The Anatomy of Spring Influence Part II

Last time I started on how powerful and influential one's history could get. The physical analogy used is spring force. The main lesson is that compressed emotions and mistakes are powerful and potentially explosive so it's in one's own best interest to be wary of them. Consider the following examples.

David was a king in ancient Israel for whom everything was going. One day he spotted the beautiful wife of one of his soldiers, took her in, slept with her and the pretty woman became pregnant. Didn't he use protection? That's a very stupid question to ask because even if he did, his actions would still not be justified. Even if he did use protection, what should he expect when the woman told her husband? As soon as he realised what he had done, his desire to save the king's face led him into killing the woman's husband in desperation. I like the way Adeolu Akinyemi told the story in a recent post of his. King David would never imagine himself killing one of his finest soldiers but he did it anyway. Just because he thought the explosion of the spring was more than he could bear, he simply packed on more load. Ultimately what happened was that he married that woman, lost the child from that first pregnancy and most unfortunately, landed his children, generations yet unborn, in trouble. It was said to him that, "Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house because you despised [God]...Before your very eyes [God] will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight." (emphasis mine). And you know what? "So a tent was put up on the roof for Absalom, and he slept with his father's [David's] concubines in plain sight of Israel.". And then came incest, hatred and obituaries: Amnon and Absalom and Adonijah. If only he did not load the spring further!!!

Most people do not know the story behind the man after whom the O'Hare International Airport, Chicago was renamed. The man Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare was the son of Edward Joseph O'Hare. Edward J. was a lawyer who worked closely with Al Capone before turning against Capone and helping convict him of tax evasion. 

This is how it happened. When Edward J. moved to Chicago in 1927 he started working with Al Capone, a gangster who led a crime syndicate that was in virtually in control of Chicago. They both collaborated in business and law, Edward J. providing the legal expertise that supported the syndicate. However, sometimes in 1930, apparently realising that he was doing something wrong, O'Hare volunteered to start working undercover for the authorities with the sole aim of bringing Capone to justice. Slowly, discreetly and steadily, he started providing evidence to investigators; and one of the investigators, Frank Wilson, actually acknowledged his finesse openly, stating in a 1947 magazine issue, "On the inside of the gang I had one of the best undercover men I have ever known: Eddie O'Hare." The evidence provided by Edward J. during Capone's tax evasion trial in 1931 and 1932 helped in proving Capone's guilt. 

There is speculation that Edward J.'s actions were spurred by one or a combination of three reasons: to ensure that his son, Edawrd H. got into the Naval Academy, to set a good example, or to attempt to right his wrongs. Whatever reasons he had, his actions meant only one thing - gently easing the load on the spring. Eventually in 1939, he was shot dead but that didn't seem to matter much anymore because that same year, his son started flight training at the Naval Air Station Penascola in Florida. The son, Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare went on to become one of the finest airmen in the US Navy during and after World War II. So fine was he that only 9 years and 10 months after his father's death, the Orchard Depot Airport in Chicago was renamed after him. What would have happened if his father had not unloaded the spring? My guess is that Edward H. would probably never have gone to Naval Academy, eventually Al Capone's syndicate would have been busted and Edward J. would probably still be working there and he would also have been incriminated.

Compressed springs are powerful but not only in the negative sense. In the next post I'll discuss the positive side to compressed springs and the aspect of stretched springs.

The Anatomy of Spring Influence Part I

In basic physics, a spring is a device that stores potential energy. Potential energy is the type of energy that is stored within an object; the energy is there but its action cannot be felt until it is released. The amount of potential energy stored in a spring defines how much force (technically known as spring force) the spring can exert. The spring force is the force exerted by a compressed or stretched spring upon any object that is attached to it. 

Most springs obey Hooke's law. In very simple language, Hooke's law states that the amount of force that a spring exerts increases or decreases as the length by which it is compressed/stretched increases or decreases. Thus, the amount of potential energy stored in a spring corresponds to the amount of load it carries. By extension, the spring force also corresponds to the amount of load on the spring. The reason for these relationships is that the length of compression or stretch in a spring depends directly on the weight of the load on the spring; the heavier the weight, the more the compression or stretch, the more the potential energy stored in the spring, and the greater the spring force.

