Short story#

Story#2 The old wise woman An old wise woman was walking in the mountains. On the way, she found a very, very valuable stone, put it in her backpack, and went on. After a while she met a wanderer. The wanderer was hungry and so he asked the woman if she had something to eat for him. The old woman opened her backpack to take out her bread and share it with the wanderer. While opening the bag the wanderer spotted the valuable stone. He asked the old woman to give it to him: "Oh, please give me this beautiful stone, dear woman". And the woman gave him the valuable stone. Then both set off again, - and the wanderer knew that he could now live until the end of his life without any financial worries. But a few days later the wanderer came back. He returned the stone to the old wise woman and said: "Dear old woman, I will give you this stone back. I do this in the hope that you can give me something much more valuable in return. Please dear woman, give me some of what made it possible for you to give me this stone!"

Story#1 Covey`s story Steven R. Covey, the author of „The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People“ reported a paradigm shift he experienced one Sunday morning on a subway in New York: Everything was peaceful and quiet - some people were looking out the window, some were reading, some were lost in thought. The journey was calm and relaxed. Then suddenly a man with his three children entered the train. The kids were yelling and throwing things and they were obviously disturbing the other passengers. The mood on the train changed instantly. But the father of the three kids was just sitting there with his eyes closed, saying nothing. Covey was irritated. It was so obvious that these children were annoying all the others, yet the father just did nothing about it. So, Covey turned to the man and asked him to control his kids a little bit. The father looked up astonished, as if he had only just noticed all this, and answered: “Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what to think, and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.”

Story#3 Window theatre The woman leaned against the window and looked over to the opposite building. As she was about to turn away, a man appeared in the opposite window and waved to her. She nodded back and kept standing by the window. The man nodded again. Then he disappeared for a moment and came back with a scarf and a hat on. He smiled and then he started to wave with a white hanky. Then he untied his scarf, a big colorful one, and waved with the scarf by leaning out of the window. The man's enthusiasm continued to grow, and his actions became increasingly strange. The behavior became increasingly strange, so that the woman finally called the police. It turned out: In the apartment above the woman there was also a child standing at the window. It waved laughingly at the man, and the man's whole cheerful attention was directed towards the child. The man had performed a "window theater" for the child.

Story#4 The most peaceful painting One day a famous art gallery announced a competition to find the world’s most peaceful painting. Therefore, thousands of artists submitted their paintings to participate. Finally, the day came when the judges had to decide which painting would get the award. On this final day 100 paintings were displayed, and all artists as well as the media were gathered to see the best painting. There were several great ones: One showed a clear river with mountains, snow and sun rise. Another showed a rainbow and flowers, and in the next picture there were birds, trees and a charming lake. All the drawings were so beautiful that the competition seemed very difficult - as one painting was better than the other. Then the judges presented the award-winning picture. It was placed behind a curtain, and when the curtain was removed, it was a shock for the artists and the audience. As the painting did not show any peace, the audience thought about a mistake. But it wasn't. The owner of the gallery stood in front of the audience and asked: „Did you watch closely?“ He explained what he saw in the painting: He saw a storm, destruction, dark clouds but he also saw a house with a small window by which a man stood and smiled and watched the storm calmly and without any worry. „That shows true peace“, said the gallery owner. „Peace does not only describe what is on the outside but what is on the inside. If you have peace from within, then you do not have to worry about what is outside.“

Story#5 The brothel doorman Once upon a time there was a doorman in the brothel. His father and grandfather had been the doormen here before him. It was the worst paid job in town, but the doorman couldn't read and write so there was no chance of getting another job. One day the owner died, and a young man became the new manager. He was ambitious and started optimizing the whole house. He also gave further tasks to the staff. „From now on“, he told the doorman „You have to write reports about the customers.“ But since the doorman could not write, he was fired but received a severance pay. The doorman went home all sad. What should he do now? Then it occurred to him that he could offer some renovation work. He often had done small repairs in the brothel. So, the doorman took his severance payment and bought a toolbox. Since there was no hardware shop in town, it took him a two-day ride to get it. When he came back from his trip, his neighbor came along to borrow a tool. That gave him a new idea. He offered others to do the tool-shopping for them, because not everybody had the time go on a 2-day trip. This service went great, and after a while, he became a successful tool salesman. Over time he optimized his journeys and opened his own shop. People from all over the area came to him so the shop grew and finally he became one of the most influential entrepreneurs in the area. One day the mayor asked him to sign the golden book for his great merits. The entrepreneur replied that he was honored, but unfortunately, he could not read or write. "You can't read and write?" answered the mayor "and yet you have founded such a large company? I'm amazed! What would have happened to you, had you ever been able to write and read?" „I can tell you that" the entrepreneur replied with a smile, "I would still be a doorman in the brothel."

