We win the game of the Advanced Course

As of this post, the fourth Advanced Course is heading to its completion an evening from now. Having assisted yesterday towards the end of the course proper, I was awed anew at the power of the course, the technology, and the education itself. Hands down, I think the Advanced Course is the single best program of its kind money can pay for.

As I've shared many times before, I got my leadership in the Advanced Course. Yesterday I witnessed different people getting theirs - and not only in the course. The assisting program for the Advanced Course is a powerful experience and I'm so moved by the wisdom and courage and risk these people have taken on. I will mention them by name: Christine Garcia, Trish Bote, Meyan Mendoza, Marose Perreira... I am SURE there are more, only that these are the people I've had the privilege to work with up-close yesterday (and tomorrow is another opportunity).

I say to all of you, in you I can distinguish leadership. I know when I am being powerful as a leader when I see in myself the being of Christine, of Trish, of Meyan, of Marose. I got my Advanced Course all over again - and I think you get how great that is.

I remember my own Advanced Course, Christine and Marose are my batchmates. We came to an agreement in our self-expression as a batch - to distinguish the game of our Advanced Course. And here it is:

When everyone wins the game of the Advanced Course, we are a group that is an unstoppable source of enrollment, possibility, and transformation wherever we are.

Winning is an inspiring word to me. Possibility is distinguished as a triumph over the Act. The possibility that I am and that inspires me the most is the possibility of Victory. And my participation in the Assisting Program of the Advanced Course gave me every opportunity to give that possibility time, space and form.

I want to share an account of a great victory written by the cartoonist Scott Adams about Roger Federer (arguably the greates tennis player of all time) winning at the Indian Wells tournament. Read it here.

How to create a breakdown :-p

First of all let me make it clear that I am neither an Introduction Leader, a Seminar Leader much less a Forum Leader. I discuss the work and the technology as a participant and a graduate of the Curriculum for Living. Having said that, let me share about breakdowns.

Breakdowns need to be distinguished, and then declared. A lot of times when something happens and I don't take what I get (I resist what's so), I don't experience it as a breakdown. For example: I woke up late this morning and procrastinate going to work. Two hours later I procrastinate some more (I have a very flexible schedule today). I end up leaving for work much later in the afternoon and although I can be at work and work on things I planned to work on, I missed my opportunity to meet people that my work has an impact on, as well as people who can and do have an impact on my work. And that's just what happened.

What I make it mean is there's something wrong with me: "I'm lazy. I procrastinate and graduates of the Curriculum for Living don't procrastinate. And I'm making myself wrong for this which means I'm running a racket against myself. Better myself than against others because that's worse. Now my workday is screwed. I should have just called in sick and not have gone to work. Wait, that would be inauthentic. I'd just hate to be a veritable buffet table of inauthenticity heading into the weekend. I suck. Life sucks."

Against the background of my possibility (Victory! Freedom! Love!) that internal conversation I just had disempowers me tremendously.

Wax On/Wax Off

What is my intention? Create results aligned with my possibility of Victory (get some work done, align my schedule for next week). Arriving at the office at 6:00PM is not consistent with that intention. The probable almost certain future is that those results are not going to happen. What happened is that I was late and the work is incomplete. Let me just take what I got.

Now I can declare a breakdown.