Slingshot Accelerators

We first encountered “Slingshot Accelerators” in the blog, Virtual Reality YOU.  [http://www.ertiaunlimited.com/virtual-reality-you/]

A “slingshot accelerator” is a paradoxical contrivance.  In order for a slingshot to work, it has to be forcibly pulled back into a hyperextended, “cocked” disequilibrium before its full power can be unleashed.  

Gravitational slingshots are used in space travel:

“One of the best ways to increase the speed of a spacecraft is with a gravitational slingshot, also known as a gravity assist.

…

For example, when Voyager was sent out into the Solar System, it used gravitational slingshots past Jupiter and Saturn to increase its velocity enough to escape the Sun’s gravity.

So how do gravitational assists work? You probably know this involves flying your spacecraft dangerously close to a massive planet. But how does this help speed you up?

Each planet has an orbital speed travelling around the Sun.

As the spacecraft approaches the planet, its gravity pulls the much lighter spacecraft so that it catches up with the planet in orbit. It’s the orbital momentum from the planet which gives the spacecraft a tremendous speed boost. The closer it can fly, the more momentum it receives, and the faster it flies away from the encounter.

To kick the velocity even higher, the spacecraft can fire its rockets during the closest approach, and the high speed encounter will multiply the effect of the rockets. This speed boost comes with a cost. It’s still a transfer of momentum. The planet loses a tiny bit of orbital velocity.”  http://www.universetoday.com/113488/how-do-gravitational-slingshots-work/

Slingshot accelerators and gravitational slingshots contain very apt metaphors for personal and professional development.  In both cases, there is a substantial up-front cost.  In the slingshot accelerator, you have to muster the energy to get properly “Cocked”; in the gravitational slingshot, you have to get launched.  And, in both cases, one has to have a well-mapped trajectory or you’re going to miss the intended destination and be lost wandering in space.   

The gravitational slingshot, further, illustrates the importance of risking close encounters with rapidly moving bodies that have substantial gravitational power, which may influence the trajectory as well as the speed of flight. 

Getting rejected – i.e., “kicked out of orbit” – can have an unfortunate, non-directed “wandering” effect.  But keeping the destination in view and becoming part of a larger “ecosystem” that is constantly “Vectoring” in a positive direction works equally well, and even better for some purposes. 

Tiffany Dufu, Director of the Levo League network, talks about leveraging the equivalent of interplanetary convergence ecosystems for slingshot acceleration in the workplace:

“We get to work, and work is a different ecosystem. If you put your head down, achieve really great results at work, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be promoted.”

Employees have to pick “who in the organization you’re going to align yourself with to be successful.”

“The more you can invest in other people, the more successful you’re going to be,” she said. … The people who have been the most successful in advancing their careers have a network and have leveraged a group of people … to achieve clarity, and to make those connections, and to make their load easier and simpler.”

When growing up, Dufu began “to recruit people who were invested in me, who were supportive of my success. I kind of accidentally built that ecosystem,” she said.

Because she successfully built her network, she said, “I’ve never had to apply for a job in my entire career.”

http://www.kentucky.com/news/business/article73653922.html#storylink=cpy

Skeptics, cynics and nihilists will decry “networking” behavior as superfluously “working the system” and “pandering” to gain an advantage.  However, the reality is that life stopped being an individually engineered enterprise when our ancestors left the farm, quit making their own tools and clothes and started bartering with others to acquire what they wanted and needed.  In the 21^st Century, connecting and cooperating are how waves are made and big stuff gets done.  You’re a “Player” or you’re a “Cast-About”.    

Be a player [http://www.ertiaunlimited.com/?s=Be+A+Player&submit=]!  Develop your own unique ecosystem of ascendant “Slingshot Accelerators”.  Place yourself in the “gravitational field” of leaders-of-the-pack … not to become part of the “Pack”, but to gather an infusion of momentum toward your own destination.  Have a clear GOAL or DESTINY” in mind, but don’t become shocked if “encounters of the first-, second- or third kind” result in a transformational perspective with completely new horizons.  Then PLAY IT OUT for all you’re worth!  Quartermaster   

Virtual Reality YOU

Motivational speakers frequently promote the idea of imagining one’s Dream Job or ideal circumstance as a means toward actually achieving it.  

A football coach, for example, may exhort his quarterback to envision himself throwing game-winning touchdown passes or a basketball coach may encourage his players to envision themselves tossing up buzzer-beating shots to win a national championship.

