Life Skills Course
Based on the book,
Living for Game Day,
by Philip M. Bracco
Building leaders, one skill at a time.
Neither fate, nor fortune can rival learned behaviors
that improve one's communications skill and create the
confidence to view challenges as a means for improvement.
The Chinese Language states:
Trouble Plus Crisis Equals Opportunity
COURSE DESCRIPTION
A detailed preparation for meeting unexpected life crises
Specific skills will be constructed in all key arenas of
one’s life.
Spiritual
Physical
Personal
Mental
Emotional
leadership
By the end of this class
You will establish a solid foundation for building your skill
set.
Once the skills have been developed and perfected, a
feeling of empowerment will take control. You will
overcome the out of control feeling that typically
accompanies panic, anxiety, and other life stressors that
we will review in detail. Developing these skills will require
work, commitment, and repetition.
The focus of Mr. Bracco's book is hope through
empowerment and skill building; the concepts
apply to all challenges of life, not just
those limited to illness.
Classroom Etiquette
To establish credibility, you must first look the part.
Please dress appropriately for class.
Baseball caps, sweat and pajama pants, ripped jeans, etc.
are not appropriate.
All cell phones must be turned off for the duration of class;
this includes text messaging.
Course Learning Objectives
The goal of this course is to establish skills that you will use for
the remainder of your life.
Life skills can cover a large cross-section of learned behaviors
that affect the way you interact with people and the way
they interact with you.
Course Learning Objectives
These can be as elementary as table manners, and as
sophisticated as biofeedback and mind-body connection
techniques that are now taught to aspiring professionals,
athletes, and physicians, or for that matter people from all
walks of life.
Course Format
Each class will have access to five tools that will be
used on a regular basis.
The tools are intended to hold student attention and
add dimension to presentations.
Multimedia will be part of the strategy with an
obvious interest in keeping the learning experience
as much visual as textural reading.
SYLLABUS
Living for Game Day, Author: Philip Bracco
Man's Search for Meaning, Author: Victor Frankl
Course Reading
Course Tools
I. Virtual Personal Journal - A tool primarily used to create a
lifetime reference that you can review as often as you wish.
Repetition is key to a successful experience and this is your
primary tool to create correct thinking and behavior.
Course Tools
II. Team 7 Group Meetings - group meetings to dissect
information, document key points, present to class; and learn to
perform as a team.
III. Power Point slides - Brief visual presentations intended to
stress key points.
IV. Individual Presentations - Personal interpretations.
V. Class Reading and Open Forum Discussions
VI. Homework
COURSE OVERVIEW
Life Skills Developed In This Course
I. The ability to manage life's unexpected challenges through a
series of learned behaviors including, understanding the mind-
body connection and visualization of the desired behavior and
outcomes when adversity surfaces, unexpectedly.
Life Skills Developed In This Course
II. You will also learn the importance of repetition in behavior
modification, and will learn that we get what we expect,
especially when these techniques are repeated daily.
Life Skills Developed In This Course
III. You will learn how to develop goals and how to prepare your mind to achieve a desired outcome.
The emphasis will be on the following areas of one's life: Spiritual Physical Personal Mental Emotional Leadership/Professional
Life Skills Developed In This Course
III. You will learn to develop a 'mental refreshment
plan' that reinforces your intangible assets in each area
of your life, and will focus on the paradigm: Conserve your
energy and don't be overly focused on conserving time.
IV. You will come to understand how this law of physics must
govern daily decisions that will influence your life:
Two things cannot exist in the same space at the
same time.
Life Skills Developed In This Course
V. You will learn to challenge the temptation of routinely
focusing on taking the beaten path, in lieu of
considering the road less traveled.
VI. You will increase the probability of a successful
outcome by adding positive variables to any problem
resolution.
Life Skills Developed In This Course
VII. You will develop a healthy respect for the relationship
between thoughts and feelings by understanding the
laws of physics referenced earlier. You will recognize
influencing factors that promote a healthy, happy mindset
and personality.
Life Skills Developed In This Course
VIII. You will expand your influence in any team experience
by reaching out and demonstrating the lessons learned with
your peers in case management discussions. They are
intended to improve your confidence to be heard, and
strengthen your relationship with your associates.
Life Skills Developed In This Course
IX. You will develop ways to influence your team's performance as
you demonstrate leadership skills.
X. You will learn the difference between leadership and
management and apply this skill to all areas of life.
Life Skills Developed In This Course
XI. You will live by the discipline and laws that great leaders
practice, and enjoy the opportunity to improve each day.
XII. Learning the importance of being understood, not being right in
disputes.
XIII. Never allow fear to inhibit your performance. Fear is an acronym
for False Evidence Appearing Real.
LESSON PLANS
Module 1Strengthening Your Core
At the core of every human being is a set of skills that must be
developed and inspired for growth to be possible. It begins with
preparing to learn and is followed by complementary lesson plans.
Lesson Plans
1. Preparing to Learn
2. Setting and Achieving Goals.
3. Learning the Happiness Habit
4. Overcoming Fear
5. The Power of Purpose
6. We Become What We Think
Lesson Plan 1
Preparing to Learn
Overview
There is an old Zen proverb that clearly identifies the
importance of being an active listener and truly dedicating
oneself to learning.
“When the student is ready, the teachers will appear.”
Overview
When
Ready
Teachers
Appear
The key words in this proverb are:
Overview
Often, in our younger years, parents, teachers, coaches,
and spiritual leaders share words of wisdom with us that
seem to go in one ear and pick up speed going out the
other.
Why? -----> The student was not ready!
Overview continued
As we mature and our life is challenged with unplanned
events, these seemingly pointless, hollow words of
wisdom take on new meaning.
It is at that point that the student is ready and the teachers
begin to appear. Learning takes place and progress is
made.
Cont.
This lesson is intended to help you to recognize the
abundance of teachers who are ready to share valuable
lessons each day, and show you how to commit their
lessons and wisdom to learned behaviors.
I. Ensure that participants understand that listening
precedes talking when we are preparing ourselves
to learn.
II. Truly believing that wisdom is not limited to those
with higher education degrees, or those born with
great intelligence. It can become part of anyone’s
character, if they are willing to learn.
Objectives
Objectives
III. Disciplining oneself to documenting the lessons in a
Life Skills Journal that will serve as a daily
reference until its contents become a behavior or
automatic response in your life.
IV. Recognizing and understanding the importance of
repetition to create perfect timing when instinctively
recalling appropriate lessons as they are needed.
Objectives
V. Identifying key teachers in your past and
present.
– Give a great deal of thought to those teachers that
have not yet appeared who can be instrumental to
your growth.
Action Steps
In two pages or less, explain why listening at the start of any conversation is more important than talking.
-- Group note taker and designated presenter will share comments for your virtual journal with the team and forward them via email. The note taking position will rotate each day.
Action Steps
II. Individual session (Time allotted 30 minutes)
In your Life Skills Journal, identify 10 teachers who
were significant in your life and shared wisdom that you
recognized and understood at the time, or at some later
date when one of life's unexpected challenges appeared.
Use the table on the following slide as a reference and
record
your thoughts in your Life Skills Journal for future reference.
Journal entry - Assignment Format
Teacher Lesson Taught Recognized When?
1
2
3
4
5
6
Action StepsIII. Team '7' Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes)
List ten key factors that prevent us from learning.
Locate the following slide table in your virtual journal and record your thoughts for future reference.
Team '7' DiscussionLearning Inhibitors
Key Factors that Prevent Us from Learning
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Action Steps
Compile a list of unlikely sources of wisdom that have impacted your life in a positive way.
Record thoughts in your Life Skills Journal and be prepared to share with the class if called upon.
IV. Team '7' Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes)
Team '7' Discussion Unlikely Sources of Wisdom
Unlikely Sources of Wisdom Impact on Your Life
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Action Steps
V. Individual Notes (Time allotted 20 minutes, one page)
-- Insert in journal
Consider strategy for using what you consider to be new
and old words of wisdom that will impact your life.
In your own words, summarize ways you intend to
activate these teachings in your life, and commit them to
behavior in future use.
Action Steps
VI. Team '7' Discussion (Time allotted 20 minutes)
When speaking with someone, it is important to understand
the difference between asking open vs. closed-ended
questions.
What is your understanding of the difference between the
two types of questions?
Open- and Closed-Probe Questions
Open-Probe Questions Closed-Probe Questions
Question allows for dialogue.
Example: What did you think about last year's Commencement speech? Example: How do you feel about today’s class?
Question that requires only a YES or NO response.
Example: Did you like last year's Commencement speech? Example: Do you like today’s class?
REMEMBER: If you want to learn, ask questions that foster dialogue and avoid closed probes that can end at a hard stop.
Action Steps
VII. Team '7' Discussion – Reinforcement (Time allotted 20
minutes)
Insert into your Life Skills Journal10 questions in both
an open and closed probe format.
Team '7' Discussion – Reinforcement
Open-Probe Questions Closed-Probe Questions
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
SummaryTOOLS / TIME / ASSIGNMENTS
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Team '7 Discussions 130 minutes total
Individual Presentations 50 minutes total
Class Readings and discussions
May vary
Homework: Read the first 75 pages of the 2 books listed as Required Reading:
1. Living for Game Day2. Man's Search for Meaning
Lesson Plan 2
Setting and Achieving Goals
Overview
Most individuals live their lives without plans to
achieve objectives in the six key areas:
spiritual, mental, emotional, personal,
physical, and professional.
In most cases, the cause is not lack of interest
or belief in the need. Surprisingly, the process
has not been taught as a necessary life skill.
Overview continued
The corporate name for the company providing this
curriculum is Team 326. The name includes the number of
goals/reasons that motivated the author Phil Bracco to
survive three battles with cancer and two required bone-
marrow transplants.
This mission was highly influenced by Victor Frankl's book,
Man's Search for Meaning, and later reinforced by a number
of positive thinkers who helped bring form to the process.
Cont.Successful individuals follow specific steps to establish and
organize goals. A set of rules guide the process and improve
effectiveness.
Key Rules:
The difference between a successful goal setter and
someone simply drifting through life.
I. The goal must be yours.
II. The goal must be specific. Your mind cannot
perform to generalities.
III. All steps must be taken.
IV. Metrics to measure performance and progress are
imperative.
V. A target completion date is a mandatory.
Six steps must be documented and reviewed regularly to ensure that
you note possible changes.
I. Establish a specific, measurable goal.
II. List all the reasons this goal is important to you and those you
care about.
III. List all obstacles that stand in your way.
IV. Identify resources available to you to assist in the process of
achieving the goal.
V. Develop a specific Action Plan to achieve the goal.
VI. Set performance metrics along the way.
Planning Steps
Objectives
I. Commit the 6 key steps to every goal.
II. Understand the subtleties that separate a productive
goal-setter from someone who is simply going
through the exercise.
III. Know when, and if, to amend your goal.
IV. Understand the importance of being specific in the
process.
V. Create a connection between goals and the 6 key
arenas of your life.
I. Individual session - Putting Plans into Action
(Time allotted 30 minutes)
Using the six key steps discussed, outline your goal plan for
this course.
Before moving forward, let’s review the fundamentals of goal
setting.
Action Steps
• Cannot be someone else’s goal for you.
Be Yours
• The mind can only respond to specifics
• Generalities cause confusion and take us off course.
Be Specific
• An incomplete plan leads to mediocre results.
Address all aspects of Action Plan
• Setting the bar too high results in dissapointment and delusion.
Be Attainable
Fundamentals
The Goal Must:
Key Point Key Point
Share your “Go up” goals only with those that can
help you get there.
Why?If someone doesn’t agree with your objective, they
can’t help you get there, and furthermore might undermine
your initiative.
Share your “give up” goals with everyone.
Friends will nudge you when you need reminders.
(Example: Give up smoking.)
II. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes)
Digest the previous pages and lecture and list the most
common errors people make when setting goals.
The note taker will email your list for your Life Skills Journal.
Action Steps
Most common errors made when setting goals
1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.
III. Individual Journal Entry (Time allotted 20 minutes)
List at least 5 “Go Up” and 5 “Give-up” goals that you consider
important in your world as it exists today.
Action Steps
Journal entry - Assignment Format
Go-Up Goal Give-up Goals
1
2
3
4
5
IV. Individual Session (Time allotted 30
minutes)
In 2 pages or less, describe why Victor Frankl
considered the act of goal setting an imperative
activity for those awaiting liberation in the Nazi
death camps.
Action Steps
V. Individual Session (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page or less
Action Steps
Team 326 is the corporate
name of the company that
published, Living for Game
Day.
Please explain how the
name came into being, and
your thoughts you can
make the process work for
you.
VI. Individual Journal Entry (Time allotted 40
minutes)
Identify one of your current goals and organize it in the six step
process outlined in the goal format established earlier.
Action Steps
12
34
5
6
Summary
TOOLS / TIME / ASSIGNMENTS
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Team '7 Discussions 30 minutes total
Individual Sessions 150 minutes total
Homework: Read the next 50 pages of the 2 books listed as required reading.
1. Living for Game Day2. Man’s Search for Meaning
Lesson Plan 3
Learning the Happiness Habit
Your Choice
Click for Video
Overview
Often Mr. Bracco is asked to speak to large audiences or
rescue cancer patients who are suffering from fear,
anxiety, and overall unhappiness. Although fear and
anxiety are addressed in life skills they typically are
connected with unhappiness.
Overview continued
On many occasions, Phil refers to unhappiness as a habit.
When he does people often respond by saying “happiness is
not a habit, it is something that you inherit as a child. Although
many people grow up in situations that are difficult, there is
plenty of opportunity to create happiness in their lives by first
understanding the happiness habit.
Cont.Happiness and unhappiness are reflections of those thoughts
that are dominating your mind. As for your mind, the moment a
thought crosses its boundaries, it is capable of injecting into
the body chemicals that change the way you feel.
For example, if you were greeted in a walk through the woods
by a 500 pound brown bear, your mind would instantly be
crowded with thoughts of fear that trigger the release of
adrenalin into your entire body as you begin to slow down all
unnecessary body functions as adrenalin is pumped into the
largest muscles that control the speed at which you run.
Cont.
When working with cancer patients, the first thing they
tell Phil after being introduced is, “I am so unhappy and
depressed and will never be happy again.” At that point
he engages in a quick exercise that requires them to list
their thoughts for the prior three minutes and notice the
relationship between their thoughts and their feelings.
When he calls them back within 72 hours, one of the
first remarks they make is, “I now know what your mean
by the relationship between thoughts and feelings.”
Objectives
I. Ensure that the students understand the relationship between
thoughts and feelings, for it is capable of creating a change in
life very quickly.
II. Those who are happy tend to be much more productive
because their mind is focused on the moment; those who are
unhappy are often looking into space and consumed with
thoughts about something that happened or something that
might happen.
