Non-Mastery

When you have a career, there's this idea that you will go from success to success.  You start in the cubicle, then you get an office, then a corner office, then you move horizontally into a CEO position at another company, and so on.

You might have some failures along the way but they won't be big failures.

With mastery the one thing in common is that there are ALWAYS big failures.

I'm not sure that I know any masters of anything.  I've been exposed to a couple, though.  

What I do run into a lot of in my life are enormously successful people.  Not a one of them got where they are through a slow climb of the ladder from one position to the next.  They have all gotten to where they are by one of two means - the stepped on and over a few people to get ahead, or someone gave them a chance.

Failure isn't a big part of that trajectory; the delusionally confident people who think nothing of sacrificing others for their own gain don't believe they can fail; they download all failures as the fault of someone else.  For those who've been given a chance, the hard drop of failure is often blocked off by a safety net.  When people invest in kohais, they will often protect them from failure to keep them moving forward.

These incredibly successful people are all good at doing something, though it isn't always what they think they're good at.  

One fella I know is convinced he's got the best ideas ever and has crafted all kinds of winning solutions for clients; talk to the clients, though, and they will say they actually hire other consultants for the work and just use this guy for his contacts.  He never knew, nor would he have cared; the money came in, people respected him, he felt influential - what more to life was there?

This fella may be master of his realm, but it's a closed realm - and this is not mastery.

I have the intimidating pleasure to know some absolute geniuses - people whose brains burn like incandescent candles, drawing energy from every source imaginable and tearing through conversations with their lightening ideas.

These sorts of people are rarely happy, unless it's in a dopamine-fueled way.  When their ego gets the better of them, these luminaries might think they are masters, but always feel that perfection eludes them.  Omniscience is the goal and until and unless they get there, they will not be satisfied.  

And so they are never satisfied.  This is not mastery, either.

Lastly comes the rarest category of people, those who fully and internally understand that perfection is not possible; it's a concept we have created and define in a world that exists without boundaries.  If asked, these sorts of thinkers would agree that quantum theory and theory or relativity don't add up, and smile.  They don't expect Theory Of Everything solutions, they relish the questions.

If we were to call anyone master, it would be these folk - and yet they're not.  It's the great secret they have learned; it's why folk like the Dalai Lama manage to be so happy all the time.

So, wither mastery, then?

You tell me.

Archaeologists Think Hidden Imperial Tomb May Be Too Deadly to Explore (Jesus Diaz)

Archaeologists Think Hidden Imperial Tomb May Be Too Deadly to Explore

After discovering a secret palace hidden in China's first emperor massive burial complex, Chinese technicians are nervous. Not because Qin Shi Huang's tomb is the most important archeological discovery since Tutankhamun, but because they believe his burial place is full of deadly traps that will kill any trespassers. Not to talk about deadly quantities of mercury.

The secret courtyard-style palace tomb is a mind-numbing discovery. Situated in the heart of the Emperor's 22-square-mile (56-square-kilometer) mortuary compound guarded by more than 6,000 (and counting) full-size statues of warriors, musicians and acrobats, the buried palace is 2,263 by 820 feet (690 by 250 meters). It includes 18 courtyard houses overlooked by one main building, where the emperor is supposed to be. The palace—which has already been partially mapped in 3D using volumetric scanners—occupied a space of 6,003,490 cubic feet (170,000 cubic meters). That's one fourth the size of the Forbidden City in Beijing—for just one tomb.

Experts believe that the 249-foot-high (76-meter) structure covered with soil and kept dry thanks to a complex draining system, hides the body of the emperor and his courtiers. Nobody knows what's the state of their bodies, but one of the leading archeologists believes that they are most likely destroyed by now.

SEXPAND

Image of some of Qin Shihuang's terracota warriors by contax66/Shutterstock.com

What probably are intact are the countless treasures that—according to the ancient scrolls that describe the emperor's long lost burial site—fill the interior of the tomb. And perhaps the deadly traps guarding them too.