One important thing about springs and the load they carry is that if the load is removed suddenly, the potential energy in the spring is released explosively and all the spring force pushes the spring back to its original uncompressed/unstretched position. In other words, springs store energy when they are loaded and they tend to 'explode'  when the load is suddenly removed. The greater the load, the greater the 'explosive power'. That's the exact reason why auto-mechanics are extremely careful with shock absorbers. And it's the exact reason why you should also be wary! Springs, whether compressed or stretched, are powerful. For the rest of this post I will only consider the compression part.

Suppressed emotions, hidden sin and past mistakes are like compressed springs. They will one day explode if the load is not carefully eased; and the the aftermath is hardly ever nice. As a matter of fact, the more effort goes into the suppression, the more energy is stored and the more potentially explosive the whole thing gets. Being aware of the potential explosion, most of us simply pack more load onto the spring - for instance, we tell a lie to try to cover up some misdeed, we tell an additional lie to cover up the one already told, we start avoiding the people who hold us accountable and gravitate towards those with whom anything goes... 

However, that is not a reasonable course of action because every additional load, rather than alleviate or remove the problems, simply aggravates them. In fact, packing more load onto the spring leads to some sort of vicious cycle where the potential explosiveness becomes worse and we try to prevent it by adding more load thereby increasing the potential explosiveness, until someday....God forbid! Even worse, the spring begins to influence one's line of reasoning and approach to issues, wanting to desperately avoid anything coming to close to the spring even if they're beneficial, and gravitating towards anything that takes attention away from the spring even if they're deadly.

The best thing to do once you sense a spring - a grudge, a sin, a mistake, suppressed anger, bitterness, whatever - is to immediately stop loading and start easing the load already added, carefully and steadily. That is the only way to avoid the explosion. In the next post, we'll consider two true stories as examples.

Follow-up on Two Major Things Part I

This morning I thought to start my day with some science-based inspiration (I do that quite often but not always). By that I mean to read or watch something that shares a profound truth with scientific proof. Usually I just think look up the first thing that comes to my mind. Now that is a bit crude and has led me to utter nonsense on a number of occassions. But I bet you that each time I find something exciting, like I did this morning, it's always worth sharing. 

For many centuries much has been said about how time is important and we should manage it, use it wisely, invest it and so on. But you hear or read very little about how our perception of time could actually influence us in no small measure. That happens to be the subject of these videos. The first is the animated summary and the second is the full talk given by Professor Philip Zimbardo. What touched me most in the presentation is how the professor shows the link between the fast-pacedness of today's society - our desire for control - and youth misbehaviour. That connection was subtly made when he presented the figures on school dropout rates in the US and how that is associated with seemingly harmless and fun-filled technologies! I couldn't help but link it with my January 26 post on the value of quiet.

  

 

Two Major Things Part I

In today's world, we miss two major things everyday.

One, the value of quiet.

Everywhere is so noisy and everything is moving so fast that it is next to impossible for people to retreat daily, observe nature, take in some deep breath and savour the beauty of the one life that the benevolent Creator has given them, and follow after their purpose (or at least, spend time discovering that purpose).

It is quite unfortunate that parents and the school system contributing to the noise around. A typical child is engaged from the time he wakes up till he falls asleep at night. We are just preoccupied with work, assignments here and there, meetings and countless activities, with little or no time left for daily assessment. Not that these things are bad in themselves but there is an inherent danger in not being able to stop and think: distraction and frustration.

Little wonder life is becoming clumsy by the day and people are losing focus consistently. From an engineering standpoint, I understand that the faster a typical machine runs (and more especially if it does that with little or no break or lubrication sessions), the more heat, noise and vibration it tends to generate and the shorter it ends up living. How wise is the saying that "...in quietness and trust is your strength..." That saying of a great prophet of old ends with "...but you would have none of it." That describes our generation aptly. We just don't want to stop! And the reason for that is that most people are simply purposeless. 

Reading Rick Warren's "The Purpose-Driven Life" recently, one of the profound truths I have learnt is that in the serious matters of life, simpler is always better. Why? Because the more purpose-driven you are, the less you veer off your lane, the less you get distracted, the less you will want to do, and the less will be your perceived need for speed.

