All Things Are Created Twice

"Begin with the End in Mind" is based on the principle that all things are created twice. There's a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation to all things

Take the construction of a home, for example. You create it in every detail before you ever hammer

the first nail into place. You try to get a very clear sense of what kind of house you want. If you want a family-centered home, you plan a family room where it would be a natural gathering place. You

plan sliding doors and a patio for children to play outside. You work with ideas. You work with

your mind until you get a clear image of what you want to build.

Then you reduce it to blueprint and develop construction plans. All of this is done before the earth

is touched. If not, then in the second creation, the physical creation, you will have to make expensive changes that may double the cost of your home.

The carpenter's rule is "measure twice, cut once." You have to make sure that the blueprint, the first creation, is really what you want, that you've thought everything through. Then you put it into bricks and mortar. Each day you go to the construction shed and pull out the blueprint to get marching

orders for the day. You Begin with the End in Mind.

For another example, look at a business. If you want to have a successful enterprise, you clearly

THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE Brought to you by FlyHeart define what you're trying to accomplish. You carefully think through the product or service you want

to provide in terms of your market target, then you organize all the elements -- financial, research and

development, operations, marketing, personnel, physical facilities, and so on -- to meet that objective.

The extent to which you Begin with the End in Mind often determines whether or not you are able to

create a successful enterprise. Most business failures begin in the first creation, with problems such as undercapitalization, misunderstanding of the market, or lack of a business plan.

The same is true with parenting. If you want to raise responsible, self-disciplined children, you

have to keep that end clearly in mind as you interact with your children on a daily basis. You can't

behave toward them in ways that undermine their self-discipline or self-esteem.

To varying degrees, people use this principle in many different areas of life. Before you go on a

trip, you determine your destination and plan out the best route. Before you plant a garden, you plan

it out in your mind, possibly on paper. You create speeches on paper before you give them, you

envision the landscaping in your yard before you landscape it, you design the clothes you make before

you thread the needle.

To the extent to which we understand the principle of two creations and accept the responsibility for

both, we act within and enlarge the borders of our Circle of Influence. To the extent to which we do

not operate in harmony with this principle and take charge of the first creation, we diminish it.

Date: 2015-02-03; view: 1164