Objectives continued
III. Students must understand that
happiness is a habit and not a
behavior that is inherited by a
chosen few.
IV. Once you learn the happiness
habit you can place yourself in any
environment and find enjoyment.
V. The beauty of the happiness habit
is that once you develop and
believe in the power of the skill, no
one can ever take it from you.
Action Steps
I. Individual session (Time allotted 30 minutes)
For the next five minutes sit in your seat, relax and let your
mind flow. When five minutes expires go to the next slide and
identify the emotions you felt and the thoughts that triggered
them, we will classify them as happy or unhappy.
(see attached chart)
Happiness (trigger thoughts) Unhappiness (trigger thoughts)
Enter responses in your Virtual Life Skills Journal
Action Steps
II. Individual session (Time allotted 20 minutes)
--less than a page
Describe an individual that you would consider as happy. How
do they speak, are they generally looking up or down, how do
they greet you, what is their outlook for those things they are
attempting to get done in the near future.
Action Steps
III. Individual session (Time allotted 20 minutes)
Make a list of the people and things that create happiness and
unhappiness in your life.
(see attached chart)
Things That Create Happiness Things That Create Unhappiness
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Enter responses in you Virtual Life Skills Journal
Action Steps
IV. Team ‘7’ discussion (Time allotted 60 minutes)
Earlier, we created a six step outline for developing goals for
your life, on the slide that follows, develop a comprehensive
goal plan for developing happiness in your life.
--Insert into your life skills journal
I. Establish a specific, measurable goal.
II. List all the reasons this goal is important to you and those you
care about.
Setting the happiness goal
III. List all obstacles that stand in your way.
IV. Identify resources available to you to assist in the process of
achieving the goal.
III. Develop a specific Action Plan to achieve the goal.
IV. Set a completion date. Set performance metrics along the way.
V. The note taker will send the final document to each team
member, in order to insert it into their Life Skills Journal
Action Steps
IV. Individual session (Time allotted 20 minutes)
What is your Happiness objective for the rest of this course?
Summary
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Team '7’ Discussions 60 minutes total
Individual Sessions 90 minutes total
Homework: Read the next 25 pages of the 2 books listed as Required Reading:
1. Living for Game Day2. Man's Search for Meaning
Lesson Plan 4
Overcoming FearClick for Video
OVERVIEW
During childhood, Phil family did an extraordinary job teaching the children the importance of overcoming fear.
Phil once heard at a High School reunion that “fear” is an acronym for False-Evidence-Appearing-Real.
This small piece of wisdom impacted the way he made decisions in the future.
Overview continued
Prior to that time, fear interrupted his willingness to proceed with a plan that gave him a visual view of a tumor he so desperately wanted to see to conduct visualization tactics to attack the tumor.
As his surgery drew closer, he focused on the acronym F-E-A-R and convinced himself that he had the courage to withstand the procedure, while awake.
Cont.
Focusing on “False evidence appearing real,” Phil
convinced himself that the doctors would not allow
him to feel extraordinary pain and they would do their
very best to mitigate his discomfort. Soon, he realized
that the pain he imagined was created in his mind. He
began monitoring thoughts and concentrating on a
simple strategy to endure the surgery. The closer he
came to the scheduled date, the more he realized that
his imagined pain far exceeded the actual pain.
Cont.
When Phil arrived at the hospital for surgery carrying a 24oz water bottle, he had violated the 12-hour fast and was left with the option he wanted.
“Mr. Bracco, you can go home and re-schedule when you learn how to read, or we can do the surgery now. You will have to be wide awake and have the equivalent of Novocain to dull the pain.”
Cont.
Little did the students observing the
procedure realize what they were about to
witness. The fear Mr. Bracco had been
feeling in the weeks before the surgery had
diminished over time. Those in the audience
felt more anxiety and fear than Phil.
Cont.
Experts will tell you that fear is our greatest inhibitor, a concern that the failure will embarrass and emotionally scar us forever. Fear is the big roadblock; sometimes the equivalent of a massive mountain that stands between you and where you want to be. Step back for a moment and your perspective will change, and what seemed insurmountable is impossible no longer.
OBJECTIVES
I. Understand that you can desensitize yourself from fear over
time. For example, the fear of speaking to groups or
individuals, or even the opposite sex about a date, can be
overcome. The key is to start out taking smaller steps.
II. Get moving. The fastest way to replace negative thoughts
holding you back, is with positive thoughts that push you
forward. These must be much like Mr. Bracco's positive
thoughts for having surgery awake so he could visualize the
attack of his T-cells on the cancer cells.
Objectives continued
III. Understand the close connection between
motivation and fear. If you motivate
yourself to take action you will kill the
fear that stood in your way and it will soon
disappear.
Cont.
IV. In the past we viewed rejection negatively
because we were fearful of being publicly
renounced and having the stigma over our head.
V. Choose to view failure and rejection as
opportunities to learn. Write down the things in
your life that you considered fears that you have
overcome, and identify how they changed your life.
Action Steps
I. Individual Session (Time allotted 1 hour.)
In three pages or less, list some common
fears that you have faced and the steps
required to manage their impact on you.
-- Insert in your Life Skills Journal
Action Steps
II. Individual Session (Time allotted 20 minutes)
In 3 pages or less describe the relationship between
visualizing the outcome you wanted and its ultimate
impact on simple body functions.
Action Steps
III. Individual Session (Time allotted 50 minutes)
Mr. Bracco made the decision to have surgury while awake to obtain an up close and personal look at “the enemy”. He played this visual over and over in his mind.
In three pages or less describe the relationship between visualizing the outcome he wanted and the fear he anticipated. Describe how his visuallization minimized the impact of the actual outcome.
Action Steps
IV. Individual Session (Time allotted 30 minutes)
The simple incorporation of visualizing to reduce fear can have a dramatic impact on reducing the amount of stress that your heart will experience during this process. The chart on the next slide requires simple math calculations to amplify the point.
Action Steps
Reductions of Beats Per Minute
Time: Short Term Time: Long Term
2 Beats 1 Hour: How many beats
saved? 2 x 60 = __________
6 Months:2 x 60 x 24 x 30 x 6 =
________________
5 Beats 8 Hours: 5 x 60 x 8 =
________________
12 Months: 5 x 60 x 24 x 30 x 12
=
_______________
Action Steps
V. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 30 Minutes)
How does the brain process the types of thoughts that we allow to cross our mind?
In 2 pages or less describe how the body responds differently to fear based on the type of thinking taking place.
Action Steps
VI. Individual Session (Time allotted, 20 minutes)
If you met a child who was fearful about interacting with other children in games and sports what would your recommendation be for overcoming unnecessary fear and anxiety?
Summary
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Individual Session 1 hour
Individual Session 20 minutes
Individual Session 50 minutes
Individual Session 30 minutes
Team ‘7’ Discussion 30 minutes
Individual Session 20 minutes
TOOLS / TIME / ASSIGNMENTS
OVERVIEW
People often confuse religion with spirituality.
Those we refer to as spiritual people have a
deep connection with other people, the
universe and its wonder and the importance
of purpose in one's life.
Overview continued
When Mr. Bracco entered transplant for the second time he was well aware of the need to be spiritually connected to all that life offered and felt deeply responsible for the unfinished work that life expected of him. During a 184-day hospitalization in a 10x10 foot room, Mr. Bracco knew that life was not only expecting that he write a book to benefit others, but demanded that he get it done.
As Dr. Frankl often said, “He who has a 'why' to live can bear with any hour.”
Cont.
Each day that Mr. Bracco's brother's stem cells were feeding his body, he fought through the pain, desperation, and loneliness to answer life's request of him:
“When are you planning to write the book?”
Each day in that room, he dressed himself for work and diligently wrote the book. As time passed, Frankl's point about the power of purpose expanded its importance to all key areas of his life: spiritual, physical, emotional, mental, and professional.
Cont.
A footprint for the future was also in place: His survival
and story to tell. With the passage of each day, life
became more exciting as so many people committed
to Mr. Bracco and he in turn, clearly understood his
spiritual purpose. Mr. Bracco's tenacity to succeed
often caused conflict with hospital staff as they could
not comprehend the purpose behind his behavior.
OBJECTIVES
I. Clearly distinguish between a spiritual person and a religious person.
II. What did the power of purpose enable Mr. Bracco to do? What role did it play in the life of prisoners in Nazi concentration camps?
Objectives continued
III. In Dr. Frankl's book, he discusses how people of similar age and stature had completely different outcomes in extreme
circumstances. What explanation does he give for the differing outcomes?
IV. Humor played a key role in survival. Understand why seeing things in a humorous light positively impacts outcomes
in difficult situations.
Cont.
V. Frankl stated that in the most troubled circumstances anything you have experienced in life cannot be taken – no power on earth can take them from you.
ACTION STEPS
I. Team '7' discussion (Time Allotted 20 minutes)
What does Dr. Frankl mean by “the power of purpose”? How does purpose
distinguish between those who live and those who die?
Action Steps
II. Team '7’ discussion (Time allotted 20 minutes)
During his second transplant and recovery period, Mr. Bracco discovered his purpose. What was it? How did it influence his
willingness to bear the pain and drudgery of 184 days in isolation?
ACTION STEPS
III. Journal Entry (Time Allotted 30 Minutes)
List people and responsibilities that bring purpose to your life.
Action Steps
IV. Team '7‘ discussion (Time allotted 20 minutes.)
For a purpose to truly become a goal, Intention drives the goal into the spirit that motivates all people to proceed in good times and times of adversity. What distinguishes our hopes from our intentions?
ACTION STEPS
V. Individual session (Time allotted 20 minutes)
Mr. Bracco often speaks to large audiences on the subject of life skills and often recants the lyrics of a famous country & western singer, “Live life like you were dying”. What is the message here and how should we incorporate it into our approach to life every day?
Summary
TOOLS / TIME / ASSIGNMENTS
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Class video 5 Minutes
Team '7 Discussions 60 minutes
Journal Entries 30 minutes
Individual Sessions 20 minutes
Lecture
Homework--: Read the next 50 pages of the 2 books listed as Required Reading:
1. Living for Game Day2. Man's Search for Meaning
Overview
If there is ever a saying that Phil Bracco
uses, to both survive and have the courage
to mentally face the enemy while the battle
raged, it is this:
“We ultimately become what we think about
and act upon.”
Overview cont.
During his second long stay at Beth Isreal Hospital in
Boston, Mass., every thought, every action, every fantasy
about good things to come were focused on making those
enjoyable experiences happen. When a thought to the
contrary attempted to find a way into his mind, Mr. Bracco
immediately detected the thought through his
Mindwatcher* and addressed it through the numerous
techniques he speaks about for dispelling negative
thoughts that intrude into his mind.*Mindwatcher: idea by Maxwell Maltz in Psycho Cybernetics
Cont.
Whenever he publicly speaks about this
matter, he describes those negative thoughts
as the equivalent of speed bumps on the
road to good health that had to be treated
now.
Objectives
I. Understand that our thoughts trigger our
feelings, and we believe and ultimately
become what we think about most.
II. Practice a simple note taking technique for
validating the relationship between thoughts
and feelings.
Objectives
III. Most people contend that their feelings are
simply inherited from childhood. Although a
pattern can be connected to your upbringing,
your thought process can slowly condition
you to become anything you want to be.
Objectives
IV. When the discipline of positive thinking
becomes your habit, negative thoughts that
come from outside sources will seem so
foreign to your mind.
V. Behavioral therapists will tell you that your
thoughts at the start of an important project
will determine its outcome.
Action Steps
I. Individual (Time allotted 20 minutes) ½ page
In your own words, describe what Mr. Bracco
means when he says, “We become what
we think and act upon?”
Action Steps
II. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes)
On several occasions, Mr. Bracco had choices that would define his
commitment to act healthy when he was engaged in a battle for life.
Whenever in front of an elevator he would opt for the stairs. Whenever
offered the choice of a port that nurses could plug medicines into, he
insisted for them to perform tests, transfusions, and medications the
old fashioned way: via a needle that was stuck into his arm.
Why would an intelligent human being opt for a choice that would
continually produce pain, in lieu of a procedure that eliminates it
entirely?
(Refer to his explanation in his book).
Action Steps
III. Individual Session (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
Upon entering surgery, Mr. Bracco always
requested special consent forms to allow him to
walk, not be carried, into surgery. Explain his
thought process.
Action Steps
IV. Team 7 Discussion (Time allotted 20 minutes)
While in the outpatient portion of
chemotherapy, Mr. Bracco would run 5 miles
over the Charles River Bridge into Cambridge
after treatment was completed.
What was the message he was sending to
both himself and his adversary?
Action Steps
V. Team ‘7’ Discussion (time allotted 20 minutes)
Often Mr. Bracco would say,
“The moment you act like a cancer patient is
the moment you become one.”
What did he mean by this statement?
Summary
Instruments Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Team 7 Discussion 50 minutes
Individual Sessions 70 minutes
Individual Presentation
Tools/ Time/ Assignments
Homework:List at least 10 situations where peer pressure and behavior can influence your approach to responding to any of life’s challenges.
Module 2Adding Skills to Your Foundation
This sets the stage for becoming more confident and
active through repetition and training.
Lesson Plans
7. Thought Control
8. Visualization
9. Biofeedback
10. Mind Cleansing
11. Burnout: Fact or Fiction?
Lesson Plan 7
Thought ControlClick To Watch Video
Overview
As one year begins to accelerate into the next, the clock which seemed to work endlessly, moving from hour to hour, now seems to be in high gear. Why?
The answer to the question is not all that complex. Today, you and I receive more information in one day than our grandparents received in their entire lifetime.
Overview
With massive amounts of information infiltrating our mind, the key to happiness and success is grounded in your ability to eliminate unnecessary information, refuse to allow negative thoughts into your mind and to become a careful mind watcher to prevent us from dwelling on negative information that ultimately affects our emotions and the way we feel.
Overview
Back in the ‘60’s, the mere suggestion of controlling one’s thoughts was contradictory to the free spirit movement of the time. However, since then, we have learned that the management of your thoughts plays a significant role in your productivity and the management of your emotions. So much for the free spirit theory, which said: let all and any that want to enter cross the stage of your mind.
Overview
Over the years, Phil has built a growing network of cancer affected patients and caregivers who are interested in his secret for a prompt rebound to his illness.
His most common response is that his solution is engrained in controlling his thoughts to focus on those objectives that bring value to his life. Often when visiting with newly diagnosed cancer patients who are literally in a melt-down state, Phil knows that he must first and foremost help them gain control of their thoughts followed immediately by teaching the connection between thoughts and feelings.
Overview
In a catastrophic environment, with children crying and Mother in tears and Dad running around the house aimlessly, Phil found his patient of the day lying face-forward on a wooden kitchen floor, tapping her toes into the hard surface and assuming that life was over for her.
