peterxu's Blog

The US Patent office has granted more than six million patents since 1790. During the late 18th century the number of inventors in America started outpacing many other countries. In the second half of the 19th century, inventors like Thomas Alva Edison led by example. The result was that very soon American inventors became a potent force in fuelling rapid industrial growth.

From phonograms to computers, American inventors have provided the world with several technological breakthroughs that have changed the way people live.

The list of American inventors is a long one and it continues to grow. So it is difficult to name the best inventors, as every inventor has in one way or the other left an impact on society. The Wright brothers (Orville and Wilbur) invented the airplane, which is considered the most important invention of 20th century. Both brothers were from Ohio.

Another Ohio-based inventor was Charles Martin Hall, who invented the process of manufacturing aluminum with the electrolytic method. If we look around there will be hardly any production process in which aluminum is not used. Henry Ford is another famous American inventor. His work revolutionized the whole automobile industry. Today automobiles are an inherent part of our everyday life and no society can survive without them.

Jonas Salk is another famous American inventor. He is known for inventing the polio vaccine, and his groundbreaking findings on influenza and other infectious diseases. No talk about famous American inventors can considered to be complete without Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone in 1876 at the age of 29, and Thomas Alva Edison, whose list of inventions exceed more than 1,000. Much has written about them, but there are many American inventors who invented significant things ranging from sewing machines to computers and modern telecommunication technology. They remain unsung though they did a great service to the mankind.

Inventors provides detailed information on Inventors, American Inventors, African American Inventors, Famous Inventors and more. Inventors is affiliated with New Computer Inventions.

This is an invaluable distinction for the new revolutionary, the visionary, who is not focused on fighting over scarce resources, but looking to create the world she envisions.

ORIENTATION:

Compromise - 1. Giving up something important to gain something of higher value, yet feeling like you lost. 2. Choosing between two values in a way that wounds your spirit, drains your power and limits your vision. 3. Choosing from guilt, from fear or from a position.

Sacrifice - Giving up something important to gain something of higher value, and feeling like you won. 2. Choosing between two values in a way that breathes life into your spirit, builds your power and expands your vision. 3. Choosing from honor, from vision or from a stand.

EXAMPLE:

Greg, an American businessman, was repeatedly asked by his friend, Robyn, to donate money to her cause of helping to educate children in third world countries.

When he would say no, hed feel a sense of guilt, and then mask it with excuses that helped him feel better. Im building a business and providing jobs to people, hed tell himself.

When he would say yes, hed feel a sense of guilt or self-betrayal for spending money that he really wanted to invest in his business. Shes my friend, hed tell himself.

Gregs modus operandi was compromise. When he faced conflicts between his values, hed compromise one way or another. Hed been taught all his life that you have to compromise in relationships. Compromise was preached as the way to succeed in marriage, politics and business relationships.

Yet, over time, Greg came to know himself on a subconscious level as a compromiser and a coward. Every time there was a threat to his values or his vision, hed compromise his values and his vision. Hed never learned any other way.

Then one day, Greg registered himself in a high-level training event for visionaries. Inside that event, he came face to face with the compromises hed been making all his life. He became present to the sense of quiet desperation hed come to feel in life, the subtle suffering. At that event he took a stand for himself, his values and his vision. It was a simple, yet powerful action that had the affect of reawakening him to life.

At that event he came to know himself as he never had before, as hed always wanted to know himself. For the first time in his life, he knew himself at a deep level, not as one who compromises in the face of conflict, but as one who stands.

And from the stands he began taking in his life, he came to see a vision worthy of his life, a vision that called him to continually stand from then on, day in and day out, for what was most important to him.

Compromise became the way of the past.

When Robyn approached Greg for money after his visionary training, she witnessed a new man. When he said, No, this time, he did it from a stand for his values and his vision. He said no in order to say yes to his business mission. His sense of honor was palpable and inspiring.

He sacrificed his value of contribution and what his friend thought of him for something greater in that moment: his business, his vision, his commitment to people in his life, etc.

Later, when Robyn approached Greg about a donating to a project that deeply inspired him, he said yes. Again, he said yes from a place of power. Robyn experienced Gregs contribution as a true gift, a conscious choice that was honoring his value of contribution.

He sacrificed what he could have spent that money for a greater value to him in that moment: making a difference and supporting his friend.

Greg no longer compromised his soul, his spirit, his power or his vision when making choices. Sure, he would make the same choices, but he experienced his choices differently, in a way that did not compromise his spirit, his power, his honor or his vision. Instead he learned how sacrifice could honor his spirit, build his power and further his vision.

