This subject of competition versus creativity is going to be controversial and will probably challenge some of your preconceived ideas.

Background:

Most Americans have been taught that competition is good. In many ways our society is centered on competition. We almost idolize sports teams because of their abilities to compete. We highly regard businesses that are competitive, and say how good competition is for keeping prices low.

Competition stems from an idea that there is not enough of something, so there is a need to compete for your share. In sports, this is generally true. There are only so many games in a season, and only so many teams in the playoffs, so there can be only one winner. The idea that there can be only one winner in a business situation is archaic. In days of old, when knights were bold, etc. you may have been able to make a case for that idea. There was only so much land and gold in a kingdom, so if you wanted more, you had to wage war to take it from someone else.

Today’s concept of market share harkens back to that idea. In a given market, each business ends up competing for its share. But this idea would only be valid if the market was limited in its size. In today’s world, assuming that a market size is limited is not always true. If your business enters a market that is already established, and your plan is to take a portion of what someone else has developed, then you are certainly in competition. Any plan for trying to succeed by taking something from someone else can only expect limited success.

Much of the greed in the world comes from the worldview that only limited amounts of resources or money are available. Because of this view, people get the idea that if someone is rich, he got that way at the expense of someone else. As in the Robin Hood legend, some people think the only way to help the poor involves taking goods from the rich. If money and wealth were limited, they might have a point; but they aren’t limited. There was an urban legend circulating in 1899 that the commissioner of the U.S. Patent office was going to resign because “everything that could be invented was already invented.” Even though this was just a legend, it does show how people can think resources and ideas are limited.

People who have learned to use their creativity realize they have tapped into an unlimited resource. There was an energy crisis in the 1850s. Whale hunting had seriously depleted the number of whales that could be harvested for the production of oil for lamps. Prices shot up and panic ensued. What were people to do? Someone used his creativity, and coal oil started to enter the market, followed by petroleum products, followed by electricity, and so on. Much of our reliance on petroleum products today, is a fabrication. It is a form of greed used by those who don’t want to move on to much more efficient and less costly forms of energy. You can be quite confident that solutions to our energy needs already exist through someone’s creativity, but those solutions are being kept quiet, for now.

There is probably not a person who was born in the U.S. that has not heard that mankind was created in the likeness and image of God. Many people don’t want to put a name on God, for fear of being “intolerant,” but calling him “the Creator” seems to be acceptable by most Americans. The nature of the Creator is to create, to cause that which did not previously exist to come into existence. Since we were created in his image, we are also supposed to create. How and what you create depends on who you are and what your gift is.

The question for you is this: What can you create? When you create something from your gift, you have something that has value you did not take away from someone else. This is your source of wealth. Instead of looking for ways to be competitive, try seeking to create something. You will be amazed at how you can create something from nothing, just by thinking about it. When you put passion behind your creation, don’t be surprised to find that the resources you need to make it a reality will just start showing up. But remember, passion means keeping your antennas up at all times for things that relate to your desire. You cannot be casual about your creation, and your passion needs to be burning all the time if you want to make it a reality. Creativity trumps competition every time.

“To become really rich (a richer, fuller, more abundant life) is the nobelist aim you have in life, for it includes everything else. On the competitive plane, the struggle to get rich is a Godless scramble for power over other men; but when we come to the creative mind, all this is changed …

Moral and spiritual greatness is possible only to those who are above the competitive battle for existence; and only those who are becoming rich on the plane of creative thought are free from the degrading influences of competition. If your heart is set on domestic happiness, remember that love flourishes best where there is refinement, a high level of thought, and freedom from corrupting influences; and these are to be found only where riches are attained by the exercise of creative thought, without strife or rivalry.[1]”

Questions: 

How do you plan to succeed; through competition of creativity? 

Based on your personality and your gift, how can you be creative?

When you have purpose, and the passion that goes with it, a kind of peace enters your life. That is because your purpose, the thing you seek, fills a void in your life that temporary pleasures cannot.

Background:

Whenever I see someone constantly seeking pleasure, I immediately know they have not found what they seek. By itself, pleasure is not necessarily bad, but constantly seeking pleasure is a waste of your life. It never lasts and only causes you to seek more pleasure. Once you have purpose in your life, the desire for temporary pleasure is replaced with the happiness that comes from doing what you were created to do.

The first time I read the following passage from Napoleon Hill I thought the guy was nuts. I think part of why I felt that way was because I wasn’t used to hearing people talk (or write) about desire and obsession as good things. It is uncanny how accurate Hill’s statement becomes to you once you have found your purpose.