As Phil reached down beside her, he whispered into her ear the following question:
Is anything going to happen in the next five minutes that you can’t handle?
Overview
A deep sigh was followed by the slight turn of head to see who he was. Phil’s next task was to help her feel a sense of empowerment by teaching her the connection between thoughts and feelings. This was simply done by asking her to pay attention to her emotions and jot down what she was thinking about for the five minutes that preceded an emotional high or an emotional low.
Overview
Soon, she began to realize the connection between thoughts and feelings, and felt a sense of being in control of that important aspect of what would soon become an aggressive chemotherapy and radiation plan.
Overview
Today, this young lady has embraced dozens of life skills and created one of the largest breast cancer foundations in the United States. From time to time, she sees Mr. Bracco for a refresher or a discussion about a topic that she is unable to resolve.
Objectives
Teach the class that emotions and fears are two sides of the same coin. That which you fear, you first bring to pass in the form of an emotion. If you fear it long enough, it will become a behavior.
To help participants know that there is a proven stop-gap technique for putting an abrupt end to panic anxiety (is there anything going to happen in the next 5 minutes that you can’t handle?)
I.
II.
Objectives
To begin establishing the mind-body connection in a participants mind. Yes, we are what we think about most.
Assist participants in selecting the right complimentary activities to build upon these particular lessons.
III.
IV.
Objectives
To ensure that participants understand that this is a skill; one that they can add to their existing repertoire of life skill techniques.
V.
Action Steps
Team ‘7’ Discussion (20 minutes allotted time)
What is the significance of the question ‘is there anything you can’t handle in the next 5 minutes?’
I.
Action Steps
Individual Personal Journal (10 minutes allotted time)
List ten long lasting fears in your life that could have been short-circuited if you understand the question, ‘is there anything in the next five minutes that you can’t handle?’ (use table on following slide).
II.
Action Steps
# Issues that could have been diffused
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Action Steps
Team ‘7’ Discussion (20 minutes)
Compile a list of thoughts / worries that if allowed to sit in your mind, will cause unwanted feelings of depression. Rent, Car Payment etc.
Team ‘7’ Discussion (20 minutes)
Now, make a list of ten thoughts that would convert you into a state of happiness.
III.
IV.
Action Steps
Individual Session Composition (40 minutes)
Upon return from school you determine that your younger brother has been feeling unmotivated and not acting or behaving like the person you once new. How would you approach this situation based on the information you learned today, as well as any other information that we have discussed since the start of this course. Setting goals, learning the Happiness Habit, Power of Purpose etc…
V.
Overview
Those closest to Phil often here him say that he intends to turn the clock back. After two transplants, he immediately returns to the gym and not only ensures that he can restore health but that he can become healthier than he was prior to illness.
Summary
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Team 7 Discussion 20 minutes
Individual Journal 10 minutes
Team 7 Discussion 20 minutes
Team 7 Discussion 20 minutes
Individual Composition
40 minutes
Lesson Plan 7
VisualizationClick To Watch Video
Overview
You can't reach what you can't see
when you close your eyes –
UNLESS
unless you learn how to visualize.
Objectives
I. Successful people in all walks of life will tell
you that visualization plays a key role in their
success.
Start With A Goal:
Visualize What You
Learn
See
SmellFeel
Hear
Objectives continued
II. Learn to incorporate visualization into your
goal setting plan.
III. See a successful outcome before it occurs.
Cont.
IV. Understand the role of the
subconscious in the visualization process.
V. Learn to add this variable into your
decision to take the path less traveled.
Action Steps
I. Individual Session (Time Allotted 20 minutes)
Mr. Bracco begins writing early that he had a
difficult time achieving the critical variable of
visualization in his plan.
What was Mr. Bracco attempting to accomplish?
How did it alter his statistical probability for
success?
Action Steps
II. Individual Presentation (Time allotted 30
minutes.)
Outline what you consider to be the key steps in the
visualization process.
Action Steps
III. Journal Entry (Time allotted 40 minutes)
List 10 of your current goals that would
benefit from the visualization process.
Journal Entry: Goal VisualizationGoals That Would Benefit From Visualization
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Action Steps
IV. Team '7' Discussion (Time allotted 30
minutes)
How do the following professionals use
visualization: Athletes, Speakers,
Physicians/Surgeons, Teachers?
List 10 other professionals that could use this
process.
Team 7 - Visualization
Professions That Benefit from Visualization
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Summary
TOOLS / TIME / ASSIGNMENTS
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Class video
Team '7 Discussions 30 minutes total
Individual Sessions 40 minutes total
Journal Entries 30 minutes total
Homework:
Overview
Biofeedback uses various instruments to determine
changes in body function created by changes in thoughts.
Pain perception, muscle tone, heart rate, and blood
pressure are all impacted by thoughts that trigger
emotional responses.
Today, biofeedback is used as an effective treatment for
headaches and migraines. Individuals dedicated to the
technique improve performance. Health practitioners also use
this method for rehabilitation and treating anxiety, chronic pain,
hypertension, joint disorders, and urinary incontinence.
Overview continued
Objectives
I. Demonstrate the mind-body connection using
Biofeedback to control body functions.
II. Learn to use simple Biofeedback skills to overcome
anxiety when necessary.
III. Understand the impact of Biofeedback on overall
health.
IV. Use Biofeedback to improve your interactions with
others.
V. Learn simple techniques you can apply throughout
life.
Action Steps
I. Team “7' Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes)
Identify proactive applications of
Biofeedback in your everyday life.
Summarize the video; note taker should
email other group member’s the combined
summary.
Action Steps
III. Team “7' Discussion (Time allotted 20 minutes)
A math exercise: If you used Biofeedback to
reduce your heartbeat over a specific period of
time, how much less work will your heart need
to do, to circulate enough blood throughout
your body, assuming you lower your heartbeat
by 5 beats each minute?
Math Exercise
Length of Time # Reduced Beats
1 Hour (5 x 60 minutes x 60 mins/hour) = 18000!
1 Day
1 Week
1 Year
Add Biofeedback to other Life Skills and you can lower it even further.
Action Steps
IV. Team “7' Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes)
How would you incorporate Biofeedback into your
current lifestyle? What behaviors do you have that
require modification that exceeds setting goals
or just trying harder?
Action Steps
V. Team “7' Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes)
Identify behaviors such as listening to
others, performance in class or at work, or
relating to your friends that would be
improved by controlling your body functions
through biofeedback.
Summary
TOOLS / TIME / ASSIGNMENTS
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Class video 30 minutes
Team '7 Discussions 110 minutes total
Homework-How would you incorporate biofeedback techniques in your life each day, and what would be the benefit?
Overview
In this lesson you will learn the importance of
cleansing the center and the origin of all
human emotions, the mind. Keeping it free
and clear of dysfunctional and unhealthy
thinking is the key to happy, healthy living.
Objectives
I. Demonstrate that by managing thoughts, you
manage emotions.
II. Learn the mind cleansing technique you can
incorporate into your day.
III. Understand the importance of performing the
technique all five of the key areas of life: mental,
physical, spiritual, emotional, and professional.
Cont.
IV. Incorporate Maxwell Maltz' “mind watching”
technique into your daily lifestyle.
V. Walk through the cleansing process in the
following PowerPoint slides to understand it in
greater detail.
VI. In his book, Psycho-Cybernetics, Maxwell Maltz
calls mind watching a necessary mental discipline.
Understand why it is used and how we benefit
from it.
Action Steps
I. Individual Session (Time allotted 20 minutes.)
Read Mr. Bracco's mind cleansing routine
in chapter 15 of his book, Living for Game
Day.
Action Steps
II. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes.)
1. List the areas Mr. Bracco focused on.
2. How does he begin his routine?
3. What techniques does he use to end the
routine daily?
4. What is the importance of the last step as it
relates to the law of physics, covered earlier?
Action Steps
III. Individual Session (Time Allotted 30 Minutes)
In 4 pages or less, describe Mr. Bracco's process.
Prepare a step by step process to present to the
class. On a separate, confidential page, add to
your Life Skills Journal an adjective for each letter
of the alphabet that perfectly describes who you
are.
Action StepsI Am …
A___________________________
N___________________________
B___________________________
O___________________________
C___________________________
P___________________________
D___________________________
Q___________________________
E___________________________
R___________________________
F___________________________
S___________________________
G___________________________
T___________________________
H___________________________
U___________________________
I___________________________
V___________________________
J___________________________
W___________________________
K___________________________
X___________________________
L___________________________
Y___________________________
M___________________________
Z___________________________
Action Steps
IV. Team ‘7’ Discussion – Synergy (Time
Allotted 30 Minutes) One page or less.
How does the process above sync with the
laws of physics that states that two
conflicting things cannot exist in the same
place at the same time?
SummaryTOOLS / TIME / ASSIGNMENTS
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Class video 0
Team '7 Discussions 30 minutes total
Individual Sessions 30 minutes total
Journal Entries 0 minutes total
Lecture 30 minutes total
Homework Read Chapter 15 in Living for Game Day, by Phil Bracco.In your own words describe why (or how?) you feel the discipline should be incorporated into your day?In 2 pages or less, describe the powerful synergy beginning to unfold between the lesson plan on Mind-Body Connection and the cleansing routine discussed in this plan.
Lesson Plan 11
Burnout: Fact or Fiction?Click To Watch This Video
Overview
When Phil was informed he would be facing the battle with
cancer, physicians and those closest to him often
expressed their concern with continuing work, increasing
exercise, and burnout. “We are concerned that you do not
have the physical and mental resources to weather a very
aggressive plan; seldom did they discuss their concern
with him because even the slightest association with the
word burnout irritated Phil and often caused him to
accelerate his pace.
Overview continued
In many respects, he was very careful about this kind of
input from others as he associated it with the cancer
attempting to make him act like a cancer patient. Whether
he was undergoing surgery awake, bringing a 300 seat
plane down for an unscheduled stop in Chicago due to his
thin red count or writing his bike 200 miles to fulfill his
fund raising commitment to his patients. He stretched his
limits to improve his tolerance to treatment.
Cont.
He viewed peoples concerns with skepticism and often
put the challenge into high gear. When he connected
recommendations with cancer his adrenalin would start
pumping and he would be determined to accomplish his
objective.
Cont.
As for burnout, Phil believed the term was invented by
those who failed to condition themselves mentally,
spiritually physically, emotionally, and professionally for
the tasks they committed to completing. Uses of the term
typically experience a serious down turn in output and
consider burnout as a genuine medical condition.
Although it may be so in certain circumstances, in most its
overplayed and creates a crisis where an opportunity may
exist.
Cont.
In closing, many describe Phil to be cut from a different
cloth, his response is that he has never been interested in
average and lives his life by the words expressed by a
famous recording artist names Neil young:
“I’d rather burn out than rust”
Objectives
I. Recognize that burnout is a state of mind, not a physical
condition.
II. The key to overcoming burnout for those who suffer with it is not
rest but a change in their activity or their life.
III. If one is not careful burnout is a serious temptation to excuse
oneself for doing the things that they need to do to succeed.
This is especially important in times of difficulty.
Cont.
IV. Burnout has been a way for Department Managers to excuse weak performance by department members who are important to the company and do not want to be lost.
V. Recognize that burnout is not a point in time where the body can’t function, but rather a point in time where the mind cannot think.
Action Steps
I. Individual session (Time allotted 30 minutes) One page
Describe a situation in your life where your enthusiasm for work
was dragged down by negative comments from your co-
workers and explained as burnout by your peers.
Action Steps
II. Team ‘7’ discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes)
Behavioral experts offer a series of solutions to Burnout such as a personal situation modification, working on balance in your life, and the importance of variety and exercise. What do these recommendations have to do with Burnout and what others would you consider important?
Solutions How it resolves the situation:
Situation Update
Balance
Variety
Balance in your life
Exercise
Update Your goals
Action step
III. Individual session (Time allotted 20 minutes)
Recall the last time you expressed your current situation as
“burned out” and try to remember what your environment was
like, what your peers often discussed.
Action steps
IV. Individual session (Time allotted, 30 minutes)
The study of American Indians indicated that the word stutter did
not exist in their language. Interestingly, upon examination,
speech therapist could not find a single individual who stuttered.
If that’s the case, what does this say about burnout,
unhappiness, disappointment, fear, anxiety, worry, and any other
human condition that inhibits performance?
Action step
V. Team ‘7’ discussion (Time allotted 20 minutes)
What is the definition of burnout in the English dictionary and
does it have more than one definition?
Summary
Instrument Time allotted Grade impact
Individual Session 80 minutes
Team ‘7’ discussion 50 minutes
Homework – List 5 steps that you can take immediately to ensure that Burnout never occurs in your life.
Module 3Skill Development Digs Deeper
Unlike traditional learning, developing skills requires that you reach
much deeper into the learning process through repetition, training
and practice.
Lesson Plans
12. Logotherapy
13. Overcoming Compulsive Behavior
14. The Law of Physics
15. The Mind-Body Connection
16. Converting Crisis into Opportunity
Overview
In 1966, a very unusual dinner took place in
the Bracco household. With Phil’s youngest
brother missing from the table, dinner
conversation was stilted with very few
remarks or questions from Mom and Dad
about the course of the day. Finally, Phil
decided to get to the core of the matter and
ask Dad how was his Brother.
Overview
Instantly, his eyes began to water and Phil’s Mother excused herself from the table. “Unfortunately your brother has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease, a cancer of the blood.” As best he could, he tried to explain how this cancer effects the body and gave us a clear picture of the treatment required. This was his first introduction to words like “white cells, red cells, platelets” and terms such as “blood counts.” Little did Phil know that they would become extremely familiar to him. The feeling of emptiness filled his spirit and he began to question what life was about, why mortality was a part of it, and how this God we were taught to trust could allow such a horrible disease to invade the body of such a wonderful boy.
Overview continued
After being paged by his High School Principal, he knew that
the message awaiting him was tragic news about the loss of his
brother. Before being dismissed early, he was handed Victor
Frankl's book, Man's Search for Meaning by one of his
teachers. With so much confusion and sadness in his home,
his teacher advised him to put the book aside and read it later
when the pain of his brother's death was softened by time and
his focus was on his life's direction; when his need for help
sorting out trials and difficulties young people face became a
daily challenge in his life.
Cont.
As the story goes, Phil faced several important decisions
in his early twenties that required insight, especially those
dealing with the meaning of his life and the goals and
inspiration that would keep him motivated to move
forward during tough times. Emptying a closet before
moving to New England, he found the dusty copy of
Man's Search for Meaning, and began to read.
Cont.
As one hour turned into the next, he found it very
difficult to put this very special book down. By mid-
morning the next day he completed the book and
began to incorporate many of the concepts into his
life. During his first and second transplants, well
loved copies of Dr. Frankl's book sat next to his bed
along with the 326 reasons he listed for wanting to
survive and continue the journey his parents started.
