A lot is written about “chi,” or the energy that flows in us and through us, giving us life and power.
Masters at martial arts give demonstrations of chi, seeming to effortlessly deflect attackers in aikido, and making their opponents weaken and freeze in place, in kenpo karate.
Is chi real? Do you have to become a master to tap into its power?
Masters are great at understanding it, and channeling it at will, but they certainly don’t have exclusive right to it. You’ve used chi thousands of times, without being aware of it.
For instance, I was at a meeting of a large group when I spotted a friend sitting thirty rows ahead of me. Instantly, after recognizing him, I focused on the back of his head.
Suddenly, he turned around, scanned the folks behind him, saw me, and smiled!
He knew someone was “flowing on him,” as it’s said in martial arts.
You can’t see chi, directly, or measure it using conventional tools. But we have it, we feel it, and we can use it.
It’s worth doing a few “field experiments” to demonstrate its power. Get some mirrored sunglasses, and go into a crowd. Focus on people, and then see if they look at you.
Can you make them turn around? Do they start scratching where you were looking? These are signs that it’s working.
Remember this adage: Where the attention goes, the energy flows!
Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.
