Although it is often necessary to talk about specific ideas and procedures, self improvement must be approached as a whole; ideas, procedures, intellectual processes and concepts are all interrelated.

More generally, although in your quest for improvement you will stumble upon many independent content areas, you must come to see that all those topics are interwoven. In a very real sense, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

One of the most important aspects of self improvement is the effort to connect ideas and procedures from different topics to your life.

The essential question

One essential thing that everyone wants to learn these days is this: how to find peace and be happy. The essential answer to that question: start from where you are.

“I don’t know if I even have an aura, man. I just try to win.” – Tiger Woods

Even though I have never played any golf – except virtually, I always had a particular interest in it. And because of that, lately I’ve started to notice connections between various golfing tips and self improvement.

The winning position

What separates winning from finishing behind the winner? Well, first of all, in order to win you must put yourself in a winning position. How to get there? It’s simple, just follow some common sense (often ignored) rules.

The first rule: play within yourself

In golf, this means that you shouldn’t attempt any shots that you have not practiced many times beforehand. In both life and golf, it means playing with your strength and not your weakness.

As an example, if you are a chef who is very good as cooking deserts but weak at main dishes, don’t try to win a contest on main dishes – at least not until you have exercised the required skill plenty of times.

The second rule: play the game, not the opponent

This is where many get caught up in the moment and lose all their winning chances. Golfers who play their opponents try to keep up with them in driving distance, hitting clubs that they cannot get to the green, trying to shoot shapes that don’t fit their stroke pattern and a host of other things.

If you want to be a winner in life, focus on the challenges at hand and ignore the pace at which the others advance. You want to achieve success for you, not for them.

The third rule: prepare yourself every time, not just once

For a golfer, this means charting the course and developing a strategy even if he has played it many times before.
In life – and in golf, the best solution to avoid the winning spot is to get lazy. Lazy people tend to face challenges unprepared just because they’ve been through them before. The results that follow this strategy are not going to get anyone too close to the winning position.

As a winner, you must always walk the extra mile and prepare a fresh strategy for every situation that appears, even if you’ve faced it before.

The fourth rule: winners see things happening in a positive manner

Players that don’t win see negative images instead. The ones who rarely – if ever, win, tend to look at a situation from this angle: “don’t hit it to the right, there’s water over there.” Winners simply recognize that there is a problem down the right side and say “ok, let’s keep it down the left side.”

Pay attention to the solution, not to the problem itself.

In the end, like the picture below beautifully suggests,

Most parents believe children spend too much time online. They credit the Internet with helping kids understand current events, express their creativity and connect with people with similar interests. But at the same time they are worried that the time spent online keeps their children from exercising, enjoying the outdoors or socializing in the “real” world.

But it’s not just the kids who are affected.

The Internet can be a valuable – and addictive – resource for education, fun, networking and research, but how much is too much? Why can’t some people stop? Do they need to stop? Is the cyberspace damaging offline social life and communication skills?

The answers to the above questions are both “bright and dark,” so to speak.

What makes the internet a potential danger for the psyche?

There is one psychological principle that is universally valid: the integration principle. In a nutshell, the integration principle means fitting together and balancing the various elements of the psyche to form a complete, harmonious whole.

A healthy psyche can be described using words that imply union, integration and wholeness – assimilation, insight, self actualization, while a faulty one is described with terms that connote division and fragmentation – repression, dissociation, splitting.

What does the integration principle have to do with the internet and the personality of an individual? Well, most of the damage that appears as a result of an internet “abuse” is because the individual has clearly separated his online life from his offline life. The two worlds, the cyberspace and the “real” world, are seen as two worlds apart. What terms can be used to describe the phenomena? Splitting and dissociation: terms that describe a faulty psyche. So if one spends so much time in two worlds that he sees as completely different, it’s not too hard to see why it is dangerous.

The clear dissociation between the two environments is the first thing that can turn the internet into a dangerous place.

Second is the compartmentalization of one’s interests and identifications. There are plenty of different groups and activities online and with each specializing in a particular topic or activity, people can easily join a handful of them. In the modern society we live in, we juggle dozens of different tasks, hobbies and social roles. Cyberspace provides places for us to perch all our identifications – places separate from each other, each with people who know little or nothing about our other perches. In the offline world all these identifications are overlapped and connected; our daily tasks, the people we engage, the groups we belong to: these things are known by many of our friends and neighbors.

