Michael J. Gelb - Five Keys to High Performance:: Juggle Your Way to Success

Im grateful to the wonderful people who contributed to the birth and rebirth of this book.

Special thanks to:

My juggling teachers, partners and pals, including Dennis Masella, Stuart Haber, Kit Summers, Tony Duncan, and Lloyd Timberlake;

Alexander Technique teachers and colleagues, Walter Carrington, Beret Arcaya, Michael Frederick, Betty Rajna, Paul Collins, Stacy Forsythe, Frank Ottiwell, and Jessica Wolf;

Aikido teachers Dr. Clyde Takeguchi, Harvey Konigsberg, Yoshimitsu Yamada, Mitsugi Saotome and Rick Stickles;

Learning guides J.G. Bennett and Dr. Mort Herskowitz;

Friends and clients who offered valuable feedback and support: Barbara Horowitz, Dr. Marvin Hyett, Karen Page, Karen Lee, Dr. Allison Rossett, Dr. Ruth Clark, Tony Schwartz, Dean Sluyter, Dr. Dale Schusterman, Leslie Duck Copland, Ketan Patel, Ron Gross, Rowan Frederick, Josh Waitzkin, Grand Master Raymond Keene, Dr. Emily Hickey, Dr. Jim Clawson, Jim DAgostino, Ed Bassett, Delano Lewis, Jim Sutton, Debbie Benami-Rahm, Mary Hogan, David Kendall, Dr. Ken Koblan, Jim Karkanias, Suan RoAne, Mark Levy, Marcia Wieder, George Cappanelli, Wendy Palmer, Tom Quick and Wendy Alfus Rothman.

Very special thanks to:

Tony Buzan for years of brilliant juggling with ideas;

Sandy and Joan Gelb for constant love and support;

Deborah Domanski for filling my life with light, joy and love.

Juggling is a universal language of joy. If you apply the steps in Part 3 and actually learn to juggle youll know a secret to delight every child and to bring out the child in every adult. In Japan youll be a tejina-shi, in China a shua-chiou ren, in Russia, Germany and France a jongleur, in Italy a giocoliere, in Latin America and Spain a malabarista and in Indonesia a pemain sunglap. As you develop your influence with spheres youll expand your sphere of influence.

A recent edition of Newsweek reported that the influential head of Shell Oils internal think-tank, the group responsible for scenario-planning over the next twenty years, has hired a juggler to perform at their brainstorming sessions. The group includes some of Shells sharpest minds. They are exposed to juggling at their meetings because it serves as a reminder of the creative, playful and systems-oriented thinking they must do to prepare for the unexpected. As you become more proficient in juggling you wont have to hire someone to juggle at your brainstorming sessions, youll be able to do it your self.

As James E. Booth, executive director of PRISM International, writes in a recent edition of Association Management, Before I became an executive director if someone had asked me to identify the one critical skill for success in association management I probably would have said effective communication, financial management, or leadership and visioning. I have discovered through experience, however, that the most essential skill is the ability to juggle.

Booth adds, Juggling, of course, is a metaphor for multitasking. Early in my career a boss of mine put it best when he told me, Jim, you have to keep a lot of balls in the air.

As Booth reminds us, juggling is a delightful metaphor. Even if you never toss a ball into the air the lessons from the art of juggling can serve as an inspiring reminder of the secret of life. Is there one word that expresses that secret? Yes. The word is balance.

What makes a wine outstanding? Luscious fruit and supple tannin in delicious balance. Whats the way to personal enlightenment? Balancing mind, body, emotion and spirit. What makes an organization great? Vision, mission and values in balance with strategy, tactics and execution.

Balance is the secret of life, and dynamism, an ever-changing process of adjustment, compensation and coordination, is the secret of balance. The universe breathes. It juggles. Electrons dance around the nucleus of an atom and galaxies swirl in a pulsating universe. Tides roll in and out, the sun rises and sets, we laugh and we cry, we are born and we die.

This universal balance is expressed in the ancient Chinese symbol of yin and yang and in the smile of Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa and in his wonderful drawing of the Vitruvian man also known as the Canon of Proportion. Architecture, music, painting, and poetry all seek to express various dimensions of natures balance. In a simple, immediate way, the metaphor and practice of juggling aligns us with this essential universal rhythm, echoing a pattern that links us with all creation and resonates with our deepest selves.

Mind-map creator and juggler Tony Buzan expresses it in his poem, The Juggler :

I,

Juggler,

Stand between two spheres.

The expression

Of my enlightened thoughts

Goes out

And up

To the Sun.

The soles

And balls

Of my feet

Hug the loam of the Earth,

As I weave the dancing patterns of Infinity.

Deeply,

I am a juggler.

Deeply

I breathe out into the Universe

I have breathed

In.

I, Atomic Child,

Charmed Child,

Star Child

Of the Universe,

Juggle

And

Am

Juggled.

My wish for you is that youll apply the 5 keys to high performance to help you find the balance that we all seek, in your life, everyday.

Formal ranking grids are used in a wide range of pursuits, from piano playing to chess and the martial arts. This grid is modeled on the ranking system used in the Japanese martial art of Aikido. Use it to measure your progress.

10th levelJuggling one ball 10 times back and forth from hand to hand

9th levelThrowing two balls to the appropriate points at the top of the box in staggered timing and letting them drop; throwing two and catching one; throwing two and catching botha two ball juggulation.

8th level10 juggulations with two balls

7th levelThrowing three balls to the appropriate points at the top of the box and letting them all drop. Throwing three and catching one. Throwing three and catching two. Throwing three and catching threeyour first three-ball juggulation.

6th levelThree complete, continuous juggulations.

5th levelTen complete, continuous juggulations. Successful completion of one Shoot-the-Moon. One two-ball-in-one-hand juggulation with each hand

4th levelThirty-three and one-third complete, continuous three ball juggulations(100 throws). One ball over the top from either side, three times continuously. Five one-hand juggulations with two balls (10 throws) with each hand individually

3rd levelOne hundred complete, continuous juggulations (300 throws). One complete, continuous Reverse Infinity Series. Three Fountains in a continuous series of juggulations. Twenty one-hand juggulations with two balls (40 throws) with each hand individually. Over/under exercise with one ball, ten times

2nd level.Three hundred thirty-three and one third complete, continuous juggulations (1000 throws). The behind the back trick, in the flow of a juggulation, with either hand. One hundred one-hand juggulations with two balls (200 throws) with each hand individually. Body-bounce trick, in the flow of a juggulation, on the body part of your choice. Throwing a ball over your shoulder, catch behind your back10 times on each side.

1st levelAll of the previous requirements, with a demonstrable improvement in the quality of poise, rhythm and flow. The behind the back trick, in the flow of a juggulation, with both hands, consecutively. The over-the-shoulder trick, in the flow, with both hands, consecutively. Four ball flash (one complete juggulation). One minute juggling routine incorporating at least four different tricks, including one created by the juggler.