Gregs growing power as a visionary who refused to compromise was evident to everyone in his life. They came to watch him, revere him and take note of what he was committed to. The way he lived his life, true to his values and his vision, inspired those around him to do the same.

LOOKING CLOSER:

In reaction to a world that pulls on us from all directions, we learn to consciously form a safe position for psychological protection. Throughout our life, people seek to get us to follow their values, and judge us when we dont. So we form a position from which were protected from their judgments. For example, Greg could have formed a position that included a judgment about Robyn or people like Robyn. From that position, he wouldnt have had to take her seriously.

Greg, however, prided himself in being a good, honest man who consciously tried not to live in judgment of others. Hed learned all his life that you shouldnt judge, and you should compromise. Yet his policy of compromise little by little left him more and more powerless to achieve his values and his vision. Greg at first was good, yet his spirit suffered, because he fell short of greatness.

When Greg put himself through a high-level visionary training program, he learned that his greatest natural value was his vision force, or his conscious power to be continuously guided by his own vision, one that continually called him to greatness. His vision force was the value that gave him the power and strength to be true to all of his other values and to his vision. When he made compromise choices, his vision force was compromised.

VISIONARY ADVANTAGE:

Visionaries have the power to create a new world, a new reality--not by any fantastical means, but by natural, practical means. Creating the world you envision is not a matter of compromising; its not a matter of selling your soul. In fact, simple strategies for being, thinking, acting and as a visionary--strategies that do not include compromise--gives you untold power.

VISIONARY QUOTE:

Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark.... Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours. -Ayn Rand

VISIONARY CHALLENGE:

Where does compromise show up in your life In what circumstances do you feel compromise is necessary or justified Are you open to looking for methods of resolving inner and outer conflicts that do not involve compromise If so, maybe you are ready to be one of the great visionaries this world so desperately needs. You could be the one to take a stand and recreate your family, your community, your company, your country or humanity itself.

VISIONARY TRAINING:

Its easy to see that positions are quite powerless. But where can we get training in taking a stand, and living from it Where can we get the kind of training that would have us living daily as powerful visionaries in life

Michael Skye, founder and CEO of VisionForce.com, works with a new breed of impassioned change agents around the world, who are giving their lives to stand for all of humanity. The Visionary Mind Shifts are available free at http://www.VisionForce.com/course

What is Thinking Out of the Box

Thinking out of the box is the mode of thought that dares to challenge conventional wisdom, ie it dares to question beliefs so deeply held by so many that they are considered almost sacred. Thinking out the box is an all too rare quality, but when applied it can bring revolutionary leaps in human progress. Even where the existing ways really are most appropriate, an out of the box critic can actually enhance their validity by forcing their proponents to justify them.

By contrast, thinking inside the box is following convention. doing what everyone else does just because thats the way its always been done. Thinking in the box allows survival, but without innovation we cannot do much more than stand still and stagnate.

Why Think Out of the Box

Do we survive or thrive If it aint broke dont fix it runs the old adage. But evolution is based on the continued improvement of that which already works. From the very earliest forms of life that gained a foothold in a barren universe progress has come from doing things different than how theyd been done before.

A common human tendency is to seek the acceptance and approval of our peers. Another is the desire to operate within our comfort zone. The first tendency means we tend to conform to popular opinion. Perhaps we feel safer in a crowd, are afraid of possible ridicule. Perhaps we once held contrary views, but have had these stifled by societal pressure. The second tendency means we simply accept what we are told because we are too lazy to think for ourselves. Add to those the conditioning to conform, be a good citizen etc etc etc...

And by following these tendencies we can survive the various trials of life. We can get a job, make enough to live, with perhaps enough left over for a yearly vacation. Well certainly survive, but well be anonymous, and when our time on earth is finally done well leave behind nothing but the memories of a few loved ones.

By thinking out of the box we give ourselves the chance to go beyond this bare existence and begin to fulfill the true potential of our earthly incarnation. Not everyone can be a Da Vinci or Einstein, but we can all try to maximize our own particular potential. Given the most precious gift of incarnation that is surely our most basic duty.

How to Think Out of the Box

Firstly, dont get in a rut. Avoid the comfort zone. Push yourself. Accept, and actively seek out new challenges. Take chances. Avoid routines, or if you end up with one, change it for changes sake. If you usually drink coffee at breakfast, try a cup of tea instead. If you normally take route A, try route B, or C, once in a while.

