What is the Colour of Your Parachute?

September 18, 11 QUEENS COLLEGE 2008 1

‘WHAT IS THE COLOUR OF YOUR PARACHUTE?’

Nigeria


Protocols


The greatest investment you can make

is investment in other people – building their skills, their attitudes


If you really want to leave a legacy, teach people


QUEENS COLLEGE 2008 6

Definition A parachute is a device used to slow the

descent of a person or an object to Earth. It is a life-saving device, a survival kit, used

by aircraft pilots and passengers. The word "parachute" comes from a French

word with a Latin root: "para", meaning "against" or "counter" in Latin, and "chute", the French word for "fall". Therefore "parachute" actually means "against the fall".

7 QUEENS COLLEGE 2008

Just like a pilot or passenger leaves the comfort of the aircraft and take a ‘leap of faith’, our graduating students are leaving the protective embrace of the school, teachers and, for some, even parents!


Before I continue, it is important to note that the title of this lecture is not original.

It is taken from a book of the same title by Richard Nelson Bolles.

With the subtitle, “A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers”, the book emphasizes the necessity of finding one’s “mission” in life in order to obtain meaningful employment.

QUEENS COLLEGE 2008 9


The Survival Kit: What Do You Need?












“A person’s strength aren’t always on display. Sometimes, they require precise triggering to turn them on.”

- Marcus Buckingham


‘What you have is God’s gift to you.

How you use it is your gift to God and to those around you’

- Anonymous


Toolkit Buzz Words

Ability - capacity to perform tasks/job Skills - expertness/practised ability

Attitude - disposition, settled mode of thinking Motivation- willingness to exert high level efforts towards goals Intuition - a feeling not supported by research Creativity - inventiveness, imagination


Attitudes determine for each individual….

…what he will see and hear, what he will think and what he will do!


It makes you see life as:

1. A temporary life of uncertain length 2. A seminar in which you are a student 3. Your personal adventure story


Do you Know?

Your Attitude is often one of the first things people notice about you. You may not be able to change your height or your body type, but you can change your attitude! – It is the creator of the texture of your life

Our Attitude can be our greatest power, as it offers a way to transform all situation into something better!


A = 1 T = 20 T = 20 I = 9 T = 20 U = 21 D = 4 E = 5

100 = ATTITUDE


Where is Mr. Attitude?


Can You Spot Him?


Here’s how to spot him

Appearance and personal habits Mannerisms Lack of self-confidence Lack of courtesy Extremely critical of others Negative values

The right attitude can transform an ordinary life into an extra-ordinary one!



Employers will sometimes hire someone with lesser skills, who has the right attitude, before they hire a more experience and skilled person with a bad attitude!

Many believe that with the right attitude, an employee can transform all jobs into something better.


10 Lessons in 10 Chapters The book, ‘Attitude is Everything’

identified 10 Steps for Turning Attitude into Action: – Understand the Power of Attitude – Choose to take charge of your life – Identify through self-awareness the attitude that hold you

back or propel you forward – Reframe your bad attitude – Find your purpose and passion – Be pro-active – Discover how to motivate yourself – Build supportive relationship – See change as an opportunity

– Leave a lasting legacy


Attitude is a Choice


Attitude is a Choice: How? – The paths that our lives take are largely

determined by the choices we make day in day out

– A lot of times, we focus on what we did wrong instead of what we need to do to become better

– Sometimes making no choice is the worst decision of all

– It is vital that you consciously choose the right attitude and that you choose it wisely

Your Choices Determine Your Happiness!


People and organizations today, more than ever before, are learning how to manage and control the quality of their lives and work productivity through the power of ATTITUDE

Indeed, attitude is the foundation and support of everything we do, a key element in the process of controlling our destiny and achieving mastery in our personal and professional life.

Positive attitude (optimism) is described as the most valuable asset you can possess in the journey through life


Research as shown that:

Optimists are proven to be more successful than similarly talented people with pessimistic or negative attitude

The simple act of smiling causes our brain to release a stream of chemicals that makes us feel good

Optimists are also generally known to enjoy better overall health

Positive thinking aids the healing process. Your attitude is often one of the first things people notice

about you. You may not be able to change your height or your body type, but you can change your attitude!