Cont.
Victor Frankl, a psychiatrist by education, lived to greet
liberation after a long imprisonment in a German
concentration camp. Many of his comrades died of
illnesses before this glorious event, leading Dr. Frankl to
intense discussions with his fellow inmates about what
separates those who lived from those who died. This
lesson plan and several that follow are intended to share
Dr. Frankl's observations and help you establish a
foundation that will serve you well.
Objectives
I. Understand the concept of logotherapy and the
primary focus when treating individuals with neurotic
orientation of the past, and an establishment
and focus on the future.
II. Logos in Greek means “life”. Unlike
traditional psychoanalysis that defers to the past
to predict the future, logotherapy relies on goals,
unfinished projects and the needs of loved ones
to define what the future holds.
Objectives continued
III. Dr.. Frankl says that healthy mental tension is
created by the gap that exists between what one
has already achieved and what he ought to
accomplish. This lesson plan intends to help you
understand how the concept applies to your life.
Cont.
IV. Tension is considered to be a good state. “What
man needs is not a tensionless state, but a tension-
managed state that describes the gap between
what man is and what he wants to be.”*
V. Understand the meaning of the Existential Vacuum
and its capacity for creating vacillation between two
extremes: distress and boredom.
*Victor Frankl: Man’s Search for Meaning
I. Team '7' Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes)
Logotherapy played a key role in Auschwitz
inmates surviving physical abuse and deadly disease.
What is the focus of Logotherapy and how did its use
distinguish survivors from prisoners who failed to greet
liberation?
Action Steps
II. Individual Session (Time allotted 15 minutes) One
Page
The author of Living for Game Day carried Dr.
Frankl's strategy of identifying those things that
make life meaningful. What is the correlation between
the corporate name, Team 326, and Dr. Frankl's research
on the importance of finding the meaning in his life?
Action Steps
III. Journal Entry (Time allotted 30 minutes)
If you want to bring meaning to your life and create that tension filled state that Dr. Frankl recommends, what goals or unfinished work can you identify as your 'reason for being'?
Enter into your Life Skills Journal, see next
slide.
Action Steps
Action Steps
Unfinished Projects That Bring Meaning To Your LIfe
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Action Steps
IV. Individual Session (Time allotted 20 minutes)
On page 190, Victor Frankl talks about life's
transitions. He explains the concept in the
pages that follow by contrasting the pessimist and
optimist. How does he distinguish them? Enter 5
examples in your journal that reflect situations in
which your attitude needs to change from negative
to positive.
Journal entry - Assignment Format
Current Negative Feeling
Transition to a Positive Experience
1
2
3
4
5
V. Journal Entry – Anticipated Anxiety (Time allotted
20 minutes)
On page 193, Dr. Frankl discusses fear. He states
the starting point is in anticipating anxiety. What
does it mean to anticipate anxiety and can you
provide 10 examples of how this method impacts
your life?
Action Steps
Anxiety Anticipation MethodsHow Anticipated Anxiety Affects Your Life
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
V. Journal Entry – Anticipating Anxiety (Time allotted
20 minutes)
Often, what we anticipate never occurs. What are
some of the concerns you have had in your life that
never materialized but created the tension that
accompanied anxiety?
Enter into your Life Skills Journal, 1 Page
Action Steps
Summary
TOOLS / TIME / ASSIGNMENTS
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Class video
Team '7 Discussions 30 minutes total
Journal Entries 65 minutes total
Individual Presentations 35 minutes total
Lesson Plan 13
Overcoming Compulsive Behavior
Overview
In his book, Man’s Search For Meaning, Victor Frankl often
speaks about the vicious cycle that forms when people suffer
from compulsive behavior.
This behavior is especially difficult to resolve when the patient
has nothing to live for, which results in a vacuum at the center
of the cycle that causes compulsive behavior.
Cont.
Logotherapy is used to begin solving the problem.
The patient is made aware that life still expects
much of him, thus taking the focus off of oneself and
projecting it onto others who still expect something
of him or her.
Cont.
Fill The Existential
Vaccum
Purpose
Reason To Live
Unfinished work
People Who Rely on Them
Cont.
In concentration camps, this therapy was used to
help fading prisoners find those reasons why life was
worth fighting for, and began taking the focus off of
the situation they found themselves in and place the
focus on others, and what the future expected of
them.
Cont.
Mr. Bracco used that technique during each battle
with cancer to keep focus on the future and
minimized the destructive behavior that often occurs
with the compulsion to dwell on the situation rather
than the needs of others who were counting on him
to get well.
Cont.
After the first transplant, the center of his life’s circle
was the desire to get back to his new company and
provide the opportunities that his employees were
counting on him to create. Many left exceptional jobs
to be part of the team that Mr. Bracco was
promising. Aside from family, he had much to live for.
Cont.
The individual who is plagued by neurotic thinking
and behavior has compulsion at the center of that
vicious cycle that spurs him or her to mental and
physical fatigue that often leads to death.
Cont.
Logotherapy, practiced by disciples of Dr. Frankl, help the
neurotic, compulsive individual to find meaning in his life and
create the motivational force to overcome difficult
circumstances. For Mr. Bracco it was the Stage IV relapse of
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma that resulted from his first
transplant.
Interestingly, his life's meaning was characterized by his list of
reasons for not only wanting to survive but to become stronger
in the process.
Objectives
I. Assist each member of the class to understand the
therapeutic techniques Dr. Frankl called Logotherapy.
II. Understand what separates Logotherapy from the
therapeutic techniques that focus on understanding the
past to improve the present or future: Logotherapy
focuses on finding and fulfilling a meaning, while
psychoanalysis focuses on resolving the needs of drives
and instincts.
Objectives
III. Create individual desires to make a
difference. Those areas of life, filled with
important reasons for survival, ensure that
one’s focus creates purpose; is not
characterized by a void that creates
neurotic, compulsive behavior to pass time
until the ultimate failure occurs.
Cont.
IV. Understand the circle that is characterized as a void in neurotic individuals can only be filled by that individual. This ties into one of the Goal Fundamentals mentioned earlier:
“The goal must be yours.”
Or
In the world of business, it is a goal that
you mutually agree to with your Supervisor.
Objectives
V. Logotherapy teaches us that man is not
driven by morals or religion. Man is
driven by his true motivation- to satisfy his
needs that cause temporary happiness, but
not the ongoing peace and happiness they
are __________________
Action Steps
I. Team 7 discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
Dr. Frankl observed prisoners and determined that
people of the same age and physical stature had a
different outcome as they waited for liberation. What
was his explanation for his conclusion?
At end of class, the note taker will email the team’s
response to the group to place in the Life Skills Journal.
Action Steps
II. Individual session (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
Explain the difference between the technique used by logotherapists versus those used by psychoanalysts.
Action Steps
III. Individual session (Time allotted 30minutes)
List 10 things that give purpose to your life and help you greet each day with optimism in good times and bad.
The Essence of Logotherapy
Things That Give My Life Purpose
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Enter into your Life Skills Journal
Prepared by: _________________ Date: ____________
Action Steps
IV. Team ‘7’ discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
Describe the characteristics of neurotic behavior and logotherapy as a solution.
Action Steps
V. Team ‘7’ discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
Explain the difference between an individual that is motivated by purpose and one that is solely motivated by things that give him pleasure.
Action Steps
VI. Individual session (Time allotted 30 minutes) one page
How would you integrate logotherapy into your life on a daily basis?
Enter your response in The Life Skills Journal.
Summary
Instruments Time allotted Grade impact %
Team 7 Discussions 90 minutes
Individual Journal Entries
30 minutes
Individual Session 60 minutes
Homework: Without naming the individual, create a 2 page document that identifies someone you know who would benefit from Logotherapy. Explain why and what behavior you believe will change.
Lesson Plan 14
The Law of Physics
Overview
During three separate bouts with cancer, Phil Bracco
chose to live his life responding to his illness using a law
of physics he learned in High School.
Each time cancer appeared, Phil reasoned that if he filled
his mind, spirit and body with positive thoughts, feelings,
food, water, supplements, and exercise, there would be
no room for illness to exist.
Overview continued
So simple, yet so powerful.
If you dedicate yourself to life's positive experiences and
practice a corresponding lifestyle, there is no room for
illness.
Cont.
Consider that this message was shared with the author at
the age of sixteen, and was not fully understood until
twenty-four years later when disease invaded his body.
This speaks volumes about how the wisdom shared by
our life's teachers can become meaningful, even decades
later when facing life's challenges.
Cont.
Yes,
when the student is ready,
the teachers appear.
Objectives
I. Help participants believe the law of physics, fear cannot exist if our mind
is filled with strength.
II. If positive thoughts fill our mind, there isn't room for unhappiness to exist.
III. Be confident that illness cant exist if your need for rest, hydration, and
good eating habits are met.
IV. Your performance at work can’t be average if you focus on being the
best.
V. Learn to recognize the difference between positive and negative
responses in every arena of your life, spiritual, physical, personal, mental,
emotional and professional.
Action steps
I. Individual session (Time allotted 30 minutes)
--one page
Outline a situation where the law of physics would
have changed your outcome.
What was the situation, what was the problem, and
what got in your way?
Action steps
II. Individual session (Time allotted 30 minutes)
List 10 situations in your daily life where you chose to
allow unhappiness to exist when happiness could have
existed, if you controlled your thoughts.
Action steps
III. Individual session (Time allotted 20 minutes)
List five behaviors that can improve your physical
status if you fill your mind and body with positive health
decisions.
Fill out table on the following slide and insert it into your
Life
Skills Journal.
Action Steps
Behaviors that can improve your health
Current Behavior New Behavior
Action steps
IV. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes)
List ways that your team can improve its performance if
it followed the law of physics in its response to questions.
Actions steps
V. Individual session (Time allotted 20 minutes)
-- one half page
Is there any class in your education, past and present,
that is not consistent with your education goal?
Outline the reasons for making the decision to take that
class in lieu of others that are consistent with your
education goal.
Summary
TOOLS / TIME / ASSIGNMENTS
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Team '7 Discussions 50
Individual Sessions 100
Homework: Complete the reading of both books
Lesson Plan 15
The Mind-Body Connection
Overview
During the past twenty-five years, Mr. Bracco has focused
on understanding the connection between the mind and
the body.
Behavior studies and associated techniques including
biofeedback and visualization demonstrate the impact of
thoughts on body functions and emotions.
Overview continued
Years ago Maxwell Maltz, a German physician wrote a book
titled, Psycho-cybernetics. This great work introduced the
concept of “mind watching” that the author has used before,
during and after years of treatment, transplants, and surgeries.
A mind watcher is similar to a security guard, or watchman.
Instead of watching for thieves, this invisible gate keeper
residing in the human brain is constantly on watch for negative
thoughts that trigger negative emotions.
Cont.
In working with newly diagnosed cancer patients suffering
from depression, Mr. Bracco requests that the next time
they are feeling depressed, they take a piece of paper
and list the thoughts they were focused on in the previous
three minutes.
Cont.
As they begin to feel better, they are asked again to make
a list, but this time on the positive thoughts that created a
happy feeling. Very quickly they realize the connection
between their thoughts and emotions and feel a sense of
empowerment that carries with it a sense of control over
their situation.
Cont.
Over one hundred years ago Abe Lincoln said,
'People are only as happy as they allow themselves
to be.‘
Great mind watchers consider negative thoughts the
forerunner for negative emotions, and view negative
thoughts as speed bumps that slow their progress
down on their journey.
Objectives
I. Understand that happiness and unhappiness are learned
behaviors, not something we are born with.
II. When preparing for a stressful situation, visualize yourself
having the proper responses to any situation that may arise.
III. Be conscious of your self-talk; the thoughts that pass through
your mind watcher to infiltrate your mind.
Objectives continued
III. Become aware of the impact of your thoughts on your body.
IV. Recognize the need for repetition in the process of filling your
mind with positive thoughts to create positive emotions, and
healthy body functions.
I. Individual Journal Entry (Time allotted 30 minutes)
Create journal entries that list 5 positive and 5
negative emotions, and thoughts that could have
triggered these emotions.
Reflect on what you may have been thinking just
before feeling the emotion.
(Example: I was thinking about how the salesperson
treated me with disrespect, and the emotion I felt
immediately thereafter was anger.)
Action Steps
Journal entry - Assignment Format
Positive Emotion What happened/what was I thinking about just before the emotion surfaced?
1
2
3
4
5
Negative Emotion What happened/what was I thinking about just before the emotion surfaced?
1
2
3
4
5
II. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 20 minutes)
Understand the impact of feelings on body function.
Imagine you are about to undergo knee surgery and
your pulse rate is normally 70 bpm. For the three days
before and after the surgery your pulse increases 5 beats
per minute due to anxiety.
Action Steps
III. Individual Journal Entry (Time allotted 30 minutes)
What steps can you take to stop the intrusion of
negative thoughts into your mind?
Action Steps
IV. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 60 minutes) 2 pages
What impact does biofeedback and visualization
have on the mind-body connection?
Go online and retrieve information on biofeedback and
visualization and be prepared to share what you learn
with the class.
Action Steps
V. Individual session (Time allotted 20 minutes)
Inventory your past
As best you can remember, list thoughts you inherited from
others (parents, teachers, friends) hat have had a lasting
impact on your thoughts emotions, and body functions.
Ex. Anxiety
Action Steps
Summary
TOOLS / TIME / ASSIGNMENTS
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Team '7 Discussions 80 minutes total
Individual Sessions 80 minutes total
Lecture
HomeworkBased on your research in class today, compose a one page overview 10%of how biofeedback could improve your thoughts, emotions,feelings and ultimately your quality of life.
Lesson Plan 16
Converting Crisis into Opportunity
Overview
Often in conversations with friends and strangers I hear people
say, “Phil, if you can help me eliminate all of my problems, you
will be my friend through eternity.” Internally, I was thinking,
boy, he must be an avid reader of the Father of Positive
Thinking, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, whose books are read all
over the world.
Overview continued
The basic fact that has forever remained on the books is that
problems are a sign of life; truthfully, the more problems you
have, the more alive you are and the more opportunities grace
your life. It is often said that our problems end when we do,
and my good friends have no idea that this is the place they
must to thrive in if they want quality in their life.
Cont.
Although I can sit with them and meticulously review and
correct many of their problems, I realize that the best antidote
for these situations is to correct their views about problems.
With that said, this bus ride is not going to give us the time or
place for us to address each problem now, but I have a better
solution.
Cont.
Did you know that the Chinese language is a language that
consists of symbols? Instantly he responded, “I thought you
were here to help me.” Be patient Sam. “Ok, but we only have
four stops left.” Well listen closely! They have one symbol that
stands for crisis and one that stands for trouble. He draws
closer and says, “What does that mean for me?”
