Photo: Diane Tice and Lou Tice with General Colin Powell, former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the United States
Ms. Diane Tice is the co-founder and owner of The Pacific Institute that provides a scientifically proven education program based on cognitive science. ThroughThe Pacific Institute, she has empowered countless individuals to achieve their God-given potential. The program is currently delivered in more than 60 countries and in 22 languages, and its reach is estimated in the tens of millions to date. She has been able to reach out to such groups as the National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program in Edmonton, Alberta. She has been devoted herself to the local community, donating her time, treasures and talents to local Catholic grade schools and high schools. She was a keynote Speaker for the Fort Worth, Texas YWCA’s first annual “Tribute to Women
—–For those who are not familiar with you, please let us know more about yourself. How did you get Interested in the human potential development?
I am Diane B. Tice, and with my late husband, Louis Tice, we co-founded The Pacific Institute. Lou and I were both teachers. Lou had a Master’s Degree in education with an emphasis on mental health sciences and was recognized nationally for his mental health classes. He also helped write the Washington State guide for mental health.
As we expanded his teachings into the wider community, we formed The Pacific Institute® in 1971. We sought out leading researchers in the fields of cognitive psychology and social learning theory and related fields. Prominent leaders in this area included Dr. Albert Bandura, Dr. Gary Latham, Dr. Martin Seligman with whom we shared our education and received verification of the efficacy of The Pacific Institute’s teachings.
We soon expanded into video-based delivery with the support of TPI trained facilitators and have translated our education into 23 languages. To date, The Pacific Institute has had over 6. 5 million people and thousands of corporate enterprises, educational institutions, government agencies, youth and adult athletic teams experience and apply our education.
The Pacific Institute has also been instrumental in efforts toward international peace in spots such as Northern Ireland since the mid-1980’s, Guatemala since the signing of its peace accord in 1995, and to South Africa from before the end of apartheid in 1994, work that continues today.
—–Why do you think human potential development is important in the 21st century?
I believe that the biggest untapped potential on this earth is the vast under-developed human potential inside each individual waiting to be realized. We now live in a world of accelerating change and increasing demands. Our minds are generally not prepared to deal with such rapid rates of change and the increased pressure of change, meaning we are constantly being taken out of our comfort zones. Our minds want to keep us safe and so we so we resist change. This keeps us from growing and holds us back from achieving more of our human potential. Our ability to think more effectively, embrace change and be more open to new and different things and people will serve us well as an individual, a team, organization, and society.
To achieve this, it is essential to understand that the foundation of all human action is human thought. Our thought process forms the foundation upon which we build every facet of our lives. Therefore, it is important for each of us to understand how our mind works – how we got the habits, attitudes and the beliefs that may stand in our way of releasing our vast inner potential and leading fulfilling and purposeful lives. Our beliefs and expectations about ourselves, our families, our organizations – indeed, our world – are directly related to our current reality. People often trap themselves by hanging on to old habits, attitudes, and expectations that no longer serve them well and in fact, hold them fixed in old or past realities.
People, especially today, need more than ever before to know how their mind works and to understand and use the knowledge of how people function when their thought processes are operating at the level of their true potential.
—–What was the initial mission that you had in your mind?
In the beginning, we formed the mission statement for now and in the future as we feel our mission is universally consistent.
“We affirm the right of all individuals to achieve their God-given potential. The application of our education empowers people to recognize their ability to choose growth, personal freedom, and personal excellence. We commit ourselves to providing this education all over the world, through all means that are just and appropriate, to help individuals reach their full potential, enriching their lives and all humanity.”
I am still working on fulfilling this mission and will continue to do so throughout the rest of my life, as will The Pacific Institute.
Photo: Diane Tice and Lou Tice with Vincente Fox, former President of Mexico, and his wife Marta Sahagún de Fox.
—–What do you think is the biggest barrier for developing human potential?
One of the biggest barriers is ourselves and the limiting beliefs, habits, expectations and attitudes that we and many people were and are raised with and live by today. We all have blind spots and comfort zones that limit our efficacy. All of us, parents, teachers, spouses and leaders today, need to know that each individual has virtually unlimited potential – including ourselves – and treat each person accordingly. Strengthening self-efficacy is essential.
I would like to share some of The Pacific Institute principles that are relevant here to think about and reflect upon and perhaps be a beginning to contemplating an improved future.
“We act like the person we know ourselves to be.”
“We move toward what we think about.”
“Our present thoughts determine our future.”
“We draw to ourselves what we feel worthy of receiving.”
