The P⁴M Success Model

Let's start with an overview which may help with the perspective. First you want to be clear about the Product 'what you want' and 'what it costs. Then what Path to take, 'strict planning' or 'involve elements of luck'. How much and what type of Preparation; 'just information' or 'total involvement' and finally you need to know about your own preferred Procedures; do you have the right 'aptitude and/or Attitude' for this and how to apply these.

A good way to succeed is to do everything twice; once in your mind or once in real life.
Failing this, do it twice in real life and pay twice the price!~ Sijo

Now, if all this makes sense to you, than you have basically everything you need. But if you would like a bit more detail and examples, keep going. As with success, it is always your choice and your path that matters to you!

PRODUCT							PATH							PREPARATION-INFORMATION							PROGRESS							MATURATION
ITEM			vs	PRICE			PLANNING			⊳	LUCK			RESEARCH			→	INVOLVEMENT			APTITUDE			∧	ATTITUDE			INITIAL			∪	LONG TERM
Real	vs	Ideal		Initial	vs	Ongoing	Strict	vs	Flexibility		Preparedness	vs	Opportunity	Narrow	vs	Broad		Superficial	vs	Deep	Talent	vs	Skill		Proactive	vs	Patient	Impact	vs	Cost		Maintenance	vs	Value
Always Consider the Value of what you are doing and learn from both success and lack there of.

"Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value."~ Albert Einstein

Product = Item/Price

Product in this context means what ever you wish to achieve; a Degree in School, a House, Car or just a better job. All this are Products of an effort and thus we divide this into the 'Item' and the 'Price or effort you need to put into obtaining the product.

It is not always essential to know the full price but it is always essential to have a clear view of what it is you want. Sometimes the price would put you off if you were unprepared for it but if you put a lot of effort into the wrong thing, your success turns very sour. So, be very clear about what you want and then decide if you really want and how much latitude is in your choice, then decide if you really want to know how much it will cost, both initially to get and then to keep.

Using our example the Hispano-Suiza J12 Coupe Deville was the most expensive pre-war car costing a whopping $10,150; that is $670,346 in today's terms. Yes, i know, today you can purchase cars selling at $4,800,00 (Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita) but that is not the point. The choice of this car is very specific but the cost is very high. Are there any similar cars that may not be quite the most expensive car in the world in the 1930's? Can you/do you wan to afford to spend over half-a-million dollars on a car initially and then can you/do you want to afford the ongoing costs in Maintenance, Repairs and Insurance? Maybe even more important, does your lifestyle allow you to have such a car or do you need another car to go shopping as parking the Hispano-Suiza at Woolworths may be a bit of a risk.

Maintenance costs can outstrip the value of an item even when we think that this is not possible. It was found that often Tattslotto winners were financially worst off 2 years after they collected their winnings, then they were before the winnings. Weird that isn't it but, a fact!

"It's amazing the number of people that end up worse off than when they started (after a large money win)".
~ Mr Brouwer a financial planner from Aspire Financial Services....

It is not enough to consider just the price of obtaining an item (both monetary as well as effort) but also the cost of maintaining it (both monetary and effort), keeping it, storing it, using it or what-ever. And if something goes wrong the cost of obtaining parts that are no longer available, both in finding and buying these.

When considering the Product that you want or the Success that you are after, consider both the Initial and Ongoing Cost. Even when considering professions. Sometimes it costs a lot more maintaining your professional qualifications, skills and the updates than it costs to acquire them in the first place!

Path = Planning ⊳ Luck

This is a lot like a sailing a ship. Sometimes the wind will just simply blow you in the right direction and sometimes it will blow in the totally wrong way for you to seem to move forward (this sailing analogy is good so let me continue). If you don't do anything, you will be blown back when the wind, the odds are against you, so much like a sailor, have to tack against the wind and go in different directions which hopefully will eventually achieve you to get to your destination. That is why you need to stay in touch with what your ideal is or what you are aiming for. When you start running into serious obstacles, it is easy to loose your vision, your plan and direction.