Cont.
Well, when the symbol for crisis is put next to the symbol for trouble, the word
that results is opportunity. That’s right, trouble plus crisis is opportunity.
With help he began to change his view of life’s challenges and he started seeing
opportunity where he once saw problems.
We too have the same opportunity in our lives. After Phil’s return from transplant,
he saw an opportunity to improve his conditioning beyond his life’s best and
improve diet, supplementation, training and hydration unlike ever before.
Getting BETTER -- not just getting well.
Objectives
I. Routinely take an inventory of problems and challenges in your
life and determine your viewpoint towards them.
II. Learn to see the gem-like opportunity that exists in every
problem.
III. Train yourself to review your problems and list those that can
be alleviated with a change of outlook, and those that require
intervention and help.
Objectives
IV. Commit yourself to sharing these concepts with your friends and
begin to notice a change in your outlook and the perception of
who you are by others.
V. Learn to review your past and determine if you faced situations
that you viewed as problems that could have been viewed as
opportunities.
Action Steps
I. Individual Session (Time allotted 30 minutes)
Identify 3 situations from your past that you viewed as crises or
problems which could have been viewed as opportunities.
Describe what the opportunities could have been.
(See attached chart)
Action StepsList 3 situations from your past that you viewed as crisis
Describe what the opportunity could have been
1.
2.
3.
Enter responses into Life Skills Journal
Action Steps
II. Individual Session (Time allotted 30 minutes)
How do you prepare for problems/ crises today?
.
Action Steps
III. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes)
In your perception, what are the key behavioral characteristics
that those with a positive outlook towards crises exhibit?
Action Steps
IV. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes)
What changes in your self talk are needed to change your
perspective of crisis to one of opportunity?
See chart on following page.
Action Steps
Incorrect Correct
1. “What’s wrong here?” “What’s going on here?”
2. “Oh, Dear God, this is a problem”
3. “Now what are you going to do?”
4. “You’ll never solve this one.”
5. “What will others think?”
6. “I don’t know or have the time to deal with it.”
Actions Steps
V. Individual Session (Time allotted 30 minutes)
How will you begin tomorrow to make subtle changes in the way
you view small problems to set the stage for managing larger
problems in the future?
“Inch by inch it’s a cinch. Mile by mile it’s a trial.”
-Zig Ziglar
Summary
Instruments Time allotted Grade impact %
Team ‘7’ Discussions 60 minutes
Individual Sessions 90 minutes
Individual PresentationsHomework:How will your new perception of problems and crises create change in your life?
Module 4Preparing for Your Next Journey; Prospering Along the Way
One of the fundamental principles for climbing tall objectives is
to go as far as you can see; when you get there, set your
sights on going farther.
Lesson Plans
17. Sustaining Good Health
18. The Right of Passage
19. The Well-Traveled Road
20. Making Difficult Choices
21. Eliminating Worry
Lesson Plan 17
Returning to Good Health Click to View Video
Overview
In Living For Game Day, Phil Bracco expresses a very
passionate view about the importance of good health and
optimal performance in every aspect of life, whether its
business, relationships with family and friends, extending one’s
life to its fullest potential, or responding to catastrophic
illnesses.
Overview cont.
Good health sets the stage for complementary and meditative therapies to
perform at their maximum level.
Living For Game Day makes a strong case for the power of good health in
times of health crisis. Although Mr. Bracco trained since age thirteen when
he entered high school, there were certain immune system deficiencies that
ultimately required him to undergo his second transplant that placed a new
immune system in his body.
He often says to his closest friends,
“I have a new engine under my hood.”
Cont.
Within 10 weeks of his release from the hospital and his 184
day stay, he recovered both his weight loss and strength
deterioration. He went from 146 to 198 pounds.
Although his physicians asked him to refrain from training for a
period of one year, he was back in the gym in one week.
Cont.
After weeks, he restored his weight to 198 pounds through a
high protein diet and resistance training that put lean muscle
mass back on his body. Phil knew that there is a very tight
connection between relapse and maintaining good health. He
was not waiting under any circumstances one your to recover.
Cont.
When Mr. Bracco is asked to work with a cancer patient, he
attributes his positive thinking to great medicine, spiritual
alignment, alternative therapy, weight training, hydration and a
naturopathic physician to help him sort out supplements that
could help correct internal damage caused by the treatment.
Cont.
His daily regimen:
• Discipline: From ,time to time, he was tempted by fatigue to
skip a workout. Privately, he would say to himself, “The
cancer is trying to rent space in my head. Get to the gym.”
• Hydration: He flushes his system with 120- 150 oz. of water
each day.
• Supplements: vitamins A, B2, B5, B12, C, D, E, omega, Q10,
digestive enzymes, calcium, selenium and zinc are all part of
his breakfast, lunch and dinner routines.
Cont.
• Aerobic Training: running, spinning, and on numerous
occasions, 200 miles bike rides for his favorite cancer
charity helped his psyche to believe in the power of purpose.
• Goal Setting: Phil has goals for every arena of his life and
uses the goal setting routine discussed earlier to motivate
himself.
• Never Compromising Your Beliefs: In the outpatient section
of chemotherapy that proceeded his transplant, Mr. Bracco
refused to allow a port in his body, although it made
Cont.
it easier to connect his to chemical cocktails in. In his 2nd transplant for
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, he opted for lines to be inserted in his arms
and hands and removed at the end of treatment. His mission was to
leave that hospital not feeling like a cancer patient and being able to
continue his workouts.
In summary, his book provides deep insight into the mental battle
between the cancer and his desire to survive. He always opted for the
less-traveled path and did not want to follow the herd into physical
demise.
Objectives
I. Understand the relationship between lifestyle and good health. For every withdrawal, you need to make a corresponding deposit.
II. Good health first starts in the mind. What you perceive yourself to be must be consistent with who you really are.
III. If illness should come your way, go back to your virtual journal and refresh your memory about the law of physics.
IV. Two things cannot exist in the same place at the same time. With that said, its time to dedicate your entire day to positive thinking, eating, goals and exercise.
Objectives
IV. Always remember that there is risk in anything you do. Mr.
Bracco’s decision to train within ten days of being released
came with a great deal of risk. Examples include infection or a
head injury, which could cause internal bleeding. Phil always
measured the risk versus reward and made a decision,
accordingly.
V. The human body is like a flowering plant. If fed, watered and
taken care of it, it will survive and thrive in the most hostile
environments..
Acton Steps
I. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
What did Mr. Bracco feel about the connection between health
and outcome.
Action Steps
II. Individual Session (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
If you are in a similar situation, would you make many of
the decisions Phil made to get well? Which ones and
why?
Action Steps
III. Individual Session (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
What is your opinion of your current health status and what can
you do to take control and improve now?
Techniques for Improving Health Now
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Complete the above table in your Life Skills Journal.
Action Steps
IV. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
Based on your own personal knowledge, define the perfect diet
for any given day.
Action Steps
V. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
Phil believes whether its diet or any aspect of your life, when
you make a withdrawal, it needs to be followed with a deposit.
What does he mean by this statement?
Summary
Instruments Time Allotted Grade impact %
Team 7 Discussions 90 minutes
Individual Sessions 60 minutes
Individual Presentations
Homework:
Lesson Plan 18
The Rite of Passage
Overview
The day Phil Bracco was released from his first transplant, he went through a rite of passage that is similar to the circumstances that life presents as we travel the journey.
As he was leaving the hospital, he realized that just five minutes ago, he was considered a transplant patient, secluded in a lock-down hyperbaric environment, and unable to walk in the brightness of late summer sunshine until this day, day 184 after his admission to Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, for his second transplant in 11 years.
Overview
He thought about it again. “Five minutes ago I was a patient with enormous restrictions and now I am free to go and do as I please.”
In many ways, this rite of passage is a formality that we experience in many aspects of our life.
Yesterday I was an intern, unable to perform surgery, today I received my diploma and can open someone’s cavity and conduct open heart surgery.
Yesterday, I was single, today I walk down an aisle and suddenly must act and behave as though I am married.
Overview
Yesterday, I was a student, with room, board and meals managed for me; Today I am a graduate that will go down a path that impacts you, your family and the people you care about – self sufficiency suddenly becomes my challenge.
The transition after the rite of passage can be traumatic for those not prepared to make the adjustments that are required. Professionally, you will soon make your biggest adjustment when you must become a productive member of the work force. It is at this juncture that many life skills begin to morph into people skills to help you accomplish those things that were just mentioned.
Overview
Those who master the transition will have a successful experience in the workplace as they find it easy to integrate with their peers and learn to perform within the objectives of the company.
Conversely, those reluctant to accept the workplace and its variety of personalities often find themselves in disputes that can cost them their job.
Lets look at the transition, understand the requirements and know what to expect as we begin this journey we call life.
Objectives
Understand the expectations of your first rite of passage upon graduation. Yesterday I was a student; today with diploma in hand, I am a graduate with expectations to become a productive member in the workforce.
As you make the transition, you must begin to see how those life skills - that are being memorialized in your life skills journal – can help you work through foreign situations that may seem perplexing at the moment but understandable in the future.
I.
II.
Objectives
Competition takes on a new form in the work environment. Be a contributor. Look for things to do and not things to avoid. Preparing oneself to express skills sets the stage for advancement.
Understand the key measurements and factors that support your hire with a view for those things that you need to do to move beyond the Rite of Passage into an assignment that begins to accelerate your opportunities.
III.
IV.
Objectives
Understand that rites of passage are choices that typically come with responsibility. Understand that some decisions are not yours to be made. How you respond to them will speak volumes about who you are. Other times it is totally within your control.
V.
Action Steps
Team 7 Discussion (30 minutes allotted)
List ten Rites of Passages that you have gone through in the time you have spent on this Earth. Determine whether they were voluntary or involuntary. (Fill out table on next slide).
I.
Action Steps
Rite of Passage Voluntary Involuntary
Action Steps
Individual Notes (Time allotted 20 minutes)
List those Rites of Passage that were involuntary that have created the most difficulty for you.
II.
Action Steps
Rite of Passage Describe Difficulty
Action Steps
Individual Journal Entry (20 minutes allotted)
Building flexibility into your rite of passage …(NOW)
Fill out your journal, using the table on the following slide.
III.
Action Steps
Career Development Preparation
Rate your level of commitment
Exploration of Career Interests
Ability of job to satisfy your top three objectives, needs and aspirations
What other industries can you transition to if your industry of choice fails to offer satisfying optins?
Have you conversed with your council or former graduates about your career path and its possibilities for change.
1 = Extensive 2 = some 3 = ready to start soon 4 = not important
Action Steps
Individual journal Entry (Time allotted – 30 minutes) – Next Page
IV.
Action Steps
Ages List; History tells us much about the future
Factors that may have influenced your decision to change
6-10
11-15
16-18
As best you can remember, list the career of choice at the following ages of your life.
Action Steps
Individual Notes (Time 20 minutes)
Given your current projected profession, list those changes that you will be required to make as you accept that diploma and walk through that rite of passage.
V.
Summary
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Team 7 Discussion 20 minutes
Individual Journal 20 minutes
Individual Journal 20 minutes
Individual Journal 20 minutes
Individual Journal 20 minutes
Lesson Plan 19
The Well-Traveled Road
Overview
In Living For Game Day, Phil Bracco often addresses the difference
between the Road Less Traveled and the Road Well Traveled.
When first diagnosed, he refused to allow his RN team to insert a port
into his chest, to avoid the hassle of having a port permanently
inserted during the entire treatment process.
When the RN team finally went to the next step to settle this issue, the
obvious question arose. “Phillip, why do you want to endure the pain
and discomfort of finding a good vein each day for having a line
inserted?”
Overview Continued
He asked his team to look around the room and see what he
saw. Dozens of patients, some in night robes, doing as asked
and fading out of life. He added,
“The moment you treat yourself like a cancer patient, you
become one.”
As for Phil, he wore a suit, carried a briefcase, brought his work
and completed chemotherapy treatments with a 5 mile run
around the Charles River or a workout at the local gym.
Cont.
He insisted he would not take the road well-traveled, and that
each variable he added to his Get Stronger Routine increased
his chances for a longer stay and ________. Each decision
about deviating from the path would improve his statistics
about life expectancy.
In any situation where the odds are against you and the
statistics do not hold promise, simply add well considered
variables to your Get Stronger Routine and the statistics no
longer against you.
Cont.
Mr. Bracco's favorite response was, “show me the statistics
that include patients similar in age, disease and prognosis who
bring my level of intensity to their day and their work and who
drink 120 oz. of water, run 5 miles around the Charles River,
take a steam shower and get to work by 1:00 pm.”
“Your statistics no longer apply.”
Objectives
I. Never assume that the well-beaten path is the course you
should take. In many cases, it is a road that can lead you to
become a statistical casualty.
II. Improve your odds of success in any arena of your life by
adding positive variables to the standard procedure.
Productive additions to the plan change the statistics in your
favor.
Objectives
III. Learning how to analyze every activity you take in a difficult
situation by asking yourself the question, “Will this action help
me or hurt me?”
IV. Ensure that anything you add to your plan is consistent with
your documented goal and shared with your Team Leader,
especially in the case of illness.
Action Steps
I. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
Mr. Bracco believed he could improve his odds of recovery
beyond statistical analysis by adding variables to the standard
medical plans. Describe his opinion and list those variables he
used to supplement his plan and improve his prognosis
beyond that of his 42 clinical partners in cancer II.
Action Steps
II. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
Living For Game Day, Mr. Bracco opts to have surgery awake.
How did this variable improve his chances of success? Did he
assess risk and include other life skills in his planning session?
III. Individual Session (Time allotted 30 minutes)
Turn the pages of your life back. List as many situations as
possible when the path less-traveled would have improved your
outcome.
(see attached chart)
Well-Traveled Path Decision: Path Less- Traveled:
Example: Quit High School Sports Continued playing and learn how to better manage my time and understand visualization, power of purpose and the team concept.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Summary
Instrument Time allotted Grade Impact %
Team ‘7’ Discussions 1 hour
Individual Sessions 30 minutes
Homework (2 pages) If you use the strategy of opting for the path less-traveled, how would you explain it? Why do the variables change the projected outcome?; what cautions would you issue?
Lesson Plan 20
Making Difficult Choices
Click to View Video
Overview
Each day of our life, we face difficult choices that
require a combination of input from key areas of our
life’s experience.
1. History: Have I been here before; if so, what did I
learn?
2. Qualified Input: Your mentors, closest friends. In the
case of Phil, physicians, dieticians, and great
athletes became a part of what he called his team.
Overview Cont.
3. Cost/ Impact Analysis: This is where you
assess what the decision will cost, not
necessarily from a monetary standpoint, but
from an impact on your situation.