Get into the habit of questioning and challenging established practice. Not all established practice is wrong, but where it is right, rising to a challenge will strengthen its claim to legitimacy.

Is there a different way of doing this/that Or rather how many different ways can you think of Allow yourself freedom to brainstorm on a frequent and regular basis. In brainstorming phase accept everything that comes into your head, dont censor yourself. The wilder the idea, the better. Of course, brainstorming needs to be followed by rationalization, but at a later time. Keep a note of all your ideas, even the initially rejected ones. You never know when they might be useful.

Thinking out of the box is hard. It uses more energy and creates more stress than simply going with flow. Very few can comfortably operate out of the box 100 of the time. If we can employ that faculty 10 of the time we are probably doing better than 90 of the population. It follows that we need to judge very carefully which situations are worth making that extra effort for. Most times its fine to drift along on auto-pilot, saving our out of the box thinking for things that matter to us most.

All we can take from this world is experience, all else is illusion. We live each moment only once, so we might as well make the most of it. And we make the most of it not by accepting, but challenging accepted ways.

Johnny Finnis is the editor of new age spirituality - exploring the idea that this life, this world, is not the totality of our existence. In fact, it might be just one small part of something much bigger, just one tiny step along an infinite journey...

It is never easy to stand out from the crowd. It can be costly to swim against the current stream of thinking and morality, But if you are called to be a leader this is what you must do. We have no choice on this matter. In various areas of life God does not give us a choice and that is not a popular teaching today, but it does happen to be true.

If you are not in a position of leadership, then may I suggest, that provided your leader is standing for strong moral and spiritual principles, and I am writing from a specifically Christian viewpoint, then stand by and alongside those who stand for Jesus Christ

Over the years all my teaching and writing has been founded and grounded from the Scriptures of the old and new Testament, and that is my reason for asking you to turn to Acts Chapter 21 to see the spiritual strength of this anointed man of God, Paul. Certain disciples of Jesus Christ had sought to influence Paul to seek an easier path, when he had been warned of trouble lying in wait for him back in Jerusalem, and these disciples of Jesus Christ in Caesarea were persuaded that God was in this cautionary prophetic warning as to what Paul is about to face when he returned to Jerusalem.

They agreed to stand by, and alongside Paul, and support and encourage this man who is so determined to remain faithful to his calling in Christ.

Peer pressure, of which we hear so much today, does not cause Paul to compromise.

What his concerned colleagues had been urging, did not make him cave in or give up. He was determined to remain in the centre of the will of God. It is important that we see this clearly. They change their mind.

There is nothing wrong in changing your mind, to align your mind with the mind of God. It is a wise man who decides to make that type of change.

This situation is never easy. It takes spiritual strength. It requires courageous faith and boldness, but here we see what can be involved in spiritual leadership at times. Faithfulness to Jesus - endurance under pressure - holding on to the Word which God has given - and believing that true disciples will see and discern that Jesus is the ONE behind it all.

If you are a spiritual leader, then do all you possibly can to display these qualities and characteristics, lovingly and graciously, but firmly and steadfastly.

These are crucial critical days in which we are living, and strong spiritual leaders are so needed.

If you are a leader, then lead. If you have a strong, loving, courageous leader in your fellowship, then stand by him and support him, and most of all, pray for him.

Sandy Shaw

Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Childrens Panel in Scotland, and has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, speaking, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, making 12 visits to Israel conducting Tours and Pilgrimages, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya, ministering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the poor areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.

Youre probably reading this because you have an interest in improving some aspect of your life. The good news is that there are many simple things you can do to improve your experience of life and will cover many of them in the articles on this site.

To begin, Id like to ask, Who is going to have the biggest effect on your future life

Many of us would answer that its our spouse, our children, or the government. Others might say its the trials and tribulations of their everyday lives; the driver who cuts them up on the way to work; the queue in the supermarket on Saturday afternoons; or the fact that someone let them down with a delivery. All of these examples pass responsibility for our mood, thoughts and experience of life to other people or external factors over which we have no direct control. From this standpoint, we live our lives reactively moving from one crisis to another, waiting patiently for the day when these external diversions settle down. When that day dawns - we tell ourselves - then finally well be able to turn things around!