Story#6 Useful ideas for the scanner personality It seems to be a pretty important point for scanner personalities to get an explanation of their nature (✏︎ the aha moment of the scanner). Now that they understand themselves better, they can react better. So what to do when you know you are a scanner? MINDSET and AWARENESS are the first key: This AHA effect, this finding alone seems to be a big step forward. The inner struggle with the feeling “something is wrong” may diminish or dissolve. Maybe your thought patterns change automatically - otherwise you can consciously work on them and change your wrong beliefs. Your new beliefs will release your pressure - Of course it´s ok to „just“ do a GOOD job and not to thrive for the board membership. A job can simply be a job with that you pay your rent and your private projects. Then you can be your own patron! It's absolutely okay to do things just for fun and without making any money. And it’s not only OK to pursue several interests - according to Barbara Sher – but you SHOULD actually do it! „What you love is a clue from your DNA.“ she said. And “all these clues will lead you to your own hidden treasure.” You never know where all this will lead you. Maybe it all makes sense yet you won`t find out until later. Just think about the calligraphy class that Steve Jobs took … And furthermore (as many are afraid of committing themselves to one thing) - remind yourself that decisions about a hobby or a job don't have to be a life decision ;) STRUCTURE is the second key: Scanners are often afraid of not realizing their own potential, of wasting valuable time, of FOMO and they are often afraid of criticism. What can help is giving yourself some kind of structure - because structure is beneficial to maintaining freedom. Build in buffers and „islands of time“ - to give your desired and necessary tasks space so that they do not catch up with you later. A quote I like: „I don't need time. I need a deadline“ (Duke Ellington). Keep in mind that people often underestimate how long they will need for a task. (=“overconfident bias”). I think, especially as a scanner you should plan bigger buffers to remain more flexible overall. The Scanner Project book (Journaling / Writing): The amount of ideas often paralyzes the scanner - so it can help to write things down and to collect all the ideas in a special project book. Writing mostly helps to make things clearer. By putting thoughts into a sentence, you are „forced“ to become more concrete, and that creates clarity. And it is not just about the clarity of the written formulations … Writing things down in itself clears the mind - because it makes your brain "think" things are done. Which means that they no longer buzz around in your head. This effect is called the Zeigarnik effect. Try out different working models to find the best way for you, e.g. find a part-time job. Here a statement from another scanner I found: "I couldn't imagine being employed full-time because that would make me unhappy. The reason is not in the job itself, but in the fact that I would have to more or less give up all other projects and interests because I would simply have a lot less time for it.“ Making decisions: Try tossing a coin („heads or tails“). This is not about delegating your voting decision, but about tricking your subconscious. Just pay attention to your gut instinct when the coin result shows up. Do you like it at the first moment? - then accept this decision. If you don ́t like it, then take the other one. Or maybe you realize that you don ́t care, that both outcomes will be the same to you. Hire an assistant or external support: What about delegating some tasks to save time? Even if it feels strange at first thought, just think about it: Maybe you can transfer some tasks like proofreading, editing, cleaning, ironing, gardening. You could post a notice in the neighborhood, you can search the classifieds for a student assistant or you can hire the delivery service for the weekly shopping. (For more ideas, check out the great book "The 4-hour workweek" by Timothy Ferriss.) Measures when you feel STUCK: Marie Forleo writes about how many people waste their time pondering about what to do instead of trying things out and then observing how it feels. She points out her own biggest mistake: Searching her head for an answer that could only be experienced. So, when you are stuck in a thought loop of indecision: Start doing. Take a step, any step. Then you will receive feedback for your new step. Experience, engage, try out. „Make a move, no matter how tiny“. Marie puts all her learning into this sentence: „Clarity comes from engagement, not thought.