Weeks Thirteen & Fourteen – Amazing Skill(s)

Does "Fuerza Aerea Argentina" mean "Worst Pilot in Argentina?"

An absolutely amazing part of the MKMMA course is the SKILLS that Mark J pours out into our laps!  These are so practical and yet so powerful and transformative.  I can honestly say that the skills I’ve learned from Mark have taken my network marketing business from a dream to a focused reality.

Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) is not primarily driven by a dream or a passion: it is primarily driven by skills.  This is what will set apart those who keep trying and failing (picture me here a few months ago) from those who have a system and a strategy for accomplishing their dreams and passions.

I have started using the skill from this week’s webinar to help me guarantee that “suspects” will follow through on commitments that they make.  That they will review the material.  That they will think about the material.  That they will honestly evaluate their current financial and/or health situation.  That they will be at the follow-up meeting.  As Mark says, this turns a “suspect” into a “prospect” and then a “prospect” into a “partner.”

I can say unequivocally that if these skills were all that you got from the MKMMA course, that they would be worth the time and financial investment.  Of course, the skills are just a “bonus.”  The real work of the course is to help you really believe that you can accomplish all that you dare to dream.  What an amazing opportunity!

Week Fifteen – What a RELIEF!!!

I know that I need to share this, but also know that sharing this puts me in a very vulnerable position.

My networking business is relatively new, and so doesn’t bring in much income as yet (but that IS changing!!).  My JOB (remember, that stands for “Just Over Broke”) is commissioned based.  Well, in December I received the lowest commission checks that I have EVER received.  My check on the first of the month wasn’t even enough to pay my mortgage, let alone my other obligations.

Oh man!  When I saw the notice about this check, my heart plummeted.  Immediately, the Old Blueprint sprang to the surface along with horrible thoughts of failure.  You know the thoughts: “I am a failure,” “I am letting down my family,” “God, how could you let this happen?” “Not at Christmas!”  Any of these a part of your “Blueprint,” i.e., your standard way of thinking?  My stomach began to knot.  I was on my way to despair!

And then, I remembered something amazing!  I remembered the “Law of Substitution” which says that the mind can only consciously think of one thing at a time.  Just to illustrate: do NOT think about the Statue of Liberty.  What are you thinking about?  I know, you’re thinking about that great Statue, aren’t you?  You can’t help it.  It’s part of how God has made us.  But if you discipline yourself to think about a beautiful palm tree swaying in a wonderfully warm breeze as the sun sets over the ocean in the background…whamo…the Statue of Liberty is gone out of your mind.

So…instead of wallowing in despair, I determined to focus on my Definite Major Purpose (DMP) and my Press Release.  I focused on how I now KNOW that my DMP is a reality that I am walking into.  What a relief!  The despair vanished like a morning fog as the sun’s rays dispel that cold mist.  I had joy.  I had peace.  My faith was reactivated and I knew that God was faithfully providing for me. 

I am SO grateful to have this tool available to me…what a game-changer!

Week Eleven – Believe It To See It

We’ve all heard , “Ill believe that when I see it!” (and probably most of us have said it, too).  We tend to use this for when something seems too good to be true, and we just can’t wrap our minds around it.

But this raises a question at least as old as the one about the chicken and the egg: which comes first?  Believing or Seeing?

I would suggest that we must first BELIEVE…and ONLY then will we see it.  As proof, let me offer this event from the life of Abraham.  Abraham and his nephew, Lot, had both launched out in obedience to the call of God, and as a result of this now they both had been blessed with such large flocks that their herdsmen were fighting over places for their flocks to graze.  Rather than to continue the fighting, Abraham suggested that they should separate their two camps.  He gave Lot first choice over where to go.  Lot looked around, saw the best grazing land and took it leaving Abraham’s flocks to scrounge for food.

After Lot and his crew had left Abraham, God spoke to Abraham and said, ” Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west.  All the land that you see I will give to you” (Genesis 12:14,15 NIV).

Abraham was being challenged to SEE IT FIRST, then God would give it to him.  We’ve got to have a vision.  In effect, God told Abraham: “See it to the North…see it to the South…see it everywhere around you!  You’ve got to step out of your tent, Abraham, and see all that I’m giving to you.”  Just like Abraham, we need to see it.  We need to see the vision of what God wants to give us.  If we don’t see it, but just keep our eyes to the ground as we plod along, then we will never hold it in our hands.

This is the part of the MKMMA that is most helpful to me: I’ve learned so much about how to train myself to see what God has for me.  As I see it in faith, I will one day see it in my hand.

Week 10 – Another Day…Another Test

Og Mandino writes about how bulls are auditioned for the ring: “Each is brought to the ring and allowed to attack a picador who pricks them with a lance.  The bravery of each bull is rated…(for) his willingness to charge in spite of the sting…” (The Greatest Salesman in The World, p 51).

Then Mr. Mandino makes one of the most profound observations about life that I’ve ever read, “I recognize that each day I am tested by life in like manner” (ibid).

