Aligned Thinking Secret #5 - Busting The Myth "I'm not free in all I do."

January 17, 2006

Dear Jim,

In the book, Aligned Thinking, Ray and Carol go to old friends Alanna and Ed for suggestions on how to begin overcoming their many time management problems.

The Aligned Thinker Defined

In the book, Ed says Coach Eric helped Alanna and him overcome their time/life management problems by becoming Aligned Thinkers. When asked, "What's that?" Ed defines the Aligned Thinker in the following way:

You are an Aligned Thinker when:

"What you really want drives every action. And every action takes you back to what you really want."

The words every action causes immediate problems for both Carol and Ray. They were very skeptical.

Why EVERY Action Is Important

If you have less than every action aligned to what you really want, you will be getting less than what you really want.

When EVERY action is aligned to what you really want, that is when you can expect a quantum leap in motivation, accomplishment and satisfaction.

Coach Eric asks Ray and Carol to withhold judgment and assures them he will explain totally as they visit the three couples he has arranged for them to see.

EVERY Action Still Bothers Ray and Carol

Even though Coach Eric asked them to trust him and he would eventually explain how a person can align EVERY action to what they really want, it keeps coming up in Ray and Carol's minds.

Ray asks, "How can I be free in all I do to align every action to what I really want with a wife, kids, boss, clients and direct reports."

Carol smiles at the "wife' part. She repeats the question substituting "husband" for wife.

Coach points out that the Freedom Insight will answer their question.

Coach Eric asks the next person Ray and Carol go see to explain the Freedom Insight.

The Freedom Insight

Eleanor, a CEO in her own company, explains the Freedom Insight as follows.

It is important to distinguish between the Primary Desired; we'll call them the P and the Necessary Condition to the Primary Desire. We call those NC's.

You can take any P you want, and there are always NC's. Take the sport star. The P is to be a sport star like John Elway, Chris Evert, Wayne Gretzky, Arnold Palmer and Michael Jordan.

They all had the NC's of staying in shape, travel, listening to the coach and practice.

There are three choices we can make, two are smart, one is not so smart. Unfortunately, some, even many make the not so smart choice and don't even know it. Smart Choice!

Choice One – Smart

At times the NC become too much. Age takes it toll. The smart choice is to give up the P. All of the above mentioned sports stars eventually said they were getting too old to practice or play.

So they did the smart thing. They found a different P and retired.

Choice Two - Not Smart - Even Dumb

A not so smart choice is to say, "I hate practice, but I have to do it because the coach said I must. I hate staying in shape, but the coach said I must."

What effect would that have on a person's motivation? Very negative!

Actually, what is happening, the person is making them a victim of the coach. Making yourself the victim of anyone is not smart - even dumb.

Choice Three - Very Smart - The Freedom Insight

Choice three is not only smart, it is very smart. It is the Freedom Insight. Choice three say, "I choose the P and I freely accept the NC."

The NC is accepted, like practice, travel, listening to the coach and staying in shape, not because a person likes the NC. Liking or disliking the NC is a non-question.

The Freedom Insight realizes that with every P there will be NC's. As long as I can choose the P, I will freely accept the NC because it is the price I pay to get the P I want. A very smart choice because it is the key to seeing yourself free in all you do.

Slowly - But Surely

Slowly, oh so slowly, Ray and Carol begin to see that in fact they were free in all they do.

At first it seems reasonable. But it takes a while for Ray and Carol to realize and experience the wisdom of the Freedom Insight.

To make the Freedom Insight your Freedom Attitude, keep it in mind as you work through your day, especially the things you don't like to do.

Ask again and again, "Is this NC taking me to my P?" If not, go to choice number one like the sports stars.

Proverb of Today = Aligned Thinking Secret #5

I choose my P and accept the NC.

To do this, it is important that you know what your P's are. To align every action to what you really want, you need to know what you really want.

The book will give you more insight both about making the Freedom Insight your Freedom Attitude and how to live so you are always focusing on what you really want.
The thing that surprises many people, this "What I Really want" can be as altruistic as Mother Teresa's life goals.

A Thrilling Thought

Yesterday I received an email from a former student in the Aligned Thinking seminar. As a professor he said he is still sharing Aligned Thinking with his students.

For me that is exciting. But for you the following is much more important

He took the class 27 years ago.When you understand the full scope of Aligned Thinking, it will last a lifetime.

This is D-Day-2 for purchasing the book from Amazon.Com on January 19.
A Huge Thanks

I'm excited about what we can do together by sharing this with those we care about.

Coach Jim

PS Remember to share this with those you care about - friends, family, associates and clients.

Jim Steffen - Time Myth Buster
SSA International

email: rjsteffen@ssainternational.com
phone: 203-740-8400
web: http://ssainternational.com