Week 8 – Reaction is a Choice

Reaction is a choice…what a wonderful follow-up to the Week 7 lesson of squashing negative thoughts with positive thoughts!

I’ve often heard the suggestion (and I’d bet that you have too) to focus my time and energy on the things I can control and to not worry about the things I cannot control. It made sense to me the first time I heard it and it still makes sense to me today. Have I done a good job at it? Um, no, I haven’t…SHAME ON ME! Although I understood and agreed with the concept on an intellectual level, supporting it on an emotional level just wasn’t happening. I don’t think I realized very much that I was allowing that to happen, but after becoming aware of my negativity last week, I’m realizing in a BIG way that I had lost control of myself emotionally.

Stimulus –> Choice –> Response. There it is, plain and simple. I live with the shame of now knowing that, more often than not, my choices were wrong and my responses were even worse.  I’ve been allowing my negatively to run around unchecked….to seep into my responses and reactions….to be less of a person than I really am.

Change begins with awareness. Well, now I’m aware…and very excited to have begun applying my new-found awareness into a change for the better.

Mandino’s Scroll Marked II: “I greet this day with love in my heart”. I think I get it…I really think I get it!

Peace to all, Jerry B

Week 7 – Discovering My Negativity

Just when you think you know someone, you learn something new about them that surprises you. The person I thought I knew was…me!

I thought I knew who I was and how I thought. When I was younger, I was the eternal optimist. On the job, I felt like I could do anything and get it done within the time that the boss wanted it. Over time, I found myself becoming unable to do that on a consistent basis….but I worked through it. I begin asking more questions, clarifying the request and figuring out what the obstacles to meeting the request might be. My performance got better and my life got better.

I found that as I progressed down the path of questioning and clarifying, I had become (in my mind) an EXPERT at clarification, expectation setting, planning and prioritizing. I became a leader in my field because I was able to effectively challenge requests and meet executive expectations for both myself and my corporate team.

Then Week 7 of the MKMMA program arrived and I was challenged to think only positive thoughts for an entire week. I was educated on the principle that someone can only focus on one thought at a time, and that when a negative thought enters our mind we must identify it and replace that thought with more positive thinking. Each time we do not replace the thought within 20 seconds, we needed to start counting our week from Day 1 again. NO SWEAT, I’ll CRUSH this exercise!

You know what…I’M GETTING CRUSHED. Until I focused on this concept, I had no idea how negative I had become. My confidence in clarification and expectation setting had morphed in cockiness. I came to realize that any thought or suggestion that didn’t come from me was wrong. I had put up a wall against others’ thinking and had gone down the wrong path….and way far down that path.

I still haven’t made it through an entire week yet, but I’m getting closer. Almost half way through a week at this point, and getting better at catching and replacing my negative thoughts.

Who is that “Guy in the Glass”? Still not totally sure, but getting to know him better on a daily basis.

Keep growing and improving everyone…what a wonderful ride!

Jerry B

Week 6 – Kaleidoscope of my Dreams

The world is, no doubt, filled with color. There are colorful people, colorful places and colorful things. There are more colors than you can even imagine. Want a little proof? Find a box of 128 Crayola crayons and you’ll see a LOT of colors….and those 128 are just scratching the surface.

What I find very interesting in my journey through the Master Key Master Mind Alliance program is that even with all the color in the world, I’m really only seeing 4 colors these days. You guessed it, they are the 4 primary colors of Red, Blue, Green and Yellow and they are “carrying the flag” for my dreams, aspirations and the future for me and my family. They seem to be everywhere….and that’s because they ARE. I just never noticed them before.

Just as my subconscious has narrowed my visual/mental acuity to focusing in on the 4 colors of my dreams, it has also narrowed my mental focus on obtaining those dreams, pushing aside distractions and the negativity of nay-sayers…I’m turning dreams into reality.

 

Peace,

Jerry

Week 5 – Is 90/10 the new 80/20?

Are you familiar with the 80 / 20 rule? It’s also know as the Pareto Principle. My guess would be that have probably heard of it. In fact, I’m pretty sure that you have. How can I be so sure? It’s because the 80 / 20 rule seems to have been applied to virtually every statistical measurement known to man. Want just a few examples? Try these out for size:

• 20% of the people account for 80% of the wealth
• 20% of employees produce 80% of a company’s production
• 20% of customers account for 80%  of the sales / revenue
• 20% of the people you know provide 80% of the support you need

To sum up this idea, the 80/20 rule means that the relationship between input and output is rarely, if ever, balanced. As I look back on this concept, it seems logical. It seems like a good thing to keep in mind while planning your week through your OATS . It seems to make sense….a lot of sense. This is not a new idea for me. I’ve been applying the 80 / 20 rule in my life for quite a while.