Even if your plan does not work 100%; two points to remark; one, this is normal and two this is normal and beneficial. Unless you have perfect future vision, the ability of your plan to adapt to new circumstance both beneficial and not is an essential part of life and success. If success and achievement were easy, we wouldn't need to talk about it here. And this is also where Luck comes in.

What we call 'Luck' is rarely random but not always predictable. Like in Roulette, eventually every number will fall. So, what you are really betting on is if the number you chose will fall sooner then the other 37 numbers (including zero). If it does you are considered lucky and if not unlucky. But for all intents and purposes, luck is actually the variation that life adds to the human equation. You can mitigate bad luck and surf good luck if you know what to read the signs. What signs you say? Well, here is an actual example from real life.

Two truck drivers are on their way home late Friday on the same stretch of road, with similar trucks working for the same company. Both are in a hurry to get home for the weekend and thus both are speeding. Both are caught by Highway Patrol, one get's a $50 fine the other a $250 fine. Both were clocked doing 89kmh in an 80kmh zone and both by the same officers on the same night patrolling that area of the road just 15 minutes apart. Obviously the first driver was lucky and the second was unlucky; yes? No, driver one was cooperative and did not argue with the police, driver two was a smart ass and made a quip when the ticket was being written-out. Driver one saw the tired face of the issuing officer and decided not make the whole thing easy for the police, driver two only considered the time he was loosing and wanting to get home to his family and was a bit unpleasant to the officer. Luck or just life? You may say it was unlucky to get caught where as in reality, if you speed, eventually your number will come up. That is life. When this happens the only thing that matters is what you make of it. Be in the moment and make the most of any given Lucky or unlucky situation. For that is the sign of a truly successful person.

Life is what happens to our Plans

Preparation = Information → Involvement

Such a contentious issue preparation. How much is enough? How much preparation, research, investigation and such do you do until it is enough. Well there are two answers to that. If you were successful your did enough or too-much and if you were not successful, you did to little. But this is one of those 20-20 hind sight things that experts like to do; tell you before hand what is right and afterwards why it was wrong for you!

Balancing simple research against involvement is difficult. Research is so easy, just hop on the WEB and using Uncle Google or Auntie Bing you can find lot's of info easily. But, information is not enough, you need wisdom. or as the saying goes, it is not what you know but who you know! You will only find the information that you are looking for where as somebody who had done this before will suggest a better class of questions. Let's get back to our car analogy.

What would be the first question you would ask about obtaining such a car as the Hispano-Suiza J12 Coupe Deville. Well the obvious ones would be; are there any left? How much are they? Well here is the first snag (bad luck?), currently none are available on the free market so asking about the price is even more foolish. As in the example above, we can not go directly for our target but need to seek an alterant course. What to do, where to search... You could continue using the WEB but what you really would now need to do is get involved in the Exclusive Classic Cars scene. In this case without your involvement on 'Luck' would help and you would need a lot of Patience waiting for something to change. So, let's find a Classic Car Club and see if we can find a better direction from there.

And this is the third aspect of Success, balancing your time and effort, simple research or hands on involvement. What determinism which you do? That is another two ingredient answer where you need to balance your time, how importance this is to you, how challenging the task and the resources you are prepared/able to commit. In a way this now become a sub project, one where you need to work through all the P⁴M process just to obtain the right information.

But to answer the question, how to balance Research and Involvement (of yourself in the environment or involving someone from the environment in question) all depends on your skills and ability in finding the hidden question and appropriate answered as well as the amount of time and material resources you can allocate to the task. Always consider the full cost of any success, cost to family, friends, health, work and your future. Some success have a too higher cost.

