Chapter 5 Developing Fun Kites

One day, Freddy and his father were having a chat after a Fun Kites gathering.

Father: “I have participated in several Fun Kites gatherings and you have done a good job. However, I feel that the members need some guidance. Like a clear direction. Right now, what you have is a group of people coming together to bond and share ideas freely.”

Freddy: “I am not sure what you meant. I have established clear building, decorating, flying, and teaching steps.”

Father: “Indeed, but there is something more. I advise you to go back to the beginning. Look at the little details. Understand the underlying nature of every occurrence. Explore beyond your Fun Kites community. Be patient and you will discover something special that has always been within your community. You just need to capture and shade light on it.”

So, Freddy started from scratch. He built, decorated, and flew his own kites. Then, he participated in many Fun Kites gatherings and listened to all the stories shared among the members. At times, he would reflect his ideas in solitude.

Additionally, Freddy started to explore outside the Fun Kites community. He visited many toy stores, art shops, manufacturing facilities, and science centers. He even took up art, business, and science classes. After exchanging many ideas with people from all walks of life, Freddy would share what he had discovered with the Fun Kites community.

One day, as Freddy was looking at a kite design, it hit him. He realized that every kite was different. Every Fun Kites member was creating an experience. Every experience was different. They were all uniquely personalized. This was possible because every person wanted to have something of their very own. Right from the beginning, they were motivated to be different.

Freddy also discovered that what really mattered was how one would react to the experience - the feelings and thoughts of the experience. If Fun Kites could help to shape the perspectives and point out different possibilities, then Fun Kites could change the members' experiences.

Freddy shared his thoughts with Wendy and Kathy. Together, they developed the F Formula – a framework to think creatively with focus. It would guide people to think differently and push beyond boundaries while understanding their personal purposes and their impact beyond a personal level.

A very simple example is illustrated below to explain the F Formula. Each F is broadly defined. Depending on the context, certain details for each F may not be applicable. One can choose how wide or how narrow one wishes to define for each F.

Faith: With regards to this situation, do I believe in myself? Do I believe in my abilities to deal with this situation? Do I take responsibility for every outcome? Do I trust the people, things, nature, society, and the universe that are affecting my situation? Faith is needed right from the start. Faith encourages people to think positively and have the courage to move forward. (Note: The universe refers to everything - the known and unknown. It consists of infinite possibilities.)

E.g. Before building a kite, I have faith in myself. I believe in my abilities and know that I am able to accomplish this goal. I also have faith in my teacher. I know that my teacher has the knowledge to help me. I am thankful to be given this learning opportunity.

Flexible: How can I ensure further, feasible, firm, fun, and focus are all aligned together? Flexible ties the framework together.

Further: How can I go beyond boundaries? What are some of the distorted, impossible, and exaggerated ideas? What is my ideal concept? How can I think differently? Is this challenging? Does it help me to grow? How sure am I about this?

E.g. What if my kite is like a cloud floating in the sky? So, I am going to use cotton wool to decorate my kite. My teacher said that no one has done this before. This will be challenging. This is a good opportunity to explore something different.

Feasible: What are my limitations? Can this be done? Is this within the budget, resources, time, and commitment? What are the rules? What are my strengths and weaknesses? How sure am I about this?

E.g. The deadline for this project is next month. I have sufficient time. I am committed to this idea but I do not have the money to buy cotton wool. I have good kite flying kites but I am not sure if my kite can fly with cotton wool on it. (Go to “Flexible” to find solutions.)

Solution: I will borrow some cotton wool from my parents. To ensure that my kite flies, I will only use a small amount of cotton wool. I will carry out trial and error. I may need a bigger kite or improvise my kite to ensure better wind flow. I will share my concerns with my my teacher.

Firm: How do I achieve stability? Can this withstand? Is it reliable? Is it durable? Can I trust this? How sure am I about this?

E.g. I have to make sure that the cotton wool will stick on my kite. How do I attach the cotton wool on my kite? Super glue, perhaps? How do I ensure that the cotton wool will remain attached on my kite? Tape? Sewing it? What are some other uncommon methods? Will this be within my budget and how do I make this work? (Go to “Flexible” to find solutions).

Solution: I will research on these methods and find other suitable methods. I will conduct tests and keep track of my budget.

