Manifesting change is a topic highlighted in the book The Secret, also something very NLP oriented (i.e. Tony Robbins).  In truth, I am a believer in this…not because the universe listens (as the author of The Secret says), but because I think it has to do with reprogramming the mind for opportunities that may have previously been ignored by one’s own conscious /subconscious mind.  I believe we can change our brains thinking patterns by, functionally, being more optimistic and/or believing in the opportunities that exist but may not yet be seen.

This kind of leads to a blog offshoot on how people think about ‘the future:’

1)  The optimist / believer / faithful – those who believe in the possibility of the unknown. Maybe they don’t know the specific answers to a question (such as how am I going to become successful, how will I become ceo someday, how will I meet the man/woman of my dreams and have relationship bliss, etc?), but they believe the answers are ‘out there.’  And that those answers will, in fact, come to them eventually. These people grasp opportunities, and look for chances to be lucky. They usually work hard at creating their ‘luck.’ These people live for the future; the past is simply a learning opportunity.

2) The pessimist / non-believer / unfaithful –  those who do not have any faith in what the future holds. They feel a lack of control of the future, and over-compensate by seeking proof of everything before they act on anything. These people are genuinely confronted with a problem in their lives; because they do not grasp opportunities, even when the opportunity is clearly within their grasp. Instead, they find excuses not to act and reasons to delay. Until eventually someone else takes advantage of the opportunity or time degrades, ravishes, or simply terminates the opportunity. They are always ‘unlucky,’ and typically find themselves in administrative or non-decision-making oriented roles. These people live for the past; they live in fear of the future.

3) The agnostics - those who simply don’t care. Not that that they do or do not believe…they truly do not want to worry about it. They choose not to choose. They live for today. Yesterday is a memory, and tomorrow is soon to be a memory as well.  Thus, they live for the moment.  Usually a lot of fun, very charismatic, and often lucky through overt risk taking. If there is no past and no future, why not push the envelope today? This sometimes pays off, but inconsistently and without regard to plans or intentions.

I was recently asked for examples of when I made myself change my thinking, and therefore change the outcome.  In reality, I think I have only ‘changed’ my thinking one time.  I made a choice a long time ago to start seeing things differently, to choose to be optimistic and believe in a positive outcome.  In reality, I probably made that change around the time I was a sophomore in high school. Prior to that I was kinda the fat nerdy kid. Class clown. Never played sports, never took too many risks, never asked a girl out. I simply made the decision that if I didn’t change something, my life would be more of the ho-hum same ‘ol thing. And the same ‘ol thing was making me unhappy.

So, I decided to create a bolder me. I changed my thinking about myself. About my possibilities. About my capabilities. Like the old saying, I faked it til I made it. And when did I become the person I had pretended to be at that moment: a bold, confident, optimistic, success oriented person?

Great question…what came first, the chicken or the egg? I don’t know.

But I do know that by the time I graduated high school, I was voted most likely to succeed, I had a hot girlfriend, I had slimmed down considerably, been accepted to private college, and within another few years I had started my first successful company.

So, how do you manifest change? You simply make a decision. Then commit to that decision. Burn the ships. Tell the world.

Because indecision kills manifest destiny.

I truly love the movie Contact, with Jodie Foster. In particular, I love the end of the movie. A child asks her if she believes in aliens, and she smiles ironically (we the viewer know that she doesn’t really know). She looks at the child and says: “I’ll tell you one thing about the universe. The universe is a pretty big place. It’s bigger than anything anyone has ever dreamed of before. So if it’s just us… seems like an awful waste of space. “

After a two hour festival of deep exploration of truth, we are left with a simple CHOICE on what we want to believe.

Another great quote from Jodie Foster’s character: “Funny, I’ve always believed that the world is what we make of it.”

So, I suppose the answer to the question I was asked about manifesting change is simply: sometimes you just choose to believe.  In yourself.

My most recent post was on Choosing between being a Follower or a Leader. I’m going to summarize and add to that post; so this one hopefully makes some sense:

• Leaders make unpopular decisions and are often chastised, ridiculed, and/or ostracized. They start as Thought Leaders, then evolve with support and belief to Action Leaders (Che Guevara).
• Due to force of will, charisma, good looks, DNA, parenting, luck, or timing… sometimes their believers outnumber and out-verbalize their non-believers.
• Followers (i.e. believers) make up most of humanity.  Which is OK for the Followers AND the Leaders of the world. Leadership is a yoke of responsibility to your constituency that is often unappreciated, and sometimes even punished (if you don’t believe me…. ask Jesus).
• Followers outnumber Leaders. I would approximate 25,000-to-1.
• Being a Follower is OK. Being a Thought Leader can be scary, and clearly unappreciated. Sometimes poorly paid; Edgar Allen Poe was paid $15 for The Raven and was never paid more than $100 for anything he wrote.; he died poor. Nietzsche died insane and poor.
• Followers make the Leader. Sometimes following a Leader is a bad decision. Which is When and Why the Follower must evolve. How, incidentally, is never known by a Leader; it is defined through decisive actions. The How inevitably evolves.
• Followers must, at a bare minimum, be responsible for Who they follow. Blind faith is stupid. Unused muscle inevitably atrophies.

