MIND THE GAP …
between what you read and what you will actually remember
On May 2, 1519, Leonard Da Vinci wrote in his notebook “I will continue” followed by “etc” before falling to the ground without life. His notes are valid until today and were precursors of innumerable inventions ahead of his time. This scoring action is very close to what I want to spread to as many people as possible, the SQNMind Theory.
As I wrote earlier, the SQNMind theory — Sine Qua Non Mind theory — seeks to extract the best from each book. The theory consists to catalog the most interesting passages of the books into “essential” [Sine Qua Non] categories for the mind, the SQNMind. This will transform your brain into a ocean of raw knowledge ready to be adapted to your reality under any circumstances.
Here are 20 impetus of SQNMind that I wrote in the last days on the MEDIUM website. I just joined them to provide a reading of all impetus at once, like a precision shot on inspiration. So read them and be inspired by the brilliant impetus.
# 1/20 PHILOSOPHY
IMPETUS: FRIEDRICH NIETZCHE & THOMAS DAVENPORT
The greatest thoughts are those which are later understood. They are like the light from distant stars that comes later to man. Generations that are contemporary with such thoughts do not understand them. Let’s see the history of electric cars: The first electric vehicle was built by Thomas Davenport in 1835; one of the first cars electric was built by Thomas Parker in 1880; one of the first electric car companies was the Baker Electric in 1899; and finally, the greatest electric car company came up in 2003, the TESLA. Nowadays TESLA carries us into a future where electric cars will predominate in the world. So, a proof of what Nietzche said … It took 168 years for humankind to accept the idea of Tomas Davenport. How many centuries does a spirit need to be understood? How many great ideas are there today that will be understand later? Who is the greatest thinker of the current generation? Maybe you or maybe me (I bet you smiled :-)
# 2/20 MODUS OPERANDI
IMPETUS: NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
“Military discipline does not admit any modification. The army must understand that discipline holds their victories. Without discipline there is no victory”, that is what Napoleon said to Executive Directory in 1796. Bringing the subject to any work environment: who do not follow the rules should not remain in “combat”. Something as follow the rules or fall out. Everybody knows how much discipline is important in our lives. See a horse race, where every second makes a difference. If the horse stops giving its maximum for a second, it probably will not win the race. A well-maintained discipline bring us a tendency to succeed.
# 3/20 ORIENTATION
IMPETUS: ARAFAT NASOLO & ARISTOTLE & ALEXANDER - THE GREAT
If you want to be successful in every task you want to pursue, be in contact with those people who have been successful from that task, observe them, learn every aspect from them, ask them many questions regarding the task you want to perform. As a great example we have the macedonian king Alexander — The great — who, since his thirteen, had as his tutor the greek philosopher Aristotle. Alexander got the best knowledge and used them for his achievements. who would not like to have as advisor a man of the standard of Aristotle? However not all people would benefit, but Alexander was able to absorb the maximum of the teachings from Aristotle.
# 4/20 LEARNING
IMPETUS: LEONARD DA VINCI
Andrea Del Verrocchio was an Italian Florentine artist who was active during the Renaissance . He is considered one of the most influential painters of his period. Among his students includes Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Perugino and Ghirlandaio. Much of painted production of Verrocchio’s workshop was done by his students. Leonard collaborated with Verrocchio with his “The Baptism of Christ”, painting the young angel holding Jesus’s robe. But this Leonard’ work was so far superior to his master that Verrocchio put down his brunch and never painted again … Wow! This was the overcoming of the student in relation to his master! Fantastic example of how to behave in an academic environment.
# 5/20 DARING
IMPETUS: ALEXANDER - THE GREAT & JULIUS CAESAR & HANNIBAL
King Alexander — The great, Emperor Julius Caesar and General Hannibal, each of them was climbing their own “Mount Everest”. The king of small Macedonia [Alexander] should not conquer the vast Persian empire. The governor of Gaul [Julius C.] should not overthrow the Roman senate and its armies. And it was unthinkable that the Carthaginian commander of southern Spain [Hannibal] should cross rivers and mountains to invade Italy. But they dared to do what could not be done. Who gives himself a challenge does not have to satisfy anyone, even in cases of failure. The decision to self-challenge is the great challenge! Nowadays, the majority of people in their jobs only do what is asked of them. When they try something else, they do it without self-confidence and end up failing. This is the point of inflection, because some keep trying and others do not. The will to continue is the key to success. Independent of difficulties on the way, Alexander, J. Caesar and Hannibal did not give up. They dared and won.