Various means of “incarnating” this idea have been suggested, including creating a “Treasure Board” with photos of prizes to be won, goals to be achieved, and picture-perfect endings to be experienced. 

NOTE:  As generally presented, these machinations sound like a bunch of hocus-pocus – and often are:  If one merely pictures things materializing out of thin air without putting in the blood-sweat-and-tears effort to make them happen, they almost certainly won’t!

Nonetheless, more than random or coincidental numbers of extremely compelling personal testimonies have accrued to support the case.  So I had to ask:

How can/How could this be?

After years of summarily dismissing the idea and roundly discrediting its purveyors, I reluctantly stumbled upon an explanation in a single word:  

Momentum

Oh, and how so?

It turns out that a compelling, subliminal force may become embedded in the “Visioning” exercises noted above that can actually propel one forward.  To remain ever-vigilant in pursuing an envisionable goal – no matter how lofty … in fact, the more lofty the better (!) … has the effect of minimizing distractions, maximizing focus, and keeping the heat of time and effort applied to a specified pursuit with purposeful intent.  Thus, by routinely checking out the “Treasure Board”, either physically or mentally, one will spend a lot less time absent-mindedly engaged in social media, in watching TV and movies, in playing video games, etc., and a lot more time chasing a Dream. 

DESIRE is important!  And COMMITMENT is important!

Prockmorton’s Postulation

Visioning is merely an expression of desire,

and the HD detail and Technicolor hues in the visioning representation

provide an indication of the degree of commitment.  

“If men could regard the events of their lives with more open minds,

they would frequently discover that they did not [sufficiently] desire

the thing they failed to obtain.” 

André Maurois

NOTE: Merely “wishing” for something and waiting “until our ship comes in” is like trying to fly a kite with no wind.  Desire is the wind and commitment is its generator. 

A fully engaged Visioning exercise also puts us on a track in which we are actively LOOKING FOR THINGS to advance our pursuit – things we may not know or even imagine actually exist but that we serendipitously stumble upon and immediately recognize as applicable and can easily grasp. 

“ … chance favors only the prepared mind.”

Louis Pasteur

Thus, if you have some idea of where you’re going and what you’re looking for, and if you put yourself in enough strategically “opportune” places [see “Be A Player” http://www.ertiaunlimited.com/be-a-player/ ], you’re much more likely to find critical pavers for the “Yellow Brick Road” you’re building. 

Otherwise, we end up tripping over, cursing and dismissing things that could possibly serve as sling-shot accelerators toward our goal … things that could perhaps even send us off into hyper-dimensional pursuit of an even more auspicious goal! 

A “sling-shot accelerator” is a paradoxical contrivance.  In order for a sling-shot to work, it has to be forcibly pulled back into a hyperextended, “cocked” disequilibrium before its full power can be unleashed.  

Visioning, Visioning, Visioning “frames” the desired outcome.

            Preparation, Preparation, Preparation sets the foundation.

                        Engagement, Engagement, Engagement makes us a PLAYER. 

                                    Momentum, Momentum, Momentum keeps us moving toward the goal. 

“Momentum is the only thing that will overcome

the stand-off

between an IMMOVEABLE OBJECT

and

an IRRESISTIBLE FORCE.”

 Principle V::Ertia Unlimited

If you’re facing circumstances replete with irresistible forces and immoveable objects, keep moving!  Go off-track, if necessary (change circumstances?), to gain better perspective … better Visioning, Prepare like you mean it, Engage with anyone and everyone who can help you get where you want to go, and KEEP MOVING!  Quartermaster

 

GUT CHECK:

If you’re not being propelled forward by a bold VISION of a better YOU and an audacious DREAM of more prosperous circumstances, your DREAM may be too small.  

Let It Go

                                    

“You CAN have it all, just not all at once!”

[… and then you do Weight Watchers … ]

Oprah Winfrey

A participant in a “Lifelong Philosophy” colloquium asked the question:

“Where do you get your news?”

He had been intrigued to find that Gen X-Y-Z individuals get most or all of their news from Twitter. 

In so doing, he pointed out, they were the VERY FIRST to know about the Arab Spring uprisings … about the Paris and Brussels bombings … about San Bernadino … and about everything else happening in the world – NOW! 

Better yet, it’s unbiased … direct from the front lines … not “filtered” or “colored” by journalists or TV anchors and commentators.  Raw, unvarnished NEWS. 

