Lessons in human behaviour.
😀 An inspiring story about a 13 year old boy, lions and a TED Talk.
Welcome to the 149th consecutive edition of the newsletter.
Here’s a story I love and five ideas worth stealing from it.
Enjoy!
*****
Get 5 new ideas every Sunday that will help you transform yourself and your life.
Richard Turere was a 13-year old boy who lived on his family’s farm in Kenya.
The farm was located on the edge of Nairobi National Park, which has the highest density of lions in the world.
Richard’s job was to herd the family cattle and keep them safe from predators, most notably, the lions.
But each month the family would lose a considerable number of cows, sheep and goats.
This was costly to the family business, so Richard set out to solve the problem.
His first idea was to use fire as a way to scare the lions away, but that had no effect.
Next, he tried scarecrows, but that only worked for a day or so until the lions figured out they posed no danger.
One night he noticed when he walked around the property with a flashlight, no lions attacked.
He came to the realization that lions were afraid of moving light and this gave him an idea.
Using an old car battery, a signal indicator from a motorcycle, some light bulbs and a switch, he set up a circuit so that the bulbs would flash at different times during the night making it appear the lights were moving.
Over the next two years with Richard’s solution in place, not a signal animal on the farm had been killed via a predator attack.
Richard called his solution Lion Lights. Today, he is a 23 year old millionaire with an inspiring TED Talk on his resume.
*****
Let’s dig a little deeper to uncover 5 lessons about human behaviour that you might not have thought about before.
Lesson #1 — Decide to solve your own problem.
The tendency for most is to wait for someone to come along and solve their problem. As a result many spend a lifetime waiting for a saviour who never appears. The alternative is to fix your problem yourself.
Why this matters. Every problem you have is an opportunity to create an original solution that will solve your problem once and for all. And solutions we create for ourselves are much easier to maintain and sustain long-term.
An example from my life — I spent 53 years trying to lose weight using other people’s programs. In 2019 I decided to create my own solution. I designed 10 simple essential habits that I did every single day and it transformed my body. I’m still rocking my weight loss success 4 years later.
The bottom line — Take control of your life by looking to solve your own problems.
Lesson #2 — Start with your first best guess.
Getting started is hard. Especially with problems that have dogged us for years. The secret is to start with the first plausible idea you have.
Why this matters — The first idea, even if it’s ridiculous, creates momentum that you can build off of. Richard started with fire. That led to scarecrows, which led to flashlights. He would not have stumbled upon flashlights had he not started with fire.
The bottom line — You must stumble so you can stumble upon.
Lesson #3 - Pay attention.
When you start taking action, pay close attention to the results you are generating.
Why this matters — Success is sneaky. It often reveals itself in subtle ways. We have to be on the lookout for the unexpected.
An example from my life — I mentioned in previous newsletters that I suffer from something called “Restless Leg Syndrome.” When I go to bed my legs get restless. When that happens I have to get up and walk around. Most nights I have to do this 3 to 5 times. At present the cause and cure are unknown. I have noticed that my legs have not been bothering me of late. This has coincided with something unrelated — a new 10 minute lower body stretch program I have put in place. I’m going to continue with my new stretch protocol and observe how my legs react so I can determine if there is a correlation.
The bottom line — Become a keen observer of your life so you can capture the unexpected.
Lesson #4 — Build a simple prototype.
When you come up with a solution, find the simplest and cheapest way to bring it to life.
Why it matters — Momentum. Many an idea has died a slow painful death because people were unwilling or unable to create an “ugly baby” to validate their idea. Richard pieced together a solution with parts he obtained in his village so he could immediately validate his.
Famous example — Nike started making soles for shoes using a waffle iron and then selling those shoes out of the truck of a car at track meets. It’s hard to believe a multibillion dollar company started with a waffle iron.
Bottom line — Master the art of prototyping so you can bring your ideas to life quickly and cheaply.
Lesson #5 — Share your solution with others.
If you have a problem, it’a a mathematical certainty that others also suffer from the same problem.
Why it matters — A high percentage of fortunes are made by people who solved their own problem and then sold that solution. In fact, most of what you own was the result of someone solving their own problem.
Bottom line — Solving your own problem and then sharing/selling that solution is the best way to create extra income. And you never know. It might turn into something highly lucrative. Richard is a millionaire at 23 because he solved his most pressing problem and sold his solution so others could do the same.
Thank you for reading my friend.
To transforming your body and life,
Did you know?
I do premium one-on-one coaching for those looking to lose at least 10% of unwanted body weight.
I have lost 23% of unwanted Dean and it has transformed my entire life.
Imagine how your life would change if you could lose 5%, 10% or more of unwanted you.
Let’s book a time to chat.
To learn more start here.