1. Daniel Crosby, Ph.D.
www.doctordanielcrosby.com
daniel@doctordanielcrosby.com

3. Part I

4.  Prisoners possessed of a deeply-felt reason
for being enjoyed psychological and
physical benefits not afforded those who
lacked such meaning.
 This meaning took the shape of large goals,
rooted in deeply-held personal beliefs, as
well as viewing seemingly un-extraordinary
events as special.

5.  “Ever more people today have the
means to live, but no meaning to live
for.”
 “Ultimately, man should not ask what
the meaning of his life is, but rather
he must recognize that it is he who is
asked.”

6.  “He who has a why
to live can bear
with almost any
how.”
– Friedrich Nietzsche

7.  “I believe the most important
attribute for a leader is being
principle-centered. Centering on
principles that are universal and
timeless provides a foundation
and compass to guide every
decision and every act..” –Stephen
R. Covey -

8.  “How different our lives are
when we really know what is
deeply important to us, and,
keeping that picture in mind,
we manage ourselves each day
to be and do what really
matters most.” –Stephen R.
Covey -

9.  Gladwell suggests that passion, not genius,
is what differentiates the Beatles and Bill
Gates from their contemporaries
 Without viewing our work as meaningful,
Gladwell states, we will never put in the
necessary time and effort to become an
outlier

10. “The thematic goal is not a number,
and it is not even specifically
measurable. It is a general statement
of a desired accomplishment. It
requires a verb, because it rallies
people to do something. Improve,
increase, reduce, grow, change,
establish, eliminate, accelerate.”
-Patrick Lencioni, Silos, Politics and
Turf Wars

11.  Flow – the mental state of operation in which
the person is fully immersed in what he or
she is doing by a feeling of energized focus,
full involvement, and success in the process
of the activity.
 Colloquialisms for the mental state include
being “in the zone”, “on the ball”, or “in the
groove.”
 Flow is the study of the psychology of optimal
performance.

12.  “Creating meaning involves bringing
order to the contents of the mind by
integrating one’s actions into a unified
flow experience…People who find
their lives meaningful usually have a
goal that is challenging enough to
take up all of their energies, a goal
that can give significance to their
lives.” – Flow, p.217

13.  “If you talk to me five
minutes, four minutes
are going to be about
my faith and my family,
and for one minute, if
you wanna talk about
baseball we can talk
about baseball.”
 Motto: Some things are
bigger than the game.
 On PFF Night – Watch
out!

14.  What is the most meaningful thing you have
ever done? What made it so meaningful?
 What three adjectives would you most like to
describe you? What three adjective do most
describe you?
 Reflect on a “boundary experience”. What
insights did you have in that moment?

16.  Who here would like to be a letter carrier?
 “Going Postal” – boredom, repetitiveness, exposure
to elements, irritable customers
 “I don’t just deliver mail. I see myself helping to
connect people to other people. I help build the
community. Besides, people depend on me and I
don’t want to let them down.”
 Neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night stays
these couriers from the swift completion of their
appointed rounds. – Herodotus, Greek historian, 1st
Century B.C.

17.  Pick your least-preferred work task.
 How can you view this task in a more
meaningful way?
 What tasks do you reduce to meaninglessness
that actually serve a higher purpose?
 What positive aspects of your work are you
rushing past?

18.  Meaning is a critical common factor
that is ignored at the peril of the
individual or organization.
 Overarching meaning increases
performance, structures our goals and
our time, and gives unity of purpose
to our endeavors.
 Finding meaning in the mundane
makes work more enjoyable and
opens our eyes to possibilities.

19. Part II

21.  Sounds nice, right?
 If it’s so great why do we give it up so
frequently? How do we?
 Freedom is a gift with a price.
 The price of freedom is responsibility.

22.  Belief that is “just how I am”
 Failing to adapt leadership style
 Choosing tradition over excellence
 Relying on others; vilifying them
 Not making decisions
 Remaining in unsatisfying careers
 Blaming mistakes on externalities (e.g.,
genes, family, co-workers, boss)
 Waiting for others to change before risking it

23.  People often value
comfort over
greatness.
 Impedes personal
development.
 Impedes
organizational
development.
 Change begins with
YOU.

24.  “Everything can be
taken from a man
or a woman but one
thing: the last of
human freedoms to
choose one's
attitude in any
given set of
circumstances, to
choose one's own
way.” – Viktor
Frankl

25.  “Happiness is not something that
happens… (it) is a condition that
must be prepared for, cultivated,
and defended privately by each
person. People who learn to
control inner experience will be
able to determine the quality of
their lives.” – Flow, pg.2 -

26.  Situation = Behavior
 Situation + Chosen Response = Behavior
 More difficult, riskier, but ultimately more
rewarding.
 You are the author of your own story!

27.  Locus of control-refers to an individual’s
generalized expectations concerning where
control over events resides. In simple terms,
who or what is responsible for what happens.
 Internal LOC – responsibility rests with us
 External LOC – responsibility rests with the
environment

28.  Group 1 – placed in
cages with escape
 Group 2 – no
effective escape
behavior
 Time 2 – “why try”
attitude for those in
Group 2
 We make our own
cages

29.  Boone (1996) et al. reported the CEO locus of
control was significantly associated with
profitability in small business
 7% of small businesses with Internal LOC
CEO’s failed
 45% of small business with External LOC
CEO’s failed

30.  List five personal
and/or professional
opportunities that
have emerged as a
result of the
recession.

31.  External LOC is linked to poor executive
performance, helplessness, and inaction
 You cannot help but decide
 Every exploiter needs an exploitee
 Adversity can redirect, enlighten, and
strengthen us
 Accepting personal responsibility does not
guarantee success but shirking it does
guarantee mediocrity