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Quieting the Lizard Brain by Seth Godin

This is a post from Seth Godin author of Tribes. www.sethgodin.typepad.com

Quieting the lizard brain 

 How can I explain the never-ending irrationality of human behavior?
We say we want one thing, then we do another. We say we want to be successful but we sabotage the job interview. We say we want a product to come to market, but we sandbag the shipping schedule. We say we want to be thin but we eat too much. We say we want to be smart but we skip class or don't read that book the boss lent us.
The contradictions never end. When someone shows up and acts without contradiction, we're amazed. When an athlete just does the sport, or when a writer just writes the words, we can't help but watch, astonished at the purity of their actions. Why is it so difficult to do what we say we're going to do?
The lizard brain.
Or as Stephen Pressfield describes it, the resistance. The resistance is the voice in the back of our head telling us to back off, be careful, go slow, compromise. The resistance is writer's block and putting jitters and every project that ever shipped late because people couldn't stay on the same page long off to get something out the door.
The resistance grows in strength as we get closer to shipping, as we get closer to an insight, as we get closer to the truth of what we really want. That's because the lizard hates change and achievement and risk.
The lizard is a physical part of your brain, the pre-historic lump near the brain stem that is responsible for fear and rage and reproductive drive. Why did the chicken cross the road? Because her lizard brain told her to.
Want to know why so many companies can't keep up with Apple? It's because they compromise, have meetings, work to fit in, fear the critics and generally work to appease the lizard. Meetings are just one symptom of an organization run by the lizard brain. Late launches, middle of the road products and the rationalization that goes with them are others.
The amygdala isn't going away. Your lizard brain is here to stay, and your job is to figure out how to quiet it and ignore it. This is so important, I wanted to put it on the cover of my new book. We realized, though, that the lizard brain is freaked out by a picture of itself, and if you want to sell books to someone struggling with the resistance (that would be all of us) best to keep it a little more on the down low.
Now you've seen the icon and you know its name. What are you going to do about it?

WHATS COMPROMISING YOU?

This Is How We Do Church....

 

This is inside the Bi-Lo Center on Sunday. No it wasn't a concert, no it wasn't Wrestle-mania or a Monster Truck Rally! This was church! It just proves the point....church is not a building, its wherever people meet to meet Jesus!

It was our 10th Anniversary! Newspring that is. The crowd was estimated at 15,000. For the first time since we expanded into multiple campuses we were all under one roof.

It was an incredible day, incredible service and from the early numbers more than 350 salvation's took place yesterday! Thats amazing!  

I m really proud of my church, but more so....proud to know its not about us, its about Jesus !

Is it Right?....

Cowardice asks the question - is it safe?
Expediency asks the question - is it politic?
Vanity asks the question - is it popular?
But conscience asks the question - is it right?
And there comes a time when one must take a position
that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular;
but one must take it because it is right.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Newest Member of My Family....

Meet David Musyoka! He's my sponsored child in the Uaso Nyiro Primary School in Segera, Kenya. There are 45 more similar to him that still need a sponsor. Basically that means they are able to eat, have more supplies and access to greater teachers than before. David's profile is below, get to know him.

By the way, you may wonder why he has a name like David being a Kenyan child. Thats because he is saved. Once a Kenyan child has accepted Christ he or she is given a biblical name.

 My original commitment to Brightpoint was to be a point person. I agreed to help find sponsorships for 10 children. Well, God thought my vision was way to small. There are 51 children in that school. That means 51 don't eat, or have the same opportunities that some of the other schools do. What kind of man would I be to only help 10? What about the other 41 whom I haven't helped. I WANT THEM ALL SPONSORED!

I have been blessed with great friends who have means....I am begging you....SPONSOR A CHILD! SPONSOR A CHILD TODAY!

Its easy, click on the link www.brightpointforchildren.orgclick on individual sponsor, choose SEGERA-UASO NYIRO PRIMARY SCHOOL, follow the instructions for sponsorship.

More about David..............

Age: 7

DOB: 2002

Gender: Male

Grade: 2

Ambition: Captain

Interests: Football (soccer)

Family Background: Lives with both parents. Has 6 siblings.

More on Sponsorship....

Please read the Letter....This is from the director of Bright Point for Children.