Guess what….80 / 20 is only a small piece of the puzzle. With no disrespect to the 80 / 20 rule, what about the 90 / 10 rule?   The 90 / 10 rule is that 90% of our mental life is subconscious and only 10% is conscious. You know what that means???  I’ve lived my life applying 10% of my reasoning to determining what 20% of things I should be focusing on. Does that mean I’ve only been 2% effective…I sure hope not!

But what if my “fuzzy math” is right? What if I’ve only tapped into a small, almost unmeasurable portion of my ability and talent because the 90% of my mental life has been allowed to run unchecked and uncontrolled? What if the 90% has literally been sabotaging the 10% of my conscious which I have been relying on guide my life and make me successful?

Have I been successful? Well, I used to think so. Now I’m not so sure. How much have I “settled for” in life? How many dreams have I made smaller than they should have been because my subconscious put doubts and limits on me.

You’ve heard the expression “coulda, shoulda, woulda”? No more of that is being allowed! No more regrets! I’m 5 weeks into gaining control of my subconscious, gaining control of my life and gaining control of my future and the future of my family.

I’m proud and honored to be sharing these 26 weeks with my extended family within the MKMMA community.

Peace to you all as we continue our journey together,

Jerry B

Week 4 – I can be what I will to be

“I can be what I will be” – Those are all very small words. Together, they compose a very small phase….but don’t EVER let size fool you, because good things DO come in small packages! Those words are a POWERHOUSE for mental and emotional growth. They are mental bulldozers clearing the debris which holds us back.

Remember Og Mandino’s Scroll Marked I, which applies equally here: “…never will I allow the brevity of each scroll nor the simplicity of it’s words to cause me to treat the scroll’s message lightly”

“I can be what I will be” — Yes, I can!

— Jerry B

MKMMA – Week 3

Another week “in the books” for the Master Key Master Mind Alliance Scholarship Program. Books such as Scroll 1 of “The Greatest Salesman in the World” and the first three chapters of the Master Keys. More importantly, “books” such as the new one being written about my life, my attitude, my opportunities and my future.

This book is not for sale and cannot be found in your local bookstore or antique shop. It’s a book being authored in my mind by my new favorite author, my sub-conscience. A book which is uncovering my hidden abilities. The abilities which have always existed, but which have been beaten down by years of self-doubt and discouragement. A book which is working like a piece of heavy equipment to rip away the layer upon layer of muck which has weighted down my abilities to move forward and grow.

It’s a new day. The sun is shining. Time to get to work!

Jerry B

MKMMA – Week 2

Let me be honest, before having been blessed with the opportunity to participate in the 0 Program…I had “goals”. In fact. I had very good goals. I read them twice a day and they moved me. They drove me forward.

I no longer have goals, now I have a Definite Major Purpose and Personal Pivotal Needs. Even though the primary objectives of my goals were pretty much the same as what’s in my DMP….there is a HUGE difference.

Goals, to me, were targets which I was looking to achieve. Although they moved me, they always felt like something “outside” of me. I saw them as an external motivator…something to help me through the times of doubt and lost motivation.

My DMP, on the other hand, has been infused with passion, emotion and my Personal Pivotal Needs. My DMP doesn’t just motivate me and drive me…it has BECOME me….or to say it better, I have BECOME it. My DMP is not external, it has become internal….it is what I am and do.

Only 2 weeks into the program and feeling different already.  I can’t imagine what experiences and changes lie ahead over the next 24 weeks for me and all the other fortunate MKMMA participants.

Keep Growing,  Jerry B

MKMMA – Week 1

Week 1 of the MKMMA Program is beginning to draw to a close. To put the experience into a single word, I would have to choose AMAZING. But let’s be real, something that’s AMAZING can’t really be put into one word.

Although I expected to see a change in myself over the course of the 26 week program, I never really expected to experience any change so quickly. Starting each day with the Blueprint Builder, Scroll 1 of the Salesman and my DMP gives a very important ‘kick-start’ to the day and puts me in the right frame of mind to tackle my day. Following it up with re-reads and Chapter 1 of the Master Key System helps to keep the right attitude and finishing up the day with my DMP and Scroll 1 just before bed actually makes we WANT to hear the alarm go off! (Isn’t that just SICK!!!)

My biggest hurdle so far had been sitting still for 15 minutes. Physically, my body is not used to it, so it gets to be uncomfortable….but “Mind over Matter”, I’ll clear this hurdle with persistence and patience.

LOVE the O.A.T.S. approach. Yes, it takes a little time and a lot of discipline, but the more important things get done first.

I am forming good habits and becoming their slave.  Bring on Week 2!

Peace and success to all,  Jerry

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!