4. Your gut: when difficult decisions must be
made, go to a quiet place and listen to the
advice you receive from your gut.
Overview Cont.
5. A higher authority: if your life includes a deep belief
in your God, as your spiritual partner, you can be
certain that you will walk into any situation with a
feeling a confidence.
In the book, Living For Game Day, Phil faced numerous
difficult choices that were attached to risk. One reckless
decision could have caused an abrupt end to his life, one
he wanted so desperately to extend.
Continued
One particular decision was his insistence on not taking a red blood cell transfusion because it would be accompanied by drugs that make him sleep. Twenty-fours hours before his son’s 2nd game was broadcasted on TV, his red cell count dictated an immediate transfusion.
Cont.
Phil knew from his instincts and his reliance on his spiritual partner that he could postpone the transfusion until the game ended. In order to achieve this, he had to sit back, relax, and focus on the lessons he learned in biofeedback.
If he failed to do so, his body would use more red blood cells than he had and he would die from heart failure or suffocation.
Cont.
Although many would consider this a reckless decision, Phil knew that his life skills were solid and that he could eliminate fear, anxiety and depression from a very difficult situation.
At 7:00 pm, game day became a reality for the second week in a row, on his TV. The opportunity to converse with his son and watch him play was worth the risk because the upside exceeded the real, not the perceived, risk.
Objectives
I. Understand the decision making process
whenever difficult choices must be made.
II. Learn that once a decision is made, refrain from
wasting time looking back at the choice you
made.
III. Avoid making decisions in a vacuum; no one has
enough information to be right more than 50% of
the time without input from qualified experts.
Objectives
IV. Be prepared to know and accept the
consequences when decisions are made.
V. Don’t be embarrassed or afraid to reverse your
position if new input dictates a last minute
change.
Action Steps
I. Individual (Time allotted 30 minutes)
List the 5 toughest decisions you have made;
what made them difficult and as you look back,
were they a success or a failure? (see
attached chart)
Decision What made them difficult?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Action Steps
II. Individual (Time allotted 20 minutes) 1 pages
Have you ever made a decision without
complete information and how did it impact the
outcome?
III. Individual (Time allotted 30 minutes)
Prior to the start of this semester you made a
decision to take this elective.
(see attached chart)
Difficult Choices
Why did you make this decision?
What information did you have?
How will this course benefit your next step?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Action Steps
IV. Individual (Time allotted 20 minutes)
What do you consider to be the first critical
decision that you must make to take your life and
career to the next step??
(see attached chart)
Decision Rely on History
Obtain Qualified Input
Evaluate the Cost/ Impact
Listen to you Gut
Listen to Your Spiritual Advisor
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
= YES X = NO
Enter response in your Virtual Life Skills Journal
Action Steps
V. Individual (time allotted 30 minutes)
Many decisions are made by the flip of a coin, in our head.
Example; heads, I go; tails, I stay. Often people make this
technique their way of terminating relationships with others or
for that matter, work. If you flip that coin, there is a 50%
probability of making a correct or incorrect decision. Conversely,
if you list the positives and negatives of each decision, you have
the ability to make decisions that are 100% correct for you.
(see attached chart)
Making Difficult Choices
What decisions are suited for flipping a coin?
What decisions are suited for making a list?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Summary
Instrument Time allotted Grade Impact %
Team ‘7’ Discussions 0 minutes
Individual Sessions 100 minutes
Individual Presentations
Homework: Write two about how the life skills you have learned thus far can make you a better person, friend, employee, or student.
Lesson Plan 21
Eliminating Worry
Overview
It is often said that one of the most difficult problems that cancer survivors, or for that matter, any survivor of a catastrophic problem faces is being set free from the hospital and functioning on their own.
Much like the movie, Shawshank Redemption, cancer patients, like Phil Bracco, who are locked down in a hyperbaric for 184 days are much like prisoners who are recently released from prison.
Overview Continued
In the movie, many inmates could not deal with the responsibility that comes with freedom. Often, they took their lives soon after they were freed.
Cancer patients face a similar kind of fear because they no longer have the security of a nursing and physician staff, caring for them 24/7.
Overview Continued
Ultimately, those who develop a skill for conditioning and solving every problem that comes their way will exhibit self confidence that allows them to enjoy the next journey in their life.
Simple suggestions are directions that you can use. Inadequate suggestions become hollow over time and force the patient, family and friends into a very difficult situation as they try to integrate their loved one into the outside world.
Objectives
I. Remember that worry, like any other negative habit, requires repetition; the same repetition that creates worry is the same repetition that can create confidence.
II. All of the worrying that you can create will never have an impact on the outcome.
III. Be careful about the things you say. For example, saying, “This is going to be a tough day,” sets thoughts in motion, in your head, that will produce that outcome.
Objectives
IV. Whenever you find yourself in a conversation filled with worriers, leave the room. Remember the Cleansing Mind Routine.
Your mind is a precious vault. Positive thinkers pay close attention to the thoughts that friends and strangers try to drive into their subconscious mind.
Great, positive thinkers have little patience for negative thinkers who contaminate the people around them with neagitive thoughts that cause a negative mindset.
Objectives
V. Chronic worriers have little time to focus on creating positive outcomes in their life. After expending so much negative energy on things that will never happen, they find themselves feeling empty and alone as their friends grow tired of constantly hearing their problems.
Action Steps
I. Individual (Time allotted 20 minutes)
On the following chart, list 5 worries that tore you apart, but never occurred.
Worries That Never Occurred
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Action Steps
II. Individual (time allotted 30 minutes)
What did it take to move past the worries listed on the prior page?
(see attached chart)
Action Steps
Moving Past Worries
# Worry How did you move past it?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Action Steps
III. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 20 minutes)
What characteristics do you routinely observe in people that seem far and free from any types of worries ?
(see attached chart)
Characteristics of a Non-Worrier
1. 6.
2. 7.
3. 8.
4. 9.
5. 10.
Enter into Virtual Life Skills Journal
Action Steps
IV. Individual Session (Time allotted 20 minutes) up to 1 page.
Worrying is the first emotion that sets off a series of fears that cause additional worry. Describe negative emotions that compound and complicate small worries in your life.
Action Steps
V. Team ‘7’ Discussion (time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
Describe 5 public figures whose demeanor, poise and confidence suggest they are free from worry.
Action Steps
# Individual How they create the image.
Summary
Individual 60
Team ‘7’ 60
Homework: Describe what you must do to create a life free from worry and how you imagine that life being. Up to 2 pages.
Module 5
Characteristics of a Great Leader
Leaders must be willing to lead and take the first few steps that set them apart from others and one their way toward preparing themselves to lead by example.
Lesson Plans
22. Fundamentals of a Great Leader
23. Management vs. Leadership
24. Being right vs. Being Understood
25. Reacting vs. Responding
26. Conviction
Lesson Plan 22
Fundamentals of a Great Leader
Overview
People often assume that great leaders are born with
leadership qualities. This can be as far from the truth as one
might imagine.
Leaders are people who are not in the least bit inhibited by fear
or that horrible sense in our gut that comes from humiliation.
When they make an error, their typical response is,
“I’ll get it right the next time.”
Overview continued
Those who are intimidated by leading, defer to several
excuses to explain their poor performance.
Over the years, I have found that one of the best ways to
develop leadership skills is to learn how to speak in public.
First, begin with small groups, from there, you emerge to scale
up to larger audiences.
Cont.
Leaders come from all walks of life. It is not a right of passage;
It is not something that can be passed down through the
generations.
Although my many fathers often want their sons to follow the
example they set, leadership can only be nurtured if that sibling
is dedicated to developing the necessary skills.
Objectives
I. Develop the confidence that no matter where you are in your
life, or where you came from, you can develop the skills
exhibited by great leaders.
II. Great leaders develop their skills through repetition. Seldom,
do they assume that a skill will be bestowed upon them without
the necessary practice and repetition.
Objectives
III. Learn techniques that leaders use to create teamwork and a
collaborative effort.
IV. Understand the role that confidence plays in great leadership.
V. Be prepared to lead through example.
Action Steps
I. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
In the past, you may have worked for by great leaders. What
separated them from effective managers?
Action Steps
II. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 20 minutes) 1 page
Team leaders tend to focus on setting and achieving goals.
Why do they focus on goals? And how do they impact the
leadership process?
Action steps
III. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
Leaders view teamwork as a crucial element in any productive
organization. How do they encourage teamwork in a work
environment without causing challenges between existing
employees?
Action Steps
IV. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
What factors impact how leaders determine priorities for their
staff on a daily/weekly/monthly basis? Be sure that you
understand the Work/Priority Matrix.
I. Urgent + Important
II. Not Urgent but Important
III. Not Urgent and Not
Important
IV. Urgent But Not Important
Great leaders and great managers always operate in which box and explain why?
Action Steps
V. Individual Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
Leaders often refer to “we” as opposed to “I” when addressing
a group’s performance. Why is that so?
Summary
Team ‘7’ Discussions 150 minutes
Lesson Plan 23
Management vs. Leadership
Overview
Often people confuse management with leadership.
Junior executives who have not been properly trained or mentored assume that their first management role is dedicated to micromanaging every project, everyone’s work, and often to find out what is wrong with situation, rather than what is right.
Overview
Leaders on the other hand often become mentors.
For starters, they seldom ask employees to do something that they could not or would not do themselves. This in itself encourages employees to want to work with them, to learn from them and to do all they can to be in lock-step with the company’s operating plan.
Overview
Leaders ask questions and seldom offer direction other than through their own actions.
Managers, on the other hand, do not take action until their next step is outlined in detail by their immediate supervisor. Although companies need managers to oversee the progression of projects, they must at the same time be managers who are grooming themselves to become leaders.
When they do take that leadership role, many of the tasks that they formerly outlined in detail become second nature to the people they manage.
Objectives
Ensure that the class understands that leadership is a learned skill. Although there are people who are predisposed to leadership, all work at their skill via repetition.
I.
Objectives
Leaders become great question originators as they consider every employee a resource that can take them to the place they need to be.
Management is often labored by inept leaders who lack confidence in their immediate reports and micromanage each project to ensure performance to their satisfaction. The result is limited growth for those managers to take that next important step.
II.
III.
Objectives
Leadership, in the opinion of this author, requires a total commitment to looking, speaking, acting and behaving in a manner that speaks for itself.
Leaders exist in all forms of life. You know them when you see them. You immediately sense their willingness to take risk and their endless supply of enthusiasm and courage.
IV.
V.
Action Steps
Individual Journal (Time allotted - 30 Minutes)
List those leaders that have had a profound impact on your life and in ten words or less, describe what it was.
I.
Action Steps
Individual Journal (Time allotted – 20 minutes)
List leaders in your life who acted more like managers. For each one, in ten words or less describe what gave you this impression.
II.
Action Steps
Individual Journal (Time allotted – 10 minutes)
In your own words, list those skills that you must develop to become a mentor and leader.
III.
Action Steps
On this day, I believe that I must develop these skills to become a leador and mentor:
Action Steps
Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted - 30 minutes)
For years past, who do you consider as our strongest political leader and why?
IV.
Action Steps
Strongest Leader
Name Why?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Action Steps
Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted - 20 minutes)
In your mind’s eye, what are the things that leaders practice to develop what we call leadership skills.
V.
Summary
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Individual Journal 30 minutes
Individual Journal 20 minutes
Individual Journal 10 minutes
Team 7 Discussion 30 minutes
Team 7 Discussion 20 minutes
Lesson Plan 24
Being Right vs. Being Understood
Overview
During the course of one’s lifetime, countless discussions border on arguments because of the individual’s temptation to be right rather than be understood.
As the equation flips from understanding to being right, listening begins to dissipate.
As listening dissipates, people on both sides begin to focus on what they are going to say next rather than what the other person is saying.
Overview
Years ago, one of Phil’s mentors during his climb to a CEO position within a mid-sized company, showed him an interesting technique for ensuring that being understood was the objective and being right was the obstacle.
His suggestion was that Phil should consider drawing an imaginary line in the conference room and letting everyone know that we were on the same side of a sensitive subject with an interest in creating a better solution.
Overview
Once the “same side” visual was embedded in the participants minds, the temptation to prove right vs. wrong was minimized.
In personal relationships, his suggestion took them to the next step. “The next time you and your spouse have an argument, hold hands before you begin.”
It’s at that time that you learn how to be interested in being understood as opposed to being right.
Objectives
I. Ensure that participants understand that being understood first begins with asking questions.
II. Avoid at all costs the use of the singular pronoun ‘I.’
III. Learn to understand the power of the plural pronoun, ‘we.’
IV. Be certain to establish at the start of the discussion the objectives for the meeting.
V. Once consensus is established and everyone is understood, the group leader must forward notes to the participants that summarize the group’s position and promise the delivery of the resolution for a final review. Only at that point can the position be shared with the remainder of the team (or children).
Action Steps
Hypothetical Situation: It’s a tough economy and the company’s CEO is meeting with immediate reports to discuss potential solutions for offsetting lagging sales. Discounting simply creates cash flow, but does not create profit to drive and support the business. The CEO, after a discussion with The Board, knows that the only resolution is a slight reduction in staff and benefits without undermining the integrity of the corporations price schedule.
Scenario: You are one of the participants in the meeting, and recently took a class that addressed the importance of being understood versus right.
Action Steps
I. Team ‘7’ Discussion – 30 minutes
After the CEO announces the situation and the eminent solution, how would you respond to his position while avoiding the pitfalls of trying to be right versus understood. What position would you take, what solutions might you offer? What questions do you feel compelled to ask?
Action Steps
II. Team ‘7’ Discussion – 1 page or less
During your discussions with the CEO, someone in the group repeatedly uses the word I and most assuredly attempts to paint his position as correct.
Knowing that economics dictate a change, how would you deal with his behavior in the spirit of moving the process forward?
Action Steps
III. Individual Session (20 minutes) 1 Page
Your role is to go back to your employees and share the news about benefits reduction. In one page or less, describe what you would say.
Action Steps
True Leader Explanation Frequently Uses We
Weak-Leader Explanation Frequently Uses They
Non-Leader Explanation Frequently I Don’t Know Why – Let Me Go Back
IV. Individual Session (30 Minutes)
In management there is a power matrix that often distinguishes great leaders and managers from their mediocre counterparts.
Action Steps
Scenario: You are the manager of the Accounting Department. Provide or create a one page presentation that reflects the models above, for each managing style. Use the situation presented at the start of the lesson plan as the basis for your response.
Action Steps
V. Individual Session – Composition (20 minutes)
When was the last time you were right, in either a personal situation or a business matter that did not temporarily or permanently disrupt your relationship with those on the other side.
