Life Lessons from the Jungle

CHAPTER 1 A DIFFERENT KIND OF SEMINAR “Look at this sign! Can you believe it?” grumbled Lon, a tall and somewhat disheveled man with arms and legs that seemed too long for his body. The sign read: Life-Changing Seminar Today Only! Please— Leave Closed Minds at the Door! “Well,” continued Lon, “I guess this is the place. The boss told us to be here, so, here’s where we have to waste an entire day listening to some know-it-all tell us what we’re doing wrong in our lives.” Looking at him from the corner of her eye, Petra, a short, energetic woman with bright red hair and brilliant green eyes, grimaced. “Did you happen to notice the sign says to leave closed minds at the door? Could you, for once, approach something from a perspective other than negative? Man, I’ve had enough of your negativity. Find someone else to hang with today. I’ll see you at the office tomorrow! I, for one, plan to enjoy this meeting!” With that, Petra strode into the meeting room off the opulent hotel lobby, eager to begin the day. Scratching his head, Lon watched her leave. “Women,” Lon mumbled. “Go figure. Well, guess I’ll just find myself a seat in the back of the room, maybe get some shuteye…won’t be a total waste of my time that way.” As Lon entered the room, he noticed something strange. Instead of the cool air conditioning to which he was accustomed, the air seemed very humid. Lush, green foliage grew in abundance, with large trees and other vegetation. Lon listened in astonishment to chirping, grunting, and screeching sounds. A sudden roar made him jump in alarm. Startled, he whirled about. Lon could no longer see the entrance to the room. (from page 20) “Loki, Loki, calm yourself,” said Leader. “This seminar is meant to help you discover the best way to make decisions effectively and overcome the obstacles that get in the way to solving problems.” He went on, “If you believe something is impossible, it becomes impossible. It is all in your perception of things, the way you see things. “When you take a negative approach, and look only at the negative, that is what you will likely find. Instead, believe in yourself, have an open mind and follow the guidelines we’re discussing today. You can overcome the obstacles and complete your assignment.” (from page 42) “Well, it was easy,” responded Leo. “It just made sense to me. However, Leader, before we go on, there’s something I want to say. When we talked earlier about understanding the true problem, I meant to emphasize that you’ve got to understand not only the problem but the scope of the problem as well. I think that is as important as figuring out the problem in the first place. What good does it do only knowing part of the problem? “You could argue that sometimes a poor decision is better than no decision. But if asking a few more questions to better understand the situation means the difference between a poor decision and a better one, it only makes sense to gather as much information as possible.” Shaking his head, Leo continued, “Decisions aren’t always so easy to make. The situations we’ve been discussing have been some fine examples. On a daily basis, though, problems arise that have far-reaching consequences, some I cannot even begin to foresee. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ended up with a regular hornet’s nest on my hands because I didn’t have enough information!” “That’s why,” said Leo, “for me anyway, it’s better if I have a complete picture. It’s frustrating, sometimes, for those who come to me for help, but I’ve found I make better decisions when I have adequate information.” (from page 52) “I believe we all agree that there is still risk involved in making decisions,” continued Leader. “One can never anticipate all possible consequences to an action. All an individual truly controls is what one thinks, feels, says, and does. “As Leo pointed out, people can, and do, have an impact on even the best of plans. Because control passes from you once you take action, and becomes available for others to absorb and react to, the wild card Leo mentions is indeed an interesting mix in the process. Once you take action, you no longer have control, but you do own the consequences of your action.” Leader went on, “You can see why it is so very important to take the steps we’ve discussed in making decisions. Once you’ve determined a course, based on as much information as you can reasonably gather, considered pros and cons, and decided you can live with whatever consequences arise, well, as we said, it’s time to create a plan and take action.” “Without looking back, eh, Leader?” asked Leo? “No regrets?” “Regret is a waste of time, don’t you think, Leo?” asked Georgia. “I mean, once an action is taken, and you accept responsibility for the consequences, whatever they might be, then the only reason I can see for looking back is to decide what I learned as a result of the experience.” “Well said, Georgia,” responded Leader.