Deadly traps?

Talking to Spanish newspaper El Pais, the archeologists working at the excavation said that "it's like having a present all wrapped at home, knowing that inside is what you always wanted, and not being able to open it." But, at the same time, nobody wants to be the first to get inside because of the mausoleum's dangerous traps—they're detailed in the same texts that recount its abundant riches.

It's not clear if the traps are really there, even while many texts describe them. There are no reports of traps in any tombs in any ancient culture. According to Emily Teeter—University of Chicago's Oriental Institute's curator of Egyptian and Nubian antiquities—traps are a legend as much as curses:

I am really sorry to report that if curses are out, then there is really nothing devious. Hollywood has turned standard architectural features like sliding portcullis blocks, shafts, and sand filled chambers into objects of horror. Sorry that the Egyptians were not more evil.

So what about the giant stone ball that chases Indy at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark? Well, the ball exists, says the expert in Central American archaeology Dr. Winifred Creamer:

Costa Rica definitely has those big stone balls. The balls had ceased to be made by the time of the first Spanish explorers, and remained completely forgotten until they were rediscovered in the 1940s. Many of the balls were found to be in alignments, consisting of straight and curved lines, as well as triangles and parallelograms. One group of four balls was found to be arranged in a line oriented to magnetic north. This has led to speculation that they may have been arranged by people familiar with the use of magnetic compasses, or astronomical alignments.

Sadly, it seems those giant balls weren't part of any traps. Maybe.

But let's assume that the Chinese were more evil awesome than the Egyptians or Central American cultures, and that they really installed booby traps that triggered deadly crossbows in the emperor's tomb. Even if the old Chinese texts are correct, they might now still work after two thousand years. Perhaps the mechanisms are so rusty that the bolts won't fire. Maybe the wood and the cords used the in the traps have long since been destroyed by bacteria.

Chinese historian Guo Zhikun argues the contrary. He is one of the main experts on Qinshihuang's burial site, and says that it's very possible that the traps are still active. He claims that the use of chrome in the figures may indicate that the traps received a similar protective treatment. He is sure that "the artisans who built the traps installed crossbows that will fire if any thief tries to get inside."

Even if the traps don't work, there is still the matter of the high, deadly concentration of mercury inside the tomb. On-site measurements indicate dangerous levels, which may come from another feature described in the srolls: Imperial engineers created large rivers of quicksilver inside the tomb. So much that the level of mercury inside could be deadly for any unprotected adventurers.

The Chinese government hasn't decided what to do with the hidden complex yet. The authorities will wait for some time because they believe that, with the current technology, you can't get inside the tomb without destroying some of its contents. 

CSR: Investing in Value Add

Lu Buwei had a vision and was willing to bet his wealth, career, family and life on a long-term investment, because he recognized the value of investing in a person, he became the most powerful person in China.

Not really - it was Qin Shi Huang who became the most powerful person in China.  He unified the nation, built great monuments, shed a great deal of blood and eventually killed himself with mercury poisoning in his vain attempt to live forever.

We remember Qin Shi Huang as much for the misery he caused and the terrible toll his vanity and fear of death took upon the later years of his life.  His is not a happy story, though it is one that endures.

Lu Buwei got mixed up in scandals involving Qin Shi Huang's mother, was stripped of his position by the king he made and eventually committed suicide.  But he is remembered.

Both men rose to the heights of power because of a vision that transcended themselves; both were brought down by their own selfishness.

There's a big difference between investing and adding value:

 - one invests with the aim of eventually gaining a significant return.  

- one adds value with the hopes of providing that return to others.

We have a whole host of leaders out there right now who see themselves as empire-builders, incrementally investing in closed futures they think will immortalize their names in history.  The narrow tactics and devious tricks they employ to get there inevitably lead to the tainting of their legacies and often as not, their fall from grace.

Which is why I love the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility so much; it provides a win-win for everyone.  