That one sentence really burns away all the chaff and gets us right to the plain truth of life this side of heaven: every day is another test.  I want to pass each test…on the first time!  God does allow for “do-overs” or “mulligans,” just ask the Hebrew children of the Exodus.  They were tested, much as we are.  Their test had just ONE QUESTION: God asked them, “Will you trust Me no matter what you might see or hear?”  One question.  And they failed (all except Joshua…I so admire Joshua!).  The result?  A “do-over” that took 40 years to develop.  For 40 years they kept wandering around in the wilderness when their journey should have only taken a few days.  They were within days of the Promised Land, and refused to enter because they refused to trust God more than their own eyes and ears.

I don’t have 40 years to waste in a wilderness of my own making.  So, I make the choice to believe everything that the Word says is true of me.  The Word says that I am more than a conqueror; that I have ALL the power of God living inside of me; that I am totally and completely forgiven; that I am unconditionally loved; that God delights in me; that He provides everything that I need to prosper in every area of my life.  No matter what the tests of life throw my way, I believe.  I choose to take God at His Word.  And then, the rest of what Og says is also true of me, “If I persist, if I continue to try, if I continue to charge forward, I will succeed” (ibid, emphasis added).

Faith is not belief without proof.                                                                                                     It is trust without reservation!

Week 8 – No More Negative Thoughts – Really?

Alrighty then!  Finally an assignment that I could ace!  “No negative thoughts for 7 days.”  No problemo!

And then I got in my truck and dadgomit…some bonehead in front of me wasn’t driving the way he should… “What is he doing!?!  Where did he learn to drive?  Is the gas pedal that challenging of a concept for him?  It’s the one next to the hump, buddy!”

Those were the very positive thoughts that were flooding my mind…Oh, wait: maybe this 7 day exercise wasn’t going to be quite the cake-walk that I was expecting it to be.    OK, time to dust off my ego again and get a handle on my old blueprint and get that rascal transformed so that I can be transformed.

I guess that I should have known: this is the same issue that I’ve had in trying to walk out Paul’s direction to the Corinthians when he said to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (1 Cor 10:5 NIV).    Certainly the Lord doesn’t want me to chase down negative bunny trails in my mind: he wants me to use every moment to become more like him!  Positive.  World-changing.  Impactful.  Transformational.

The great thing about this assignment is that it is actually putting a name to one kind of thought that over which I need to get control: negative ones.  So…I haven’t made it a day yet (maybe if I quit driving…).  But I am actively seeking to re-wire this old blueprint so that I can be more and more faithful to God’s call on my life: to be a living example of Jesus to those I meet.  “Change me, Father; make me like Jesus. Amen.”

Week Seven – Heading in Wrong Direction?

When You Come To A Fork In The Road – Take It!

I am coming to that proverbial “fork in the road” and am wondering what it all means.

 

The “fork” is this question: is it OK to disagree (sometimes strongly) with Haanel’s Master Keys? And, if you disagree, can you still learn to exercise control over your subconscious in a meaningful way?

 

As I begin to lay out my thoughts, please understand that I am aware of the fact that I am very inexperienced in the world of Haanel, and I am very hesitant to criticize a work that has realized such notoriety and acclaim.   Also, let me say that I am coming from an unapologetically Biblical worldview: I believe that the Bible is the ultimate and final authority for all truth.   So then, having offered those caveats, I rush in where even fools may fear to trod.

 

There are some key and fundamental statements in the Master Keys that just do not seem to agree with what the Bible teaches.  While there are many examples, my purpose here is not to offer a critical review of Haanel’s writings, but to honestly seek the wisdom of my MKMMA group members as to whether there is value in someone like me continuing on in the course.  So, for the sake of my purpose of legitimate inquiry about my future, let me offer one such “bone of contention” with the author.  In Week Seven, paragraph 28, Haanel states that “Nothing is beyond the power of human comprehension.”  This is just not true.  We are finite beings and the God of the universe is an infinite being.  It is simply not possible that my finite mind can possibly comprehend the infinite.  There was one who thought that he understood all of life well enough to “call God on the carpet.”  That one was Job (from the Bible book of the same name).  After quite some time of “spouting off” about life, God revealed his thoughts to Job and God begins, “Who is it that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?  Brace yourself like a man; and I will question you, and you shall answer me.  Where you there when I laid the earth’s foundations?  Tell me, if you understand.  Who marked off its dimensions?  Surely you know!”  God continues on at some length (Job 38-41) in this vein: one of calling out this man who presumes to comprehend the end from the beginning.

 

So, as I understand the Bible, Haanel is wrong. 

 

But whether you agree with me or not that he is wrong, my real question for the group is this: Is there value in continuing on in the course when you understand that I disagree with some of his core precepts? 