# 6/20 KNOWLEDGE
IMPETUS: GEORGE PATTON
The true hero is the man who fights despite being afraid. Some overcome fear after one minute under fire, others take an hour and some even need several days, but a true man will never let the fear of death overlap his honor and his sense of duty to his country. This is what the north American General Patton said to the D-Day troops on June 5, 1944. After fighting in two world wars, Patton was able to transform all his knowledge into capacity. Knowing man’s fragility in the face of combat, Patton encouraged his men telling the truth about what would happen in front of combat: life or death. Using the knowledge gained is like going for a new unmarked track and getting back on the same path. This was exactly what Patton did with his men.
# 7/20 AMBITION
IMPETUS: JULIUS CAESAR
When Julius Caesar passed through a village occupied by Gaulish barbarians, it was seen a scene of rivalries among its inhabitants, where each one wanted to obtain primacy. Caesar heard the reflections of his soldiers: is it possible that there are also fights there for positions, disputes for the first position, jealousy among the most powerful citizens? Caesar spoke seriously to his friends: I would rather be first among them than the second in Rome. The ambition of Julius Caesar was great enough to reach his objective, Rome. Nothing in his way was able to stop him. So, there is no history of interviews of champions that containing the phrase “I did not want to win, but it happened”. Usually the champion gives an interview saying “I worked hard to get here” and if you could interview J. Caesar you would probably hear the same.
# 8/20 PASSION
IMPETUS: MARTIN LUTHER KING
In love with his cause, Luther King transmitted your passion to the crowd that followed him to Washington on august 23,1963 … I have a dream. With great eloquence, explained that who put the words of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence of the United States had signed a “promissory note” that would be inherited by all Americans. So, all American men would have guaranteed the inalienable rights of life and freedom, but Luther King complained that America had not paid such promissory note regarding its citizens of color. He reinforced that America, instead of honoring its obligation, passed to the blacks a rubber check that was returned by insufficient balance. Luther King refused to believe that the bank of justice had gone bankrupt. Luther King’s passion for his cause was so great that the metaphor between the constitution/Declaration and a rubber check was able to inspire a sequence of events that brought benefits later. In short, all people in love with a cause, a sport, a job, etc … are generally differentiated and successful in their areas of activity. Believe, passion moves the world.
# 9/20 PERSISTENCE
IMPETUS: STEVE JOBS
The famous, or infamous, ability of Steve Jobs to force people to do the impossible was known to colleagues as “distortion of reality”. One of the first times this happened was when Jobs worked at night at Atari and forced Steve Wozniak to create a game called “breakout”. Woz said it would take months, but Jobs look at him and said he would be able to do it in a few days. Woz knew it was impossible, but he did. For ninety-nine percent of the readers, including you, it is impossible to finish reading this article and decorate it, word by word. But for athletes of memory championship would be an extremely easy task because they practice memorization almost everyday. They are able to decorate entire books, a sequence of hundreds of cards, a giant sequence of binary numbers, etc. For normal people, the athletes of memory championship produce a “distortion of reality” because such athletes do things that for others seem to be impossible. In short, “distortion of reality” is relative, not impossible. It needs energy, belief and hard work! In general, everyone has a story where something was done that before seemed impossible! Just try to make it more often, distort your reality!
# 10/20 LEADERSHIP
IMPETUS: JULIUS CAESAR
“I did not follow the cause, I followed the man”. With these simple words, a lieutenant of Caesar summed up the secret of the success of the great commanders. Julius Caesar was followed not only as conqueror or chief, but also a man. He had special personal qualities that inspired others on a deep and emotional level. Once Caesar slept outside his tent so that his sick soldier could rest inside. Acts like this were able to inspire more confidence of the soldiers than hundreds of speeches. However, charismatic leadership becomes a problem when the guidelines of the leader does not have good intentions such as was Adolf Hitler. If you can easily bring people with you to fight for your ideals do not let your individual interest override the purpose of your followers … that is yourself, not your cause.
# 11/20 DECISION
IMPETUS: GEORGE BUSH
At the time, in private conversations with Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi, George Bush had been outlining a broader view of his responsibility for action as head of the world’s superpower: “History will judge, but history will not judge well who does not act, someone who just waits for the right moment to happen”. He had come to the conclusion that a President should not store his political capital. In fact, a president manages to increase it much more by spending it well. Analogously, it is not recommended to make an “accumulation of life”, which is saved “life energy” for later use. It’s better to use it well than waiting for the perfect moment to act. Your memories will not make you happy if you stand still. Move on!
