References

We can build our reference base upon our own experiences and on what we've seen others do, or read or heard about others doing.  First hand experience is probably the most powerful.

Interfacing here is what we believe, which again, is based in part on our references.   Henry Ford said that if you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right. 

Many people believe that if a person were to try to walk barefoot across 1500°F red hot coals, that their feet would burn.  Having personally  done twelve fire walks, without any burns to my feet, I have some different references.  I readily admit that when I was driving down the New Jersey Turnpike in March of 1991, from New York to Philadelphia, to my first Unlimited Power weekend with Tony Robbins, I was saying to myself, I've got to be crazy;   walk on fire, fire burns.  I had been a volunteer fireman for 16 years, and had lots of personal experience with fire.  AND, about 7 hours later, after five hours of coaching from Tony, I walked across 12' of red hot coals, with no burns to my feet.  When I came off the coals and realized that I had no burns, I said to myself: "I wonder what else I can do".

In August of 1992 I did Tony Robbins' Mastery Program in Hawaii.  One part of that program was the "Power Pole"; climb a 50' tall pole, stand on top of it, and then leap for a trapeze bar about 10' away.  The line is a "belay" safety line.  There are appropriate safeties built into activities like this.  This is not about taking risks.  It is about stretching ourselves and discovering that we can accomplish a lot more than we thought we could. 

While I don't know who I handed my Nikon 6006 camera to, with a 600mm zoom lens, but I am very grateful for their getting some great pictures for me.  This is one of my references, along with having done 12 fire walks, with zero burns.

In programs like this, "Social Proof" goes a long ways to building an empowering belief system.   We see so many other people successfully doing the power pole, and walking across the red hot coals.  The energy fields are very empowering.

"Social Proof" can be good, bad, or indifferent. We've got to also use common sense, and take personal responsibility for our own well being.   We ought to be critically asking whether we want to 'follow the crowd".   Remember the metaphor of the buffalo.

The Native American Indians depended upon buffalo hide and meat for their survival.  The Indians discovered that they could get all the buffalo hide and meat they wanted, without even pulling an arrow out of their quiver.  They realized that buffalo run with their head down, not looking where they're going, simply following an asshole (pardon the vernacular).  They would stampede the buffalo toward the top of a cliff, and then ride around to the bottom of the cliff and get all the hide and meat they wanted.  Moral of the story: for our own well being, look where we're going, don't follow an asshole.

We are free to read biographies about people who have achieved beyond significant obstacles.  We can listen to audio programs about people who have had great successes, building our references.

If we focus on successes, then we will develop a success mind-set.  We'll see stumbling blocks as challenges, to turn into stepping stones.  Go to the pages on Empowering Questions and Success Journals for more guidance on how to empower yourself and others.

This page was last updated: Saturday, November 20, 2010 08:19 PM