Put in these simple terms we can see how this attitude would seem to lead to a poorer experience of life. However, for many of us its our chosen norm and it suits us just fine. Whilst it may not always be obvious what the payback is for continuing with this way of thinking and behaving, there MUST be one, or else we would simply not continue with it. The payback could be as straightforward as the fact that operating in this way brings us extra attention, or gives us something to have a good old moan about! By far the biggest benefit of this attitude is that it ensures that theres always somebody else to blame - and that feels good!

In sharp contrast, there is a different way of operating in the world that, if we choose it, allows us to exercise control over our lives. It involves totally accepting personal responsibility for the life we are living.

Taking personal responsibility for our own life can be very scary at first. After all, if were going to give up blaming everybody else, does that mean we have to take the blame ourselves Not at all! The ultimate way for most of us to begin making significant and enduring improvements to our lives is to abandon the concept of blame completely, and in its place to embrace the concept of responsibility . Where appointing blame depends on us making (often damning) judgements, accepting responsibility requires us to have a mature grasp of the realities of life. Well wait a very long time for a perfect world to emerge. We might as well make a start on dealing with the imperfect one that were all currently inhabiting.

So what exactly does taking personal responsibility mean Personally I think it boils down to recognising that ultimately the only absolute control we have in our lives is over how we choose to react to what happens to us. It is in these moments between stimulus and response that we as humans can exercise a choice. Do we react consciously and thoughtfully, to bring us closer to the result we seek, or do we react subconsciously and as our prior conditioning programs us to - excusing ourselves along the way with one of our favourite platitudes. Take your pick - we all have them in abundant supply! I cant help it! Thats just me! Its how I am! I cant do anything about it! I cant change it! In reality, of course, there are very few givens in this life to which we are truly tied.

The lives we are living today are a direct consequence of the decisions and choices we have made up to this point in time. We will create our future in the same way, whether we choose to recognise our role in this or not. Once we accept this fundamental truth, we will begin to see that its in our moments of decision (or indecision) that we create our own experience of life.

Choosing to take responsibility for our own lives and creating the future we want is an amazingly empowering experience. We no longer feel the need to control everyone else (not that we ever could of course) but instead aim only to assert control over ourselves. This absolute control can be subdivided. We actually have control over three things, but only three things - our own thoughts, our own feelings, and our own behaviour. It follows, therefore, that we carry responsibility for three things and only three things - our own thoughts, our own feelings and our own behaviour. Trying to control any more than this is futile. Accepting responsibility for anything more than this is misguided. So if all we need to do is be in control of ourselves - and most of us emerge into adulthood with reasonable skills in this area - then we are already equipped with all the basic tools we need to build the lives we want.

If you feel ready to make a start, you could begin with the following pointers:-

1. As already outlined, the first essential step is to truly decide to accept total responsibility for our own life and commit to this decision. You must be ready to be proactive in creating the life you want and to recognise that you have the power to choose how you react to any situation.

2. To help consolidate this new way of thinking and make it habitual, practise recognising when others around you are not taking full responsibility for their own lives, and more importantly, when you yourself are not taking full responsibility for yours!

3. To undermine any unhelpful prior conditioning, you can practise interrupting any negative thoughts (usually rattling around in our heads in the form of negative self-talk) and replace these with positive and affirmative thoughts and beliefs that embody your new sense of personal responsibility and your fresh can do attitude

You will notice that both steps 2 and 3 use the word practise - this is deliberate. It is very important that when we start on the path to improving our lives we accept that it wont always be an easy ride . There is some truth in the expression, practise makes perfect but that said, the pressure to be perfect is often unrealistic and even debilitating in many areas of life. In practising our new thought and behaviour patterns, we need to aim for a steady and sustained improvement instead. Of course we must also strive to avoid using the fact that we are only practising as an excuse for not making progress.

It bears repeating that taking responsibility for our own decisions in life is the single most important step towards creating the future we desire. Whilst it may at first seem a trivial and simplistic change in perspective, the effects of even this one step can be quite profound in changing our experience of life. Throughout these chapters I will attempt to provide information on other key ways to trigger long-lasting positive changes in our lives once the reality is accepted that we can decide to create the life we desire.

As ever, the theory is all well and good, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Its getting out there and applying this learning to our lives that will really make the difference:

The learning is in the living.

My question to you, then, is - are you prepared to take responsibility for your own life

The choice is yours, but always remember...

If you dont run your own life, someone else will (John Atkinson)

Anth Quinn has been described as the best-kept secret in Personal Development; he is a straight talking champion of everyday people and despite developing a loyal following of over 10,000 readers he managed to avoid publicity.