# 12/20 POLITICS
IMPETUS: FRIEDRICH NIETZCHE & BISMARK & CLAUSEWITZ
Nietzsche alludes to Bismark, who in a session of Parliament on September 30, 1862, stated: “It is not with speeches or agreements of the majority that the great issues are decided but with iron and blood”. On occasion politics continues in other way: war! Exactly as Clausewitz mentioned it years before. The limit between peace and war sometimes is drawn by circumstances that escape the wisdom of man. Circumstances that carries everyone and everything by conjuncture of vicissitudes in one direction: war. Moreover the history has show us that the probability of crossing the limit towards war is greater when the decision is in the hands of one person. Curiously in our daily lives we also go into war when conversations can not resolve controversies, but for this kind of war I call it a “white war”, whose “shots” are judicial action, police complaints, administrative inquiries, etc. Paraphrasing Bismark we can say that great issues of “white war” are decided with “pen and paper” instead of iron and blood … better!
# 13/20 INNOVATION
IMPETUS: ARYEH NUSBACHER
In the “6 days war”, to improve the Israeli income in the desert against the numerous Soviet tanks of the Egyptians, it was imperative to modify the American tank used by Israel. The original 76mm cannon was replaced by 105mm, the engine power was increased, the rubber material of the caterpillars was changed and the armor was completely renewed, increasing strength and performance. The result was that Israeli tanks were a bit better than Egyptians and “when you are a little better, even if it is little, than the opponent, is when you can win” explains the British expert Aryeh Nusbacher. And you … How little are you being better than the others? In the world there are two kind of persons: those who do what was asked and those who do beyond than was asked. Which one are you? The great men chose to do a little better like Israel did with his tanks! Give yourself a little more of studies, trainings, readings, etc. Be better … just a little!
# 14/20 MOTIVATION
IMPETUS: KING HENRY V
In the battle of Agincourt, the English were not frightened by their numerical inferiority. Whether it was for the victory or the glory of England, they had no choice but to fight. Henry was not willing that the campaign would end in failure. It was not time to get carried away by discouragement. Henry V said to his troops: “We, few, unfortunately, we are few, we are a band of brothers, for who sheds his blood with me today will be my brother. However in this day, men who are now in bed in England will consider themselves cursed for not having been here. They will have their virility ashamed when they speak to someone who will fight with us on this day of Saint Crispin”. Here are a great example how encourage your team to go on! Differentiating them from the others and approaching them as if brothers were, united by blood. Difficult moments passed by King Henry’s men is extremely efficient to solidify the union between men. This kind of group overcoming of challenges is the great brand of military academies. So try to transform your co-workers into a military “band of brothers”. It is not easy, but the result is extremely satisfactory.
# 15/20 INTELLIGENCE
IMPETUS: ALEXANDER - THE GREAT
On September 30, 331 BC, the two armies, Macedonians and Persians, met on the Gaugamela plain, just three miles away. Apparently Alexander did not feel nervous before the battle. In fact, he fell asleep. The sun was rising when he woke up the next day and joined his troops. It is said that, knowing that among his troops were Persian spies, he made run the rumor that they would attack that night, without rest. The Persians fell into the trap and kept on their feet waiting for the attack that did not arrive. In the morning the Macedonians were rested and the Persians were not. In short, there is only one thing better than intelligence service: counterintelligence service, exactly what Alexander used against the Persians. Intelligence is like a game of chess. Do not act without predicting a enemy move otherwise you will be defeated like the Persians.
# 16/20 MORBIDITY
IMPETUS: ALEXANDER - THE GREAT
Alexander made it clear that he would prefer a short life but one that would live in the memories of men forever, rather than a longer, submerged an anonymous existence. Life after death was seen as a shadowy, inconsequential state unless you had, in life, become deified and entered the pantheon of the gods. This could only be achieved through success. Alexander constantly wanted to prove to all that he was worthy an elevated position. Today, regardless of religion, no one literally desires death. Even if the people had the choice between anonymous long life and a short one with glory postmortem, many would not want fame immortalized at the price of a short life. Such Morbid desires belong only to the great men of mankind. If that frightens you … your ambition possibly should be the same as most: long life with a place in the pantheon of the gods. Then get in line and wait.
