The Lesson Beyond The Lesson

I recently wrote about how VQ can be a powerful tool in helping businesses Design a Regenerative Legacy.

By applying VQ to 4 Business Dimensions, you can get a true sense of whether your Organization is Flourishing, or if it is caught in a vicious cycle.

Now, a very observant follower noted that VQ principles could be applied to a wide variety of subjects, not just Business.

(PS - you know who you are, thanks for reading, and thank you for your comment that inspired today's article!)

In fact, they were absolutely correct.

VQ has applications in most areas of Life.

My writing tends to be directed towards Leaders as that is the Focus of my work, but much of what I write is also about what it means to be Human.

Part of the Reason for this is based on how I grew up Learning Information.

I come from a deep Martial Arts background, with nearly 25 years of study now.

When you study Martial Arts, and I am talking about reading textbooks and histories of styles not just practicing movements, you start to see that most Martial Arts really have little to do with Warfare.

Yes, all Martial Arts are purposefully designed to be applicable in Warfare - from the simple styles for Self-Defense from oppressors to those that were standardized for militaries.

But all of these styles rarely are "about" War.

In nearly every Martial Art, there is this Idea that the "Lesson" is not the REAL Lesson to be Learned.

It was VERY purposeful in most Martial Arts.

If you take the hundreds of Styles of Chinese Martial Arts, many of them are considered "Family Styles" - There is a literal Lineage, where the style is passed from one person to the next.

Sometimes literally blood-related, sometimes passed to the most "worthy" student.

The reason they have a Lineage is that the Masters wanted to instill certain Lessons in their students, and they wanted the students to "discover" the Lesson.

It is easy to see which students are only interested in the Fighting and Movements, and which ones are looking to "Understand" the Lessons.

The heads of these Styles were only interested in teaching those who "Understood" the Lessons "Beyond" the immediate moves.

Those students were the only ones who would have the "Potential" to grow into good Stewards of the Style and Lessons.

Or let's look at Capoeira as another example.

Part of its History is that it was a style brought over by African Slaves, who obviously weren't allowed to practice "fighting" openly.

This led them to hide their martial art behind the veneer of dancing.

Though the moves may "appear" like dance moves, the reality is that they are a set of complex takedowns, attacks, and escape maneuvers to avoid being captured and killed.

However, there are also further secrets within this style of martial art as well.

Many aspects of it are designed to promote deeper secrecy and see "who" could be trusted to keep that secrecy.

Those lessons are beyond the "movements" themselves.

Most Martial Arts have some tradition of Lessons you are supposed to Learn "Beyond" the movements.

It is a concept that I have always kept with me.

No matter what information I take in, I never take it at Face Value because I understand there are nearly limitless applications if I think more deeply about the information.

If I watch a movie or a TV show, or I read a book - Yes, there is of course a Story.

But how can I "apply" that Story in another way?

I read business articles, watch videos on business concepts, and go through certifications.

But how can I "apply" those Lessons in other ways?

This is True within all of my Work.

Yes, I will always provide a Business-Flavored spin on what I write, because I primarily work with C-Suite Executives, Business Owners, and Entrepreneurs.

But all of my work also has Lessons that can very easily be applied to almost every aspect of Life.

I believe that when information has the potential to be far-reaching - it has more Value which makes it Worth INFINITELY more and Worth Keeping.

It is my Goal in everything that I write, to be far more useful than just what you see on the page.

So I Challenge you, how else can you use the Information you take in?

What other Value can it provide you?

Always look at Information like this, and you will find that it adds Significantly more Value to your Life.