Summary
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Journal Entry 30 minutes
Journal Entry 30 minutes
Journal Entry 20 minutes
Team 7 Discussion 20 minutes
Journal Entry 20 minutes
Lesson Plan 25
Reacting vs. Responding
Overview
Years ago, Phil’s entire focus was to make grades 6-8 football team. He faced two challenges: Although he had comparable skills, teammates were 2-4 years older than him. This would be a judgement call made by the head coach.
The second, was non-negotiable. Two weeks before weigh-in, he was 10 lbs lighter than the minimum weight.
Overview
When he returned home after the first pre-weigh in practice, he was enraged because he knew hit had taken him 8 years to gain 70 pounds. How in the world would he gain the next 10 in two weeks?
Phil’s dad was a man of one-sentence sermons. He put his right hand over his shoulder and said, “son you have two choices: You can either react to the problem, scream or yell and get nowhere, or respond to the problem.”
With my dark brown eyes looking up at his, I said, “Dad, what is the difference?” He replied, “Let me give you an example. When the doctor gives you a medicine and he says you are “reacting” everyone gets nervous.
Overview
“When he states that you are responding to the medication, everyone gets happy. So Phil, you have two choices, you can react and get nothing done or you can respond and figure out your situation.”
Over the next days, Phil ate everything in sight. Unfortunately, the scale only moved upward in increments of a ½ pound. At the point when he was about to give up, his best friend, and cousin, said he had a solution.
Quickly they went into the basement and he offered his plan, when the team gets to the hospital for weigh in, tell them that you lost your boxers at the pool, today. There is no way they will ask you to strip down beyond your cut-off jeans with females in the room.
Overview
As he shares the plan with me, he begins to tape five pound plates to each hip. Off to the weigh in we go; my heart is pounding and I feel like everyone is looking at me. When my turn to weigh in was up, the moderator said, “why aren’t you in your shorts?” I answered precisely as my cousin Vince instructed. “We’ll weigh you with your jeans on and deduct two pounds for them as your final number.
When I hit the scale, I closed my eyes and heard a large roar from my teammates, who saw the scale read 80 pounds. In many respects, I was responding to the situation, not reacting. I may have broken a rule but I certainly did not violate a principle that would have changed my decision.
Objectives
I. Ensure students understand the difference between reacting and responding.
II. Help students learn that principles can sometimes be challenging and rules can be broken, provided that no one gets hurt.
III. Assist students in understanding that reactive thoughts stifle imagination.
IV. Paint a picture for those who work in your organization who routinely react to a manager’s instructions and the negative impact it has on t he entire team.
V. Help everyone understand that reactive behavior stifles your ability to be understood as emotions and not reasons, take over the situation.
Action Steps
I. Individual Composition (30 minutes)
In one page or less, describe a situation that caused you to react instead of respond? Did your reaction hurt the final outcome?
Action Steps
II. Team ‘7 Discussion (Time allotted 30 minutes)
Based on the techniques that you have learned, what is the primary difference between responding and reacting?
Action Steps
III. Individual Journal Entry (30 minutes)
This class is based on an open-forum concept. In order for the Team ‘7’ concept to work, your response to team decisions to get specific objectives done is crucial.
What type of employee behavior is counter-productive to that objective?
Action Steps
IV. Individual Journal Entry (Time allotted 30 minutes)
If you were teaching this class and had to offer Phil a different explanation, than his father’s, about reacting and responding, what would it be?
Action Steps
V. Individual Session (20 minutes)
Phil’s ability to make the weight required much more than understanding the difference between reacting and responding. What life skill tools did he need to use in order to succeed?
Summary
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Team Composition 20 minutes
Team ‘7’ Discussion 30 minutes
Individual Journal Entry 20 minutes
IndividualJournal Entry 30 minutes
Individual Session 20 minutes
Lesson Plan 26
Conviction
Overview
Whether the challenge is overcoming cancer or building a
business in a tough economic environment, Phil Bracco has
always felt that personal conviction must be the cornerstone of
plan.
In Living For Game Day, Mr. Bracco had numerous
confrontations with nursing teams regarding his desire to have
line inserted into his arms each day as opposed to a chemo
port, that easily connects him to multiple drugs, at the same
time. In many ways, its like putting gas in a tank.
Overview Continued
Phil offered two key reasons for convincing his team to find a
suitable vein rather than inserting a port.
1. His conviction to exercise, during the outpatient portion of
his plan, had no room for a port. It would prevent strength
training and a daily steam & cold shower to purge negative
thoughts and chemicals from his body.
Cont.During a very intense debate, he challenged the nursing team to
scan the clinic as his peers were being treated and hooked to their
port. “What do you see?” was the question he posed to everyone.
When no responses were offered, he said, “Then let me tell you
what I see.”
I see a room full of patients who are behaving nicely, following
your instructions to perfection, here in their pajamas and heading
down a road to ultimate death, according to the statistics that you
have published
Cont.
As for me, you won’t find pajamas on this guy. I come here with
my briefcase and workout gear, and I can’t have you interrupt
either.
2. You can expect me to bring my own food each day to ensure
that my body is getting its best chance to survive. When I see
your lunch, filled with trays of chocolate cake, I am convinced
that conviction is not part of your mindset.
Cont.
And not reflected in your treatment plan. “Yes, my dear friends,
the path less-traveled is a path that allows you to be the
captain of your own plan.
Objectives
I. Understand the difference in planning with the conviction to
succeed and planning simply to get a job done.
II. Success in any battle often requires a step left or right off of
the beaten path. One that allows us to listen to our gut and our
heart and let them guide us.
Objectives
III. Conviction in times of difficulty allows your support team to
provide help when you need them most; those that do not
demonstrate a commitment to the plan, will be viewed as “just
another employee” rather than an employee with growth, talent
and potential.
Objectives
IV. When unplanned adversity interferes with your progress,
conviction is your salvation. Mr. Bracco’s decision to be at a
company meeting, in Los Angeles, caused him to be a captain’s
reason to bring a 300-passenger plane to the ground on its way
from L.A. to Boston. In this case, Phil’s commitment to the plan
clouded his judgment when he flew at 35,000 ft. with limited red
blood cells.
V. People with conviction use “power talk,” using words like “intention”
and “will” and eliminating those like “hoping” and “wishing.”
Action Steps
I. Individual Session (Time allotted 30 minutes) 2 pages
List three convictions that you would never compromise and
describe why they are held so firmly in your mind.
Action Steps
Convictions you would never compromise
Commitment Why?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Action Steps
II. Individual Session (Time allotted 20 minutes) 1 page
Explain how planning impacts conviction and courage.
Action Steps
III. Individual Session (Time allotted 30 minutes) 2 pages
Describe three situations where your lack of conviction
ultimately compromised an opportunity to improve your life.
Action Steps
IV. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 40 minutes) 2 pages
Describe a well-known leader who exhibits conviction and
explain how his or her conviction is apparent in the way he or
she leads and manages people.
Action Steps
V. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 20 minutes)
List 10 words that you associate with conviction. And write
“yes” or “no” if your previously mentioned “well known leader
exhibits that characteristic.
(see attached chart)
Word Association: Conviction Does your “well-known leader” exhibit this quality? “yes” or “no”
1. Poise Under Pressure Yes.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Summary
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Individual Session 1 hour, 20 minutes
Team ‘7’ Discussions 60 minutes
Module 6Creating Balance / Those Who Demonstrate True
Leadership, Demonstrate Balance
Very often great leaders perish early as they fail to create balance
in every arena of their life. Balance and your passion for
succeeding at work must be complemented by other passions that
create balance in your life.
Lesson Plans
27. Developing Courage
28. Preparing to Deal with Consequences
29. Creating Teamwork
30. Speaking With Confidence
31. Never Quitting
32. Slowing Down The Clock
Lesson Plan 27
Developing Courage
Overview
Often what separates successful business leaders from those who miss the mark is courage. Most human resource personnel try to assess a candidates courage with questions in the hiring process. Often courage is confused with success. Victories are team results and not necessarily related to the courage of a key decision maker who executes critical decisions throughout the entire process.
Overview
Several qualities are consistently evident in leaders with courage:
1. They are Risk Averse. Every decision they make includes risk and they are not intimidated by risk.
2. They consider mediocrity in performance as the cancer that weakens and ultimately destroys projects and companies.
3. Privately, they know that nay-sayers are watching and potentially undermining their efforts and hoping for failure. Nevertheless, they proceed with victory as the target embedded in their mind.
Overview
4. Goals are of paramount importance in their life. Each day is dedicated to the achievement of specific goals.
5. Change is considered an ally; they are quick to adjust their course when change is necessary.
6. They pay close attention to the inner voice that we often call instinct. They challenge those who continually take opposition to all of his or her decisions.
Overview
7. Never will you find them sitting still; turning the other cheek is considered a conciliatory response to ensure employee participation but ultimately leads to nowhere.
8. They never get caught up in consensus building. Courage is an admirable quality but if exercised to a fault can create disruption throughout the entire team.
Objectives
Recognize that courage, like all others, can be a learned skill.
Like most skill building activities, it is critical to begin your “Building Courage Campaign” with action tactics that present the highest probability of success.
I.
II.
Objectives
As mentioned previously, it takes courage to set goals; The golden rules of goal setting is:
a. share your Go Up Courageous goals with only those people who will support you and help you get there.
b. Share your Give Up Goals (i.e. smoking) with everyone. They will constantly remind you of your commitment and help you achieve it.
III.
Objectives
As your courage grows, so will your ability to listen to and be guided by your instincts. The sound of that inner voice will be the courage you need when your skeptics, enemies and nay-sayers are attacking you most.
Positive reinforcement such as the mind cleansing the discipline in a earlier chapter will reinforce skill building exercise and the pieces will fall into place.
IV.
V.
Action Steps
Journal Entry (time allotted 30 minutes).
In your Life Skills Journal list as often as you can remember when your specific actions made you proud and those around you were confident in your ability to lead, mentor and grow.
I.
Courage Building
# Skill/Action Demonstrated
How did you feel when you completed the task
What was the assessment of your peers.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Action Steps
Journal Entry (Time allotted 30 minutes)
List 5 times in your life when your unwillingness to take action and demonstrate courage cost you? Can you articulate the cost, tangible or intangible?
II.
Action Steps
Missed Activity Tangible Cost Intangible Cost
Action Steps
III. Journal Entry (Time allotted 20 minutes)
Whether it is school, work or any extracurricular personal activity what are your 5 largest opportunities to demonstrate courage in the next 6 months.
Action Steps
# Biggest Opportunities in Next Six Months
Type of Goal: ‘Go Up’ or ‘Give Up’ ?
1
2
3
4
5
Action Steps
IV. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 20 minutes)
In Living for Game Day, Mr. Bracco had many opportunities to demonstrate courage. What do you consider the top three and why do you feel this way? Be as specific as possible.
Action Steps
V. Individual Composition (Time allotted 20 minutes) - Overcoming failure and the courage to move forward.
Often, leaders, companies and people are intimidated to try new, aggressive approaches on the heals of a failure. If courage is to impact their future, they must continue trying. In one page or less, what would your strategy be in a fragile economy that stifles creativity and aggressiveness, and how would you encourage members of your team to approach their job?
Action Steps
VI. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 20 minutes)
In Living for Game Day, Mr. Bracco had many opportunities to demonstrate courage. What do you consider the top three and why do you feel this way? Be as specific as possible.
Summary
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Journal Entry 30 minutes
Journal Entry 30 minutes
Journal Entry 20 minutes
Team 7 Discussion 20 minutes
Journal Entry 20 minutes
Lesson Plan 28
Leaders Accept Consequences
Overview
During our wonder years, we can recall numerous times when our parents shouted:
“OK, go ahead and do as you please, but be prepared to deal with the consequences.”
No matter how certain we were of the outcome, their statement put an empty feeling inside, as we felt much safer when someone of authority gave us their endorsement and the green light to proceed.
Overview
The term ‘consequences’ has a heavy, somewhat dire association with it. Instinctively, automatically, our imagination directs itself to the negative outcome.
For Phil Bracco, accepting consequences was a daily routine. As he has often said:
“Take the less beaten path and be ready to accept whatever consequences that follow.”
Overview
Individuals in charge never endorsed or accepted anything outside of the text book medical protocol. Nevertheless, by conquering fear, he went forward simply because he knew that fear often represented False Evidence Appearing Real.
Consequently, he went forward. He often considers his decisions to proceed without endorsement to be the turning point in each bout with cancer. Occasionally, his enthusiasm was tempered by decisions that turned out unfavorably.
Overview
On a stormy summer evening during a midnight flight from Los Angeles to Boston, a very skilled pilot weaved his way through thunderheads that often lit up the sky with flashes of lightning. As the plane elevated beyond its normal altitude of 35,000 feet, Phil sat very quietly in his seat, organizing his work for the next five hours. At one point, he could almost see the tops of the thunderheads as the lighting seemed to be flashing down, toward the ground.
Overview
At cruising altitude, he began to feel a bit lightheaded and took a stroll to the back of this 300 passenger plane, seeing many familiar faces sound asleep, awaiting their arrival in Boston. Prior to departure, his Doctor insisted that his counts were insufficient for a journey back and forth across the country. Red counts were the sticking point, but Phil insisted that he’s had lots of practice holding his breath.
Overview
As he reached the rear of the plane, he walked into a restroom, put water on his face, and took a look at his eyes. His pupils seemed to be twice their normal size and he began to notice a very heavy feeling on his chest. As he hustled back to his seat in rough air, he went back to work and continued to have increased difficulty breathing. An elbow to his right aimed at the ribs of his partner got the attention he needed. Phil can hear him say, as though it were yesterday, say: “Stop working and get some sleep.”
Overview
Although this would have been unusual, Phil gave it a try. Only to notice that breathing was growing more difficult by the moment. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind that was proceeded by a question: “Can you make it back to Boston?”
Phil knew the answer, walked forward to visit with flight attendants who asked that he sit down and relax. When nothing changed, they decided to conduct vitals. Blood pressure that normally was 165-175/110 was now 190/115 and his pulse which was normally 47 at rest, was 125. Something was up and Phil needed a solution.
Overview
When things didn’t change, Phil realized that the issue was not mental, but physical. With no spare bags of red blood cells in the cabin, a flight attendant spoke with the captain. Within minutes, they both returned and he asked the usual questions about conditioning and heart problems. When he recognized that neither were the cause, he summoned for a doctor to come forward and assist a passenger in medical distress. At least a dozen sprinted to Phil’s aid and in their midst were cardiologists, general practitioners and an intern oncologist at the hospital where he was being treated.
Overview
Several requests were made of the passengers who were carrying nitroglycerin to come forward and share their inventory. When the drug failed, the captain had a tough decision to make. 300 people were expecting to be awakened as the plane hit a short runway at Logan Airport in Boston. His announcement that we were making an emergency landing in Chicago, did not please a single soul.