“ Barbara Sher points out to another trap that she calls Time sickness. „Time sickness is a form of hysteria that makes you believe you must fill in every waking hour“ and that everything must be done at once. But you don't have to do it at all once. You can do tasks one at a time. You can schedule them (but not too rigid). You have more time than you think. And there isn´t only either/or, there are often possibilities to combine things. For example, you could get up an hour earlier to write poetry before going to work. Barbara described a situation when a woman was complaining: „I can't even draw anymore. I wish I had more time for it.“ - „Why?” Barbara asked. “How long does it take to draw?“ - The woman was stunned as if she had never thought about it before. Of course, you can almost always find any 20 minutes to draw a little ... ✏︎ What´s holding us back? Balance matters! The other extreme of being stuck is also possible for scanners, because the can run high-powered. The scanner can fluctuate between these two extremes: On the one hand, he can be paralyzed because he doesn't know where to start and therefore postpones everything. He just can't make a decision. On the other hand, it could be possible that he messes around with a lot of projects, can no longer sit still and cannot slow down anymore. Some scanners described it as they´d like to cut something off the night - which of course is not a long-time strategy. So, what matters is on the one hand, to a) be aware of this - and b) therefore really install the buffers and use mindfulness exercises, or create new mindfulness routines and habits. ✏︎ How to change your habits (Side note: As I write this, it is 2:27am in the middle of the night … still something to learn for me ;). Conclusion Barbara Sher (the mother of the “scanner expression”) compares scanners with honeybees flying from flower to flower. Of course, this is not because bees are inconsistent. It's part of nature, as bees make a particularly large contribution to our ecosystem. Einstein put it this way: „No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more men.“ So, what could be the bee-purpose of scanners? I believe it´s their generalism. The bee’s job is to distribute pollen to make the world more colorful. Scanners make the world more colorful by spreading ideas. Many scanners take on the position of an inspiring role model here. They dare to do things although (or precisely because) they are not an expert or need some kind of “license”. They spread inspiration by just doing things, by learning things, by showing others what is possible for everyone. They just play. ... cause life is a game ♡ —>

♡♡♡ Sources for this inspiring short stories: 1. according to Stephen Covey - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People 2. unknown author 3. Ilse Aichinger: Das Fenstertheater 4. unknown author 5. according to: Jorge Bucay - Let Me Tell You a Story: Tales Along the Road to Happiness

Story#7 The aha moment of the scanner-personality Scanners are generalists, universalists and are also called multi-passionates. Often they are autodidacts who live by the motto „learning by doing“. And scanners are often seekers - especially if they don't yet know that they are scanners. They are looking for their ONE passion and are often irritated by their own volatility. They sometimes feel overwhelmed by their many ideas, which in turn leads to indecision and paralysis. Scanners can often feel weird and disconnected because they do not understand their own behavior. I remember when I stumbled upon the scanner description (as a note, there are different versions of scanner personalities). Hey, is that it?! Ohh, it really could be! I can´t explain it exactly, but it felt like a pretty amazing aha-moment, and somehow it felt good. Finally, there was a kind of explanation that makes sense for me, something that could tie everything together. I felt understood. It seemed like a missing piece of the puzzle. Since then I did some research about this topic in the never-ending universe of the world-wide-web. What I found most exciting was the reaction that people described when they first encountered the scanner theory. It sounded a lot like mine. There was often a real WOW effect. This is how others describe their AHA experience (noted accordingly): „During an exam preparation in which my activity was only focused on studying, I noticed that I felt unhappy and depressed. While doing some research I stumbled upon an article on scanners that reported how unhappy a one-sided occupation made this type of people. That became my aha- moment. I instantly felt better because I understood and then I could react. I realized that I wanted to graduate and that I wanted to work in this job. However, I realized that my goal was to do GOOD work and not to be the best in the world in this field. I, therefore "limited" my business goals to provide a balance to my other interests. I realized that my other interests were important for me as well, even though they didn't make any money”. Another scanner receives the decisive hint via Instagram. Her reaction: "Something wonderful has happened.