# 17/20 HABIT
IMPETUS: STEVE JOBS
Steve Jobs’s ability to focus on the essential became a habit of simplifying things by seeking the foundation and eliminating unnecessary components. “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” was printed in the Apple’s first booklet. Steve’s habit was responsible for the simplistic and futuristic visual revolution of electronics today copied all over the world: the family of “ i ” … iPod, iPhone and iPad. Equipment with fine designers and summarized to a single button, which seems decoding Steve’s surname for “Just One Button Seen”. JOBS. Simplicity, of course, is more welcome than complexity, but to summarize the essential from intricate issues is like building great sculpture work, where the gross form is turned into something meaningful. So how many buttons can you sum up your work or your relationship or even your life? How fine, handsome, and revolutionary is the designer of these matters mentioned in your own life? Be yourself the sculptor of these subjects and do not let yourself be driven by the worldly circumstances, otherwise your life will have a strange shape and several buttons unusable. Just One Button Seen - JOBS … think about it!
# 18/20 LUCK
IMPETUS: JULIUS CAESAR
Luck always smiled at Julius Caesar as an incident shows: he was rushing to cross the Dardanelles Strait on a boat when he found a squadron of Pompey’s fleet. With ten warships, they could easily have captured and killed Caesar. Instead, he went to the Admiral’s ship and demanded that the captain surrender, which was accepted without a fight … “Fortis fortuna adiuvat”. “Luck favors boldness” before quoted in Latin is equivalent to say that luck came from the daring of Caesar. The step taken by the future emperor of Rome is what separates ordinary people from those capable of taking intelligent actions that require moral courage. The ironic thing is that Jesus Christ made something similar against the Romans years later. Although many do not care about luck and treat it as a divine providence some navies use it as a performance evaluation. Note the magnitude that is given to luck in the military environment. Can you ignore it? But luck alone is like wingless airplane … you have to be bold to put wing in your luck and fly away like Julius Caesar did!
# 19/20 COMPARTMENTALIZATION
IMPETUS: ABRAHAM LINCOLN & ULYSSES GRANT
On 3 March 1864 Ulysses Grant was summoned to Washington and was made the new Union Commanding General. Lincoln’s three previous commanding general had all proved cautions, ineffective and often reluctant to move rapidly into battle and fight to the cruel end. Before Grant, the generals did not decide anything by themselves. They always called Lincoln for an aid. On the other hand, Grant knew exactly what to do and never depended on Lincoln to decide. Grant was different and Lincoln knew it. One day he received a complaint that Grant drank too much whisky but Lincoln replied “Send all my other generals a crate of the same brand”. Here we can see a great example of how to separate things, where a personal habit was not able to interfere a professional matter. The majority of people allow, unconsciously, be influenced by individual behavior in their profession. The fact of Grant drinking did not mean his job got drunk. Unlike this, his decisions were so sober and wise that ironically Lincoln replied Grant’s adversaries to drink the same whisky. How strong you are to separate things? How are you separating your various “selves” ? Father/mother and boss; house and office; tennis and shoes; shirt and suit; beer and water; etc. Play whatever but in the right moment, work seriously. Make your boss point out to your opponents the same game you play! Because your work compensates all your behaviors! Be a reference whatever your idiosyncrasy! Play/work!
# 20/20 PHRASES
IMPETUS: JULIUS CAESAR
Pompey then ran away to Egypt, but he was murdered by the young Egyptian boy-king, Ptolemy XII. Julius Caesar was now clearly master of Rome and thus of the western world. Yet he did not return immediately to Rome. First, he spent some time with his new mistress, Ptolemy’s sister Cleopatra, whom Caesar made Queen of Egypt. Then, in August 47 b.c, he beat a hostile king in Asia Minor, when Caesar pronounced the immortal words Veni, vici, vici : I came, I saw, I won. Perhaps the phrase of Caesar was more reverberated than the victory itself over his enemy from Asia Minor. Indeed, immediate moment after a victory is an opportune moment to record words in the world [or mine or yours]. On the other hand, unfortunately, bad times also provide the same eternal effect. For example, Winston Churchill during the Second World War, where he called all parliamentarians to fight against Germany until they themselves were lying on the ground being suffocated by their own blood. Whatever the situation you are, post victory or difficult struggle, remember how powerful words are in these moment and how great is a probability to put them forever in the history. Sages are those who see such opportunities and embrace them with determination. Act but SAY something!
A person with SNQMind has a good chance of succeeding in different situations when compared to those who do not read or read and do not keep the lessons learned. Separate passages from the books and create categories that most fit your profile. Read it as many times as you can. With a SQNMind in hand you will never be the same person.
Read and remember! So … MIND THE GAP
