Just How Powerful are We? (Print Ready)

Some years ago I was on holiday in Belgium. Desperate for reading material in English, I picked up a paperback called something like ‘Weird People’. In it was a story about a guy who could supposedly influence the roll of a roulette ball.

I had nothing much to do; the place I was staying just happened to have a roulette game; I thought, ‘Why not?’

So I hauled out the roulette box and set it all up. Idly, I spun the wheel and dropped in the ball. And I knew it would be black.

I found myself in a strange place mentally. The place I imagine sportspeople call ‘the zone’. For the next ten or so spins of the wheel, I ‘knew’ it would be black. And it was.

Round about turn eleven or twelve, I thought to myself:

‘It’s going to be black.’ Short pause. ‘But maybe it won’t be.’

And the spell was broken. From then on the ball behaved randomly. I could not recapture my previous mental state. ‘Willing’ the ball to fall into a black slot had no effect.

Now and again I experience a similar state. (Knowing I will get a parking space is similar I guess.) Not as often as I would like. And not when I like. But it is available sometimes.

Or maybe it’s all in the mind?

About the Author:
Jim Ewan has been involved in management since the late 1960’s. He has worked with and for many blue-chip organisations including Fujitsu, Sony, Brook-Bond Oxo, Rolls Royce and the European Space Research Organisation. As consultant, marketing manager and company director he has done most of the jobs a manager can be called upon to do - and more! By his own admission he has made most of the mistakes that can be made as well. In a varied career that has encompassed taxi driving, computers, photography, microfilm and insurance he has discovered what it takes to succeed. Jim has set up and trained sales teams and has been running open training courses for many years. Organisations attending have included AA, DTI, Smith Kline Beecham, Brann International and Intel Systems. A founder member and past president of the Professional Speakers Association and finalist in Toastmasters International Humorous Speaking Contests, Jim is also a gold medal speaker and holds the prestigious LAMDA Diploma for public speaking. Jim’s training specialisation was presentations and public speaking where he focused on taking the frankly terrified, giving them the confidence to speak to large and small audiences. He now writes and speaks on management, marketing and motivation. He also consults on success at exhibitions and trade shows, having discovered that most organisations are very bad at this facet of marketing, indeed repeating over and over the mistakes he was making more than thirty years ago! His after dinner material concentrates on his fear of flying and the battle of the sexes.

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