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The books by Ed Rose have two things in common. They are
about developing human capabilities, whether through individual effort or
corporate intervention, and they evolve toward an increasing emphasis on
the importance of choice. This book is about making choices or decisions
about who controls your life. It is especially focused on the key decision
to choose that control as the cornerstone of going through life. In that
sense, it is rather Zen-like, focusing on the inner person and the power
that can be tapped there. It is the power to determine the quality of
one’s experience by choosing the stance one takes in every situation,
either to be at one’s center or to be a victim.
Ed takes that a step further by articulating a variety of
roles. Perhaps, the Director-ACTOR is most intriguing. In that case, the
power tapped when you connect to your center frees you to relate to the
rest of the world from a whole menu of possibilities, which then results
in a whole banquet of positive outcomes. The key word is
self-determination – freedom from having any external person or external
stimuli pull your strings and determine your direction. It is not enough
to live in a democracy; freedom or slavery occur as facets of every moment
and every situation. We are conditioned by the advertising world to
respond like dogs salivating to the sound of a bell. We are influenced by
fast talkers and self-serving people and by status differences in all
kinds of organizations. To the extent that we are other-determined, our
lives remain shallow and meaningless. Richness of meaning and experience
come with the shift to self-determination. A rich life depends on becoming
self-determined.
Each of us is a unique center of experience. Each of us has a
unique lens we look through when we engage with the world. Each of us has
unique ways of contributing to those around us.
That is diversity in its richest form, and it is a great
asset to the organization and the community. A smart organization would
nurture that uniqueness and find ways for its easy expression.
When you put a whole group of self-determined people
together, there is potential for a rich mix of talent and insight that
cannot be matched. Everyone comes out a winner. You can’t be part of
that kind of community without becoming an ACTOR in the way Ed describes
here.
Once you make the decision to live out of your own center,
rather than give away your power to others, you have laid the cornerstone
for building a life process that is rich with experience and also likely
to be very successful in both tangible and intangible ways. Next, Ed
describes five special facets of the self-determining ACTOR –
adaptability, consideration, trustworthiness, optimism, resourcefulness
– five ways to concentrate your attention and energy and time on
crafting the relationships around you into a rich world. How is that
possible? Ed provides examples, exercises, and quotes to meditate on to
help you build the perspective, skill and habit of operating this way.
As you navigate life and the world, will you be the captain
of your own ship? There is a lot of wisdom in this book about how to make
yourself the captain. Some of that wisdom comes from Ed’s experience,
learning, and reflection, and more of it comes from a variety of people
that Ed quotes. One definition of wisdom is the ability to learn from
other’s experiences. This book can take you up a good step on the wisdom
scale, if you read it and think about it and practice it.
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