“ She had never heard of scanners before and was thrilled. She describes it as the „great moment that opened her eyes“. Finally, she had found an explanation for her myriad ideas and the volatility and confused thoughts. "It was only when I stumbled across this life-changing book of Barbara Sher.. that pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place - and suddenly I didn't feel so rubbish for simultaneously wanting different things.“ “The most important thing was to realize that I am a scanner and that it is okay to change my ideas like others changing their underwear. Now I know it's ok, because that's how I am wired - and I think it's great”. “I almost fell off my chair, the description applied exactly to me. I never knew why I couldn't find that one thing. But now that it doesn`t matter and that I can do as many things as I want." "I thought something was wrong with me, now I'm relieved“. Marie Forleo describes herself as a "multi-passionate entrepreneur". In her book "Everything is figure out able" she also reports on her search for this one passion. She tried various jobs, but always after a while she felt "This still isn't YOU. .. that`s not what you are supposed to be doing with your life ". She described her thoughts as follows: “What`s wrong with me?” “Am I just not able to focus?”, “What if I am wasting my other talents? Why can’t I just pick one thing to focus on like everybody else?“… She read lots of books to find an answer but there was always the same advice: choose a niche… Marie writes that she felt like being a resident of the island of misfit toys, which is an island of all the unwanted toys from the story of Rudolph the red nosed reindeer. She felt that she didn't fit in the normal world. Then suddenly she got it - and she describes when she heard this phrase "multi-passionate entrepreneur" the first time in her head - for her it was transformative. That was it. This description gave her a new context and she saw herself in a new light - and all this led to new opportunities. These words „multi-passionate entrepreneur“ helped her to stop trying to fit into a conventional career box and gave her emotional freedom to „spread her misfit wings and fly“. Conclusion: Not just for scanners - It´s always enlightening and valuable to realize your nature. Because only then you can follow it. Because only then you can change things that are not right for you. I believe this is the main point: Living in your element and adapting your surroundings accordingly. So what to do when you think you are a scanner? How to deal with your scanner nature? —> Useful tips & ideas for the scanner personality

Story#8 On being a scanner Are you looking for this ONE thing, but you can´t find it? Are you interested in multiple things, but often the topics you have been keen on lost their attraction and the feeling of enthusiasm disappeared? Or you just can´t choose which idea to follow, because there are too many? You are stuck of too many options, which leads you to not doing anything at all instead? Do you think, nothing feels as special as that it could be this one thing that will take a leading role in your life? If you never heard of scanners before, here could be an answer for you. Lately a friend told me that she got her motorbike license. After one year she only had made a few trips. "You know", she said. "I think I only got my driver's license because I just wanted to know how to do this stuff and that I can do it. It's actually not about using it or driving though the scenery for me. THIS really sounds like a scanner. Scanners are multi-interested (multi-passionate) people, who love to read and write, repair, and invent and create and design and learn new things (note: AND not or!). They are often autodidacts and interested in a wide variety of areas that seem to have nothing to do with each other. Scanners have a lot of ideas, they like to explore and try things out, and are usually enthusiastic. But it could also be difficult for them to stay focused and decide what to do next. Scanners are often overwhelmed by their many ideas and their interest in something can quickly disappear. Often, they look for this ONE passion until they realize that it is in their nature to have MANY passions. The expression “scanner” goes back to Barbara Sher, an American author and coach. During her coaching sessions she discovered the multi passionate nature of some clients, who were lost in the feeling of what to do, thinking that there must always be this one passion you have to follow. But this doesn´t always work with scanners. It’s not their nature to have one passion. And - that’s the point – in order to live a meaningful life, you have to follow your nature. That’s why specialists have to be specialists. And that’s also why generalists (scanners) have to be generalists. Because this is their nature and there will be their talent. And what is best: The world need them both. Why do a lot of people resonate so much with this? Scanners (who don´t know they are scanners) think that somehow they are incapable. Everywhere