Which conveniently leads us to this post:

I was watching Stargate SG-1 with my 19 yr old son. The episode involved a complex paradox that lead to a robotic-artificially-intelligent humanoid named Lotan, deciding the fate of one innocent and peaceful race’s demise vs. another innocent and peaceful race’s demise; due entirely to circumstance. Without belaboring the episode: Lotan was not programmed to save the race of the people at risk, despite seemingly having the power to do so. Through the introduction of empathy and self-preservation, he eventually saw that he had to consider the Purpose of his Mission, or the “Integrity of his Mission,” vs. the simple hierarchical commands he was given.

While that sounds all sci-fi and weird, it was a beautiful episode that taught a simple message.

Followers are responsible to insure that the purpose of the Leader is honored. Beyond the Leader, the purpose or vision of their Mission… the Integrity of their Mission must be honored through their actions. Not simply following hierarchical commands without thought or consideration. Followers are responsible.

Another example of this same message is found in one of my favorite movies, The Last Samurai. Katsumoto is loyal to the Japanese Emperor, yet wages rebellion against him. At one point the Emperor, a teenager being mislead through inexperience and fear, asks Katsumoto why he rebels. Katsumoto responds that he would gladly take his life for the Emperor, but he is convinced the Emperor’s decisions are wrong and is fighting him… for him. For his people. For the Purpose, Integrity, Mission, Goals, and Intent that the Emperor wanted, needed, stood for, and had mistakenly abandoned.

Followers still have to make decisions. Responsible decisions. This is inescapable. Since most people reading this are more likely Followers than Leaders, please consider YOUR Power:

1. Who is the Leader I am following; more specifically, what do they represent to and for their constituency?  (Is there value, to self and others, in this daily effort?)

2. Ignoring past actions, are the Leader’s current directives properly representing the constituency? (Are the commands, words, and intent consistent…am I doing the ‘right’ thing?)

3. How can I honor the INTEGRITY OF MY MISSION, supporting the constituency that the Leader is obligated to serve; even in the absence of clear direction or if said direction is not cohesive with the Mission? (If the Leader does not have the information you have at your disposal, would he / she prefer you seek an alternative, creatively finding new solutions, in order to support the constituency?)

Some Leaders want unquestioning Followers, and there are clearly plenty out there in this world of ours (one that encourages and cranks out Followers through the educational system, large corporations, even the stifling of the word ‘why’ in our youth). But the BEST Leaders, those who TRULY serve their Purpose, Mission, and Constituency…are those that take responsibility for their actions and seek to follow the Integrity of their Mission. Even if it means subtle rebellion.

Every executive in my company, and every past or present employee that I respect, is someone with the guts to question my commands.

Confident Leaders honor their rebels. Nothing is more valuable to a Leader than a Follower with the guts to ask Why.

And once someone has lost sight of the Integrity of their Mission, they no longer deserve to Lead or Follow.

Artwork by Jonathan McCubbin, age 10

I was raised by an artist.   In the 70’s my Mom cut hair at a salon that also taught belly-dancing.  Nonetheless, she was an artist of hair.  Later, she became a nationally recognized Interior Designer.   Later still, a more conventional artist, with oil paints and a canvas.

My house, growing up, was always changing.  One day we had French doors that were white; the next day we had something else.

As a kid, I remember going to visit her at Ethan Allen, where she worked earlier in her career, and playing on the carpet samples for hours and hours.

Roles shifted, and as a young adult and fledgling entrepreneur myself, I convinced her to go into her own business www.janicemccubbin.com. This scared the crap out of her; yet further developed both her art and the quality of her client base.

I was also raised by a financial planner.   My Father worked for Smith Barney as a financial planner; specializing in options.  Puts and Calls.  He taught me about money.  How money is a tool.  It can be leveraged.  It can be dangerous.  It can be rewarding.   And It should be respected.

They both spoke to me for hours on end about their careers.  When I was lucky I would get to meet their clients.   Both of them served the wealthy.  The VERY wealthy.

And I was a sponge.  I learned.

Could I sum up my Mom or Dad’s career in one sentence??   ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!

That would be both offensive and presumptuous.

BUT… I can tell you one of the most important lessons I learned from these amazing people.

– and here it is –

Money is a tool; it has no soul. – But it can be made to dance, and sing.  It can be leveraged to create.  It can serve a purpose beyond itself.  It can feed people.  It can provide blankets to the homeless.  It can create a bridge for laughter. Love. Light.  But it does exist.  And it must be respected.

Art is expressive; it has soul. – But it can be made into a blunt object of force.  Words, paint, music, religion, expression.  It can be leveraged for power….and abused.  It seems innocuous.  But its beauty has both beauty AND a razor sharp edge.  It can create a bridge for laughter. Love. Light.  And it does exist.  And it must be respected.

Power can exist over people in many ways.   Their strength, and protection, is in realization of this truth.

P.S. The artwork featured in this blog is from my 10 year old son, Jonathan.