“Your major responsibility, right now, is to find out what you desire in life, where you are going, and what you will do when you get there. This is one responsibility which no one but you can assume, and it is the responsibility ninety-eight out of every hundred people never assume. That is the major reason why only two out of every hundred people can be rated as successful. 

Success begins through Definiteness of Purpose! 

If this fact has seemed to be over-emphasized, it is because of the common trait of procrastination which influences ninety-eight out of every hundred people to go all the way through life without choosing Definite Major Purpose. 

Singleness of purpose is a priceless asset – priceless because so few possess it. 

Yet, it is an asset which one may appropriate on a second’s notice. 

Make up your mind what you desire of life, decide to get just that, without any substitutes, and lo! you will have taken possession of one of the most priceless assets available to human beings. 

But your desire must be no mere wish or hope! 

It must be a burning desire, and it must become so definitely an obsessional desire that you are willing to pay whatever price its attainment may cost. The price may be much or it may be little, but you must condition your mind to pay it, regardless of what the cost may be. 

The moment you choose your Definite Major Purpose in life you will observe a strange circumstance, consisting in the fact that ways and means of attaining that purpose will begin immediately to reveal themselves to you. 

Opportunities you had not expected will be placed in your way.

The cooperation of others will become available to you, and friends will appear as if by a stroke of magic. Your fears and doubts will begin to disappear, and self-reliance will take their place.[1]” 

Questions: 

Do you know what your purpose is? 

Since it all starts with desire, what’s yours? 

Is your desire obsessional? 

If not, did you take the time to learn who you are, and find your gift as described in earlier posts?

How important is it to have Purpose? When you know what you seek, and you begin the journey to pursue it, you have purpose and focus to your life. Everything you do, the things you want, and even the entertainment you choose will relate to what you seek. Instead of trying to keep yourself amused so you don’t have to deal with the dissatisfaction in your life, having purpose in all you do will actually bring you the joy you seek.

Background:

The following quote comes from James Allen’s book As A Man Thinketh. It was first published in 1902.

“Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment. With the majority the bark of thought is allowed to “drift” upon the ocean of life. Aimlessness is a vice, and such drifting must not continue for him who would steer clear of catastrophe and destruction. 

They who have no central purpose in their lives fall an easy prey to petty worries, fears, troubles, and self-pityings, all of which are indications of weakness, which lead, just as surely as deliberately planned sins (although by a different route), to failure, unhappiness, and loss, for weakness cannot persist in a power-evolving universe. 

A man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart and set out to accomplish it. He should make this purpose the centralizing point of his thoughts. It may take the form of a spiritual ideal, or it may be a worldly object, according to his nature at the time being; but whichever it is, he should steadily focus his thought forces upon the object which he has set before him. He should make this purpose his supreme duty, and should devote himself to its attainment, not allowing his thoughts to wander away into ephemeral fancies, longings, and imaginings.”

 When you have a definite purpose in your life it is almost as if you grow antennas (like from the old TV show My Favorite Martian). Wherever you go and whatever you do, your antennas are automatically tuned to receive and evaluate what is going on around you, based on your purpose. What you think and how you evaluate information goes through the mental filter of your purpose.

My wife, Mary, is a health and nutrition fanatic. She thoroughly enjoys giving seminars on nutrition and health related issues. She is passionate about helping people lose weight and overcome disease. She works with women on hormonal issues. Whenever we go anywhere, her passion will come up in her conversation. She will notice someone who is obese and talk about how much she would like to help that person, or she will look at a woman’s face and instantly know she is battling hormonal issues. When we go out to a restaurant, I call her the food Nazi–affectionately, of course. Fat, preservatives, body type, blood type, etc., etc., etc. are evaluated in her every menu and grocery store choice.  She really can’t help it; health is her passion.

“Without Purpose, abuse is inevitable.”

I stole that line from Dr. Creflo Dollar in a sermon he gave in Chicago. I am not sure if he coined the phrase, but the first time I heard him say it, the saying stuck with me.

It really is true that if you don’t have purpose in your life, you will end up abusing something. It could be your spouse or children; it could be alcohol or drugs; it could be pornography; or it could be something as innocuous as watching too much TV or playing too many video games. In my wife’s case, she sees people who abuse food as destroying their health. All of these are abuses of some kind that have a detrimental effect on your life.

Questions:

Do you know your purpose?

Or, are you drifting through life?

Are their areas in your life that where you are abusing something?

Nothing can stop you in your tracks faster than comparison. We all tend to compare our weaknesses and shortcomings to others’ strengths. The result is that you may think your gift is not as important as someone else’s gift.

The grass may seem greener on the other side, but is it?