And it’s available 24 hours a day …

In contrast, I couldn’t help think of our retired neighbors and most of the residents of the local senior residence facility who watch CNN or other newscasts [perhaps in between soap operas, game shows and naps] 6-8-10 hours a day.  “Filtered” and “colored”, indeed, but sometimes with helpful perspective added. 

And then I couldn’t help thinking about my own relative absence of indulgence in news-mining/news mongering derived from my cave-dweller’s approach to graduate school, asserting that any news of immediate importance to me would – in due course – be brought to my attention by neighbors or colleagues.  Otherwise, it was my sole job, occupation and focus to figure out the mechanism of adrenocorticotropic hormone action in the adrenal cortex and get my Ph.D.  (As it turned out, my neighbors and colleagues were very accommodating!) 

A similar perspective excluded most other television programming (except for occasional sports) as well as other forms of entertainment.  My roommate in college introduced me to the Beatles and my barbershop quartet has introduced me to all sorts of music legends whose rearranged songs we sing.  As for other cultural connections, I didn’t know who Peter Falk was until I saw his death reported in TIME magazine.  If asked to join a foursome for Bridge or Black Jack, I’d be totally lost! 

In fact, the cave-dweller’s mentality served me very well!  I got my Ph.D., and, over a 40+ year career, contributed to enhanced understandings of the fundamental biochemistry of hormone action, human development, aging and cancer. 

I’ve mellowed a bit with retirement and generally watch the news during lunch or dinner.  I also get a lot of my “digested/filtered” news as a long-term subscriber to NPR, TIME and the local news paper.  Thus, I know who Vanna White is and have learned about video games like “Mad Birds” and “Candy Crunch” – although these, nonetheless, do not have any real bearing on my overall quality of life.  I’m also at a loss to discuss more esoteric cultural benchmarks of the mid-late-20^th Century, although a diverse collection of associates regularly bring such to my attention … like the Beatles’ Song “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”, for example.  The 5^th graders where I volunteer on Tuesdays have informed me that there are three different versions of “Call of Duty”. 

After some degree of reflection about what I might be missing, I sampled enough of the offerings on television to become completely bummed out and at least personally exonerated.  The vast wasteland of cultural fluff masquerading as “entertainment” with megabillions of dollars worth of associated advertising is mind-numbing – to a point that I once conjectured:

“Television, videos and movies are for invalids

who are constrained from actually living life

and who must experience it vicariously through virtual association.”

This, of course, was partly a rationalization that gave me license to continue to ignore and abhor such potentially habit-forming intrusions into my gray matter through the Paleolithic “Pleasure Center’s” back door. 

But, getting back to the 24-7 engagement of Gen X-Y-Zers in social media …

I think an associated reality is that we don’t want to MISS anything.  Five minutes without access to a Smart Phone, TV or computer can give one debilitating withdrawal angst! 

Another associated reality is that we don’t honestly know what to do with ourselves if we’re not permanently, intently, intimately “glued” to some device connecting us to the rest of the world.  So we stay “dialed in” … perhaps to keep from feeling “dialed out” or from having to do something either useful or thoughtful.  Whatever is “happening NOW” is the next thing on our list, and we can’t abide not BEING there. 

Could it also be that remaining in constant contact with the world is a way of measuring or showing how “important” we are? 

So I’ve come to believe that there IS such a thing as TOO MUCH engagement.  How many times do you have to hear news repeated before you can move on?   And how important – really – is it that YOU be the VERY FIRST to know about something … much less what someone else – THIS VERY MOMENT – is having for dinner at the local food stop? 

“Some, some, some, some,

Some folks do,

Some folks do.

Some, some, some, some,

But that’s not me or you!”

“Some Folks Do”

Stephen Foster

I’ve found it’s much more effective to let the news find ME at the speed of ME rather than scrambling my Destiny chasing the news at the speed of light.  If something is important enough to have staying power until tomorrow or next week or until it’s picked up by NPR or TIME magazine, then it probably deserves a much larger fraction of my attention THEN.

And so it is with most of the rest of life.  If we let external forces constantly command our attention, time and energy, we’re allowing ourselves to get lost in the shuffle. 

Prockmorton’s Point to Ponder

“If you’re not being paid for newsgathering and dissemination,

and if you’re not diligently working on your PhD equivalent in life and career management,

you may be wasting a lot of valuable potential.”

