An Epic Obsession
By Kim Ades
July 7th, 2010
I wrote a book called "What You Focus on Grows: Stories For Your Frame of Mind". It was published in 2008 and it's a compilation of entertaining short stories based on real life observations that look at life through a unique lens. While each story stands on its own and is unrelated to the other stories, the basic premise of the book is that whatever you place your attention on is what expands in your life's experience. When you focus on looking for interesting things, they show up. When you focus on noticing the annoyances of life, they show up too, in bulk. My intention in the book was to focus on human behaviour as it showed up over a wide range of age ranges, circumstances, and life experiences, as a reflection of mindset. My stories covered a wide range of subjects and people -- from superstars who accomplished great things, to people I encountered for 30 seconds in an elevator, to exchanges I shared with important people in my life.
The one thing I never really addressed in the book was the issue of obsession. Obsession is an extreme version of the notion that what you focus on grows. What you obsess about not only grows, it magnifies. This can work in both directions. Obsessing about what is missing in your life can make the absence feel massively overwhelming, while obsessing with glee and anticipation over an event that will take place in the future can extend the pleasure of the event substantially longer than the event itself. Many of us are quite familiar with the former, but not all that exposed to the latter. Over the past six months, I have had the pleasure of witnessing my stepson, Brian, in a state of obsession; the excitement and glee kind of obsession, over the Norwegian Epic.
What is the Norwegian Epic? It's a brand new cruise ship that sailed this week out of Florida for the first time ever. According to Brian, it is an Epic Masterpiece (or maybe that's from the marketing lingo on the website). It's a ship that has every feature and attraction that one can imagine. It has freestyle dining with 21 different dining options, Cirque du Soleil performances with dinner, the Blue Man Group, Second City, an ice skating rink, a bowling alley, a 3 storey water slide, a bungee trampoline, an ice bar and much, much more! It's the biggest, funkiest, most exciting ship ever. How do I know all this?
- Because Brian gave up his Bar Mitzvah Party in exchange for a family vacation on the Epic.
- Because Brian memorized the 5 minute audio component of the Epic website and repeats it whenever he has a chance.
- Because Brian has been following the construction of the ship and giving us daily updates.
- Because Brian keeps luring us to his computer to see the latest pictures and YouTube videos that are available.
- Because there is NOT ONE PASSING DAY that he does not talk about the Norwegian Epic. In fact, today he is off school and is hanging out at work with us... he just walked into my office carrying a massive whiteboard, the size of his whole body, with the word EPIC written across the board. He has already planned all of our meals every night as well as his daily activities from the minute he gets on the ship to the minute he gets off. He is OBSESSED.
How does this obsession serve him? It serves as an extraordinarily powerful energy source that allows him to enjoy every minute leading up to this dream trip far before the actual trip takes place. He has imagined it, envisioned it, and taken the trip in his mind at least a hundred times already. This is a commanding skill that most of us have no idea how to harness. It's a skill that creates magic and allows for the most unbelievable results to come about. It's a skill that the most successful people in the world have nailed.
Here's what I recommend: use a journal to become obsessive about imagining what you want, as though you already have it. Imagine it as a done deal and revel in the enjoyment of its existence in your life. Your written word influences your thinking and allows you to determine exactly what it is that you want to focus on. It is powerful beyond comprehension.
Brian decided he wanted to go on the Epic and there was no turning back. For him, it was a done deal and from that point on he has enjoyed every part of the process. Imagine what his life would have been like if he focused on how lucky *other* people were to get to go on cruises? Imagine what the past six months would have been like if he kept moaning and groaning about the unfairness of it all. Those six months would have been miserable for him (and for us)! Instead, his obsession has landed him months and months of pleasure *and* a trip of a lifetime, instead of just 7 days at sea!
New Genesis Course Starting in Two Weeks!
By Kim Ades
July 7th, 2010
Have you been sitting on the sidelines of Frame of Mind Coaching waiting for the right time to jump into the coaching game and become a player?
We have a new, introductory group coaching program called Genesis starting at the end of July.
This course is perfect for you if you...
- Find yourself in a fog in one particular area in your life and need a lift to get out.