Background

While many of us are preoccupied comparing ourselves to others, the funny thing is that other people are also comparing themselves to you, thinking their gifts aren’t as valuable as yours. It is precisely this kind of comparing that kills unity and harmony in an organization, and it is why strong leadership is required. A good leader will be able to detect when his people are feeling under-valued and beginning to compare themselves to others. He will emphasize their importance in the organization. He will help to understand their value–but he won’t overdo it to the point that they feel more important than other team members.

When you know who you are and how you are wired, you can be free to be yourself. When you know your gift and develop it, you can be free of comparison and jealousy. You will be confident in where you are going and in the purpose for which you have been called. When you have that kind of confidence in yourself, you will be able to appreciate the gifts of others. You will begin to see how valuable other people’s gifts are to the organization, and how without them your gift wouldn’t function as well. When everyone on the team knows who he is, what his gift is, and that he is doing his very best, everyone on the team will be free from envy, jealousy, guilt, and comparison. It will be okay with you if someone is great at something you are not good at. That is because you know you are great at something they aren’t.

Comparing apples to apples. They aren’t all the same.

 You need each other in order to have all the bases covered. A company or organization that functions like this as much as possible will do things in excellence. If you can keep your eyes off of yourself, and on to the purpose or vision, then great things happen.

Questions:

Do you compare yourself to others?

If you do, are you comparing your weakness to their strength?

What would happen, if instead, you focused on developing your gift?

Many times, people will refer to a coach as a leader. Sometimes, exceptional coaches are leaders, but leaders are not necessarily coaches.

Background

Most coaches understand the fundamentals of their sports, and they teach them to their players, while trying to execute a winning strategy for their teams. This, by itself, is not leadership. Leadership in sports involves a coach knowing the members of his team so well that he knows how to get more from each player than each player knew was possible. A leader-coach will get the full potential from each player and know how to employ his players to beat their opponents. Many times a leader-coach will be able to take a team with less raw talent than opposing teams and, through harmony and unity of purpose, mold his team into a finely tuned machine on the field.

If you haven’t seen the movie Blind Side[1], based on Michael Lewis’ book, I highly recommend it. A scene in the movie shows the coach having a hard time getting the main character of the movie to play well. This is a true story about Michael Oher, an NFL star lineman. In the scene, Michael is a huge African-American kid who has been abandoned by his parents but, through some very good fortune, winds up at a private Christian high school. Playing on a mostly white football team, Michael stands out because he is black, and because he is huge compared to other kids on his team. He seems like he would be a natural for football, but he has never played football before, and he is a gentle giant.

While the coach is ready to give up on getting Michael to be aggressive on the field, his adopted mother in this movie, played by Sandra Bullock, marches out onto the practice field and starts giving Michael orders he can understand. Since Michael tested in the ninety-eighth percentile for protective instincts, she appealed to his desire to protect the quarterback, rather than appealing to him to crush the defensive player on the other side of the line. Well, it worked, and a superstar was born.

What is the point? The coach was not a leader. As Sandra Bullock struts off the practice field, she yelled back at the coach, “You need to get to know your players better, Earl.” Earl got a lesson in leadership from one of the moms of his players.

As you try to figure out where you fit in, and where to apply your gift, you need to consider this question:

Do you have your own vision?

I used to think everyone had a vision for their future. I was wrong. Can you imagine the chaos if every person was trying to fulfill a vision he created, and was looking for people to be on his team. In this scenario, the people you would be trying to recruit for your team would be trying to recruit you for their teams. It just wouldn’t work. That is not to say you shouldn’t have dreams for your future, but a vision is something much larger. People of vision imagine things on a grand scale and want to change things for the better. They see things as they could be, and ask, “Why not?” The vast majority of people do not think this way.

Do you have your own vision? Then you need others to fit into your plan. Leaders are not afraid or threatened by the greatness of their team members. Leadership brings out the greatness of others and gives that greatness places to be used. A visionary leader will actively seek smarter and more talented people than he is in order to make his vision a reality.

If you are not a person of vision (and that is most people), then you should find someone else’s vision that you want to be a part of; but choose carefully whose vision you want to fit into. The one with the vision must see how you fit, and he must recognize the value you bring to the team. He must see it; not have you shove it down his throat. If he doesn’t see it, then you probably do not belong in his plan. Your gift is just as valuable as the vision itself, because your gift will be a critical part of making that vision a reality. So, if you can’t find a Master Mind or the Body of Christ functioning in your life, find a vision you can be part of.

Your gift must be given in order for you to be really happy.

Questions

Are you a visionary leader?

Do you have a team of people smarter than you?

If you are not a leader, what vision excites you?

Whose vision do you want to be a part of?