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.~ Colin Powell

Progress = Aptitude ∧ Attitude

How well you do in life has a lot to do with how good you are (Aptitude) and how you go about doing things (Attitude). Are you a winner-at-all-costs type of person burning bridges as you strive from one success to another or are you a win-win-win type of person who people really like working with because they also have success hitching their wagon to yours? The former is easier but short sighted, the latter takes much more work but like a high interest back account pays dividends well after the event is over. But this also depends on your Aptitude which includes your Intelligence, Education and Wisdom. Are you smart enough to work with and through people to everyone's benefit or do you work over and in spite people because they all seem to be against you?

Your Aptitude has a fixed aspect Intelligence and Genes (Yang) and a variable aspect Education and Learning which has no limits. You can't do much about changing your IQ and your genetics, but there is a lot you can do to be more educated, smarter, wiser, nicer and knowledgeable (without rubbing it in). Often, intelligence can stand in the way of success through arrogance or the inability to use what you have. Intelligent people need longer to get a grip on their abilities and make them work they way they want. So, it is not what you have but what you do with it that counts!

Be aware of where your strengths lie and where you may need extra effort, help or even guidance. Your progress will be only as good as you allow it to be. There are time to be arrogant and high handed, rarely but there are. There are time where you need to be single minded, determined and driven and then there are times where you have to be patient, accommodating and forgiving. Just remember to keep your current and ultimate target in mind; remember why you are doing what you are doing and hw this will help. And if you need to go in a totally different direction for a while, no problem, this is life.

Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.~ Zig Ziglar



People often assume that the same approach will work for everyone,
that the same habits will work for everyone,
and that everyone has the same aptitude and appetite for forming habits,
but from my observation, that's not true.~ Gretchen Rubin

Maturation = Immediate Results ∪ Long Term Effects

You hear of it quite often, about those people who came to fame and success and then did stupid things. We are often not really prepared for the success. It is a bit like retirement; the sooner in life you retire the quicker you die; or so the statistics seem to say. For many of us the struggle for success is possibly more important than the actual success. Gamblers for example. You would think they gamble to win but that is not the case. Most gamblers will continue to play until their money is run out. Very few actually stop playing when they win. So, succeeding is possibly more dangerous for many people than failure. We know what to do with failure but many do not know what to do with success. Not only at the point of success but also managing this to pay dividends on an ongoing process.

Some people never leave their success moment. A bit like those Astronauts that walked on the moon and then spend their rest of their lives talking about it and nothing else. Or the Gold Medal winner who sinks back into obscurity with a Medal hanging over the mantel piece as a talking point. Many people are not prepared for success and it needs to be part of the Success Planning, else you will be limited to only one big success; the Degree, the Gold Medal, the Feature Film, the Big Hit the Invention and after that you will return to obscurity. There is nothing wrong with that, if that is what you want. But it would be better if you could build on your success and become a successful person, one who continues to succeed.

That said, having a partner, children, house and good job is also a success. Having a satisfying life, community involvement an helping others is also success. And as Albert Einstein said, it is better to be Valuable than Successful. So taking care of partner and children is Valuable; being part of a team and making something work is Valuable; helping people to live a better life is Valuable; and often not seen as successful. So in a way, you need to balance you life between being Valuable and being Successful!

Every Wine collector takes a chance storing wine;
enjoy what you have now or hope that is matures well and increases value?
The right storage also costs so the Risk needs to be managed!

Further Thoughts Regarding the P⁴M Model

You are either a person who invest in the future or you are not! As you have continued reading this to here, you seem to be the type of person who believes in improving your abilities to be a better person, better operator, manager, teacher, father.... in the future. The P⁴M concept is very high level and needs to have a lot of the details filled in once you really start using it. But, as i guesstimate the type of readers using this WEB site, you are a smart person and once you have a structure, you will find the proper fillers. Processes like Imaginering, Mind Mapping, SMART Planning and the like. But there are two more aspects that need covering!

