Orrin Woodward and LIFE took their game to next level to march towards the goal of touching 1 million people.
Mental Fitness Challenge is the most comprehensive 90 day step by step game plan to get results in areas of your life that you never thought you can measure because of their intangible nature. Well no more! Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward continue to march towards fulfilling their God given calling of reclaiming America to its original greatness.
So, here is my story about the Mental Fitness Challenge as I write this.
I am on 16th day of the challenge as I write this. Initially I was a little out in the desert on whether I was doing it right and looks like by the time I got to the character section I got the hang of it.
The number 1 thing I had to do (which took me a week to figure out, slow but I always get there, smile) is to forget the fact that I read all the three books in the modules and approach this with someone who hasnt but hungry to learn. Combined with the fact that I had issues putting the cds on my ipod(operator error, hehe) so I fell behind listening to cds in week #1. Good news is I do listen 4 LIFE cds a day so that helped out.
Ok, I confess, the first ‘right in your face’ revelation was the self assessment denial I was in. Somehow my coordinates on the graph looked more rounder and expanded than the 10-15 people feedback I got which had more pointed edges and looked more shrunk than my glorious evaluation of myself. Ok I will be honest, I rated myself twice in most than what others thought. Thank God, it was anonymous, otherwise I would have spilled some curry on them!!! Smile.
Questions came to my mind like:
Am I supposed to watch that same video everyday or there is new one coming? Then I realized I have to watch the same video every day and read the Resolved book and contemplate on the topic in question for the week using the Goals and tracker sheet. Oh by the way, It took me a couple more days to figure, it might be a good idea to journal the progress on the ‘Weekly Journal’ sheets. hehe. I promise you there are some best practices that came out of this seemingly obvious things my one brain cell was trying to figure out or was struggling to.
Watching the Video with new eyes and ears everyday was a key thing for me along with cds and books. For example: My answer to the three questions(hedgehog concept) at the beginning of the week were I felt very good but every day as I contemplated and building my business it forced me to validate whether I was truly living that. It is amazing it forced me to tailor my conversations so as to truly validate the answers I have written. By the time I came to the end of the week, the answers were not dramatically different but boy did they make it more real what I was pursuing. For those who are wondering if you have to watch the same video over an over, the answer is YES, if you are intentionally asking those three questions in all of your interactions to see you whether validate that. It is not as much as to validate what we wrote but more importantly, am I being altruistic about my answers or is that something that moves me deeply in my heart and gut. If one feels like they cant validate or “I dont get the feeling’, that is good news. All that means is you have to figure out what the true answers are and eventually that has to move you to action and while in action it gives you the most joy because you are living out your purpose.
When I came to the Character week, it was the toughest week.
Everyday I had to make an intentional effort to see whether my dealings in the world and people around me experienced the true character I wanted to reveal as opposed to a habitual character that I have built over the years. For me, ‘Am telling the truth in this matter?’ ‘ Am I manipulating to get desired result?’ ‘Am I lying?’ ‘Am I exaggerating?’ etc (typical things a choleric melancholy has to deal with). I caught myself so many times and was able to change the course, it was amazing. Where I did fall, I was able to go ask for forgiveness. This had to be worse than brain surgery! Sheeeesh. But it feels so good that one does not have to be in bondage to the limiting beliefs and incorrect habits that shaped them thus far.
I am on the Attitude week. Boy, the first morning after I watch the video, guess what my attitude totally gave in with a situation at home and needless to say, my wife found out soon first hand and probably said a prayer, Lord convict him through the Attitude challenge this week. Very soon we might have to put some positive and negative disclaimers in small print on the MFC boxes. Sheeeesh again. I will keep you posted. For now say a prayer for me and everyone that are in the ‘Attitude’ week.
So here are some best practices that are helping me as I go through the challenge thus far:
1) Do it the first thing in the morning. No excuses! At least the video and reading.
2) YES, watch the video every day. I even know when Brady raises his eye brow in each video and when Woodward has one finger up or all five fingers up as he is making hand gestures.
3) Intentionally, Intentionally, Intentionally everyday. That is the key to progress. Out of sight out of mind. We are talking age old neurological paths that have been paved over the years so we are not going to remove these in one week but the progress in one week will give us hope to make that unlimited change in life time.
4) Expect great things to happen and they will. I am finding the best way to internalize what I learnt is to share what I am learning with people around me on a daily basis. I guess we tend to learn more meaningfully when we teach it.
5) Its a lot more fun to do the challenge with people who you love and respect than doing solo. Its an automatic accountability knowing that someone else doing their best and you dont want to let them down.
6) If you miss a day any part of it. dont beat yourself up but at the same time dont get behind more than one day in any aspect.
Anyways, hope that helps.
All I can say Orrin and Chris are the ONLY two people I have met that can take the complex and make it simple, especially in intangible areas like the ones we are dealing with in MFC. Thank you for chasing your God given purpose and calling with courage and humility. We love you and in step with reaching the million(s) who, God has prepared for us.
Now back to the challenge.
God bless you.
–thank you
–venkat
