Conclusion: No Complaints, No Excuses, No Regrets

Your priorities, business concerns, and opinion of your workplace are influenced by your position in the boat. The captain is concerned with getting to the treasure chest on the island, the leader is concerned with having the rowers paddle harder and faster, and the rower is concerned with getting a more comfortable seat cushion.

Imagine the impact that would result from being able to see a bigger picture that includes everyone's interests, while enabling you to facilitate positive change—even through turbulent waters. No matter how difficult the current economic situation, how dismal things may seem, and how much drama your workplace endures, there is a higher truth: There are opportunities all around you. We miss seeing all of these chances when we view our organization with tunnel vision.

We can only see what we already believe to be true. This tendency is known in psychology as confirmation bias. (For an explanation, see www.skepdic.com/confirmbias.html). Frequently, even when new evidence of possibility occurs, we humans simply revert to our default view to confirm what we already to believe to be true. Our beliefs about what is, who we are, and what is possible keep us from thinking outside of the box to contribute in bigger ways. As a result, we wait for permission to experience success and for others to meet our needs. We are like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz—waiting for someone else to change or notice us, or for some opportunity ...

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