During the very short week between Christmas and New Years, I traveled to the Philadelphia area to spend the day with the entire headquarters staff of a valuable client. It was a nice break during a very hectic schedule. It also gave me the opportunity to ponder the coming year in light of the many challenges we face today. It led me to a major decision.
Everyone’s heard about the K.I.S.S. Strategy and most are well aware of the fact that the letters stand for “Keep It Simple, Stupid!” I’ve always felt uncomfortable using the term “stupid” for the simple fact that it contradicts the nature of the strategy. I prefer to use the words “Keep It Seriously Simple,” and that’s what I plan to do during the coming year. It might very well be the closest thing to a New Year’s Resolution I’ve ever developed.
Consider the fact that life is actually very simple. WE make it difficult and complicated. Think about the following facts.
- There are only three basic colors … and yet DaVinci, Dali, Van Gogh, Warhol, Picasso, Monet, Rembrandt and so many others created masterpieces with them.
- There are only seven basic musical notes … and yet Beethoven, Bach, Brahmns, Handel, Mozart, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Gershwin, the Beatles, and many more composers used them to create beautiful music which will live forever.
- There are 10 basic digits … and yet Newton, Archimedes, Euclid, Einstein, Hawking, and many others used them to discover hidden mysteries that will impact us forever.
- There are a mere 26 letters in the alphabet … and yet Tolstoy, Shakespeare, Hemingway, Twain, Mailer, Wilde, Kipling, Woolf, Poe, King, Vonnegut, Emerson, Clancy, Rowling , Dr. Suess, and many others used them to unleash literary masterpieces which educated and entertained the world.
It’s quite obvious that we have been provided with the powerful basics to impact the world. Much has been and can be done with those basic tools.
What are we doing with them to make our lives extraordinary?
How are we impacting the world around us through their use? I personally plan to focus much more on the basics this year. Would you benefit by doing the same? Think about it!
About Harry K. Jones
Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.