- Need a structured way to sort through a major decision.
- Are looking for a safe place to deal with a difficult situation, be it personal or professional.
- Have a tense relationship that you want to fix.
- Are in a job that just isn't working and need to figure out where to go from here.
Genesis is a 5 week group-based Introductory Coaching Program for newcomers to the Frame of Mind Coaching experience. It was created for people who want to get a feel for the uniqueness of Frame of Mind Coaching and who are interested in quickly increasing their results in one specific area of their lives at a reasonable price.
Here's how it works...
Number of people: 4-6
Number of calls: 1 group, 5 weeks, 5 phone calls (1 per week), 5 weeks of journaling
Participants are expected to journal every day of the program, no breaks, no vacations, no excuses.
Coach: Dave Gorham, Certified Frame of Mind Master Coach
It's simple, it's easy, and it's extremely engaging. EXPERIENCE HUGE CHANGES - The fundamental principle of Frame of Mind Coaching is that there is no greater influence on your results than the way you think. Genesis teaches you what to do in order to quickly realign your mindset, helping you to achieve goals you never thought you could reach AND you get to enjoy the process at the same time.
Please email dave@frameofmindcoaching.com to schedule a call for more information.
Kids Corner: It's Epic
By Brian Friedman
July 7th, 2010
"Epic isn't a word you hear a lot. It's reserved for epic masterpiece achievements; unlikely but wonderful events. Introducing Norwegian Epic -- the next level of freestyle cruising....." and it goes on......and on..........and on.
People might think I'm obsessed with the ship but I don't think that. I'm just really, really, really, really, really excited.
As my bar-mitzvah approaches (next May), I started thinking "hmm, a vacation would be much longer than a bar-mitzvah party". So I told my dad about the Oasis of the Seas, but as we were looking through Expedia we saw another boat that was sailing on the day that we wanted. But there was one problem; the ship was coming out on June 17, 2010 and we wouldn't know what it looked like until March, when everything was starting to take shape. So, I needed to know what this ship was about.
Every day I went to the computer to see if they had updated anything on the Norwegian Cruise line site, FaceBook or YouTube. Every day I would do this routine after each meal - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, but that wasn't enough for me-- I had to know things that other people didn't know (like the Prime Minister). I had to see pictures that other people couldn't see, watch videos that weren't published, know facts that no one would know until they were on the ship.
I went to the NCL (Norwegian Cruise line) site, and an ad popped up saying "Get the inside Scoop". It asked for my email, name, phone number and home address. I filled it out and a week later mail from NCL showed up saying "Hi Brian, Thanks for signing up for the Inside Scoop. My name is Mindy and I'm a cruise consultant. If you have any questions, just call me." So I did, every week. And instead of my dad handling this trip, I was suddenly making all the arrangements instead.
You may be wondering why I'm so excited. Let me tell you all the reasons why I like this ship.
1. The ship is a beautiful masterpiece
2. There are 3 slides(Epic plunge, purple slide and green slide)
3. The Epic plunge is a tube slide that goes into a bowl and then you go into the middle which takes you down to the end.
4. The chandelier over "Taste"(restaurant) is 25 ft tall
5. The pool deck is HUGE!!!
6. The rooms are stunning
7. It has a bungee trampoline
8. There are bowling alleys
9. They have a big top-style restaurant with Cirque Dreams and Dinner performing
10. Legends in Concert is headlining in The Manhattan Room and Headliners Club
11. The Second City Comedy Troupe is performing in Headliners
12. There is Nickelodeon at sea
13. There is an ice rink
14. There is a rock climbing wall with rappelling
15. There are 21 dining options
16. The itinerary is amazing
17. The clubs are really nice
18. The ship is 19 decks high
19. Biggest spa at sea
20. Biggest casino at sea
And much, much, much more!!!
From this list, wouldn't you want to go on the ship too?!?!?!?!?!?!?
From the moment that I saw the ship, I decided that I needed to be on it. Someone wise once told me that "What you Focus on GROWS", so now I am going to be sailing on the amazing, fantastic, extravagant NORWEGIAN EPIC!!!!