Fun: Do I enjoy this? Do I like what I am doing? Is this fun? Is it likable? Is it attractive? How sure am I about this?

E.g. Yes, this will be fun and enjoyable. I am happy with this idea.

Focus: How mindful and aware am I? Focus has four aspects. It is broadly defined below.

Inner self: How does this affect me? Why am I doing this? Is this what I want? Does this align with my purpose? Does this achieve my short-term and long-term goals? What are my gut feelings?

E.g. I choose to do this because this is me. This is my style. This is what I want. I feel great. It achieves my short-term goal of being a kite decorator and aligns with my long-term goal of being a fashion designer.

Inner circle: How does this affect the people around me (people inside my social circle e.g. family, friends, classmates, teammates, etc.)? What do they think about this? What are their opinions and emotions?

E.g. My friends thought that it was a great idea. But my parents felt that I could do something more creative (Go to “Flexible” to find solutions).

Solution: I will still use cotton wool because this is what I want. To be more creative, I will create different shapes and designs. I am aware that this will affect feasibility and stability.

Outer circle: How does this affect other people (people outside of my social circle e.g. Fun Kites, school, society)? Is this for the greater good? What do they think about this? What are their opinions and emotions?

E.g. Many Fun Kites members considered this as a new idea and welcomed it. I am helping other members to grow creatively by expanding the pool of knowledge.

External circle: Is this morally right? Where does this stand in my life? Is this what I am meant to do in this world?

E.g. Cotton wool does not pollute the environment. I am not stealing another person's idea. This is helping me to develop designing skills. I do see that I am meant to be a designer some day.

After using the F Formula, the next steps would be to organize clear and simple action plans. In this case, some some action plans could be stating clear goals and deadlines for this decorating project, and listing specific steps for trial and error. One would then proceed to carry out the project and revisit the F Formula to ensure that the actions are in alignment.

Freddy introduced the F Formula to the Fun Kites community. This formula would shape thoughts and actions; and assist with learning and teaching within the community. To guide the members on using the F formula, Freddy decided to train a pool of leaders by launching the “Fun Kites Leadership” program.

These leaders had the following qualities:

1. A passion for kites (I like what I do.)

2. Believe in Fun Kites (I trust this community to take care of me. I belong here.)

3. Moderate or high level of kite building, decorating, and flying skills (I have the essential knowledge.)

4. Help other members to grow (I have a desire to help members to grow in the positive direction. I am sensible, kind, humble, understanding, and patient. I communicate well. I know when and how to guide and when not to.)

5. Strive to continuously learn and improve (I am curious and hungry. I challenge the norms and constantly seek new knowledge to improve myself and the Fun Kites community.)

6. Care beyond Fun Kites (I care about my members' personal life purposes and goals. Together, we shall create something meaningful and impact beyond the community.)

Each leader would guide each individual on fully utilizing the F Formula when acquiring kite building, decorating, and flying skills. The leader would supervise and give clear and simple directions, and motivate and challenge the individual to think differently. After acquiring the basics, the individual would then explore beyond Fun Kites.

Then, leaders and individuals would to come together to share new and old ideas and to think as a team. Through this, individuals would get the opportunity to switch roles and teach and inspire one another. Subsequently, different teams would come together to create more diverse teams.

Fun Kites members were encouraged to consider Fun Kites as a safe place to open up and share their personal goals and life challenges. Using the F Formula, members would help one another to achieve personal goals as well as Fun Kites goals.

The F Formula encouraged Fun Kites members to be creative and push beyond the boundaries. Some people challenged the norms by experimenting with different types of building materials and designs. Others contributed fresh decorating ideas, developed new flying techniques, and established creative teaching methods. Each project required team members to conduct trial and error and work on actionable tasks. Each team would set small goals, create detailed plans, assign clear roles, learn from failures, make changes, and celebrate small achievements.

Soon, the Fun Kites community became a self-producing pool of innovative ideas. It was not just knowledge. It was shared knowledge. It wasn't a person building a kite, it was about sharing what he or she had built with other people. By sharing knowledge, people were brought together to think about issues differently, improve on existing knowledge, and develop something purposeful that could be shared among the people.

This continuous cycle of gathering and developing knowledge helped Fun Kites to grow and expand. Fun Kites has become an inspiring community where people were continuously learning and growing through the exchange of new and old learning and teaching experiences.