Planning vs Life

Plans are sometimes overrated especially when you have people who want to stick 100% to the plan, 100% of the time. That is inhuman! Any good General knows that a plan rarely last beyond the first battle engagement. Plans are only good when they are tried and true processes. When they have been successfully run and rerun with little or no deviation. And soon after this they start becoming obsolete. We know of many businesses that go-out-of-business because they focus on the process not the customer. The old saying, 'if it was good enough for my gramps, it's good enough for me' has destroyed many, many once successful business. There is a natural process whereby a process, product reaches its maturation. It can only stay there for a while after which it starts going off; unless you make changes, seek improvement and adapt to the times. But this is well documented in the Principles of Total Quality Management where the essence is Continues Improvement. So, consider this; Continues Improvement can only happen if what you started with is not Perfect! Get-it?

Success vs Learning

Success breeds failure (as mentioned just above) if you do not adapt, improve and update. But then the lack of Success is not failure but a learning, an opportunity for change and growth. Only when you keep repeating failure and it becomes a habit, that you are you really in a deep hole and in that case; stop digging before it is to deep. Failing once is a learning, twice is dangerous and three times is a habit, unless.... each time you had a better result than before. If each time you improved you did not reach the stated target but did improve.

For instance; one year you qualified for the championships, next year you placed in the finals, the following year you came second and then finally in the 5th year you won. This is a good and normal process. Say you did qualify in the first year but did not improve in the 2nd year. You would really want to review what you are doing and possibly alter your approach as often each improvement method has a ceiling after which you need to switch to a new approach, method or way. If you change and achieve initially a worse result, this is OK, as long as the next time you improve. If you can not improve the way your are doing things now, Change or as Albert Einstein said (←left)

Failure can breed success if you see this not as a failure but as a learning and as long as the failure was managed not a total and utter cock-up. It also depends what type of person you are and how important it is for you, what you are trying to achieve. So there is also a very strong element in Knowing Yourself and seeing what drives you. You may7 want to look at one of the many Personality Profiles available freely on the WEB. If you are a martial art person and/or can relate to metaphors, try the Shaolin Academy Personality Style Model.

Problems vs Opportunities

When we walk we (usually) look where we are going and avoid obstacles, holes, and the like. But often, when we are doing or planning something we give little or no though to Risk and Obstacles. Why? often because we have not really done our enough Preparation or not enough Preparation in the right direction. If you do not see any problems (in this context) you are walking in a different direction to where you are looking. It is not about being paranoiac; it is about some level of preparation. The best way to win in a battle is to surprise the opponent; which is also the best way to loose/fail/make-a-learning if you are not prepared for some surprises. What can stand in your way, what can trip you when least/most expected. This is what preparation means, what needs to be done and what could cause your success to become a learning.

Conversely, the universe usually gives us as many opportunities as it offers us problems; that is the nature of Dao and the principles of Yin and Yang. So, all that was stated above applies for here. If you are not seeing any opportunities that will help you you are....... If you fail to ← Prepare → to fail!

Refer to someone who had done what you are doing and something similar to get some ideas of what barriers, gatekeepers, local laws, etc., or other stumbling points you may run into. Sometimes you may need to make a sub-project/task/actively once you have identified a stumbling point, a Gate Keeper, an Obstacle and make the rest of the project or planning dependant on this outcome. That is one of the reasons we have 'Specialists'; people who have made it their task to manage (and earn) on problem or difficult areas (which leads us into the next subject).

If you are going nowhere, usually nothing is in your way; Problems are a sign of progress.~ (Sijo)

People Power vs Lone Wolf

No single person could create almost any of the items we take for granted today. From Stainless Steel Cutlery to Mobile Phone, Internet, Satellites or even the quality of furniture and carpet. It has all been achieve through Cooperative People Power.

Are their organizations, agencies, specialists, foundations, government departments, family members, friends etc. Tell everyone what you are planning and doing and then you will not get that annoying experience afterwards when someone tells you they could have helped; or made things easier or knew someone or something that could help. But beware of 'experts' who will tell you how to do it before you do it and then what YOU did wrong afterwards. A true expert will suggest to you the question you may need to ask and possibly where to find the answers rather than just giving you answers. This is not 100% true but beware of easy-solutions.