However, this split between the offline living and the Cyberspace is not a bad thing in itself. Hanging out online can be a healthy means of setting aside the stresses of the face-to-face day, and the online groups with specialized interests offer the opportunity to focus on that particular aspect of your identity.

“Dissociation can be an efficient way to manage the complexities of one’s lifestyle and identity, especially when social roles are not easily compatible with each other. The president of the corporation may need to keep his participation in the “I Dream of Jeannie” newsgroup separate from his business life. In more precarious situations, an aspect of one’s identity is sensitive, vulnerable, or possibly harmful to oneself or others. It may be necessary to keep it guarded within a specific online or offline location until helpful conditions allow it to be emerge safely.” – John Suler, The Psychology of Cyberspace

Synergy

The integration of online and offline living is a generally a very good idea. Like commerce, integration creates synergy. It leads to development and prosperity. With integration, both sides of the trade are enriched by the exchange. If the goal of life is to “know thyself,” as Socrates suggested, then it must entail knowing how the various elements of thyself fit together to create that Big Self that is you.

Internet addiction

An interesting fact to know is that any kind of addiction entails an isolating and guarding of the compulsive activity against all other aspects of one’s life. Overcoming the addiction means releasing and mastering the needs and anxieties that have been locked into the habit, it means bringing the isolated self back to the mainstream of one’s identity.

The key to cure internet addiction and its side effects: integration.

Six steps to merge cyberspace with the offline world

1. Discuss offline life with online friends. Imaginative role playing and anonymous exchanges with people online can be perfectly fine activities, but if an individual wants to deepen and enrich his relationships with online companions, he should consider letting them know about his in-person life: family, friends, home, hobbies, work. This will create a much better sense of who he is in the minds of his online companions. They might even be able to give him some new insights into how his offline identity compares to how he presents himself online. Without knowing it, he might have dissociated some aspect of his cyberspace self from his in-person self; online companions can help him see that.
2. Discuss online life with offline friends. If an individual lets friends and family know about his online activities this may allow them to see parts of identity that he did not expressed in-person. They can offer insightful feedback on his lifestyle and companions. More, when communicating only with typed text, it’s easy to misread or even distort the personality and intentions of people who he meets. Offline friends and family can offer some perspective.
3. Meeting with online friends in person. As relationships evolve on the internet, people eventually want to talk on the phone and meet in person. A very healthy and natural progression that can deepen and strengthen a relationship. It also offers the chance to realize the misconceptions that may have developed online about one another.
4. Meeting with offline friends online. By encouraging friends, family and colleagues to connect with him in cyberspace, a person is opening a different channel of communication with them. He may discover something new about the interests and personality of his friends –and vice-versa.
5. Taking online behavior offline. On the internet, an individual may be experimenting with new ways to express himself, he may be developing new behaviors and aspects of his identity. If he introduces them into the offline word – into the lifestyle and relationships, he may better understand those behaviors and understand why he was unable to develop them in the face to face environment.
6. Taking offline behavior online. Translating an aspect of one’s identity from one realm to another often strengthens it. You are testing it, refining it, in a new environment. Cyberspace gives an individual the opportunity to try out his usual face to face behaviors and methods of self expression in new situations, with new people.

The caveat of integration

Porting issues from one environment to another can be helpful, even therapeutic, but there is also the danger that some aspects of a person’s identity may feel shameful and result in rejection from other people if taken in another realm.

The fix for the caveat…

… consists in understanding that a correct psychological integration involves self-understanding and personal growth, two things which involve working through the problematic aspects of one’s identity and not simply acting out on them.

Setting goals is an important step towards success, but there is one logical step that comes before. That step consists in finding out what is your current position.

Part of knowing where you are consists in knowing where your beliefs and faith lie. This post is the second in that direction (the first one is about Humanism) and covers a movement that is often misunderstood, criticized and condemned for its beliefs and values. However, it still manages to fascinate an increasing number of people from all around the world.

The New Age movement

New Age is the term commonly used to designate the broad movement of late 20th century and contemporary Western culture, characterized by an eclectic and individual approach to spiritual exploration. Self-spirituality, New spirituality, and Mind-body-spirit are other names sometimes used to refer to it.

