Peter Spung > Recent Status Updates

The Afterthought includes a self-assessment quiz on the 14 chapters which include the 11 thinking skills. Then advice is offered based on the low, medium and high score for each chapter / skill. For example, for a skill that scored low, bring someone onto the team who is proficient and scores high on that skill. The author encourages you to think well, making it your greatest tool for creating the world you desire.

Skill 11: Bottom‑line thinking brings clarity, sharpens decisions, boosts morale, and secures the future, as shown in Frances Hesselbein’s leadership. Identify the true bottom line and make it your focus, build a strategic plan to reach it, align people with it, and create a consistent system to monitor progress so you gain maximum return and unlock your full potential.

Skill 10: Unselfish thinking focuses on others’ journeys and collaborates for shared growth, modeled by George Washington Carver. It brings fulfillment, adds value, strengthens character, and creates lasting impact. Practice servant leadership, notice others’ needs, give quietly, check your motives, act now, and build a legacy that lifts people higher and inspires those who follow.

Skill 9: Shared thinking lifts you beyond solo limits by combining strengths, because none of us is as smart as all of us. It accelerates progress, strengthens ideas, sparks innovation, and multiplies value. Value others’ insights, shift from competition to cooperation, set clear agendas, involve the right people, reward good thinkers, and cultivate a culture where ideas grow together.

Skill 8: Questioning popular thinking frees you from old ideas, conventional wisdom, and groupthink. Popular thinking can discourage real thought, offer false hope, resist change, and produce only average results. How? Think before you follow, value different perspectives, question your own assumptions & successes, try new approaches, and get comfortable with discomfort to achieve uncommon results.

Skill 7: Reflective thinking asks daily what you learned, what to share, & what to do. It puts experiences in perspective, adds emotional distance from on experience, strengthens decision‑making, clarifies the big picture, and turns good moments into valuable ones. Set time aside, remove distractions, review your day, ask deep questions about values, relationships & experiences, and cement learning through action.

Skill 6: Possibility thinking expands what you believe can be achieved, as George Lucas did with Star Wars. It opens options, attracts opportunities, fuels big dreams, lifts you above average, energizes commitment, & keeps you from quitting. Stop focusing on impossibilities, ignore limiting voices, look for potential in every situation, dream bigger, challenge the status quo, & draw inspiration from great achievers.

Skill 5: Strategic thinking gives direction today and expands tomorrow’s potential. Planning your life and living your plan simplifies challenges, prompts the right questions, prepares you for uncertainty, reduces errors, and builds influence. Break issues down, ask Why before How, identify real obstacles and resources, develop a plan, place people well, and repeat the process to drive lasting progress.

Realistic thinking grounds you in truth without limiting creativity. It helps leaders define reality, manage risks, set achievable targets, and build credibility. It minimizes disappointment, supports wise planning, and turns dreams into action. Do your homework, weigh pros and cons, consider worst‑case outcomes, align plans with real resources, stay anchored in facts, and think with clarity.

Skill 3: Creative thinking thrives when you value ideas, explore options, embrace ambiguity, connect the unconnected, and don’t fear failure. It adds value, attracts others, and challenges the status quo. Remove creativity killers, ask bold questions, build a creative environment, spend time with creative people, and stretch beyond your comfort zone.

Skill 2: Focused thinking unlocks potential. Like Crayola staying true to children's art supplies, focus channels energy, matures ideas, and brings clarity. Prioritize what matters, remove distractions, set goals, track progress, and adjust. Doing a few things well requires giving up many. Choose impact over breadth and stay committed to what matters most.

Skill 1: Big‑picture thinking expands what’s possible. Eratosthenes proved it by estimating Earth’s size with shadows, assuming it was round not flat. This mindset means learning continually, listening well, and seeing beyond the obvious. It helps leaders spot vision early, size up situations, guide teams, avoid the mundane, and explore new ground. Keep learning, growing, and looking wide.

In Chap 3 Maxwell relates skills and practices on mastering intentional thinking. His formula is The Right Thought plus the Right People in the Right Environment at the Right Time for the Right Reason = the Right Result. He elaborates: act to find a thinking place for good thoughts, stretch thoughts, expose yourself to good thinkers and sources, have a good sounding board, and learn, improve, repeat the process.

Chapter 2 illustrates the positive impact of changed thinking through case studies and examples. People are limited by their own thinking, often boxed in by rules, regulations, and programs instead of issues and ideas. Changed thinking is not automatic, is difficult, it's worth it, and the best gift you can give to others. It changes beliefs, expectations, attitudrs, behaviors, performance, and your life.

Chap 1 explains the importance of great thinking and gives several reasons why success in life or a profession is caused by great thinking. Too many people are taught facts or what to think, not how to think, and how to think well. The latter causes people to distinguish their lives and careers from mediocre thinkers. 11 specific thinking skills will be explained and illustrated with examples by Maxwell.

In Chap 3, Hate America, Inc, Levin outlines the century-long effort to erode Americanism through an Americanized Marxism spread via academia and social engineering. He profiles key Marxist thinkers and leaders and warns of indoctrination in education, linking it to modern policy pushes like free college. The goal: reshape society toward a godless utopian ideal, despite its deadly global legacy and massive failures.