There are countless visionary value-adders out there who care not a whit about legacy or what they will get in return; they are truly and openly committed to what they can give, not what they can receive.  

They are driven by their vision, not their own selfish interests.  But there's not a lot of money in altruism.

If the would-be Emperors are smart, they'll recognize the value in out-sourcing the visionary work and positioning themselves as patrons.  That way, they remove the risks of their ego tainting the impact of their legacy but get to take all the credit - the thought leaders and social innovators won't care, so long as they're given the resources and freedom to do what needs done.

Visionary value-adders - invest in them and you won't be disappointed.

Practice What You Preach

For the life of me, I can't imagine why anyone would be against transparency.

After he finished his hour-long testimony, Adler immediately took a phone call from "a constituent" and turned his back to reporters.  He was then ushered out of the room by a staffer into a hallway where reporters are not permitted.

The Star's interview request to Adler's office was denied Tuesday, with another staff member describing it as a "really busy time for us."  Several emailed questions had not been responded by late evening.

That pretty much sums up the Harper Conservative approach to transparency, doesn't it?

They know they're hypocrites.  They don't care.  Empire builders don't follow the rules, after all, they make them up as they go. 

Here's the problem with that general approach to life - when you don't practice what you preach, people don't trust you.  And when you see but through the glass darkly, you tend not to see the consequences for such shortsightedness until it's too late.

The Arrogance of Man

The arrogance of man is thinking nature is in our control - and not the other way around.

Man against himself - not an issue when that man is delusionally confident, right?

Man against man - it's about what gets taken away from you, or who you can vilify as justification for taking more.

But it's man vs. nature that reminds us what real power truly is.  Twitter trolls, empire-builders, Wall Street narcissists and psychopathic dictators can rise to the top of the social heap, but no amount of money or bluster can save you when the storm hits.

You can't spin it, deny it or gain from it - all that does is create panic.

The temerity of thinking otherwise will always, always be man's downfall.

One of the reasons it's a good thing it's increasingly not up to just us.

There's really only one way to prepare for apocalyptic disasters, don't you know...

The Peaceable Revolution for Open Government: The Youth Shall Lead

I did a presentation today on Open Government and Open Data to Grade 10 students at Humber Collegiate.

As part of the presentation, I talked briefly about Magna Carta and Responsible Government - the historical process that has led us to having a government that's accountable to Parliament.  I walked with them through the difference between Constitutional responsibilities and political conventions.

We also talked about the increase of rabid partisanship and the role increasingly visual, accessible and real-time media have played in this trend.  

This led into the harsh reality of modern politics - that those within the system who recognize there's a problem and those that are fine with the increasingly partisan competitiveness of our system are equally trapped.  It's not about them, after all, nor what they leave behind - it's about our society and the world our children (like the youth in these classes) will inherit.

I closed by drawing a comparison between Magna Carta and Open Government, suggesting that society has grown so complex that, in addition to responsible government (answerable to Parliament) we need a responsible democracy (answerable to the people).

Referencing a plaque in Nova Scotia that commemorates the first responsible government in the British Empire, I told them that this is our "peaceable revolution."

These classes had been present at Open Data Day TO, one of hundreds of Open Data/Open Government events that happened globally.  They understood that what's happening out there is a movement - and they want to be part of it.

I asked them what message they would like to convey to government, Parliament, the bureaucracy and the media.  I promised them I wasn't just asking because it was the traditional thing to do, but because I wanted to connect their voices with whatever ears I could.

They gave me three powerful messages to pass on.  Here they are:

   1) Youth are people too - and they have a voice

   2) Don't underestimate them

   3) They will be holding the collective us accountable

I expect to be hearing more from young, engaged, powerful voices like these, from a growing number of sources.  So should you.

Moral Compass

When your internal compass points to the thing you want most, you'll find it rarely points in the same direction.

Morality cannot be about what we want if it is to be consistent - and without a compass, how can we hope to find our way?