Operation PromisedLand

Good People,

In keeping with the last article that I posted the following article by Creflo Dollar is a simple reminder and tag to the lesson of the previous post…..

Eight Steps to Destination: Prosperity Overflow

by Creflo Dollar

God has a place He wants us to go: Destination: Prosperity Overflow. I believe with all my heart that God wants us to prosper. In fact, I believe that prosperity is an expression of God’s love to us. Now please understand, I’m not just talking about money. Prosperity includes money, but it is more than money. God wants you to prosper in your spirit, soul, emotions and physical body. He wants you to prosper in your anointing, relationships, marriage and job. He wants you to excel toward the promises of God.

God has already done His part. He’s already made lots of things available to us, but if we don’t understand the process that we need to take to arrive at our destination, we could live the rest of our lives without ever coming into what God fully intended for us.

There are eight steps in this process. If your destination is Prosperity Overflow, you’re going to have to understand and respect this process. So let’s look at it carefully and see how each step impacts your life.

Step 1: The Word of God

The Word of God. This is where everything in the process starts. If you’re going to end up at Destination: Prosperity Overflow, you’re going to have to start with the Word. “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1).

The Word is the incorruptible seed, the seed that will always produce, the seed that will never fail. It is the origin for all prosperity—the gateway to the blessings of God. We can’t achieve prosperity without it.

Prosperity is Word-determined, not money-determined. No matter what we give, our money won’t have a future if it’s not backed up by a “Word seed,” that is, a revelation from the Word of God. It’s the Word seed that causes that money seed to increase. So many of us want to give a money seed, but we don’t have a Word seed. And so we release the money seed without any force behind it.

For instance, imagine a preacher who has never experienced a financial breakthrough. When the offering comes, he always puts something in, but things never get better for him. Why? Because even though he gave a money seed, he never received a revelation from the Word concerning his financial breakthrough. He planted the money seed, but it had no future without the Word seed.

It’s the Word of God, the Word seed, which determines prosperity in every area of life. Word seed will prosper you when the doctor tells you you’re sick. Word seed will prosper you when you feel like you’re about to lose your mind. Word seed will prosper your marriage when things seem down and out.

The process to Destination: Prosperity Overflow starts with the Word.

Step 2: Your Thinking

If you ask people why they read the Bible, they’ll give you all kinds of answers. But the reason you should read your Bible is because it governs your thinking. It shows you what type of mind-set you should have. And that’s the second step in this process: Word thinking, or prosperous

thinking.

III John 1 states, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” The prosperity of your life is based on the prosperity of your soul—that is, your mind, will and emotions.

You will be as you think. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he.” If you think you’re going to be poor all your life, you probably will be. If you think you’re going to break out of this financial situation, then you’ll break out of it.

Consider how you think. Do you have a lack mentality? A poverty mentality? A sickness mentality? A mentality of defeat? You’ve got to look at your thinking and what influences your thinking, because everything that’s going on in your life can be traced back to how you think.

Step 3: Your Emotions

The Word of God will lead you to start thinking thoughts that are in line with the Word. And thinking that lines up with the Word will produce emotions that line up with the Word.

God gave us emotions. They are a gift. Jesus had emotions. The Bible says He was touched with the feeling of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15). It is fine to have emotions…but we must make sure that emotions never have us.

Emotions are feelings caused by pain or pleasure that will direct you or move you in a direction. God has given you emotions. If you don’t learn how to control them, they will move you to places you don’t need to go.

If the devil’s going to move you out of the will of God where prosperity is concerned, then he’s going to do it by enticing your emotions. He tried to do that with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was sweating blood because He was “deeply distressed” (Mark 14:33, New International Version). He was resisting, not allowing His emotions to take charge.

As Jesus resisted, the King James Version says He “went forward” (verse 35) and kept praying. When your emotions try to move you out of God’s will, do like Jesus and keep moving forward. Keep doing God’s will, regardless of how you feel.

You have authority over your emotions.

Step 4: Your Decisions

It’s extremely important that we understand how to govern ourselves and take charge of our emotions because how we feel will determine the next step in this process: the decisions we make.

Life is a series of decisions. Every day you wake up, you make a decision. According to Deuteronomy 30:19, you’re a free moral agent. You can choose life or death, blessing or cursing. And when you make decisions in line with the will of God, heaven will back you up.

Look what happened when Jairus made a decision and interrupted Jesus’ plans in Mark 5:21-23: “When Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side.… Behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, and besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.”

Now, look at what Jesus did in verse 24: “Jesus went with him.”

Did you get that? Jesus stepped off the boat, ready to accomplish the will of God for His life. But when Jairus interrupted Him, Jesus turned and went with him.

Then in verse 28, right in the middle of this situation, a woman with an issue of blood arrived. She had made a decision, too: “If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.” Jesus stopped and healed her right there on the spot. Shortly after that, Jairus’ daughter was healed, too.

In both circumstances, Jesus was doing one thing when He was directed elsewhere. There’s a powerful principle here: Jesus has put His ministry and His Anointing into the hands of people who will make decisions that line up with His will. When you make a decision that lines up with His will, He will stop, turn and show up at your house to remove burdens and destroye yokes. That’s how powerful a decision is!

Step 5: Your Actions

Your decisions will determine your actions. And your actions cause the increase. Faith without works is dead (James 2:17). So start acting like what you just decided. Start talking like what you just decided. You may not be able to buy a $500 suit right now, but get yourself a good suit and have it dry cleaned. Get yourself a nice tie and a little handkerchief. Start walking like you’re already in the overflow. God weighs your actions (I Samuel 2:3), so start doing what you can. Let your actions show what you believe.