“We don’t let ourselves want what we don’t believe we can cause.”
“There seems to be a direct relationship between what I think about myself and the way my life goes.” LOU TICE
—–What is the common trap that people fall into when they try to make a big decision in their life?
There may be many reasons, but often individuals lack self-efficacy, that ability to cause, to make happen what they want in their lives. They limit themselves with negative self-talk. They listen to others who have their own limiting beliefs. If they accept those limiting beliefs, they limit their potential because our beliefs set the limits on the use of our potential.
Here are some principles of goal-setting that are helpful to contemplate when making decisions and setting new goals.
“The goal comes first and then we perceive.”
“Goal-setting is a familiarization process.”
“Change the way you think and you change the way you run your life.”
“Thoughts accumulate to build beliefs.”
“As we move toward our goals, feedback is essential.”
“Measure yourself from where you are, to the ideal you are working toward.”
“The size of the goal determines the amount of energy created to reach the goal.”
“When pushed, we push back.”
“Think in ideals.”
“Once we arrive at a goal we set, we lose our drive and energy.” LOU TICE
—–There are so many talented people who have not yet flourished their talents. How can they enjoy their talents do you think?
As we all grow and discover our talents and the desire to improve them, it is essential to understand how to overcome the limiting beliefs and negative thoughts that hold us back. A key first step is to understand how our beliefs, which govern our behavior, have been created. Knowing how the mind works is essential to enable us to achieve those desired results because we each have vast untapped potential that will allow our talents to flourish.
Every individual is talented, in some way, and our talents add to our unique qualities as human beings. To enjoy our talents fully, we want to know that we are good, wear them with confidence, and share them with others. In all of this, it is essential to control our self-talk to be constructive. The words we use trigger pictures in our minds, which then trigger our emotional response to the current situation. If we allow negativity and limiting beliefs to dominate, then our response to the situation is negative. Our potential remains hidden and we do not move forward.
For organizations of all business sectors and sizes, our Pacific Institute proprietary programs help create transformational leadership, greater employee engagement, higher performing sales teams and high performing organizational cultures. Effective leaders know how to truly inspire their teams, maximize the talents of their people, leading to higher achieving individuals and organizations.
—–What is your lifetime mission or goal that you would like to achieve?
For the last nearly 50 years, Lou’s and my goals were tied to the goals of the company we founded. Now that I am on my own, that hasn’t really changed. The Pacific Institute intends to continue on its life-long mission of igniting human potential by providing people and organizations with the tools that ignite their thinking and accelerate their performance. Central to the work of The Pacific Institute around the world is enabling the growth of highly engaged, deeply motivated and very effective workforces helping leaders cultivate their own talents and those of their people.
We help organizations, government agencies, educational institutions at all levels and athletic teams (and much more) build sustainable cultures that produce industry results in all areas of performance, including revenue growth, profitability, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, retention, safety and more.
To date, The Pacific Institute has had over 6.5 million people and thousands of organizations participate in our programs in over 6 countries and in 23 languages. This reach provides a tremendous understanding of individual and organizational performance and is the passion that we, the people of The Pacific Institute, bring to our clients each and every day.
—–If you could make a call to a 20-year-old Diane Tice, what kind of advice you would give to her?
I would have her ask herself some beginning questions such as: Who am I? What are my values? What do I want? What makes me happy? Keeping a reflective journal would be helpful. You see, there truly is no growth without self-examination. There is no growth without discontent. Understand that as you visualize the new, you will become discontent with the old, and that is good! You are supposed to be discontented.
What we have come to know is that all meaningful and lasting change starts on the inside and then works its way outward. As you visualize your future, know that if you cannot see it, you cannot seize it. You need to see your goals as ALREADY accomplished. It’s the future but in the present tense. Write them in affirmation form as already accomplished. As you read them, vividly see them as reality with strong positive emotion and feel comfortable with the new reality as you expand your comfort zone.
Through this lifelong process as you grow and become that which you envisioned do not compare yourself to others, but compare yourself from where you are to where you goal-set to be. Share your talents and wisdom with others and understand that true happiness is in sharing.
—–If you can leave one message to realizing global peace, what would be your message?
Global peace can only be accomplished when each individual person develops peace within themselves. I hope that we, The Pacific Institute, can reach more people to help them overcome limited thinking and erroneous beliefs; that they find peace within themselves and be able to share that wisdom with others, with respect and appreciation for each other.
Our present thoughts do determine our future. What are we thinking about today? Our answers will decide our future.