Hi Mark,

Hope you had a fantastic Christmas! I still can’t believe 2010 is here

 

Just wanted to let you know that the Primary Schools in Kenya started back this past week. Right now there is no money going to Uaso Nyiro Primary School… so the children are not being served lunch yet, nor any of the other upgrades (more teachers, textbooks, desks, etc) can happen until the Star Students are sponsored. What makes it even harder, is that one of the sister schools in Segera, Endana Primary, has been fully sponsored by a church in TX… so the kids are eating lunch each day, have a new library, more teachers, desks, books, Saturday tutoring, assessment tests and more. You probably visited that school when you were there.

 

So, this is just a reminder that they need help… I am willing to do anything to help you in your role as Point Person… just let me know what that is. If you can set up a “Sponsorship Sunday”, I can come help run it… if you need flyers, etc…. just let me know. A huge e-mail campaign usually works wonders too!! We just sent out an e-mail “pre-releasing” a Cambodia program we are announcing on Jan 19^th and 27 kids have been sponsored in the last 24 hours.

 

Let me know what we can do/how I can help to get this off and running! I love the Uaso Nyiro school… they have so much energy and excitement and faith, I hope to get them sponsored and funded SOON!!

 

Bless you for your heart for these Segera kids!

Have a VERY blessed 2010,

Jane

Takin it to the Next Level....

Finally, I am back. I wish well rested, vacationed out, totally fresh but it just ain't happening. My time off is often more schedule driven than my professional life. What a shame! But if I could go back, what would I do different? Nothing! Absolutely nothing.

Every aspect of 2009 led me to where I am now. The ups and the downs, the setbacks and the setups, the down-sides and the up-sides. I would take them all over again in exactly the same order to land where I have landed.

I can honestly say that every failure led to an even greater reward; Every tribulation followed up by an even stronger triumph; and every circumstance contained just the growth that I needed. With that said, Whats Next?

How do you improve on a great year? You take it to the next level!

For me that means....

A better father.

A greater friend, brother, son and co-worker.

A more disciplined follower, and a more courageous leader!

What does it mean for you?  

A Few Thoughts About the Decade That Was...by Greg Snipes

  It seems like only yesterday when I was out in my grandfather’s field with a group of friends from high school waiting to welcome not just a new year, but a new decade AND a new millennium. As the bond fire flames blazed higher and higher during the final moments of 1999, we were focused on the hype that had been dominating the news in the months leading up to that night. Apocalypse, world-wide computer shutdowns, nation-wide power grid failures, and massive mayhem were expected as the year 2000 made its debut. Turns out that life managed to continue on without pause and the folks paid to get electronics equipment “Y2K compliant” laughed all the way to the bank. (Remember Matthew 24:36 where Jesus said even He doesn’t know when the end will come? Just a thought…)

  Later on in the spring of 2000, I met the love of my life, Mary Beth. As our relationship grew over the next year, we were overflowing with joyful anticipation of the life we were hoping to have together. We were so young then and that open road of opportunities lay before us. Those hopes and those dreams came to a tragic end on May 9, 2001. A drunk driver hit her head-on and the head trauma was so severe that she could not recover. She is unable to speak, walk, or talk and depends on others to take care of her basic needs to this day.

  After her family and my family suggested that I try to move on in the summer of 2003, it was the beginning of an agonizing process to pick up the proverbial pieces and make a new life. This process is still underway as of this writing. One of the toughest things I had to do is to take action as opposed to using an excuse of inactivity. Even though it meant going alone and it meant taking time away from wallering in self-pity, I decided in January of 2006 I was going to get in the car and go to NewSpring Church. It was a bit awkward at first, but it got a little easier each time. Now I have the support of my Home group and my eyes have been opened to a new perspective of the Gospel thanks to the teaching of Perry and his staff. I also took steps to deal with my obesity and my nicotine addiction.

  Some may be wondering at this point, why I am writing all this. As the last day of this decade draws near, I write this to reminisce about the good times with Mary Beth and I write as a testimony. I also write in hopes of great times and new beginnings in the new decade to come. For those of you dealing with tragedy and tribulations, it IS possible to tear away from the depths of despair and hopelessness. Sometimes the “light at the end of the tunnel” turns out to be a train, but the “Light of the World”, Christ, is still with us even when we don’t realize it. This was before my time, but I love how Walter Cronkite used to always end his CBS broadcasts with his famous sign-off “and that’s the way it is”. I would like to use that after this next thing… On a very tough night in the summer of 2001, I scribbled some scripture on some notebook paper and put it in my wallet. This now worn and tattered paper, I still carry, contains promises that the Lord made to us. They were not kept in the way that I wanted them to be, but there is another verse I try to hold on to as the events of 2001 drift further and further away into the wake of my life:  Romans 8:28:  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. – And That’s the Way It Is! 

