Follow Her Red Shoes

The world of tomorrow will be an interdependent web of allied nations where the use of computers to aid human capabilities will abound. Many nations will be fully automated allowing smaller nations to compete globally in unprecedented ways. Countries that embrace the processing speed, data analytics, and decision recommendations provided by computers will out-think larger countries and they will do so faster and at a lower cost.  In short, the world will favor adaptability, efficiency, and cognitive agility over nation size, infrastructure, and financial wealth.

To sustain our world leadership status, we must evolve into a leaner, more efficient, more resilient nation.

We must become a nation that embraces progress, encourages innovation, and inspires our people to achieve their optimized selves. We must become a unified nation that appreciates a multi-national allied force who works together to ensure a safe, secure, and sustained world. Maintaining our thought leadership status will require an educational foundation that both maximizes the capabilities of all our people as well as identifies, promotes, and supports our most skilled individuals – across all areas of study and ability. Our economic leadership status will depend on our ability to identify and maximize our unique assets. And our defensive leadership will depend on our willingness to embrace and appreciate the resources, advances, and capabilities of our allied nations as well as our openness to create and maximize industry-government partnerships.

Diversity and creativity will be our greatest strengths.

In the past, our natural, physical, financial, and technological resources provided us an elevated position compared to the rest of the world. However, the future competition space will rely more on our human resources, our ability to optimize the benefits of diversity of thought, background, beliefs, skills, and attributes as well as our willingness to promote and cultivate creativity of thought, action, and interactions. We remain the best equipped nation to lead in the future but how we maximize the use of our assets will be monumentally important.

Therefore, we must evolve and propel our country forward in order to meet these new challenges of automation, human-computer interaction, and the battlespaces of tomorrow. Planning will be the great divider between those nations that survive and those that thrive. Thus, we must transform our government from being reactive to being one with a proactive focus. We must support the education of all our people, elevate our financial stronghold, and ensure our defense program has the resources (financial, human, and technological) that it needs to secure our country.

EDUCATE       SECURE       DEFEND

Building a Ready Nation will require the entirety of our population to embrace forward thinking, life-long learning, fiscal responsibility for our future, and support our military with not only a mindset of appreciation but also with social respect, emotional resilience, and personal optimization.

A Ready Nation will be fearless, educated, self-sufficient, and secure because the nation that displays resilience will survive over time but the nation that embraces progressive evolution will thrive!

What is a Mind Racer and why does it matter to our country? A Mind Racer is someone who has an overactive mind. This isn’t just someone who is intelligent or who has studied a lot of material. It’s not just someone who has lived through a lot of tough experiences. Those are smart or tough or resilient people. We need them for sure but a Mind Racer is a different animal. This type of person has a hyperactive processing speed and the ability to connect ideas, thoughts, experiences, and information across time, space, depth, and topic into a highly sophisticated mental model. This model becomes so expansive and inclusive that eventually it incorporates every possible event, concept, or piece of information that could ever be conceived or found. It would be like having an infinite, highly organized, library where every book that comes in has an already open space and that when put in its place elevates the worth of the total library in an optimal way.

A Mind Racer is like a hyperactive child – when forced to conform can be frustrating but when unleashed on the sports field thrives.

Being a Mind Racer can be a very difficult existence. People don’t understand them and consequently feel stress when in their presence. Quite frankly, Mind Racers are exhausting. They never stop thinking and oftentimes don’t make sense as they appear to be disorganized in thought – frequently speaking rapidly and seemingly randomly about a variety of topics all at once. In reality, their mind is taking in so much information simultaneously that the connections can’t be articulated fast enough – information is being put away in the metaphorical library at lighting speed. In an effort to “help” most well-meaning people will try to encourage them to conform to what they believe will help. “Why don’t you just relax?” “Why don’t you do less?” “Stop thinking and come rest.” “Why do you need to talk to yet another person?” “Why do you keep asking the same questions over and over again?”

A Mind Racer is most relaxed in a highly cognitively challenging problem space where the complexity of the issues are beyond typical comprehension.

To feel centered, Mind Racers require constant cognitive stimulation. They require friends whose minds run as fast as theirs and will oftentimes interact with them at a pace, depth, and frequency that seems abnormal and worse, consuming, to others. Mind Racers learn early to hide their thoughts lest people call them weird or overthinkers. But I like to say…

Brilliance is Beautiful.

I believe the word brilliance has many meanings and so I don’t focus solely on intellect but rather, on how a person shines – whether that be through a smile and happy disposition or through exceptional artistic emotional expression – “brilliance” has many meanings and I am drawn to those that “run on all cylinders” or operate at their highest functioning, best self.