Come on, you are not competing against anyone but yourself in the race of life. The ultimate standard against which you will be measured is the standard that was set for you, and you alone - and that's why being purpose-driven helps you to keep it simple. Purpose helps you to know the difference between what you really need and what you merely want. Purpose shows you the line between what matters and what does not.

Unfortunately, as important as it is, purpose is absolutely noiseless. It associates only with the quiet. Perhaps much more unfortunately, many of us erroneously believe that when we are achieving our purpose, we should generate some noise in form of ovations and loud events. That is not necessarily true - but it is not necessarily false either, only that it is more false than true! In innovation studies it is understood artifacts are not innovation themselves, they are just the embodiments required to sell the innovation. So events and activities and accolades and whatever are not purpose in themselves, they are mere artifacts that serve to embody purpose, they are vehicles through which purpose is expressed. It is rather important to pursue purpose than artifacts. A life that is purpose-driven will announce itself, taking along with it the artifacts.

What then does one do to maintain some level of quietness in this noisy age? First admit the need to cut down on your excesses as an individual. There are so many things you do each day that you can do without. Then take time off each day to do nothing but think. You have to decide on your own what to think about, but remember - good or bad, you eventually produce what you think predominantly about. Above all, be committed to your purpose, in case you have found it. If not, then that's where to begin. 

Whatever goals you set and even achieve do not count much towards your fulfillment if they don't contribute to your reason for living. It does not matter how many times you can use an axe to peel oranges, until it hews wood, it has not achieved much.  

What’s value?

As I watched the coverage of the UK’s much-talked-about Royal Engagement on CNN earlier this evening, I just could not help asking myself, ‘Where will this end?’ Forgive my unholy curiosity but if you know what I know, you will most likely ask the same questions. The last royal wedding in the UK cost so high. Even though the total expenditure was not reported, we now know that the engagement ring was worth £30,000 in 1981 (the equivalent of today’s £85,700). How large is the ring? Just the size of a walnut. What is it made of? 14 small diamond pieces surrounding a sapphire. Who made it? London-based crown jewellers, Garrard & Co. The wedding dress, with a 25-foot train, was worth £9,000 in 1981. That’s roughly equal to £25,700 today – £4,700 more than what many a full wedding would cost today. Today, the average cost of a complete wedding is estimated at £21,000. That is clearly extravagant and shows, to me, some misplaced priority. The day of the wedding was declared a national holiday in the UK; and the whole world watched in awe (the estimated live audience for that wedding was over 750 million) as the world’s most famous royal family took among its ranks a beautiful damsel by the name of Diana Frances Spencer. Fifteen years and two months later, the marriage, despite its extensive celebration, ended in divorce. The story here begs a plain question: rather than spend that much on the pomp and pageantry surrounding the wedding, shouldn’t much more investments have been made into fidelity and honour on which the wedding should rest?

Well, a reflection of values it is!

In case you don’t know, the world is beginning to talk about the cost of Prince William’s wedding and where the money will come from; and somehow, the Royal accounts are not smiling. Pundits say that if the queen is not careful about dipping into the reserve fund built for her in the 1990s, it will run out by her Diamond Jubilee in 2012. To that end, total Royal Household spending is to be cut by 14 per cent in 2012/13 based on the Queen’s agreement; the £50,000 Christmas Party of Buckingham Palace has been cancelled and demands are being made by The Department for Culture for a 25% cut in maintenance costs for the palaces and Royal travel costs (this maintenance cost alone costs the Culture Department up to £15m annually). To make matters worse, the Royal Wedding is expected to come much ahead of the Queen’s jubilee, adding pressure to the government's depleted purses and further threatening the Queen's reserve funds. I can guess what you’re thinking: Can’t they simply reduce this spending? Must the wedding cost so much?

Well, I don’t know but it’s a question of value systems.

Earlier this year, Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria married her personal trainer Daniel Westling. The wedding took $11.4m of Swedish public funds – even in the presence of economic crises and the ongoing debate in the country over the future of the monarchy.