New Age teachings became popular during the 1970′s as a reaction against what some perceived as the failure of Christianity and the failure of Secular Humanism to provide spiritual and ethical guidance for the future. Its roots are traceable to many sources: Astrology, Channeling, Hinduism, Gnostic traditions, Spiritualism, Taoism, Theosophy, Wicca and other Neo-pagan traditions.

The modern New Age movement started in England in the 1960′s where many of its sources were well established.

Because there is no centralized hierarchy, doctrine or membership there are no formal or definitive definitions for the New Age movement. The movement can be described as a compilation of metaphysical, Eastern-influenced thought systems that unite theology, nature, and philosophy.

The main phrases that reveal the focal point of New Age thought are “feel-goodism”, “moral relativism” (situational ethics) and “pluralism” (universal tolerance).

The phrase “New Age” refers to

“I believe the true road to preeminent success in any line is to make yourself master in that line. I have no faith in the policy of scattering one’s resources, and in my experience I have rarely if ever met a man who achieved preeminence in money making.. certainly never one in manufacturing.. who was interested in many concerns.” – Andrew Carnegie

Let’s begin by taking a look at …what a CEO does.

The CEO of a company is the senior manager responsible for overseeing the activities of the entire company. The CEO usually holds a position on the Board of Directors and may also hold the title of president.

What are the responsibilities of the CEO? Well, pretty much everything that you can think of, especially in a startup. The CEO is responsible for the success or failure of a company. Operations, marketing, strategy, financing, creation of company culture, human resources, hiring, firing, compliance with safety regulations, sales, PR, etc.—it all falls on the CEO’s shoulders.

The CEO’s duties are what he actually does himself, duties are responsibilities that aren’t delegated – creating culture, building the senior management team, financing road shows.

However, the main and most important duty a CEO has is to set a vision and a strategy for the company.

Being at the top of an organization is one of the most rewarding things that you can do in life, and many of us have dreamed – and still dream, of becoming a CEO.

At the present moment – 2007, generalist CEO’s are the most common ones, but the years to come will force the generalist CEO to give way to the specialist, whether that’s a global networker of someone with a knack for assembling all-star teams.

In the CEO world, these are the five faces that will be in the greatest demand in the coming years:

1. The Brain. Whether they’re algorithm geniuses, coding prodigies, or merely credentialed scientists or designers, CEOs in touch with their inner geeks will be a sought-after breed. As global competition intensifies the pressure for top-line growth, innovators-in-chief will be more clued in to the next breakthrough business. Plus, their expertise will help them inspire engineering and research and development teams.
2. The Ambassador. A two-year stint in London may have counted as enough international experience in the past, but that won’t be the case much longer. More and more CEO specs call for explicit business experience in emerging markets and the boards are looking for CEOs with passports showing frequent visits to China, India, Russia, Brazil and Dubai. The Ambassador CEO won’t just be familiar with these areas, but will have access to local governments, ruling families and business tycoons.
3. The Dealmaker. The dealmaking specialists will also be in heavy demand in the years to come. Negotiation is a core competence for life, not merely an important skill to be wheeled out for special occasions.
4. The Conductor. As companies form alliances with outsiders and turn to networks of innovators for idea to put into practice, corporations’ walls will get more permeable. Orchestra conductors will be skilled in getting everyone to play in the same key.
5. The Casting Agent. If you think “people are our greatest asset” is overused today, just wait. As the boomers begin retiring en masse, the talent war is only going to worsen. CEOs who can retain the best people and deploy them adeptly will be regarded as hot commodities.

At the beginning of the article, when you were reading the responsibilities of a CEO, did you notice the similarity between them and your life? That means these skills aren’t useful only for CEOs but can be used to enhance your life as well. Wherever you’re heading, perfecting one of these skills will get you there.

You’ve always been a CEO

Since you were born, you’ve been CEO for the biggest and most wonderful organization of all: you. That is the reason why guidelines from the business environment can easily be applied to improve yourself. And that is why improving one of the qualities mentioned above will produce wonderful results in your future.

In business – as in life, 80% of success is obtained by improving, while proving accounts for only 20%; there’s no wonder why the business environment contains so many lessons on self improvement.