See Ya Next Year....

Merry Christmas!

and Happy New Year

 

  See you on January 11, 2010. Thats when I'll crank the blog machine back up. Then I give updates on the sponsorship program and more details about how you can become involved!

Just So You Know....

There  is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me.
What in the  world do leaping lords, French

hens,
swimming swans, and  especially the partridge who won't come out
of the pear tree have  to do with Christmas?

 
 

This  week, I found out.

From  1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were
not permitted to  practice their faith openly. Someone
during that era wrote this  carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.
It has two levels  of meaning: the surface meaning
plus a hidden meaning known only  to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code  word for a religious reality
which the children could remember.  


 
 

 

-The  partridge in a pear tree was

Jesus Christ.  

 
 

   -Two  turtle doves were the

Old and New Testaments.

 

-Three  French hens stood for

faith, hope and  love.  

-The  four calling birds were the four gospels

of Matthew, Mark, Luke  & John.  

-The  five golden rings recalled the Torah or

Law, the first five books of  the Old Testament.  

-The  six geese a-laying stood for the six days

of  creation.  

-Seven  swans a-swimming represented

the

sevenfold gifts of the Holy  Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhoration, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.  

-The eight maids a-milking  were the

eight beatitudes.  

-Nine ladies dancing were the  nine fruits

of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience,  Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.    

-The ten lords a-leaping were  the

ten commandments.  

-The eleven pipers piping  stood for the

eleven faithful  disciples.  

-The twelve drummers drumming  symbolized

the twelve points of belief in the Apostles'  Creed.

So there is your history for  today.

This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting  and enlightening

and now I know how that strange song became a  Christmas Carol....so pass it on if you wish.'

Merry (Twelve Days of)  Christmas Everyone  

What I Didnt Bring Back From Kenya....

This weekend marks the one month anniversary since this journey began. The journey to Kenya was part of it, but now that I am back the journey hasn't ended. It involves reconciling the things I saw, the relationships with the people I witnessed it with and the radical change God placed on my life as a result of being there.

As I plan to finish Christmas shopping this weekend for my children and family I truly feel guilty. Almost a numbness as I realize that what I will spend on one child would educate and feed a child in the Segera community of Kenya for a year. Not that my children don't deserve it, they do. Not that I am unwilling to provide it for them, I am. But just a different awareness of what money means in different parts of our world. For my children it will be entertainment and luxury, for the same age Kenyan children it could mean another year of school or more importantly another year of life on this earth.

The visions still replay in my mind of shoeless children infected by Jiggers playing close by me as their mothers looked on almost in disbelief that a man would be interested in playing with their child. I cant help but think what goes through their mind. Who is this "mzunga" (white man)? Does he not know men don't interact with the children ? Does he not know that my children have never experienced this?

We were able to leave a few items behind as we departed on the final day. For me, I left my construction partner James my Browning boots. They were a nice fit since the tennis shoes he wore were two sizes too small. For the Segera Mission, a few pair of pants and a couple of tee shirts will clothe the next person in need. But for the children....Thats a little different. For the children I left a piece of my heart there. Who will take care of them? Will they survive the next drought and be here when I return? Most importantly, did I make a difference for them today?

What I did return home with was an inability to forget. Everyday I think of the trip in one way or another. Its automatic, my heart is divided. I am here functioning and enjoying being back with my children but in so many other ways I long to be back in Kenya.

Here I am aggravated by three rainy days in a row, for them I wish it would rain every day.

I speak openly about too much Government involvement in our lives, for them I wish the government would get involved and help solve a simple problem of poverty.

I enjoy the benefits of convenience here, while I crave the isolation and peace that I found there.

I am thankful for great children, but sorrowful for those there who don't have the benefit of options.

I haven't forgotten, my guess is I wont forget and I will return one day to live it out all over again. I have a new perspective, a love for the people of Kenya who were so welcoming, a new appreciation of the people in my life here, and an unending motivation to take a little "Kenya" everywhere I go.