Who’s on Your Support Team?

There is no such thing as solitary accomplishment! …Bob Trask

Dick Proenneke was the most independent man I’ve ever known. He is that fabulous old guy you sometimes see on National Public TV, building his cabin in the wilderness of Alaska where he lived alone for many years. Dick would readily admit that he could neither have gotten into the wilderness nor built his cabin nor remained there for years without the support of others. He grew a few meager vegetables, shot his meat and caught fish, but all other supplies were flown into him by a good friend who landed on pontoons in summer and skis in winter. Dick had the life he wanted because of his support team.

My team and I spent two weeks camped in that wilderness and Dick became my good friend. We corresponded afterward for many years and I still use his original sourdough starter. He has passed on now, yet I still think of him as my friend.

The Trask Triangle asks the following questions on its Discovery leg: What is my Vision? What is my Mission? Who is on my Support Team? What is my next Step? Our vision may be very clear and we may have a mission to accomplish it, but without a Support Team of others helping to advance the vision and mission, success will be very difficult.

What do you want from your Support Team?
Each member must be in agreement with your vision. Here are some good points to print out and share with prospective members.

1- Understand your vision and how the mission plan supports it.
2- Be dependable and attentive to your mission.
3- Detect sabotaging obstacles and weaknesses.
4- Help determine when the mission plan needs to be adjusted.
5- Keep the vision always the point of focus.

These standards work both for support teams of large organizations and for individuals because the game is the same; growth requires a vision, a vision needs a mission-plan and missions need objective feedback and support.

Let’s look briefly at each of the above.
1- A team member might or might not be a friend or family member, or even someone you hire, but it is essential that they be reliable; that they listen without prejudging and tell you the truth when they see you drifting from your vision. You must be able to rely upon them, not always to have the answers but to listen and let you know if you are still on your mission. More than anything, a support team member must be reliable.
2- You may recognize a good candidate because he or she will invest the time to understand and become committed to your vision and mission.
3- A Support Team Member must be able to identify weaknesses that sabotage visions. Oftentimes they are confusion, procrastination, unworthiness, fear of success, fear of failure, etc. The way to avoid these and other pitfalls is by following The Trask Triangle, a free interactive model of which is available at: http://arasfoundation.org/presentations/TheTraskTriangleInteractive.pdf
4- Though the Vision is clear and constant, the mission path to it must often change. Like a river, it may begin its course with the idea of going in a straight line to the sea, but intervening obstacles will make it change its course. Still, the Vision must remain the ultimate goal. A good support team member will help point out the necessary changes.
5- The Vision must be kept in mind at all times. For me, everything I do supports my Vision. Whether I am working as I am now, resting, exercising, going to a movie or eating supper; I deliberately and consciously think of how each part of my day, in some way supports my Vision. Most people and organizations fail for one simple reason: they begin their missions with the intention of reaching an island, but partway there, the fog comes in, the vision fades and they start treading water. Eventually they will get tired and sink. Make sure your Support Team insists you always keep your eyes on the prize.

It is believed by many that mission-paths are necessarily paths of suffering. Nothing could be farther from the truth; when one is suffering, the clear message is that he or she is no longer following their true mission. Your true path is as fully and constantly supported by the Universe as are those of flowers in the field and birds of the air. Yes, there must be difficulties and obstacles along the way, but they should not be distressful, they should be challenges that will bring about growth. It should be challenging and at the same time joyful. When we aren’t finding periods of paradise every day we are doubtlessly off our path and the Universe’s message is: “Get back on your mission!” We need our Support Team to understand and remind us of that truth. As a wilderness pioneer, Dick Proenneke worked hard and sacrificed; yet, to him, every day was a rebirth of excitement and adventure. Ours must be too.

Finally this: When we are doing all the right things and still not getting achieving our visions or reaching enlightenment, it may be that we are subconsciously blocking our success. Unworthiness? Anxiety? Confusion? I know this self-sabotage game well because I spent years doing everything right except changing my mind. Need help with that? Read my book and create a study group so you can find measured progress every week.

* Critics call Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free the best guide to higher consciousness available today. There are only a few hundred 1st edition hardbacks left at $29.95 and already used copies are selling for over $50! Get your own classic copy here: http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-Hardcover/dp/0961216441/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264206738&sr=1-2

? Want your copy autographed? Just let me know.

*Personal Coaching by Bob Trask is available by phone, email or in person.

Email: Bob@arasfoundation.org Phone: 425-868-8448

*Here is a brand short video I think you'll enjoy:   http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=329122138272

A Bit of Humor For You:
Near his barn, an old Louisiana farmer had a perfect swimming hole, so he fixed it up nice with picnic tables, horseshoe courts, and some apple trees.
One evening he grabbed a bucket and wandered down to pick some apples. As he neared the pond, he heard laughter; went closer and, to his surprise, found four young women skinny-dipping.
They saw him and immediately fled to the furthest and deepest end of the pond.
“We're not coming out until you leave!”one shouted at him.
“Heck ladies, he smiled, I’m not here to make you get out of the pond.”
He held up his bucket; “I'm here to feed the alligator.”
--Wow, some old guys can sure think fast!

Our Hero For This Week:
Thousands of kids were orphaned during the Korean War. This is the story of one of them; Choi Seok Jin was eleven when he was orphaned. For a time he wandered, lost and hungry, then made his way to a military base and fought for a place among others to become an errand boy for soldiers. Months later, Sergeant Spackman, who had nicknamed him “Jimmy,” asked two boys to flip a coin and see which would accompany him on a two-day jeep trip. Jimmy’s life changed on that flip of a coin. Soon after the sergeant put a cot for him in his tent and began looking out for him.

When a sudden power outage occurred on base, someone gave Jimmy money and sent him into the city to buy candles. It was doubted that he would return because most boys would simply have disappeared with the money. When Jimmy returned with the candles and the change it sealed the relationship between him and Sergeant Spackman, who asked him to become his adopted son. A gift from heaven! America – Education - Security! Yet heartbreak waited; Sergeant Spackman returned to the US alone and the boy had to survive for four more years before he could get a passport to America.

At fifteen with no education and only a smattering of English, Jimmy Spackman became a tenth grader and the only Asian in a high school of three thousand students. He was often unable to communicate or understand as he was being swallowed by the overwhelming new culture. He studied incessantly, through late nights and weekends, and was saved by his love of learning and his stubborn refusal to be less than his best. It was a seemingly insurmountable mountain he was climbing, often in tears. Yet in only two and a half years later, Jimmy Spackman graduated at the top of his HS class with a full scholarship to Harvard where, four years later, he again graduated with full honors. Jimmy recently retired as International President and CEO of Prudential Insurance. I could go on for pages telling this amazing man’s story which you can find in his fascinating autobiography Don’t Burn Bridges Behind You.

In my life I have not met another person who better represents my ideals of a champion; who will do whatever it takes to be the best he can be, while helping others do the same. It is our honor to have James Spackman as this week’s hero.