'To be able to ask a question clearly is two-thirds of the way to getting it answered.'~ John Ruskin

Talking vs Thinking

Talk it over with friends, your mentor, a work-mate, partner; someone who is not too involved in the process. Go through it logically and in sequence as this has two outcomes. Is it right in your mind? If you can't explain it than you do not have a clear picture. When you explain it, does it make easy sense to the other person? Can they follow what you are doing? And if all this is clear and the person you are telling will be able to possibly point out what you missed, what can possibly be done better, ideas for improvement etc. A study once showed that a high percentage of innovative ideas and improvement in the work-place came from employees who have been there less than a year. So, explain it to someone as if they were to do it and then listen to the QTIPS (Questions, Thoughts, Ideas, Problems and Suggestions).

At the same time you are sharing what you're about to do. This has a few positive outcomes. You give people the chance to help. Your friends, family and colleagues will understand what's going on, why your busy and may also remove obstacles for you as part of their day-to-day routine. You give those smart-asses a chance to tell you how they could have helped you before you do what you are doing. And finally, with this sharing you are committing to a course of action.

A Bias for Action, A Bias for Thinking

If you are a proactive person and things aren't going right, stop and think. If you are a thinking person and there is little progress, just do something. Remember, if what you are doing is not moving you in the right direction, move to another place where the right direction my be clearer. For this you may have to do or think something wrong before you do or think something right!

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.~ Albert Einstein

21 Behaviors that Help and Hinder Success

Over a life time we acquire certain behaviors, behaviors that we accumulated through past experiences, education, upbringing, etc. But you are now older and some of these behaviors are no longer suitable and may even be damaging. There is a snow flake chance that we could list all the possibilities or even think of all the variations of helpful and hindering habits. So, have a look at those below and see if any of them 'speak' to you and that you may have; or if any trigger some idea of Success Killing Habits upu may have developed.

Bad Habits		Good Habits
The need to win at all costs and in all situations.	←1→	Add value not words to a conversation.
Be a know it all at all costs.	←2→	Ensure that the cost of the Win is not to high for everyone.
Rate others and impose our standards on them	←3→	Understand human Strengths and Weaknesses and work with them
Making witty and sarcastic remarks to show how stupid an idea is!	←4→	If something is wrong and it effects you negatively, tell it in a proactive way not thorough witticisms
No, But, However; secretly say to everyone that I am right and you are wrong.	←5→	When you really think someone has not considered an aspect, ask them!
Constantly show the how smart, clever and informed you are.	←6→	If you are Smart, Clever and Informed (and don't just think so), you will make the right remarks at the right time.
Using emotional volatility as a way to force people to listen or do as you want.	←7→	Emotions have a place in relationships but not in business; if you are very emotional at the moment, shut up!
The need to be negative even though we were not asked.	←8→	Acknowledge the challenge but also find the good in most things
Withholding information to maintain an advantage over others.	←9→	Information at the right time and right place is valuable and not easily given but when the time is there to share, share.
Failing to give proper recognition, praise and reward or giving to much until it is valueless.	←10→	Balance your praise with your guidance, your thanks with your no thanks. Be honorable, works in the long run.
Claiming credit that that we do not deserve	←11→	Someone will always know sooner or later who it was that deserves the credit, be patient.
Claiming more for a success than you really contributed.	←12→	What is the right amount of claiming? Depends on the situation but less is more in this case. Be British, understated.
Making excuses, rather than finding solutions	←13→	Avoid excuses, state facts but avoid excuses. If you stuffed it, say so and then explain how and why.
Clinging to the past without seeing the present	←14→	Acknowledge the wisdom of the past, be guided by it but not driven; stay flexible.
Playing favorites, Nepotism, Old Boys Network usually is poison to all concerned.	←15→	Reward people as they earn it, not to much, not to little and be equal to most all.
Refusing to express regret and sorrow	←16→	Saying sorry is not always good as it acknowledges fault and sometimes responsibility; but sometimes you need to do it.
Not listening is the most passive-aggressive form of disrespect for colleagues.	←17→	Seek to understand before you open your mouth; so listen and acknowledge the contribution, even if unasked.
Failing to express gratitude is just plain rude.	←18→	Just in case you do not like the words thank-you, here are some more - cheers, ty, thx, gracias, gratitude, merci, ta, appreciated!
Punishing the messenger because you are to week to address your mistake.	←19→	Always welcome the messenger even when there is bad news, unless you like nasty surprises!
Passing the buck, it is never your fault anyway.	←20→	Even when you did nothing wrong, could you have done something more right? Own the Bruises you Earned.
An excessive need to be 'me', this is who you are and everyone should accept that.	←21→	I am, I want, me, me, me were always overused words to avoid even if we have slightly redefined the i (as in iPhone), still best to limit.