• I don’t agree that there is a Law of Attraction.  I think that there is a sovereign God who delights to bring prosperity and abundance into the lives of his children so that they may be a blessing to others around them. 
• I don’t think that man inherently has limitless power, nor that it is strange to look to the outside for this power (Week 7, Paragraph 19).  I believe that the real source of the life changing power does come from the outside, specifically it comes from God in the person of the Holy Spirit coming to dwell in me (Ephesians 1: 19-23). 

So…what do I do?

Do I continue with the MKMMA group?  I would not want to be a drain on the synergism of the group!

Do I continue with the group and the readings, but work to apply only those parts that are consistent with my worldview?

Am I simply not far enough along in the course to understand what is coming in future weeks, and will my objections melt away as we go?

I welcome and eagerly anticipate your thoughts and wisdom.

 

Week Six – Major Impact from RIGHT PPNs

Life is Easier when the Target isn't Moving!

I am amazed at the difference that I feel about my DMP by having the RIGHT PPNs.

I thought that I was on target before, yet there was something straining inside me everytime I read the old DMP.  Now that I have adjusted my PPNs, reading and affirming my DMP is really invigorating. 

And, what must be a direct result of all of the class activities, I have been more focused and more productive in the past 3 weeks than the past 6 months!  I have gone from nobody looking at anything related to my MLM business to having 8 people in the pipeline…may not be a bid deal to you, but its amazing to me.

Also…as to the concept of good things coming my way because I am “demanding” them to, I have had several people in just the past few days notice literature displays that I have in my JOB office area.  The big deal here is that these items have been displayed in same place and in the same way for MONTHS!!  It’s fun to watch, they seem inexorably drawn to the literature!

Week Five – Changes, Press Releases and Success

Whew…I almost missed it!  I was one of those who needed to change his PPNs.  Making this change has really added an amazing ZIP to my DMP!

Also…I struggled through my first published version of my “Press Release.”  It was fun to “go back to the future.”

Finally…gotta say that these last 3 weeks have been my most productive weeks in MLM that I’ve ever had.  And…my confidence just continues to grow: I’m really believing that I can’t be stopped (unless I quit…which ain’t gonna happen!).

Week Four – Toward a Biblical Master Key Worldview

I know that all truth comes from The Truth, who has chosen to reveal himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  So then, the truth in Master Keys (MK) must align with the truth from God’s Word.  Clearly, truth must agree with itself.

What I have been discovering as I work through the teachings on the MK is a deeper and fuller understanding of the Bible and a more powerful application of these teachings to my own life.

Would it be OK if I illustrated what I mean?

In MK Week Four we are admonished to “dwell in the consciousness of your unity with Omnipotence” and to “visualize the events, circumstances and conditions which these spiritual connections may assist in manifesting” (sections 22 and 23).  This reminds me so much of Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians when he says that he is praying “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know…his incomparably great power” (Eph. 1:18,19).  Paul goes on to explain about this great power (Omnipotence) saying that this is the exact same power that “he (God) exerted…when he raised him (Jesus) from the dead” (Eph. 1:20).  So, it is God’s Spirit within me…that same all-powerful spirit that overcame death that MK says we are to recognize and allow to manifest fully in us and then through us into our world; and my job is to align my thoughts and habits in such a way that the Omnipotent flows through me to change the world within me and then around me.

The result? We will “have become irresistible; men and things will respond to your every wish without any apparent effort on your part.”   And we are to see this as our new normal and not to think it “so strange or impossible as it may appear.”  (Sections 14 and 15).  Again, this seems to me to be a powerful illustration and application of Paul’s thoughts when he taught that God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20).  Immeasurably more!  Beyond our wildest imaginations!  Isn’t this exactly what we are stretching ourselves to believe and attain in our DMPs?  Immeasurably more than we once thought possible…”until even the golden apples in the Garden of Hesperides seem no more than my just reward.”

Oh, that I (my old habits, attitudes and way of acting) might diminish so that He might increase (in me and then through me) so that I (as I am coming to understand myself to be) will experience all those things that are right now immeasurably more than I can ask or imagine.

Week Three – It’s Working!

I feel as if I have turned a corner in my minds.

Since we started the MKMMA, I’ve been faithfully reading my DMP…but always, in the back of my mind was this gnawing sense of “if only this could be true” instead of being able to actually believe that it IS true.  Three times a day, reading my DMP only made me wishful, not expectant; and certainly not believing.

Then, this week, it happened.  I came out of my MK’s assigned time of sitting and relaxing and clearing out all the noise and clutter in my mind.  Then I read my DMP: and I actually started to “mist up” because I actually BELIEVED it and could actually SEE it unfolding!

I’m sure that this is a combination of really re-working my DMP according to our latest instructions and the gradual building up in my sub-conscious mind of all that I’ve been intentionally feeding (and intentionally NOT feeding) it.   But the bottom line: I BELIEVE.  And this is dramatically changing the way I am approaching my recruiting and mentoring phone calls and contacts.

So: Hallelujah!  It Works!