Transformational Imperative

In becoming whoever it is we are to become … in effectively pursuing our Dreams … in making definitive progress toward achieving our full potential … we have to pass through a sometimes painful and often arduous transformation (make that several!) in thinking – a transformation in assumptions, in expectations, in understanding and in overall approach to life. 

“Every morning a scientist should make a practice

of dismissing one of his favorite hypotheses

and create a much more advanced and cogent one.”

[Attribution Lost] 

Unfortunately, everything we need to know was not conveyed to us in kindergarten!  At some point, we need to emerge from the cocooned chrysalis of initial “becomings”, take on a new,  more mature and more independent identity, spread our wings, and begin to function as full-fledged butterflies. 

 We need to move from incompletely developed dependence to full-flight-worthy independence … to becoming leaders, not merely followers; teachers, not merely students; contributors, not merely consumers.  We need to transition from being entertained to being entertainer; from listener/passive participant to presenter/active engagement; from provoked to provocateur; from reader to writer. 

… from being “parented” to “self-parenting” … from being the unbridled fox raiding chicken coops to being a disciplined, “Crazy Like a Fox” sentinel, responsibly and sustainably managing the chicken coop … fully engaging Executive Function. 

We need to move from merely looking for a “job” to developing and pursuing a career; from simply getting a paycheck to moving the company up in the stock exchange; from expecting our employer to promote us to carrying forward the corporate mission. 

We need to complete the transformations of VISIONING and VECTORING from: 

WHERE    WE    ARE                        to                     WHERE WE ARE GOING

THINKING about things                      to                     DOING things

Doing the TRIVIAL                              to                     Doing the IMPORTANT

Doing what PLEASES us                   to                     Doing what is GOOD for us

Making EXCUSES                             to                     MAKING THINGS HAPPEN

Being BEHIND                                    to                     Being ON TOP

Being like EVERYONE ELSE            to                     Being SPECIAL

LETTING LIFE HAPPEN                   to                     MAKING LIFE HAPPEN

AVOIDING Responsibility                  to                     ENGAGING Responsibility

RESISTING Authority                        to                     ENGAGING Authority

ENGAGING Authority                         to                     BEING the Authority

IMPULSIVE Behavior                         to                     DISCIPLINED Behavior

Looking for ESCAPE                          to                     Seeking HOW TO HELP 

We need to move from VIRTUALITY to ACTUALITY/FACTUALITY.  We need to move from vicarious living to full Dream/Destiny/Mission engagement. 

Real life isn’t for couch potatoes, grandstanders or “hangers-on”.  It isn’t for people who haven’t yet “found themselves” and are “waiting for their ships to come in”.  And it isn’t for “Sons of Anarchy”, who are opposed to any and all structure or advancement of civilization. 

If we’re not moving at the speed and direction of life – or, preferably, faster and more targeted … toward making life better – we risk getting passed by and eventually run over. 

Transformation in the 21^st century has become a life-long pursuit survival necessity.  We’re never completely finished “becoming”.  Technology changes.  Organizations change.  Skills become obsolete.  Pay scales top out at below-Dream-level value. 

At least for a while, I was content being a “Supertech” – being the best “lab rat” in the business.  But “lab rats” have to work for “chicken feed”, being funded by competitive grants that keep getting cut.  So, eventually, one gets promoted in title without any change in compensation.  Worse, one risks being replaced by younger, cheaper, less experienced employees just to keep the grants within budget.  Besides all that, I found “contentment” to be a precarious preoccupation. 

Breaking out of this mold required a complete transformation from developer/Doer to Owner-Driver ... from “Supertech” to faculty member; then from faculty member to Assistant Director, Associate Director, and, eventually, Deputy Director ... with major transformations at each stage. 

Not everyone gets such opportunities.  And it’s essential to underscore how much help I got from others – even to the point of getting promotions I didn’t even ask or apply for.  It may surprise some to know how many jobs and promotions are created “tailor made” specifically for individuals who distinguish themselves as “Owner-Drivers”. 

“If all else fails, simply do whatever you can to be useful!”

Herbie Halfmaster 

And, while you’re being useful, try adding “transformative value”.

Quartermaster 

Another notable transformational “turn” of my personal kaleidoscope came during an exceptionally rapid period of development of the Markey Center.  I was “pre-processing” everything I could before it got to the Director, but things on the Director’s desk were relentlessly “pressing”.  So I decided to unilaterally complete the processing of everything I could so it was “Done” when it surfaced on his desk.  What I found was that doing significant elements of one’s supervisor’s job is a fairly reliable way to stay in the game ... as long as one’s own job doesn’t go untended! 

Who in the world would do THAT? 

The sustainably engaged! 

Our most definitive stage of transformation is going from fighting life to dancing with life … from dancing to the beat of our own Paleolithic drum to dancing with Destiny.  QM