Both Hildreth and Cutler led complete lives, upstanding Christian men of impeccable character to whom Ohio is forever indebted. in 1860 the population reached 2 million, and William Cutler was elected to Congress. He gave passionate abolition speeches, just as his father Ephraim often did. In 1863 the Confederates under John Morgan fought the Ohio militia across southern Ohio before surrendering in Salineville.

In his early 80s in the early 1850s, Cutler regularly rode on horseback 28 miles one way to his farm in Amesville. In 1853 his horse stumbled and threw him. He died July 8 1853 of internal his injuries, having never missed an Ohio U trustees mtg. Just before and much to his delight, Uncle Tom's Cabin was published in 1852 about stories from black servants in Cincinnati. Dr Samuel Hildreth died 16 days after Cutler.

Ephraim Cutler, the most notable of Ohio's pioneers aged gracefully in his tight family. His son William was very mild mannered and humble, and became Speaker of the House in the Ohio state legislature. In June 1846, matriarch Sally and Ephraim's wife of 38 years died. Son Charles died in 1849 of cholera in California, having joined the gold rush. Marietta remained a small town of less than 4,000 people in 1850.

John Quincy Adams travels west at 76 y.o. to dedicate a new observatory (and the largest in the western hemisphere) in Cincinnati, then visits Marietta w/ fanfare. Discussion on a boat trip north with Ephraim Cutler, Caleb Emerson, and Joseph Barker, Jr. covered a wide range of topics: the 1783 Treaty of Paris & NW Territory and John Adams, the Ohio Constitution, and the Underground Railroad thru Marietta and Ohio.

Many from afar visited Ohio and the northwest territory. The erudite socialites were not impressed by the earnest and hardworking in the Marietta area. Charles Dickens was astonished and charmed by Cincinnati. Dr. Hildreth took three months to visit his family in the east via carriage, steamboat, canal boat, train coach and many stops at rapidly growing towns. A visit to his alma mater Yale was especially endearing.

The end of the war of 1812 brought optimism and growth to Ohio, now at 500,000 people. The state Capitol again moved, to Columbus. Ephraim Cutler strives for state education and the Ohio University. Dr. Hildreth builds a mansion in Marietta with barter labor from some of his 600 patients. Manesseh Cutler & Rufus Putnam die. Ohio passes an equal tax, state education, and a canal. Marietta College was founded in 1834.

Teacher & later country doctor Samuel Hildreth arrived on the Ohio frontier from Massachusetts in 1806 at 23. Marietta had 180 dwellings and 1,500 inhabitants. From 1800 to 1810, Ohio grew from 45K to 231K people as "Ohio Fever" moved people west. Ephraim Cutler's beloved Leah dies of consumption, who picks out his next wife Sally Parker. Earthquakes, floods, epidemics, battles and steamboats make life interesting.

Aaron Burr the former US VP arrived in Marietta a year after killing Alexander Hamilton. Ever charming, plotting and scheming, he had 15 boats built at Blennerhasset's expense to either overthrow Mexico or divide the Union's western states from the east. Jefferson had him arrested and tried. He was acquitted. Blennerhasset's exquisite home and island were destroyed, and the family disbursed and each died penniless.

The Treaty of Greenville signed by American officials and Indian representatives on Aug 3, 1795, ended 4 long years of fighting. A new era and a wave of settlers arrived, including fewer federalists and more republicans including Irish immigrants. Thx to Ephraim Cutler, Ohio's constitution narrowly averted a slavery clause, and was approved by Pres Jefferson and Congress. It became the 17th state on Feb 19, 1803.

... Was epic, worse than any suffered by the American army during the entire Revolution. 623 soldiers dead and 200 others. The Indians suffered 22 dead and 40 wounded. Ebenezer Denny traveled east to break the news to Washington and Congress, which took a month in treacherous conditions. A more professional army was raised with a new commander, who won a big victory on Aug 20, 1794. The settlers felt relieved.

Havoc! After many isolated attacks, the Indians promised by next spring (1791), no smoke would come from settlers cabins. Letters to Pres Washington and Congress spur action. An army of 2,000 ruffians under Gen St Clair was raised. He had no interest in gathering intel on the Indians and spent many weeks marching, clearing trees, building roads and forts. Nov 4 the attack and slaughter came. St Claire's Defeat...

Winter of 1788-89 was rough. The little provisions were soon gone, w/o enough salted meats. Indians drove the game away from the settlement. The first wedding was performed on Feb 6, 1789. Interesting characters and skills arrived in the spring from New England and France as the settlement grew. Long days of hard physical labor and grit were needed to survive. Measles and slaughter by Indians impacted that.

Two parties totaling 48 people headed west for Ohio, 700 miles on foot in the winter of 1787/88. It took two months to reach the Ohio River near the 150 cabin outpost of Pittsburgh. Then two months to build a boat to carry them to the Muskingum River, where Marietta Ohio was established after a warm season of tree and land clearing. An Indian peace treaty signed in Jan 1789, had little effect. 132 people faced winter

Rev Manessah Cutler has a bold vision: expand the US north and west of the Ohio river. Through amazing persuasive leadership, his Ohio Company is born, and on July 7th, 1787, Congress contracts 5M acres for $3.5M, and the US doubles in size, adding a region the size of France that will become five States: Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and the Great Lakes, Illinois and Wisconsin. Expedition planning began in earnest.