The reason Mind Racers matter to the country is two-fold. The country needs people whose minds are able to connect our people in a way no one has conceptualized to date. We need people who can translate those sophisticated mental models covering education, economics, human development, and defense strategy into a vision for the future of our nation. These racers are the ones with the super-human ability to progress us forward. The second reason we need them is to elevate and progress our defense strategy as we launch into a battlespace that will favor intellectual agility over physical prowess. Mind Racers will be the warriors of the future and we need to understand how to identify and cultivate these needed defenders of our nation.

The nation that displays resilience will survive over time but the nation that embraces progressive evolution will thrive!

 

Photo credits: Photo by Rakicevic Nenad on Unsplash Photo by Mario Calvo on Unsplash Photo by Erik Eastman on Unsplash

Why do we have rules? They serve to ensure clarity. However, ultimately, they are in place to create a sense of safety. We place boundaries on children so they know where the metaphorical bowling bumpers in life lie. But why do humans need bumpers? In short: cognitive load.

Cognitive load is a psychological theory that states that the mind can only handle so much information at one time. When it is overloaded, we feel stressed and we, by necessity, will focus on what we know, who we know, or where we know. In other words, we try to make our world clearer by using bumpers and creating rules so that we feel safe.

This has been effective to maintain clarity for the masses for thousands of years. The problem arises when outliers surface. These are the ones that disrupt the system. In the movie Divergent – we saw this clearly. The main character questions the system, the rules, the way decisions are made and in doing so disrupts the status quo. For some people, this is liberating. For others, it is scary.

We are seeing this play out at the national level. There are those in our country who prefer the bumpers, the clarity, the rules and there are those who feel stifled, controlled, and depressed by them.

Which way is right? Neither. Both.

I think most people would be surprised to know that which one you prefer is largely based on your body chemistry – your personal differences in how much load or how much chaos feels comfortable to you. This is not chosen or developed but instead is generally set at birth. We push ourselves for various reasons and this comfortable zone can be altered through experience but the root is still the same. Neurophysiology drives us to prefer, generally, rule clarity or not.

So there is no right way – there are only personal preferences. I respect both positions and I wish for our people that others could do the same – to see one person’s preference not as a threat to your way of living but simply just a different way.

When we can see others for who they really are and accept them as they prefer to live – with, or without, rigid clarity in their lives – we can press forward as a nation and achieve so much more than we’ve ever dreamed. When all people live as their true selves, the country can run like a well-oiled machine – use all cylinders – function as a true society.

Photo by Mark Duffel on Unsplash Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash

Typically, we try discussing….then convincing…then yelling out of frustration. When these steps are exhausted, we march…we hold signs…we join a PAC. Yet many of us ask, “Where are you going?” The number of people standing up to get involved in politics now is higher than I’ve ever seen! It’s really exciting to see our nation moving.

Now we need to help our people define the metaphorical land of Oz and then find the yellow brick road to get there– the pathway to the new tomorrow. We need to help our people find the pathway that allows us to both connect and press forward…together.

But how to do we, as a nation, define a tomorrow on which Americans from both parties can agree? How do we determine what we want to achieve as a collective when we’re so incredibly divisive at the moment?

Step 1: We find, even the most minimal of points, upon which to agree. That’s where we start. Based on the research data, I think most of us might be surprised by how many things we can agree on. Stick to the basics at first:

We want a united nation, a free nation. We want economic stability, an education system that sets our people up for success as adults. We want a happy, healthy nation for both kids and adults. Generally speaking, we can agree on these points.

Step 2: Define each of these terms. What does a united nation look like? What does it mean to be free? Free from what? How do we define economic stability? And how do we help people be happy? Can we? Is it a responsibility of the government? These questions are the ones that become a bit harder to answer but when we define them 20 years from now, it’s a bit far in the distance and you might be surprised to know, that that makes it significantly easier for people to discuss!

Step 3: Define the pathway to achieve these goals. Once you diagnosis the problem and define the issues, the ability to clarify the yellow brick road to success is generally easily defined. This is the planning phase and it’s time to clarify who or which department will be the one to carry out the actions.

Step 4: Execute. Time to act, with a proactive, rather than reactive, plan in hand. The unified, centralized  approach to problem solving leads to not only improved efficiency but also unbeatable effectiveness.

Now it’s time to Identify – Define – Plan – Execute for America!!!

 When we try to solve problems, typically, we focus on solutions for today. We look for ways to end the current suffering. This a good start…but it can’t be all we do. We must simultaneously look at the underlying issues and fix those too. Otherwise, we will simply repeat the issues we just fixed. This is why people often say – study history in order to not repeat the past. But what if instead, we used that information to solve tomorrow’s problems before they start? When I used to see patients, I would often say,

“It’s better to never accumulate credit card debt than it is to pay it off. Because when you have to pay it off, you do so with interest.”

