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When_the_wind_blows_in_your_direction

When the wind blows in your direction
Yesterday I attended the Vlerick Winter Reunion and we had an excellent presentation by Bertrand Piccard. Bertrand Piccard is one of the two pilots of the first ever non-stop balloon flight around the world.

It's difficult to summarize all the concepts that were explained yesterday. Here are the topics I have written down. In fact I agree with most of the ideas of Bertrand Piccard and I believe I have already applied them more than once.

Don't fight against the winds, just choose the most favorable one
Bertrand Piccard explained that during this air balloon experience, he learned that trying to control everything (an air balloon, your life, your career...) does not automatically lead to success. You also need to stop and feel the possible winds, change your plans and follow the most favorable winds.

Pro-act
To be able to adapt to most favorable winds, there is a necessary mind shift which doesn't match our education. We have been trained to eliminate the unknown in order to come back in speed, control and power and work as a bulldozer to reach our goal. We have been trained to react and not to pro-act.

Communication
Decision taking when facing the unknown is a difficult task. If you take decisions alone, you face the risk of having too little objectivity. In the balloon decision taking was than the result of a discussion between the two pilots. The problem is that two people sharing ideas are not productive : or they have the same ideas and 1+1=1 or they disagree and 1+1=0. The trick is to avoid expressing ideas but rather sharing experiences. Those experiences being the necessary information for a common decision taking. It's a positive common bottom-up argumentation rather that a destructive top-down opposition of ideas.



In summary
"I wish I have the strength to change what I can change,

that I have the courage to accept what I can't change,

and that I have the wisdom to be able to make the difference between what I can change and what I can't change
"


Also have a look at Bertrand Piccard's website here : http://www.bertrandpiccard.com/eng/index.php

Philosophie


Last edited on Tuesday, December 25, 2007 at 21:41:42 pm.