When someone asks me how I did last year I tell him or her that they are asking the wrong question. They should be asking, What did you chose to pay attention to last year? and How much effort did you put forth last year? The choice of what I paid attention to is the quantum question and it has to do with probabilities. The effort aspect is the Newtonian or classical physics question and has to do with pushes and pulls, causes and effects, Newtons third law, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Lets look more closely starting with the quantum perspective.
Quantum physics is the study of the incredibly small. While Newtonian physics describes the orbit of the planets or the energy transformations in a game of pool, quantum physics describes the movement and energy of electrons around a nucleus of the atom and other subatomic actions. The natural laws of physics do not apply on the scale of the small. One of the most classical experiments done in this area is called the Young Double Slit Experiment.
Scientists randomly shot a particle at a screen with a barrier that had a single slit on its face. They expected to see a pattern on the back screen where the particles hit. Thats exactly what they saw, a vertical line pattern just behind the vertical slit. That is how they expected the particles to act.
Now let's look at waves. A wave of light for example would strike the single slit barrier and hit the back wall with most of the intensity directly behind the slit as expected, much like the particles reacted. But when we add the second slit something strange happens.
The wave patterns interfered with each other. When the top of one wave hit the bottom of another they cancelled each other out leaving a dark space on the screen. So now there is an interference pattern on the back wall. The places where the tops meet have the highest intensity and are bright and where they cancel there is a dark band representing nothing.
With matter there are two bands of hits and with waves there are interference patterns with multiple bands. Lets go Quantum!
An electron is matter on the small scale. Scientists fired a stream through one slit and it behaved like a particle sending a vertical band behind the single slit. When they shot an electron stream through two slits they expected it to leave two bands but instead what they saw was an interference pattern like the wave.
The pieces of matter, particles, behaved like a wave. They thought that maybe they just interfered with each other so they decided to shoot the electrons through the slits one at a time. The results were the same. They concluded that a single electron leaves as a particle, becomes a wave of potentials, goes through both slits and interferes with itself.
There are mathematical calculations that suggest that the particle goes through one slit, or the other, or both, or none. All of these potentials exist at the same time. They are super positioned with each other. Physicists were intrigued so they decided to observe which slit the electron actually went through by placing a measuring device by the slits. The quantum world is far more mysterious then they imagined. When they observed, the electron went back to behaving like a particle by producing two bands right behind the two slits as opposed to the interference pattern when it was not observed.
The very act of observing or measuring meant it only went through one and not both. It was as if the electron was aware that it was being measured. The observer collapsed the wave function simply by looking. So what is matter, a particle or a wave?
Even today this continues to stump scientist. The act of observation changes what is being observed. This is referred to as the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. What does this mean to you?
It means that what you observe changes. The quantum world states that we live in a world of multiple possibilities. Your world doesn't become real until you observe, until you make a choice, then all other possibilities collapse and what remains, based on your choice, is your reality.
The German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, (October 1854-August 1900), said this when he stated,
``There are no facts, only interpretations.'' Albert Einstein said, ``Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.'' Pablo Picasso stated, ``Everything you can imagine is real.'' And Thomas Carlyle said, ``That block of granite that was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak, became a stepping stone in the pathway of the strong.''
It's all a matter of choice. There is no reality until you choose. You can choose to pay attention to a down marketplace or one with tremendous opportunity. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, ``People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character.''
Tough love for sure. What's it all mean? It means that it is up to you to be responsible for what you pay attention to. There is no truth until you observe and make a decision on where you place your attention and that is what will be real for you. Henry Ford said, ``Dont find fault. Find a remedy.''
However, keep in mind, it appears to be easier to go victim, find fault and blame the market, or your company, or the other C-level employees or the workforce, or India and China. It appears to be much easier to place blame outside of you then to internalize and live my third core principle, ``I am the source of all that I experience.''
The law of the quantum does not apply to the big aspects of your life. That's where you defer to the determinism of the classical physics of cause and effect. For every action, your efforts of prospecting for example, there is a reaction, the setting of appointments, presentations and sales. So the big is a direct relationship of numbers. If you do enough of the right actions you will have a very high probability of a predicted result. And if you measure the numbers you will act differently then if you don't.
Your thoughts however, are in the realm of the quantum. A thought is a transformation from an electrical signal to a chemical discharge. The area between nerve cells (axons and dendrites) is so small it is governed by the quantum principles. So you must observe both levels of physics. The quantum tells us that there is no reality, only multiple potentials and possibilities, until you chose and then there is only your choice.
So, what will you measure this year? What will you pay attention to? Will you focus on how tired you are or how good it feels to get up early and exercise? Will you pay attention to how hard it is to prospect or to how great it is to solve your client's problems? Will you pay attention to how busy you are or will you make the time to have in-person client visits? Will you focus on the Dow dropping another 100 points, the housing market's continuing decline, or the great opportunities that are available for you to have a significant impact in the lives of others?
It's all out there in waves of possibilities ready to collapse into your reality. It's up to you. What do you choose for 2008?
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