This sentiment can be seen in nearly every area of life. It’s easier to teach children to behave early than it is to fix issues later. It’s easier to never gain the weight than it is to lose it. And it is easier to educate our people for jobs of the future than it is to train them for new jobs when theirs become obsolete. It is easier to plan ahead for anticipated natural disasters than it is to rebuilt after the fact. In short,

It is wiser to be proactive than reactive.

So when it comes to the animosity we are facing in our nation now, it is not enough to tell people we have to get along. We must show them the pathway to do it and raise our next generation to value cohesion.

Therefore, there are several goals for my Camp for America idea:

1. We must build comradery in our people and show them, not tell them, why we need to value our differences
2. We need to share information with our people about the role and processes of government and military – they deserve to know how these systems work and have the opportunity to be part of them – trust between our people and our government is imperative if change is to occur
3. Train our people to be a ready nation – We are more resilient and prepared for any situation if we can grow food and feed ourselves, anticipate the impacts of natural disasters, handle emergency situations with expectation rather than surprise, and be physically, emotional, and intellectually prepared for anything.

Build – Share – Train

These are the goals of for our nation and will transform us from a reactive to a proactive, empowered, inspired, and READY nation!

Photo by Alex Radelich Andre Hunter Toa Heftiba

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – The greatest assets of our nation are creativity and diversity. No single person will ever have all the best solutions – no single person ever could.

So the wisest course of action (for my military friends, COA) is to find a way to capture all the greatest ideas and determine the optimized solution. But in order to do that, we have to develop a pathway to information sharing without emotional overload getting in the way. We have to join together and appreciate, truly, the unique experiences and talents of our people.

Socialism uses the collective society to drive toward average. Capitalism inspires the interdependent society to drive toward optimization….and then shares it with everyone.

This is the point where we have lost our way as a nation. Our far left argues for the sharing of outcomes and our far right for the competition of ideas. AMERICA – we need BOTH. Without the competition and drive for excellence, we regress to the mean. Without sharing with our fellow Americans and world neighbors, we stubbornly create division and predictably incite chaos. Yes, it’s humane to help others but in fact, even without that ethical demand, sharing remains the wisest COA. It is the only COA that results in maintaining a peaceful, healthy society that is mentally and physically able to devote our collective energy toward progress and world leadership.

We need to find a way to capitalize on the ideas, skills, and time of our fellow Americans. We need to create a metaphorical national work space in which competition drives innovation and results sharing leads others to contribute.

Quite literally, freedom – of mind, of body, of life choices – is the secret ingredient of our nation. It is what allows us to put the best ideas on the table without fear of retribution. There is no excuse for us underperforming compared to the rest of the world. We are the nation with the greatest diversity in the world and the most freedom for creativity – if we are not leading in every area, then we are the only ones to blame….and more importantly, the only ones who can change our course. We are in control, we are capable, and we should demand excellence from ourselves.

Why spend time fighting with ourselves when we can spend our energy propelling our nation forward and leading the world?!

Photo by “My Life Through A Lens”, Aziz Acharki

I’m sitting at a camp for special needs kids – yes, I’m a parent, twice-over, of kids with severe medical issues. That’s the reason I’m here but the reason I’m writing is because there is something magical in this place. This is a place where people put aside their differences – beliefs, politics, preferences, color, age, gender, and yes, including and especially their medical challenges – and take part in a weekend of pure fun, pure joy, pure freedom. Why is this important? In World War Z, there is a part where a young doctor goes into an annihilated area to determine why some people have managed to live, in spite of the devastating illness that has overtaken the world. His point was:

Don’t study a virus as it is spreading, study where it isn’t and you will see the combination of elements needed to combat it.

Stated another way, find what’s working and do more of it! This is not only useful in finding cures in medicine, it’s also useful in recognizing where people can change behavior. When I used to see patients, I was often told by many of them something along the lines of, “I just have to act this way.” And I frequently made the same statement – it was a simple statement – but one rarely uttered by a therapist and certainly not frequently said to a person seeking help. The statement was, “Bulls&*%.” I almost took joy in the startled look I predictably got…every time. People expect therapists to be sweet and nice and while I would describe myself as that, there is nothing sweet, nice, or caring about letting someone continue to tell themselves a story that is a lie when it is hindering their ability to function.