What do you make of all of these? For me, it’s a simple question: what does value mean to you, to me and to them?

Supported with material from http://www.channel4.com/news/prince-williams-wedding-who-will-pay and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrard_%26_Co

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 10: They are Diligent

‘The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance but everyone who is hasty comes only to want’ (King Solomon*).

Diligence refers to steady effort and careful hard work. In other words, it means using your head and hands. Life does not generally respond well to sudden impulses. If you want the best out of life, then you’ve got to put in steady, consistent efforts. Work hard carefully. Careless hard work amounts to foolishness. Work hard to produce results and not for the purpose of being seen. The efforts that yield the greatest results are often the ones that are not conspicuous.

The essence of diligence is found in the old saying, ‘slow and steady wins the race.’ Diligence minimizes errors because the chances of doing things right the first time are higher. Remember, haste is waste. Successful people are careful people. Diligence is the father of great skill. Diligence produces lasting results.

The most celebrated works of the great artist, Michelangelo are his paintings in the Sistine chapel in Rome. Everyone who has beheld this work first-hand or has seen photos of it has saluted the skills of the artist. Very few people, however, know that the work took Michelangelo two years to complete, many times painting with his back down and face up for days. Steady effort, careful hard work.

‘Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men’ (King Solomon§).

* See the Holy Bible; the Proverbs 21:5
§ See the Holy Bible; the Proverbs 22:29

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 9: They have High Standards

‘The roots of true achievement lie in the will to become the best that you can become’ (Harold Taylor).

High standard is synonymous with excellence. According to Booker T. Washington, excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way. This is something you must strive to achieve if you want to be a success. Having high standards means that the bases with which you make comparisons are the best that you can find. People of high standards don’t believe in joining them if you can’t beat them.

You don’t have to be like anyone else. Why must you be among when there is mass failure in your class? Is anything wrong if only you passed? Why must you cheat because everyone else is doing it? ‘Keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world’ (George Bernard).

Remember this on your road to success: Any buried grasses you leave behind will surely grow again. It’s just a matter of time. Former House of Reps speaker, Salisu Buhari and his Toronto saga should teach everyone a lesson*.

‘Elevate your personal standards of quality … If you want greatness, then forget greatness and earnestly pursue what is right. Then you can find both’. (John Mason).

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 9: They have High Standards

‘The roots of true achievement lie in the will to become the best that you can become’ (Harold Taylor).

High standard is synonymous with excellence. According to Booker T. Washington, excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way. This is something you must strive to achieve if you want to be a success. Having high standards means that the bases with which you make comparisons are the best that you can find. People of high standards don’t believe in joining them if you can’t beat them.

You don’t have to be like anyone else. Why must you be among when there is mass failure in your class? Is anything wrong if only you passed? Why must you cheat because everyone else is doing it? ‘Keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world’ (George Bernard).

Remember this on your road to success: Any buried grasses you leave behind will surely grow again. It’s just a matter of time. Former House of Reps speaker, Salisu Buhari and his Toronto saga should teach everyone a lesson*.

‘Elevate your personal standards of quality … If you want greatness, then forget greatness and earnestly pursue what is right. Then you can find both’. (John Mason).

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 8: They Work Hard

‘None of the secrets of success will work unless you do … often the simple answer to your problem is: GO TO WORK’ (John Mason).

Someone has said that laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes it. On the road to success, nothing can replace hard work. An American TV game show host, Monty Hall once said, ‘Actually, I’m an overnight success. But it took me twenty years.’ Nobody makes it legally without working hard. Ask any celebrity that you know. They’ve been at it for a long time but no one notices until they pull it off. Work, work, work and work. Nothing in the world can take the place of hard work.

About 500 times the Bible speaks of work. Jeremiah said it is good for a young man to bear the burden in his youth*; King Solomon said, ‘He whose hand is slack shall be poor.§’ Slack here is used in the sense of sloth and negligence. You’ve got to sweat if you want to succeed.

General Colin Powell, US Secretary of State, started out in life as a floor scrubber. John Major, British PM worked as a cashier in Lagos. Bill Gates walked door-to-door to sell insurance. M.K.O. Abiola sold firewood … and the list can go on.