Learn to let go!  Anything not adding significant value to your life is probably taking away value, tying up critical synapses, and draining your overall finite resources.  In workshops on TIME, we talk about Sacred Cows and Strategic Sacrifices when things get tough.  The fewer Sacred Cows we have and the more Strategic Sacrifices we can make, the better armed we will be to do what more rightfully needs to be done WHEN it needs to be done.  Let the rest go!  Quartermaster

Attitude

For some time, I’ve wanted to get a more concrete handle on just what “ATTITUDE” is and how it works.  For example: What, exactly, does it mean when we hear someone say:

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” Thomas Jefferson  [http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_attitude.html]  ?

OR

“Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” Lou Holtz
[http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_attitude.html]?

This doesn’t tell us – exactly – what attitude IS … or how you GET it.  And, if it makes such a difference, how do you make it WORK for you?                            

Some attitudes clearly – or maybe NOT so clearly – work LESS well than others:

 

      

                    

From the Webster Dictionary, we get this definition:

 ATTITUDE: 1.    Posture; position assumed or studied to serve a purpose; as, a threatening attitude.  2. Position or bearing as indicating action, feeling or mood itself; as, a kindly attitude.

So attitude, fundamentally, is an orientation … an inclination toward some anticipated / expected purpose or end (or perhaps to no end at all!), and behavior is a manifestation of that orientation / inclination. 

Polarities in attitude are notable.  While shades of coloration exist and circumstances may dramatically influence attitude, a “baseline” or default orientation generally exists.  “Who we are” … or “Who we THINK we are” … or “Whoever it is we want to BECOME” makes a universe of difference.  The adjectives depicting orientation/inclination pretty well reflect attitude and predict outcomes:  Some examples are worth noting, but represent only the tip of a very LARGE iceberg:

A producer or a consumer; An instigator or a pacifier; Progressive – wanting to be and do better; Conservative – wanting things to remain the same; Secure and adventurous or insecure, protective and resistant to change; A consensus builder or a disrupter; Prone to claim Entitlements; Prone to fulfill Obligations; Black Belt Survivalist: “Who have you licked lately?”; Rugged Individualist; Bully/”Bad Boy”/Boasting/Bravado/Bandit; Gallant/Gregarious/Generous; Eager Beaver Participant; Reluctant participant / observer; Seclusionist; Facilitator; Initiator; “Busy Body”; Self-Centered “Narcissist”; Extrovert; Introvert …

The “tapes” playing in our heads are critical:

• “I can make a difference.”
•  “I can!” /\ “I can’t!” /\ “I will.” /\ “I won’t.” /\ “Maybe.”
•  “I will do whatever it takes … as long as it takes.”  [Eventual Surmountability”]
• “Only my own weakness/stubbornness/stupidity/lack of initiative will hold me back.”
• “I will become stronger, smarter, more skilled, better, faster.”
• “Nobody can stop me!”
• “I will generate my own personal affirmations and self-esteem from jobs well-done.”
• “I will not shy from worthy challenges.”
• “I will not shy from constructive criticism.”   

Zig Ziglar was fond of telling about the pessimist who quit his job shoveling manure because it was such a detestable occupation versus the optimist who figured the more manure he pitched the closer he got to the pony!

George Foreman had a formula that worked wonders for him across at least three different careers:

“Before I was a boxer, I was a dishwasher.  I was great!  I was the best dishwasher ever.  I’d get through doing my job; my dishes were so nice and clean … so I’d mop the floors.  I out-mopped the floor mopper.  Then I would help the cooks peel the potatoes.  I was the best there was.”  [NOTE: Striving to be the BEST is attitude you can take to the bank!]

Finally, I’d have to say that long-term and broad horizon visioning is important. 

            “You may think I’m a lump of coal.  But one day, I’m going to be a diamond.”

Sir Christopher Wren was one of the greatest English architects of all time.  His masterpiece accomplishment was the design and construction of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.  The story is told that one day he walked onto the cathedral construction site unrecognized among the men at work and asked several of them, in turn, what they were doing.  The first man replied, “I am cutting a piece of stone.”   A second man said “I am earning five shillings, tuppence a day to feed and clothe my family.”  The third, not recognizing the esteemed architect in his work clothes, exclaimed, “I am helping Sir Christopher Wren build a magnificent cathedral!”

 

I think “Positive Attitude” comes down to simply taking personal responsibility for making the world we live in the best place it can possibly be [NOTE: Making ourselves and our own world better is a very nice collateral benefit!] versus sloughing off, making excuses and blaming others.  Our choice!  Quartermaster