So now I say to our nation, to our people, with deep love and respect, “Bulls&*%.” I don’t believe that we are incapable of getting along. I don’t believe that we are incapable of controlling our emotions. I don’t believe we are incapable of seeing others’ points of view. I think when we tell ourselves that fallacy, we give ourselves permission to degrade others in order to build up ourselves.

We know better. We can do better. We should expect better from ourselves.

Now the right question is….In this utopian camp for children with severe illnesses, what can we learn? What can they teach us?

I observe and ask myself, “Why are people so willing here? So interested in being happy? So acquiescent to play well with others? And most importantly, how do we replicate that feeling and expand it to scale?”

I’ve decided that the secret recipe is this:

Create a place where everyone feels valued, needed, and free – and you will see people who respond with joy, compassion, hope, and be inspired to achieve higher than they ever thought possible!

Now let’s bring this feeling, this inspiration to our people, to our Nation…I’ve got a few ideas 😉

To be continued…..

Photo by Andreas Rønningen on Unsplash Photo by Keith Luke on Unsplash Photo by Aranxa Esteve on Unsplash

Our nation is divided by political parties, even in spite of many issues on which we agree (http://www.people-press.org/2016/06/22/partisanship-and-political-animosity-in-2016/). We have started arguing and distrusting the positive impact of education (http://www.people-press.org/2017/07/10/sharp-partisan-divisions-in-views-of-national-institutions/). We have labeled certain religions as threatening and are trying to close our borders. We are even now hearing of states wanting to split into separate states (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/03/19/are-some-states-headed-for-splitsville-movement-grows-to-allow-sections-states-to-break-away.html). All of these decisions and positions are predicated on fear and anger. Fear that someone different than us will influence or affect us unduly and anger that others won’t do things our way.

Do I understand the position? I do. By definition, if it is our belief that life is best lived a certain way, we live it that way and certainly hope, and even expect, that others will too. I mean, if it’s the best, of course we want everyone to act and live this way! The rebuttal of course is that the best life for one is rarely the best life for another. But it is incredibly difficult for any of us to see things from other peoples’ points of view. I mean, let’s face it, we’re busy enough with our own issues, we don’t have time to take on others’ as well. But in this case, it may not only be beneficial to do so, it may be necessary.

The implications of such splitting are extensive. Sen. Rubio delivered a long commentary on the Senate floor recently that discusses why civil discord is not only beneficial to our nation but it is an absolute necessity for our Governmental leadership (https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/fighting-for-florida?ID=EAD03BA3-8E8A-482C-8884-7A67C86672C8). I would add that I believe this extends to us, the American people. Why?

The strongest, most effective teams are made of a diverse group of people.

It doesn’t matter if we are talking about business, military, education, or politics – when we consider multiple points of view, we have the best chance of finding the right answer to solve any problem. When everyone agrees on an idea, a path, or a plan, the “group think” mentality rules and everyone feels confident in the answer. Sadly, reality is that they likely feel overconfident because at all times, the team that considers multiple perspectives and multiple solutions will have the greatest variety of choices and ultimately, and consistently, dominate.

Have we lost sight as a nation that diversity and creativity are our country’s greatest assets?

When a country is ruled by a dominating individual, that country is only as good as that one person’s best ideas. If the person is particularly brilliant, they will have good ideas, better than most in fact – but will always fail ultimately against a team of brilliance. If the ruling person or party is particularly gifted in manipulation, they will succeed in convincing many of their heightened skills and ideas – whether or not they are true. But again, ultimately, they will be beat by teams of brilliance – especially those with the freedom of creativity in their process.

As a nation….we absolutely must come together, unify, and value the differences in our people. If we do not, we become our own worst enemy, our biggest adversary. And we are better than that – we are the UNITED States – we must always remember.

“A Nation divided against itself cannot stand…” Lincoln

 “Life is not measured by the number of days or years you spend on Earth but rather, by the number of people you inspire…”

I met someone recently who lost a friend too soon. Five weeks from diagnosis to passing. He was 40 years old and a father to little ones. I met some ladies yesterday who shared similar stories of loss. One lost her husband after 45 years of marriage and another discussed the dedicated details she attended to for her husband’s military burial. All this in just a couple days and when you add to it the recent loss in Parkland, I was left wondering what can we do, how do we make sense of it?

Life can be too short for all of us and while we know that intellectually, in order to truly internalize the lesson, we have to experience extreme loss. But what if instead, we could learn from others? What if the legacy of the ones we love inspired us to dream big, be daring, and value every minute? And so I ask the question, few dare to consider:

What would the 17 say to us today if they could? What would they have done if they were given just one more day on Earth? Would they tell us to fight? Tell us to be more cautious? Would they tell us to hold back, focus more on worries, concerns, loss? Or would they tell us to soar? To enjoy our families and friends? Is it the strife and mundane we want to remember, or the moments of brilliance? Joy? Strength?

