

3. Sweat it out - rethink and redo - till simplicity, elegance, intuitive, ease of use appear. 

See 10 Design Rules for the Dummies

Lim Liat copyrighted 10 Oct 2011

Steve Jobs Quotes on Innovation

Many people sharing Steve Jobs' Quotes on the social network. As a consultant and trainer on innovation, I would like to look at them from the innovation view point and classify his quotes for easy references.

There is a earlier post on Steve Jobs and Innovation in The Secret of Great Innovation from Obama’s Tribute to Steve Jobs.

This mind-map below is a group from his sayings:

Hope you can pick up some pointers for improving your innovations or your business.

For Steve Jobs' inspiring speech in 2005 see Follow Your Heart - Learning from Steve Jobs' Commencement Speech

More innovation articles can be found on my Bvotech Blog and this mind-value blog.


Lim Liat copyrighted 9 Oct 2011

Update 8 Apr 2012
Added in parts of Steve Jobs' speech in March 2011 introducing iPad2, point 14 & 15.

The Best Way to Honor Steve Jobs - Best Tribute is by Copying Him

I think the best way to honor and pay tribute to someone is to be like him and to continue his legacy. I have spent the last months integrating the success principles from the rich and famous like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and others. It is so timely.

As a tribute to Steve Jobs, I modified the latest mindmap to specially highlight Steve Jobs' advices. So here is the latest map as a tribute to Steve Jobs. Hope that many others will learn these successful principles, follow them and make the world a better place like Steve Jobs did.

 

See also Follow Your Heart - Learning from Steve Jobs' Commencement Speech

The Secret of Great Innovation from Obama’s Tribute to Steve Jobs

I write this post to pay tribute to Steve Jobs for his contributions that change the world for the better. I think it is best to share his secrets of such success that we may see many more Steve Jobs in the future and make the world a better place. Most of us know of his technology contribution but he was a man who love his family as well. It was his wife who gave him the encouragement to start over again. (See Principles for Success from Steve Jobs’ Speech). The secret of great innovation that transform the world was actually well captured in Obama’s tribute to Steve Jobs. Here are the key points (reflecting Steve Jobs’ speech cited):

1. You can start from the very bottom… “building one of the planet’s most successful companies from his garage,”
2. Sense of Meaning and Urgency…”Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last.”
3. The Mindset – Think Differently …”brave enough to think differently”
4. The Vision  to Change the World … “bold enough to believe he could change the world”
5. Execution – just follow your heart and do it with passion … “talented enough to do it”
6. The features that people really value:
   1. Make hard technology PERSONAL ….”"By making computers personal”
   2. Accessibility (to useful things – internet of knowledge and social connection), Mobility and Right Sizing – “putting the Internet in our pockets,”
   3. Make it Intuitive (Easy) ….
   4. Make it Fun … “he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun”.
   5. Make it a Story like experience… “”And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grown-ups alike,”

Here is the mind-map:

In this world of ICT, there are two things of value:

1. The Internet Cloud of information and connection.
2. The Access to the Cloud.

Either cannot stand alone. Accessibility to a cloud that lack content and connection is useless. Yet a cloud without accessibility cannot grow in content and connection. Making content creation easier, connection easier, and accessibility easier are all important contribution. May we have more Steve Jobs to make the world a better place of greater ease, connection and love.

Lim Liat copyrighted 6 Oct 2011