11.26.07
Posted in Mastermind Chronicles at 9:54 am by BartonG
After such a nice holiday, I’m back stirring things up in my personal life. Jeremiah, a friend of mine from the university, wrote a comment on Mastermind Chronicle #1 , and asked me to list off my personal goals that I’d bring to the mastermind. I saw him just a few minutes ago and he clarified the statement, “I just want to know what your vision is.” I appreciate that.
There are only a few things I do really well, and one of them is to be able to spot the potential that people don’t know they have. Jeremiah is such a man - he’ll probably be an incredible man without me or a mastermind group, but his greatness is mostly hidden to himself. When I asked Jeremiah to be a part of the mastermind group a few weeks ago, we hadn’t talked about mastermind groups so he didn’t know what I was talking about. The exchange shows a little of why he is a good mastermind candidate, and over all cool guy. It went something like this:
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11.23.07
Posted in Book Reviews, Uncategorized at 3:10 pm by BartonG
Above: Desire Profiles: Raquel (Blue) vs Bart (Green)
The concept of this book is quite bold: What you know about human motivation is wrong. There are two very common theories explaining why humans do what they do. The first states that anything we do can be boiled down and seen as fulfilling the two biggest biological objectives: survival and replication. The second asserts that humans are essentially hedonists - we are always acting to either obtain pleasure or avoid pain. Both theories have their merits, but like the author, I believe they just doesn’t seem to fit.
Enter Who Am I? The 16 Basis Desires That Motivate Our Actions And Define Our Personalities
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11.20.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:29 am by BartonG
I just wanted to write a quick thank you to everyone who came to my surprise birthday party on Friday. I really needed to laugh and have a good time. I felt loved. Special thanks to my caring wife, Raquel, who put the thing together. Honey, I was very surprised. Thanks.
- B
P.S. I’m 25.
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11.19.07
Posted in Abundance, Personal at 9:52 am by BartonG
I was pondering the events of last week. My brother and his wife were anxiously awaiting the birth of their son, his projected due date about a week away. However, the baby died in utero early Wednesday morning, and then was birthed painfully few hours later. It is difficult to illustrate the sadness and details of the circumstances. I have been more affected in my heart by this death than any other in my life. There are many things I wish to say, to cry out, to write … I hope that I can bring light, comfort, and love. I am grateful for the abundance I have already received, as well as that which will shown to me. But what abundance is to come?
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11.13.07
Posted in Personal at 9:45 am by BartonG
The seminar on Saturday was awesome! I learned a lot, partially because I know very little Aikido. This picture accurately describes the day, but replace the hairy guy on the left with me, and change the man on the right to be shorter and Japanese. I was thrown no less than 200 times, and while I wasn’t very good at rolling at the beginning, I am much better now. Better at rolling, not physically better, because I hurt all over.
The class was filled with black-belts and instructors of other dojos, so I was honored to be invited as a neophyte. I look forward to progressing, even if it takes considerable time. By the way, all of the older gentlemen there whipped me like a rented mule, even if it looked like I should be feeding them pudding at the nursing home. My favorite part of the day is when we trained with wooden swords (bokken) and learned the hidden connections behind the empty hand techniques and the blade.
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11.12.07
Posted in Book Reviews at 3:38 pm by BartonG
I heard about this book a while ago and liked the premise - that increased choices have caused less satisfaction. The book is well laid out, and my copy had 236 pages of reading, with 30 or so pages of notes in the back. The author, Barry Schwartz also gave a talk at TED about the same topic, and can be found here. It’s a nice 18 minute trailer to the text.
The author notes several times that when you have no choice, options are good. If you live under a tyrant who tells you what to eat, when to work, what to like - it sucks. More freedom in this case is a good thing. However, when you become as affluent as most Americans are, the excessive freedom of choice has turned out to be very detrimental - Fred Hirsh calls it “The tyranny of small decisions.”
I won’t argue his points with the studies and research like he does - I’ll merely present them. There are some so many fascinating things in the book that I can’t get to all of them. I’ll try to flesh out the chapters a bit so you can get the idea.
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11.08.07
Posted in Personal at 7:58 pm by BartonG
I study jujitsu under my instructor, Sensei Jorge. He is a strong, personable man, originally from El Salvidor*. He’s a great teacher, and I respect him. I also love the way he talks about his Sensei, Master Hiatu. He has a lot of respect and fondness for his teacher. He’ll often tell us a little bit about him during class. One day, he was telling me about his martial art lineage, and who he learned from, and who they learned from, etc. If you’re into martial arts, you know that the following is a big deal: Master Hiatu received his black-belt directly under Aikido founder, Ueshiba Morihei.
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11.05.07
Posted in Mastermind Chronicles at 1:51 pm by BartonG
Basically a mastermind group is a few people who work together, sharing ideas and resources to assist the group’s members achieve individual goals. Imagine a group of superheros, each having their various powers and abilities. When they come together as a team, they are much more than the sum of their parts. I see mastermind groups to be like this, except with less villains and spandex. Silliness aside, a group of supportive individuals can change your life. When you were young, your friends played a big part of who you were. If they were into football, experimented with drugs, played dungeons and dragons, whatever - there is a good chance you did too. Your parents probably told you that birds of a feather flock together, and they were right. Now that you’re shaping you life and destiny in your own hands, wouldn’t it be great if your associates were purpose driven, passionate, successful people? The mastermind group isn’t just about having high quality friends. It’s about uniting forces to create powerful progress.
**There is nothing evil about a mastermind group. Nor is it required that you play the most excellent board game depicted above.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 7:45 am by BartonG
I’ve been working behind the scenes with this blog and have made a couple of decisions that you might want to know.
As the title says, I’m releasing a new post every Monday. I’ll probably update the blog twice a week, sometimes more, but I want to give my returning visitors a scheduled time-frame.
I’m starting a series of posts called “The Mastermind Chronicles”, which will detail my thoughts and experiences as I start and manage my mastermind group. I’m really excited to create and nourish a mastermind group. I feel like I’m on the precipice of something great, and there’s no doubt the group will have a role to play.
Slowly but surely, I’ll have a host of free book reports and reviews for you. My hope is to have a small library ready at your fingertips within a year. Stay tuned and check the book report section.
As always, I’m open to feedback and guidance. If you ever have a question, feel free to ask!
- Bart
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11.01.07
Posted in Abundance at 11:01 am by BartonG
It’s Friday, 4:04 AM. I groggily retrieve my cell phone, preempting the alarm. I want to sleep in. As I flip the phone open, I notice something unusual. It’s 4:04 AM, January 1st.
2038.
I have, according to my wife, slept for 38 years*. Which is a long time. But of course, I figure out what has gone wrong. I’m not Rip Van Winkle, I just need a new cell phone. One that can tell accurate time, up to the minute - or perhaps even accurate with a five minute spread would be nice, in comparison.
I’m glad I didn’t miss out on a bunch of life, because I have some exciting things in the works. I have a host of ambitions and finally the resolve, commitment, and maturity to put a framework under the dreams. In short, my life is increasing in it’s abundance.
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