they get this great advice to “follow your passion”, but there is not that one passion. Okay, somehow, they can really be passionate about things, especially in the beginning. But this often never last long, so they think something might be wrong. They feel uncomfortable because they can´t understand themselves. The think they are the only ones who can´t find THAT thing. And not just because society might find them unsteady but because they really want to pursue their purpose. But they can´t see it. The good news: the multi passion thing is THE thing! This is their element, and here is their talent. Considering this, you will soon find out that being a scanner has lots of advantages. What are the talents of a scanner? Scanners are enthusiastic, adaptable, autodidacts and interested in many things (even in things that don't seem to be thrilling at the first place), - and furthermore scanners are generalists and outside-the-box thinkers. And yes, the future will be a great time for scanners. Adaptability and flexibility will be the most required skills in future. Sven Gabor Janszky, futurist and trend researcher, believes that in the future people won´t do the same job for a long time because there will be too much change in the working environment. Many jobs will no longer exist, and new jobs will be created, but you may not know about them right now. You can´t even imagine what jobs there will be in the future (Remember: 20 years ago there were no SEO expert jobs and no Youtubers). Presumably this question "What will you become when you grow up? “, will disappear in the next decades ;). The Key Message - for everyone, of course not just for scanners, is: Follow your nature. When you are doing something, ask yourself: “Do I feel in my element right now?” Everything you love is a clue from your DNA.” Sher said. It just feels good. It`s creating some kind of flow. That’s it. "Of course, horses can swim and birds can walk. But they don´t do that, for fun.” Sher points out. And Maslow, an American psychologist who did a lot of research about human needs and is famous for his “hierarchy of needs”* puts it this way in his essays: It´s about making “a rose into a good rose, rather than in a lily". An additional piece of advice Sher gives, is that you don´t have to quit your job (or something else) - just because you feel like something is missing. Don´t put yourself under this pressure. It seems to be a strange misconception that if something is missing, you have to give up something first. As she said - This would be like going shopping naked because you need a black sweater. If something is missing in your closet, you would go to get it first. And THEN - over time - you would throw away the clothes that are no longer needed. You wouldn't do that in advance. So, if something is missing, get it. Add it. Try things out to find it. (Try things out -> I think this is the KEY key message). If you don't feel any passion yet, that’s ok! What might help is to stay open and curious. Stay curious about life and about where curiosity is taking you. The trick is to get started, even it you don´t have a plan. Just start - and see what happens. No more „I should“-stuff ;) Conclusion: I´ve read a lot about how people (scanners who didn´t know they were scanners) described their reaction when they stumbled upon this scanner theory. How much they resonated with it! It was the same with me, too. And I think it is because of those AHA-feelings “Oh, that´s why! That explains a lot...”. —> The aha-moment of the scanner And as a final thought, the famous speech by Steve Jobs comes to mind: "You cannot connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backward. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.“

Story#9 A Minute Break..... On being a scanner Are you looking for this ONE thing, but you can´t find it? Are you interested in multiple things, but often the topics you have been keen on lost their attraction and the feeling of enthusiasm disappeared? Or you just can´t choose which idea to follow, because there are too many? You are stuck of too many options, which leads you to not doing anything at all instead? Do you think, nothing feels as special as that it could be this one thing that will take a leading role in your life? If you never heard of scanners before, here could be an answer for you. Lately a friend told me that she got her motorbike license. After one year she only had made a few trips. "You know", she said. "I think I only got my driver's license because I just wanted to know how to do this stuff and that I can do it. It's actually not about using it or driving though the scenery for me. THIS really sounds like a scanner. Scanners are multi-interested (multi-passionate) people, who love to read and write, repair, and invent and create and design and learn new things (note: AND not or!). They are often autodidacts and interested in a wide variety of areas that seem to have nothing to do