7/9 Habits of Success

Although done before, no one was as success full as SR Covey. He interviewed a whole host of very successful people and then distilled that information. he published it under the title of "The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People" in 1989. A whole host of good information is included in the book including the concept of abundance.

Covey introduced the concept of an abundance mentality or abundance mindset; a concept where you start with the idea that there are enough resources and successes to share with others and that it is not really a competition but a colabaration. He contrasts it with the scarcity mindset (i.e., destructive and unnecessary competition), which is founded on the idea that, if someone else wins or is successful in a situation, that means you lose; not considering the possibility of all parties winning (in some way or another) in a given situation (see zero-sum game). Individuals with an abundance mentality reject the notion of zero-sum games and are able to celebrate the success of others rather than feel threatened by it.

Powerful stuff and after selling 40 million books, the concept is widely still being used by progressive and modern managers. As we are al managers, life, love, finances, work, etc., these are good habits consider acquiring.

Independent	Interdependent	Reiterative/Underlying	Steven R Covy✞
1: Be Proactive; keep moving, keep doing, keep thinking and improving 2: Begin with the End in Mind; know what it is you want to achieve 3: Put First Things First; what is most important for you and yours!	4: Think Win/Win; to get what you want, be fair and generous, give the other what they want. 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood; don't expect understanding and appreciation if you do not give it first 6: Synergize; work together, one action many outcomes; align efforts with others and others efforts	7: Renewal and continual improvement; you are either improving or falling behind 8: Care for your health and well being and those around you. 9: Enjoy Life and the Experiences life brings, most all experiences

Some Learning Models

We mentioned before that different people have different ways of working; achieving, thinking, learning and problem solving. We list some of the models as a starting point, if this interests you to improve your ability to learn and/or to understand how different people are in their learning style. A search using Uncle Google or Auntie Bing will help you find more info on this subject. Just use the key word you find in the table below.

Three Fold Model	Seven Fold Model	Felder and Silverman
Simple and straight forward; easy to recognize when dealing with changing circumstances Visual; big-picture, top down, Mind Mapping. These people need to have a summary of the entire process/pattern to feel empowered to move forward. Linear; from beginning to end, logical sequence, lists. These people will follow a logical path which leads from one to the next. Kinesthetic; feeling, experiencing, doing as needed. Instinct, Intuition and the feeling what is being presented is right are key to this learning style.	Greater level of detail and good for when you have a consistent group. Visual (spatial); pictures, images, and spatial understanding. Aural (auditory-musical); sound and music. Verbal (linguistic); words written & spoken. Physical (kinesthetic); body, movement and feel. Logical (mathematical); logic and reasoning Social (inter-personal); in groups and people Solitary (intra-personal); Just you.	Much along the line of the Myer Briggs Personality Type Indicator, involved but allows for a better understanding of how we work, learn and understand. Sensory vs Intuitive Visual vs Verbal Active vs Reflective Sequential vs Global

All this is to say that (usually) no one person can have all the ideal Attitudes for Success and that it very much depends on what ′type′ of person you are and how you like to understand, achieve, think, learn and solve in the world around you.

