Back to Basics
For Finding Sanity in an Insane World
By
Bob Anderson, Ph.D., CMSgt. (Ret.)
This book is comprised of 27 essays by the author Bob Anderson.
Here they are at a glance—easy and quick reading for you!
1. When faced with difficult decisions remember this: It is not important what you decide—it is only important what you decide about what you decided.
Much too often people struggle with decisions whose outcome is based more on their attitude than anything else; attitude is everything.
2. You are never ready for anything until you have been in it for a while. The time is different for each person and each task, but six weeks is about right.
It is not until you are actively involved in a process that you really understand what you have to do to be successful.
3. Practice does not make perfect. Practice makes permanent—but improvement will come through doing it right, repeatedly.
If you keep doing what you have always done you keep getting what you have always gotten. Learning the right way involves going the wrong way, then changing.
4. You can’t change anybody except yourself. Change you and you change everything.
We waste so much time trying to make other people into what we want them to be. The only person we can truly change is ourselves.
5. The job of a leader is to remember the 85 % Rule and recognize the difference between the last 3% and 2%.
In management and relationships, ultimate success and utter failure are on the opposite ends of the bell curve. The majority of people will be successful or fail based on their attitude, sometimes ultimate success and utter failure are separated by a very fine line.
6. Life is a pattern of choices between winning and losing. Choose to win!
Victims see all of the reasons why their lives are unhappy and why they should fail. Winners see what the problems are and decide to fight for what they want. They make the decision to win rather than losing.
7. "Damned if you do and damned if you don’t" are never equal—do what’s right!
Doing what is right requires courage and fortitude, don’t take the easy way out of doing right things because you see difficulties ahead. The rewards far outweigh the costs.
8. We do not learn from success—we celebrate it. We learn fastest from failure and embarrassment.
To a winner every failure is just a closer step toward success. Don’t be discouraged, avoidance of pain and embarrassment is the greatest motivator for changes.
9. I can’t please anyone if I have not pleased me.
Trying to please everyone else has two problems. 1. It doesn’t work. 2. You’re not happy doing it. Please you and the world will share your happiness.
10. Never violate the rule of Ego.
There is a subtle but significant difference between ego and self-esteem. Self-esteem is a practical and honest assessment of your qualities and abilities. Ego is a denial of both.
11. Puppy breath does not smell good to everyone. Not everyone likes popcorn. Not everyone likes banana pudding. Good, there’s more for me.
I believe that the differences between people are what made this country great. I’m not like anyone I know and I don’t want to be; I celebrate those things I like and I’m tolerant of those with different tastes.
12. Not everyone can or wants to play in our sandbox.
Everyone has their own way of viewing the world, no matter how irrelevant I consider it. I prefer to find folks that think like I do and celebrate them to trying to change the world to fit my thoughts.
13. The things that are important to me only have to be important to me.
Not everyone has the same passions that I do, what a boring world it would be if they did. I am the steward for things that few others see value in, that’s okay because I believe these things are important.
14. Success if finding someone who wants what you’re selling.
If you know who and what you are, and you are true to that, then someone who likes who and what you are will find you. If you don’t know who or what you are, how can anyone else be sure?
15. Be a lightening bug.
When you figure out whom and what you are and decide to be true to that, the first great step toward happiness has been taken. Be it, without fanfare or hubbub and someone like you will find you.
16. Love is saying you’re sorry and meaning it.
Loving means opening yourself to the potential for hurt. It is sort of like dancing, until you and your partner practice the moves – someone is going to get their toes stepped on. Even when you have been dancing together for years, someone can make a misstep. It is the same way with love.
17. If you can’t shoot your own dog, get out of the business.
Setting expectations is easy; enforcing them is what is hard. But if expectations are not enforced you don’t have expectations – you have suggestions. If you are going to lead, lead.
18. A "spincterectomy" is required every couple of years.
I have found I attract two kinds of people, very strong and competent folks that are fun to be around and those that want me to fix them. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference, so every couple of years I have to re-evaluate some folks and move them out of my life, they become poisonous.
19. Changing opinion is like playing on the merry-go-round.
Most people hate change, even when it is good for them. The best way to get the merry go round moving is to have help; the best way to change opinions is to have help. Wasn’t that simple?
20. Don’t confuse activity with accomplishment.
It is easy to become ingrained with immediate gratification. Some folks use activity as a disguise. They are in motion, they look busy - but they don’t accomplish anything.
21. Your success is not because you are that good; it’s because everyone else really is that bad.
Most folks are afraid of success or unwilling to do what is necessary to have success. They are perfectly willing to let you take the lead; of course they will usually throw things at you when you pass them.
22. Never give to Malice what Stupidity should own.
Meanness is an acquired skill, most misunderstandings are just that – misunderstandings. Most folks don't set out to attack; we just perceive it as an attack because we’re not effectively communicating.
23. You have to believe in magic.
Some folks choose to believe the world is out to sabotage them. Example: They see only that their new car was wrecked; they don’t see that no one was hurt. When you believe in serendipity, you will find the world is a better place.
24. Random Acts of Kindness.
This is the greatest gift that we can give someone; when you do something nice and have no expectation of reward or even acknowledgement, you become magical—and it's fun.
25. The most powerful thing in the world is our belief system. I think I’ll believe in Peter Pan and Fairy Dust and have fun today.
Too often we spend our time trying to figure out what we believe. I think most of us already know what we believe; we’re just not sure that it is acceptable. Trust me; there are a lot of folks that think just like us. We have to be true to our beliefs and trust our knowing – and we have to focus on having fun.
26. Will Power is crap—"Want Power" is what is important in life.
When I want something enough I’ll figure a way to get it. "Willing it" doesn’t work and wishing for it is a waste of time. I have to want it and I have to want it enough to do what is necessary to have it. The world is not a fair place and it doesn’t owe me anything except the chance to be successful. I define my own success and failure by how much I want to be successful.
27. Living is like sharpening a knife.
When sharpening a knife, you rub it against something harder than it is. It works the same with people. Most real success is found at the top of a mountain of failure, we have to learn what not to do. Learning that is where character comes from.
To schedule Bob Anderson for a
Radio or TV interview, or a Book Signing
Contact:
Susan Drews, Public Relations Director
Toll Free: 888-862-6344
Email: SusanPR@BackToBasicsInternational.com
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