with each other. Scanners have a lot of ideas, they like to explore and try things out, and are usually enthusiastic. But it could also be difficult for them to stay focused and decide what to do next. Scanners are often overwhelmed by their many ideas and their interest in something can quickly disappear. Often, they look for this ONE passion until they realize that it is in their nature to have MANY passions. The expression “scanner” goes back to Barbara Sher, an American author and coach. During her coaching sessions she discovered the multi passionate nature of some clients, who were lost in the feeling of what to do, thinking that there must always be this one passion you have to follow. But this doesn´t always work with scanners. It’s not their nature to have one passion. And - that’s the point – in order to live a meaningful life, you have to follow your nature. That’s why specialists have to be specialists. And that’s also why generalists (scanners) have to be generalists. Because this is their nature and there will be their talent. And what is best: The world need them both. Why do a lot of people resonate so much with this? Scanners (who don´t know they are scanners) think that somehow they are incapable. Everywhere they get this great advice to “follow your passion”, but there is not that one passion. Okay, somehow, they can really be passionate about things, especially in the beginning. But this often never last long, so they think something might be wrong. They feel uncomfortable because they can´t understand themselves. The think they are the only ones who can´t find THAT thing. And not just because society might find them unsteady but because they really want to pursue their purpose. But they can´t see it. The good news: the multi passion thing is THE thing! This is their element, and here is their talent. Considering this, you will soon find out that being a scanner has lots of advantages. What are the talents of a scanner? Scanners are enthusiastic, adaptable, autodidacts and interested in many things (even in things that don't seem to be thrilling at the first place), - and furthermore scanners are generalists and outside-the-box thinkers. And yes, the future will be a great time for scanners. Adaptability and flexibility will be the most required skills in future. Sven Gabor Janszky, futurist and trend researcher, believes that in the future people won´t do the same job for a long time because there will be too much change in the working environment. Many jobs will no longer exist, and new jobs will be created, but you may not know about them right now. You can´t even imagine what jobs there will be in the future (Remember: 20 years ago there were no SEO expert jobs and no Youtubers). Presumably this question "What will you become when you grow up? “, will disappear in the next decades ;). The Key Message - for everyone, of course not just for scanners, is: Follow your nature. When you are doing something, ask yourself: “Do I feel in my element right now?” Everything you love is a clue from your DNA.” Sher said. It just feels good. It`s creating some kind of flow. That’s it. "Of course, horses can swim and birds can walk. But they don´t do that, for fun.” Sher points out. And Maslow, an American psychologist who did a lot of research about human needs and is famous for his “hierarchy of needs”* puts it this way in his essays: It´s about making “a rose into a good rose, rather than in a lily". An additional piece of advice Sher gives, is that you don´t have to quit your job (or something else) - just because you feel like something is missing. Don´t put yourself under this pressure. It seems to be a strange misconception that if something is missing, you have to give up something first. As she said - This would be like going shopping naked because you need a black sweater. If something is missing in your closet, you would go to get it first. And THEN - over time - you would throw away the clothes that are no longer needed. You wouldn't do that in advance. So, if something is missing, get it. Add it. Try things out to find it. (Try things out -> I think this is the KEY key message). If you don't feel any passion yet, that’s ok! What might help is to stay open and curious. Stay curious about life and about where curiosity is taking you. The trick is to get started, even it you don´t have a plan. Just start - and see what happens. No more „I should“-stuff ;) Conclusion: I´ve read a lot about how people (scanners who didn´t know they were scanners) described their reaction when they stumbled upon this scanner theory. How much they resonated with it! It was the same with me, too. And I think it is because of those AHA-feelings “Oh, that´s why! That explains a lot...”. —> And as a final thought, the famous speech by Steve Jobs comes to mind: "You cannot connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backward. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.“ .....NiͥngNiͥng◕‿↼