The Human Model TAASK

Around 1996/7 as part of a larger group of Engineers, Managers and Executives i took part on the SKA project (it is an unrelated co-incident that the Shaolin Kungfu Academy has the same initials) or as it was called Skills, Knowledge and Attitude. So we went around ASKing a lot of people a lot of questions over a 3 year period. It was mainly focused on developing a tool that would allow even inept interviewers a method to recognize the good potential employees from the less-likely-to-be-valuable candidates.

Knowledge was easily checked as we sought exclusively graduate Electronics Engineers but we also need to find a certain percentage that would make great Managers and later Executives in the form of General Manager and National Managers. By defining the minimum requirements, the Knowledge aspect was easily covered. A graduated Engineer had the knowledge. Two year on a rotation probationary employment usually sorted out who also had the skill to be a good functioning Engineer not just a theoretical desk sitter. It actually all came down to the candidates Attitude.

Addendum - since this time over 20 years has past and we know operate with an extended acronym T. A. A. S. K. This stands for Talent, Aptitude, Attitude, Skills amd Knowledge. The addition of Talent, and everyone has a talent but not always recognized and Aptitude, which recognizes that some people take like a duck to water in some areas, are more complete working model was created.

Talent

We all have talents from the mundane to the magnificent. This that we seem to be able to do really well without it being an ability (eyesight, touch, feel, etc) and without it being formally learned. Often people do not discover their talent maybe because it is not appropriate or because there was not an opportunity. It seems evolution has given us these inane abilities/uniqueness; talent. Why, how and the like, no clue. But if you ever browse the WEB you will see people doing some unusual things like bending thumbs backward or being able to recite all the countries in the world backwards without seeming effort. Have you discovered your talent?

Aptitude

My brothers and i have very different upbringing's, ten years apart in different countries and social environments. Now where we are all much older and still mostly living very sperate lives we are all into PC's, teaching and childless. We all took to teaching and technology 'like ducks to water' and even though two of us are over 60, we are often more informed about technology than most, and that is without even trying. We seem to have an Aptitude to Technology and Teaching. What about you.

Attitudes

We all know what a bad attitude is and how disruptive someone can be when their general Attitude to most everything is negative. We often associate virtues with attitude such as; Bravery, Commitment, Compassion, Confidence, Consideration, Courage, Dependability, Determination, Diligence, Discipline, Faithfulness, Fortitude, Honesty, Honor, Idealism, Integrity, Impartiality, Justice, Loyalty, Openness, Perseverance, Persistence, Punctuality, Reliability, Responsibility, Steadfastness, Strength, Toughness, Trust, Trustworthiness, Truthfulness, etc.

What we often don't realize is our own general attitude and then also specific attitude to situations. Sometimes quite positive people turn violently negative when confronted with an event or situation. Most of our Attitudes have (of course) developed over time through our upbringing, school, Adventures and misadventures. Attitude is most often one of the most powerful forces that leads to positive and negative behaviors. Attitude is the driver, behavior is the outcome. So, looking at your own behaviors may give you an insight to your true attitude to life and the universe. It will also show you that you have some obsolete behaviours that no longer serve you.

Skills

Skills are skills are skills and it is that which you learn to do in life, school or on the job. You should be well aware what your skills are, so we move on.

Knowledge

Is what you have learned, facts, figures and information. You will most certainly not be full aware of all the stuff, that is stuffed into your head. Fortunately you do not remember. Generally you recall memories by a Trigger, as a Consequence of another Memory or sometime just randomly. There are now structured Memory Recall Models/Practices which can greatly enhance your ability to recall memories. One of these was featured in both the BBC Sherlock Homes series as well as the US Mentalist Series.