Overview
As the plane’s nose steeply pitched itself to a landing in Chicago, windows began to lighten up at the flash of lightning. Rapidly, we descended into weather that was diverting planes into other Midwest cities to a very large runway in Chicago. As we got closer to the ground, and the thin air 42,000 feet now became normal air, that weight on Phil’s chest began to lift. As they came to a grinding stop on the runway, torrential rain pounded the steps closest to the cockpit. Phil was carried down those steps as his partner insisted that he was going. Neither policemen, flight attendants or the captain of the plane could stop him from following Phil into the ambulance. Within hours, Phil was checked from head-to-toe and the prompt conclusion was lack of oxygen due to thin air at high altitude.
Overview
This was the first time in Phil’s treatment plan where his gut - or possibly his enthusiasm – overrode a physicians opinion, forcing him to pay the consequences. As the old saying goes: “Be careful what you ask for.”
Objectives
I. Ensure that you truly understand the consequences and the odds of each decision you make that falls outside the road well traveled.
II. Before taking a leap of faith, one must evaluate the consequences of a poor outcome.
Objectives
III. Decisions outside of the beaten path must be made with a sensitivity to the impact they will have on your caretakers if the situation did not go as planned.
IV. If you are attempting to accept and ultimately take a risk, investigate all options for minimizing a dreadful outcome.
Objectives
V. Whenever taking risk, it is vitally important to conduct a risk/reward analysis to ensure that a decision to go forward is in your best interest and the best interest of those around you.
Action Steps
I. Team ‘7’ Discussion (20 minutes)
In reading his book, what action did Mr. Bracco fail to take that could have prevented this consequence; what information did he lack?
Action Steps
II. Individual Journal (30 minutes)
In the last four years can you identify instances where negligence on your part to understand the consequences of your action caused problems for you and hardships for your associates.
Action Steps# Situation Information Not
ConsideredIf you were to do it again, what would you change
Action Steps
III. Team ‘7’ Discussion (20 minutes)
In the world we know today, what reckless actions create consequences that can be avoided. The scope can be national and international.
Action Steps
IV. Team ‘7’ Journal Entry (30 minutes)
As we emerge from college life to our next career, it is likely that we will be associated with some type of company with multiple employees with various skills. What consequences do you foresee if the employee has not benefitted from the Life Skills training that you have been processing here.
Action Steps# Situations that could potentially evolve in environments
that contain people with and without Life Skills training.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Action Steps
V. Team ‘7’ Discussion (20 minutes)
What do you think was the info Mr. Bracco failed to collect that caused this instance. When dealing with difficult challenges, one must be certain to understand the consequences of their actions –
No Exceptions.
SummaryInstrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Team ‘7’ Discussion 20 minutes
Journal Entry 30 minutes
Team ‘7’ Discussion 20 minutes
Team 7 Journal Entry 30 minutes
Team ‘7’ Discussion 20 minutes
Lesson 29
Creating Teamwork
Overview
One of the most important, and most often used, terms in
organizations and sports is an 8-letter, two-syllable word:
Teamwork.
Most are introduced the concept of teamwork as a child, in
physical education, then as little leaguers on sports teams.
Although often used, it is seldom described. Fortunately, great
teachers and coaches explain what they implied about the role
of a teammate.
Overview Continued
When diagnosed, with three weeks to get into remission, he
very quickly mobilized a team of talented people who took
responsibility for certain aspects of the plan.
When assignments were clear, Phil would often say that his
role, on the team, was to execute it to perfection and bring
other skills to the plan that could improve his chances of
success.
Cont.
Within weeks of accepting your first work assignment, your
Right of Passage questions whether you had the necessary
skills; or needed to develop them through practice and
repetition.
Cont.
Signs of great team members include:
1. Team members rarely use the word “I.” (There is an old
saying in sports, “There is no ‘I’ in ‘team.”)
2. Great teams put their own personal needs behind that of
the corporate mission.
3. Competitive companies often have several employees
competing for the same position. This can create an
unhealthy environment.
Objectives
I. Recognize that the company’s objectives take many of the
same considerations into account that high achievers consider
before accepting the job.
II. Oral and written communication using open and closed probes
is the key to problem solving
III. When preparing for a job review. Be certain to carry along a
job description. This will help your conversation remain factual
about what your assignment is and not what it has become.
Objectives
IV. Environments that support conflict are certain to create a
negative experience with their supervisor.
V. Like Phil, be certain before you go forward to have everything
you need to skew the odds of success in your favor. Never set
yourself up for failure. Never put yourself in a situation where
you are surrounded by young people who are not committed to
winning through teamwork.
Action Steps
I. Individual Journal Entry (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
List 7 factors that you consider important in your relationship
with the company and determine whether or not management
is committed to teamwork.
(Insert into Virtual Life Skills Journal)
Action Steps
II. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 30 min) 1 page
Your department is having a team meeting about the heavy
shipping schedule this week that customers require. Due to
tough economic times, management continues to limit staffing.
Write at least one page listing 5 open-probe questions for your
manager that reflects the team’s concern about being short-
staffed.
Action Steps
III. Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 30 min) 1 page
As the time of day becomes more important then the end of
the day’s project, management can be certain that it has a
morale problem that needs to be corrected. In one half a page
of less, what steps can management take to ensure that the
employees are committed the team objectives and are willing to
go the extra to ensure completion?
Action Steps
IV. Individual Session (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
In living for game day, a conflict existed between Mr. Bracco
and nurses who wanted to simplify their lives by drilling a port
into his chest. Phil refused because he felt the positives
outweighed the negatives. At what point, do you as an
employee resist managements instructions, for the greater
good of all workers?
Action Steps
V. Individual Session (Time allotted 30 minutes) 1 page
After several weeks, you have been functioning as part of a
team, what steps could that team have taken to function more
cohesively and more productively?
Summary
Instrument Time allotted Grade Impact %
Individual Journal 30 minutes
Individual Session 60 minutes
Team ‘7’ Discussion 60 minutes
Lesson Plan 30
Speaking with Confidence
Overview
The way we talk, speaks volumes about the way we feel and often lets our competitors as well as our employees, know how committed we are to a certain objective.
Prospective employers look for the same conviction whenever we meet with them to discuss an opportunity; they look to their key managers for the same kind of confident speech that influences everyone’s perception of a project or an important situation. Survivors who overcome a catastrophic illness understand the same correlation between self-talk and outcome.
Objectives
I. Learn the importance of being credible and exuding confidence when using power talk. In other words, everything you use in communication, either oral or written, helps or hurts your position.
II. Always use affirmative talk in conversation with others.
Objectives
III. If in a management role, always give your team the impression that you are there to help them. Example: “when you get to that stage in the project, I will help you myself.” Rather than saying “if you get to that stage etc.”
IV. Employ win-win phrasing when you speak. Example: “Let’s talk it through and see where we end up”
Objectives
V. Make it a point to use positive phrases. Example: “This will fit your needs precisely” rather than “I think this will fit your needs.”
VI. Never jeopardize your integrity and avoid phrases like “to be perfectly honest”
VII. Never undermine your confidence by asking questions such as: “Do you think it will work?”
VIII. Never hedge in speaking by using phrases such as “sort of,” “kind of”
Action Steps
I. Individual Composition (20 minutes)
In one page or less, respond to the following:
Hypothetical Scenario:
It is the end of the first quarter and your team has set it’s sites on a banner year. Sales are flat and profit margins are below plan due to discounting. As a Department Manager, you are providing a quarterly update that must include many of the power talk skills referenced above. In one page or less, describe what you would say.
Action Steps
II. Individual Journal Entry (30 minutes):
Identify phrases that you need to delete from your vocabulary when interacting with others.
Phrases to Delete
Action Steps
III. Team ‘7’ Journal Entry (30 minutes)
On the page that follows, correct each use of language with speech that amplifies confidence.
Action Steps
Signs of Weakness Appropriate Responses
I think I can
If time permits
I may be able to
I’m not sure
Do you think this will work?
I’ll try
I hope
I suspect
I’ll ask my superiors I’ll have an answer for you tomorrow.
At the right moment
Action Steps
IV. Individual Composition (20 minutes)
With information coming at you at the speed of light, sit back for a moment and write a one page or less composition on people who speak with confidence and support your position with relevant facts related to the discussions we’ve had in this class.
Action Steps
V. Team ‘7’ Discussion – 20 minutes
As a new member of the working force, you will be frequently asked whether or not you can complete a certain project by a certain time. What do you feel is the most appropriate response?
Summary
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Individual Assessment 20 minutes
Individual Assessment 30 minutes
Individual Composition
20 minutes
Individual Journal Entry
30 minutes
Team ‘7’ Discussion 20 minutes
Lesson Plan 31
Never Quitting
Overview
One of the benefits of playing sports at an early age was the confrontation that periodically occurs in your mind about continuing or quitting.
Often a voice that whispers “why are we doing this?” creeps into your mind and poses an option that at the moment appears much more appealing.
Quitting is the easy thing to do and although it provides temporary relief, it also can become a habit that will plague you for the remainder of your days. The question becomes, when is it reasonable to quit, cease on a certain project and when is it right to continue and press forward.
Overview
During Phil Bracco’s lifetime, he has had many opportunities to speak with cancer patients. Most were ready to quit prematurely while others who were beyond technology’s ability to cure them were rightfully making a decision that made great sense. During my three bouts with cancer, there was only one evening when the thought crossed my mind. After a month of continuous chemotherapy, complicated by an inability to breathe, swallow, and for that matter eat anything, I found myself staring at a large picture window that featured the skyline of Boston. I remember falling asleep and waking up and visually imagining the people, the unfinished work, that I had to live for. Instantly, my mind was corrected and Dr. Frankl’s message about the importance of meaning in my life reversed the mindset that could have led to a prompt end of my life.
Objectives
I. Knowing the difference between quitting an activity without due cause and making a decision based on good judgment.
II. Understanding that quitting can quickly become a habit that excuses us from some of the tougher responsibilities we will accept as we move down life’s path.
Overview
III. To recognize that the antidote to quitting is to focus on those people and unfinished activities that bring meaning to your life.
IV. When and if you do quit an activity, allow
some time to pass to evaluate why and how would you approach the matter differently in the future?
V. Quitting brings along with it a feeling of self-doubt that will assuredly impact other activities that you may accel in.
Action Steps
I. Individual Assessment – Journal (30 minutes)
Compile a list of five activities that you quit that in hindsight required more drive and perseverance to continue and would have ultimately been to your benefit. (Use chart on following slide)
Action Steps
# Activities that you quit:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Action Steps
II. Individual Assessment (30 minutes)
List five situations where you quit an activity and in hindsight it was the right decision. Explain your rationale.
# Activities that you quit: Rationale
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Action Steps
III. Individual Composition (20 minutes) 1 page
What relevance do you recall between the message in Frankl’s book and the subject of quitting?
Action Steps
IV. Team ‘7’ Discussion (20 minutes)
After reading the book, Living for Gameday, what do you feel were the motivating factors that gave Phil Bracco the reputation for never quitting.
Action Steps
V. Individual Journal Entry – 20 minutesAfter reading both books, what are the ten most important motivating factors in your life for continuing the journey and never quitting.
# Motivating Factors to Never Quit
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Summary
Instrument Time Allotted Grade Impact %
Individual Assessment 20 minutes
Individual Assessment 30 minutes
Individual Composition
20 minutes
Individual Journal Entry
30 minutes
Team ‘7’ Discussion 20 minutes
Lesson Plan 32
Slowing the Clock Down
Overview
Those closest to Phil often here him say that he intends to turn the clock back. After two transplants, he immediately returns to the gym and not only ensures that he can restore health but that he can become healthier than he was prior to illness.
Overview
Phil considers the body to be a wonderful machine that can restore, if not improve itself, if treated reasonably with health being the primary objective. This Lesson Plan is going to focus on slowing the clock down and restoring our mind, behavior and expectations to those we knew in our youth.
Overview
In his latest transplant, Phil sent the message to his closest friends while spending the better part of 2011 in a hyperbaric room with a clock staring in his face, he was often reminded of a time when life moved so slowly, so simply, so perfectly.
It was a time when we were concerned with our immediate surroundings; intrigue defined our state of mind.
Remember when …
Close your eyes – go back to those days when your only focus was directed on what was in front of you, nothing else really mattered – our regrets were few; our concerns grounded in the moment; we were never apprehensive about the future.
Everything in our world was intended to create happiness.
The end result of our singular focus was the following: • Our days moved so slowly• The holidays took forever to come• Summer vacation seemed so distant• The clock in your classroom struggled to get to recess• 18 years seemed like a lifetime away
The End Result
In time, before the Mind Watcher knew his skill, information began to infiltrate your mind. In time, the pace increased – some of it was good, some of it was negative. Soon, new responsibilities become part of your life and the child that was singularly focused is now wondering where did the day go.
Objectives
Learn to slow down your clock and restore the joy and happiness that you felt in childhood.
I.
II. Turn back the clock by confronting yourself each day to make more physical deposits than withdrawals.
III. Remember that happiness is not granted to only those with resources. As a child, you lived moment to moment.
Objectives
Ensure that you surround yourself with people that talk about happy things, who share your belief that happiness can be created in the future and not only reminisced in the past.
Never quit: No matter how difficult things are, remain focused on what you have, and remain confident that life will provide a solution.
IV.
V.
Action Steps
Individual Session (30 minutes)
For the next five minutes, sit quietly at your desk and take note of the activities and responsibilities that cross your mind. At the conclusion, create a one page list of those activities. The objective is to sit quietly and consume yourself with the moment and avoid the pitfalls of dwelling on chores. Give yourself a grade and consider what’s needed to keep that list at zero.
I.
Activities that Slow You Down
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Action Steps Individual Session (Time allotted 30 minutes)II.
Action Steps
Team ‘7’ Discussion (Time allotted 20 minutes)
Compile a list of routine chores that create
speed and anxiety in your life. Determine which
can or cannot be eliminated.
III.
Action Steps
Activities That Can Be Eliminated Yes No
Action Steps
Team ‘7’ Contest (Time allotted 10 minutes)
Make a list of life skill activities that you learned in this class that can help you slow down the clock, reduce anxiety and extend this journey. Full sentences required. Insert in journal.
IV.
Action StepsLife Skill Activities That Will Help You Slow Down The Clock
Action Steps
Review the Jim Valvano Clip (Time allotted 30 minutes.)
“Never quit. Language therapists did a study of an Native American tribe and found out there was not a stutterer among them. When they reviewed the language itself, they found the word stutter did not exist in their dictionary. When they inquired a young Native American student raised his hand and said, “Sir how can we stutter if the word does not exist?”
Food for thought until we meet again ...
It’s been my pleasure.”
-Phil Bracco
V.