In other words, what would honor the 17 – not just remember them, not just fight for future children, but what would help them leave behind a legacy of inspiration?

When I lost my daughter, I knew I had to find a way to think of her with a smile. I couldn’t cry forever – that wasn’t the legacy I wanted for her. So we started doing what we call “Sarah-Inspired Activities”. We remind ourselves to boldly act and live in ways we might have shied away from previously. We do things as a family as a point and include her in our discussions as just one of the kids – albeit an angel kid. When we lost our neighbor at the age of 50, I applied this same idea – his goal had been to get out of the hospital and take his jeep to the beach. He didn’t get the opportunity but in his honor, I took my jeep and had a blast.

In honor of the Parkland 17, I challenge you to find something in your own life you’ve been neglecting, putting off, or wishing you could do but have been afraid – and do it anyway – do it for you, do it for them, do it to live every moment you have on this Earth!

If every person in our nation was driven to an “Act of Inspiration”…

what a legacy the Parkland 17 could create!

Photo by Andrew Read  Victor Lozano and Tam High School Vigil

In each of us, is a story, an experience, a message we want to share with the world. Regardless of whether or not we share that story while formally running for office or not, we want to make a difference. In order to do that, we need to make sure that how we say it is in a way others can hear it.

In the political arena, it is particularly challenging because the way the campaign trail is set up is counter to demonstrating two important points: Listening and Serving. Yet this is why we have politicians. They are here to listen to our needs so they can speak for us and make decisions on our behalves. However, the trail is focused on raising money and sharing one’s message. And I would argue, these activities run counter to the ultimate message.

So if we wanted to change the outcome, how might we do that? What would we alter?

Step 1: Recruiting tactics: Who do we train? As I thought about it, I was reminded of a question I was recently asked, “Do we train the welder to scuba dive or the scuba diver to weld?” Answer: We teach the welder to dive because ultimately, we need effective welding in a complex, difficult atmosphere. Translated to politics, “Do we train politicians to be knowledgeable about a variety of issues or do we train content experts the rules of politics?” Currently, we do the former, but I’d argue we need to do the latter because ultimately, it is most important to make effective improvements to our nation’s biggest issues.

Find brilliant cheerleaders – people who can balance the need to deliver clear messages with the ability to deep dive into extensive singular and meta-issues.

Step 2: Messaging: the ability to clearly, efficiently, and effectively share messages with our people. As a psychologist, I see messaging differently than has historically been the practice. I see it as a way to collaborate and invite involvement from constituents rather than an opportunity to convince others to support.

Remember, people don’t like you because you are amazing, they like you because they feel amazing around you.

So here is my general five-step process:

• #ANALYZE: There is no PC in Self Analysis: Know your audience, know your opponent, know yourself….entirely. This is not the time to sugarcoat. Constituents are #1 and that includes the ones that disagree with you. Recognize too that your opponent has strengths and that you have weaknesses. Of course the opposite is also true too but in order to best understand constituents’ needs and opponents’ actions, we have to analyze, honestly.
• #PREDICT: You don’t have to outrun the bear, you only have to out think him! I had a student who in a moment of frustration said, “JJ, it’s not like I can read your mind.” After a bit of questioning, he realized that in fact, he could. Being able to predict your opponent’s actions and reactions will help you play better political chess. Remember, thinking three steps ahead and planning your moves before you need them is powerful.
• #TRAIN: This is the Intellectual Olympics – Your mind is your greatest asset and requires a training regimen as intense and intentional as training for the Olympics. That means practicing your messaging, your ability to debate, your ability to listen, every day, with purpose, goals, and coaching. No one makes it to the Olympics on talent alone. Being able to control your emotions and focus your mind takes deliberate practice.
• #SERVE: Focus on others – Our goal is to serve our country but on the campaign trail, we spend most of our time asking for support. It can have the unintended effect of suggesting we care about ourselves more than others. We need to find a way to listen, collaborate, and demonstrate our true focus to serve our nation.
• #PROMOTE: Speak quietly and carry a big stick (–Roosevelt) – Few people are as interested in politics and solving problems as you are. Resist the urge to defend your position by providing every minute detail about why you are right….because, of course, when we defend our positions, we imply others are wrong. Listen, learn, and always remember that others frequently have ideas you haven’t yet considered. Promote them!

Most of all, love our people, display your brilliance, and promote the American Way…

And together we can inspire our Nation to greatness!

Photo credits: Stephanie McCabe Aaron Burson Jon Tyson