You can’t get anyone to work for you if you don’t work for yourself. There is honour in hard work.

‘All hard work leads to a profit’ (King Solomon).

---

* See the Holy Bible; the Lamentations of Jeremiah 3:27

§ See the Holy Bible; the Proverbs 10:4

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 6: They Think

"What you picture in your mind your mind will go to work to accomplish. When you change your picture you automatically change your performance. You cannot consistently act in a manner that is inconsistent with the way you think " - Zig Ziglar

The greatest asset that God has given to mortal man is the ability to think; the power of the mind; the power to imagine; the power to envision. Michael LeBoeuf called it the greatest moneymaker in the world; and I call it the greatest asset of any man. Listen, whatever investment you make in your mind is not too much. Its power is so awesome that it can do almost anything. Yet, this is what some people neglect.

Do you think at all? Plans are born of thoughts. Inventions are born of thoughts. Ideas are born of thoughts. If you can’t think you can’t make it. Money comes to those who think. Success is not far from the thinker. Take time off each day to THINK. Think through on every problem. Creativity is all about seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no else has thought. Exercise your mind. Use your mind.

A note of warning, though. Be wary of what you think about. Watch what you allow your mind to picture. In short, THINK RIGHT. Your mind is like a fertile field. If no useful seeds are sown therein it invariably becomes overgrown with weeds. “Our best friends and our worst enemies are the thoughts we have …” (Dr. Frank Crane)

Thoughts lead on to purposes

Purposes go forth into action

Actions form habits

Habits decide character

And character fixes our destiny

- Tryon Edwards

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 6: They are Consistent

‘The problem with success is that you have to keep on being a success’ (Anon).

If your goal is to be a one-time success, to do well at one thing and give up in the rest, then you have a thwarted idea of success. Successful people have a strong desire to remain successful. They always believe in improvement. And that is the bedrock of consistency – having that strong faith that you can always do it again and again; and better and better.

According to John Mason, the road to success is always under construction. Men of success keep building but each time on a higher level. When you being to think you’ve had enough, your mind tells you it’s stupid to try more. Then you either reverse or turn around – anyhow, you start going back.

You should know that in this information age, you have to keep moving otherwise, others will move past you at such speeds that you begin to fall back steadily. Keep doing those good things. Keep modifying your ideas. Keep managing your successes and failures. Consistency is the greatest single factor that keeps you on top.

‘Big shots are only little shots who have kept on firing’.

YOU TOO CAN MAKE IT!

Dearly Beloved, I got this message in my e-mail from Pastor Bayo, host of spiritual digest via e-mail. I'm sure you'll be inspired reading it. The message is simple: YOU TOO CAN MAKE IT!

"We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure" -Apostle Paul(Hebrews 6:11, NIV).

"But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life" -Elder Jude(Jude 20-21, NIV).

I read a story of a popular Yoruba dramatist recently in a national newspaper that touched my heart. It is about a 60-year-old dramatist who, with his second son in the same lecture room, got his first university degree at age 49, but now a doctorate degree holder and lecturer in one of the leading universities in Nigeria. He was able to have primary education because of the compulsory free education in the then Western Region of Nigeria. Apart from a kind of post-primary education then known as "modern education," the man could not go to secondary school because of the poverty of his parents. With determination after acting as dramatist both on stage and in movies for over three decades, he becomes an academic and an authority in his choosing profession - the theater. His life is indeed a challenge to many of us.

Have you lost hope that you can no longer make it in a particular pursuit? Do not lose hope! Continue to persevere with determination that, one day, you will make it. Are people looking down on you because of your humble background or your seeming failure in your endeavors? Do not worry yourself about them. Continue the struggle. Remember that old proverb, "Aluta continua, victoria acerta," meaning "the struggle continues, the victory is sure." Victory is sure if you do not give up. Another popular saying goes thus, "Winners never quit; quitters never win."

Paul the apostle admonished, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9, NIV), and "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:58, NIV).
You also can make it!

In His service,
Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).

If you were blessed reading this and would like a consistent supply, contact Pastor Bayo (spiritualdigest@e-mail.com)