July/August 2019 45Brian Oneyis a writer, father and dreamer, who believes that working together improves the
world. In high school, Brian attended a class called “The Learning Community,”
which immerses students in a holistic educational experience. Here, Brian developed
personal responsibility and discovered his dream to travel, which led to a six-month
stay in India in his twenties. Brian earned his BA in Sociology from UC Santa Cruz
and an MPA (Master of Public Administration) from Syracuse. Brian still loves to ex-
plore, seeking adventure on the back of a classic motorcycle, in books, theaters and
museums. If you’re planning a cool event, seminar or adventure, he loves to speak
to audiences, especially about creating life enhancing connections and meaningful
moments. Email: [email protected].There is a huge bonus to connecting the thoughts
of great leaders and thinkers.
“The noun meliorism is usually defined as the doc-
trine that the world tends to become better or made
better by human effort” (Amazon Alexa).
All this drama about words excited me. This
heightened state deepened my connection to lan-
guage and led to a new power. I could remember
many words and because I did not like to spell,
I developed mental links with synonyms. Later,
I realized that the art of learning made me feel
vibrant and alive. In a way, curiosity exposed
me to enough new things that I found a passion
worth my investment: Life Improvement. My
super power grew from a combination of curiosity,
connection, and choice.
Curiosity drew me to great minds and pathways to
a better life. I enjoyed reading. Even if I feared writ-
ing, I loved going on adventures in my imagination.
By reading, I realized we access months—if not
years—of reflecting and learning from others. There
is a huge bonus to connecting the thoughts of great
leaders and thinkers. I found that there comes a
moment where learning gets much easier. I’ve read
and done enough to store a broad foundation of
concepts and experiences. I’ve built my vocabulary,
so I don’t need to look up so many words anymore.
I’ve begun to master the art of learning.
Repeatedly attaching meaning to symbols creates
memory. With only a few connections, our brain
seems like lethargic telegraph lines. Multiply
them and we develop networks where we can see
multi-dimensional relationships between ideas and
concepts.
Learning is Super—Choice is POWER.This mental advantage enables us to direct or in-
fluence our own behavior and that of others.
We can even change the course of events. Acquir-
ing knowledge gives us a new perspective. For
example, I learned the value of a good night sleep,
eating organic vegetables, getting exercise. Know-
ing this is Super but acting on it is POWER. As
we put our hard-won insights to use, we develop
good habits. When these add up, at some point,
they contribute to improving our memory, our
relationships, our income and so much more. I’ve
developed a level of resilience from adding positive
habits to positive habits. This inner strength gave
me the courage to face rejection—and my fear of
the red pen.Warren Bennis once said, “Exemplary leaders re-
ward dissent. They encourage it. They understand
that, whatever momentary discomfort they experi-
ence as a result of being told they might be wrong,
it is more than offset by the fact that the informa-
tion will help them make better decisions.” I fall
short of Bennis’s edict in encouraging dissent, but
I do challenge myself to open my mind to it.May you find new ways to put your learning into
motion and create great habits that help you be-
come the person you want to be. There is no time
like the present. Start developing your own super
power today! The world needs you!