4 ways to stay positive

1. Focus on handling stress 2. Identify your negative/pessimistic

thoughts 3. Tell a supportive person how you feel,

and 4. Act to settle a problem

Adjust your attitude and change your life!


Attitude at home

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are.

A positive attitude is perhaps more important at home than anywhere else.

As children, spouses and parents, one of our most vital roles is to help those we love feel good about themselves.


Attitude & Self-Awareness


A good attitude begins with self-awareness. The early warning signs of bad attitude are: frustration, burn-out, & stress!

3 types of bad attitude baggage: – If-only baggage (worry too much about a past

you cannot change) – What-now baggage (kilo tun de o!) – What-if baggage (excessive focus on problems)


The Root Causes of Bad Attitude

1. Low self-esteem 2. Stress 3. Fear 4. Resentment and anger 5. Inability to handle change


Attitude Assessment

Q: How do you respond to stressful situations?

– Get angry – Become depressed – Throw up your arms in despair – Get energized


An attitude of anger can be transformed into an attitude of gratitude and forgiveness by shifting your perspective

Once you have determined what has been holding you back, it is time to look ahead and analyze where you want to go.

Understand the importance of living your life with Purpose and Passion! – Develop a complete game plan with vision, mission,

values, etc Even with positive attitude, purpose, and passion, life is

never without challenges, disappointments, setbacks, and problems, know that victory lies at the other side of each challenge!


Discover how to motivate yourself by making use of attitude tool-kit of

– Affirmations – Visualisations – Attitude talk – Positive greetings – Enthusiasm – Spiritual empowerment – Humour, and – Exercise


Build Supportive Relationships Having the right team with the right

attitude, makes it easy to turn your attitude into action – Build your own A-Team – Networking teams built on mutually

beneficial relationships – Look for shared values in supportive

relationships


How do you respond to change?

See changes as an opportunity Understand the process of change Your attitude determines your altitude

– Acknowledge change – Convert threats to opportunities – Turn the change into a challenge – Adapt to change


See what change has done to the world?

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication” – Western Union, 1876

“Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible” – Lord Kelvin, President, Royal Society, 1895

“Everything than can be invented has been invented” – Commissioner, US Office of Patents, 1899

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers” – Thomas Watson, Chairman, IBM, 1943

“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out’ – Decca Recording Co, rejecting The Beatles, 1962


CONCLUSION


A Story to Share The business executive was deep in debt and could see no way

out. Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him.

"I can see that something is troubling you," he said.

After listening to the executive's woes, the old man said, "I believe I can help you."

He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying, "Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time."

Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.


The business executive saw in his hand a check for $5,000,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!

"I can erase my money worries in an instant!" he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed check in his safe. Just knowing it was there and might give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought.

With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.

Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the uncashed check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the executive was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.


"I'm so glad I caught him!" she cried. "I hope he hasn't been bothering you. He always escapes from the rest home and goes around telling people he's John D. Rockefeller. "

And she led the old man away by the arm.

The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long he'd been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him. Suddenly, he realized that it wasn't the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

Lesson: Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was!


Equation for Success

Success = Opportunity + Preparedness


Some Interesting Quotes

“The great secret of success in life is for a man to be ready when his opportunity comes”

- Benjamin Disraeli


Quotes (contd.)

“The purpose of education is to replace an

empty mind with an open one. An open mind is required to get on in life even when there are no jobs. The world as we know now makes way for those who create and not seek jobs”

- Malcolm S. Forbes


Quotes (contd.)

“Nothing in the world can take the place of

persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent”

- Calvin Coolidge

Finally, ‘First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you

have to do’ - Epictetus (born in 55 A. D. to Greek parents, but became

a Roman slave and later a Stoic philosopher)

‘If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door’ – Comedian Milton Berle (who may have had to build a few

doors of his own on his way to stardom)

‘Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being’ – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (German playwright ,1749 -

1832).



My Case is Different: I am Still Young!

So, who will take over from them?



Thank you for your attention!