Step 6: Your Habits

Your actions will determine your habits. You will develop in whatever you are doing on a daily basis. So you’ve got to check what you’re doing and saying every day, because what you do and say determines your potential.

If you lie, you have a potential to become a developed liar. If you sneak around looking at pornography every day, you only have the potential to develop in that. So make sure you look at your actions because your actions will determine your habits, and you don’t want habits in your life that are out of line with the Word of God.

Step 7: Your Character

Your habits will produce Step 7: your character. Character is what people have come to expect from you. Understand this: You will never rise above the limitations of your character.

Over the years, Brother Kenneth Copeland has defined character as doing what’s right because it’s right and then doing it right. The character we should desire is, of course, the character of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What was His character? Love. We should begin to develop in the character of agape love so we can learn how to love people with agape love.

Step 8 : Your Destiny

Your decisions will determine your actions. And your actions cause the increase. Faith without works is dead (James 2:17). So start acting like what you just decided. Start talking like what you just decided. You may not be able to buy a $500 suit right now, but get yourself a good suit and have it dry cleaned. Get yourself a nice tie and a little handkerchief. Start walking like you’re already in the overflow. God weighs your actions (I Samuel 2:3), so start doing what you can. Let your actions show what you believe.

Step 6: Your Habits

Your actions will determine your habits. You will develop in whatever you are doing on a daily basis. So you’ve got to check what you’re doing and saying every day, because what you do and say determines your potential.

If you lie, you have a potential to become a developed liar. If you sneak around looking at pornography every day, you only have the potential to develop in that. So make sure you look at your actions because your actions will determine your habits, and you don’t want habits in your life that are out of line with the Word of God.

Step 7: Your Character

Your habits will produce Step 7: your character. Character is what people have come to expect from you. Understand this: You will never rise above the limitations of your character.

Over the years, Brother Kenneth Copeland has defined character as doing what’s right because it’s right and then doing it right. The character we should desire is, of course, the character of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What was His character? Love. We should begin to develop in the character of agape love so we can learn how to love people with agape love.

Step 8 : Your Destiny

Your decisions will determine your actions. And your actions cause the increase. Faith without works is dead (James 2:17). So start acting like what you just decided. Start talking like what you just decided. You may not be able to buy a $500 suit right now, but get yourself a good suit and have it dry cleaned. Get yourself a nice tie and a little handkerchief. Start walking like you’re already in the overflow. God weighs your actions (I Samuel 2:3), so start doing what you can. Let your actions show what you believe.

Step 6: Your Habits

Your actions will determine your habits. You will develop in whatever you are doing on a daily basis. So you’ve got to check what you’re doing and saying every day, because what you do and say determines your potential.

If you lie, you have a potential to become a developed liar. If you sneak around looking at pornography every day, you only have the potential to develop in that. So make sure you look at your actions because your actions will determine your habits, and you don’t want habits in your life that are out of line with the Word of God.

Step 7: Your Character

Your habits will produce Step 7: your character. Character is what people have come to expect from you. Understand this: You will never rise above the limitations of your character.

Over the years, Brother Kenneth Copeland has defined character as doing what’s right because it’s right and then doing it right. The character we should desire is, of course, the character of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What was His character? Love. We should begin to develop in the character of agape love so we can learn how to love people with agape love.

Step 8 : Your Destiny

Finally, the type of character you develop will determine your destination in life.
What’s your destiny? In John 10:10, Jesus says it succinctly: “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)” (The Amplified Bible). There’s your destiny. Enjoy life! That’s where you’re headed. Amen!

The Word produces your thinking; your thinking produces your emotions; your emotions produce your decisions; your decisions produce your actions; your actions produce your habits; your habits produce your character; and your character produces your destiny. Where you end up in life will be based on how you handle that progression.

You’re destined to live an overflowing life. You’re destined to be healed, to be at peace, to be wealthy. You’re destined to be happy. You’re destined to be sound. That’s what you were born to enter into. Life in the overflow! That’s your Destination: Prosperity Overflow.

If you care to make more of this article then you may want to visit Operation Promised Land often at www.bring2help2.com

You are welcome to join us for Home Meetings…such as the one in Mount Dora, Florida every Monday night starting at 7:30….The address is 4300 Mount Dora, FL 32757 Unit A-205. For more information about a Home Meeting call 352-455-6700. Find out what all the buzz is about with this inspired concept of taking people out of lack by simply helping each other. So come and of course bring a friend with you.

James O’Connor

Leadership Team

Good People,

A feeling came over me the other day that maybe the articles that I have been posting have been a bit too subtle. Therefore during my scanning for something to help me clear away the subtlety I came across this article which should do the trick. The following is only an excerpt from that article found on brandonweb.com.

Putting God First

Matthew 6:31-34

While watching a pre-game football show on Thanksgiving, I heard about a fantastic play for the New Orleans Saints. On the very first play of their very first game they returned the punt nearly the length of the football field to score their very first touchdown! That player had only one thing in mind when he was running downfield…that was to cross the goal line! That is exactly the way that God wants every Christian to live! With the goal line in view, giving our all to be successful for Him. If a person wants to make a success of anything, they must put that thing first. I read about Indiana’s own Larry Bird. As a boy he would eat, drink, and sleep basketball. All champions are like that. Charles Lindbergh made the first solo flight across the Atlantic because he concentrated on one thing. Thomas Edison seldom slept at night, spending long hours in his laboratory perfecting hundreds of inventions. The list could go on and on, but the key to being a success at anything is to put that first in your life.

In our text this morning Jesus instructs those who believe on Him to focus on what is necessary to be a success as a Christian. Not material things, but “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness”.

I. Many People Put Other Things First.

A. Some will put job or profession first.

1. I think that it is important for a Christian to be a good worker.

2. Regardless of where a believer works, their employer ought to be able to see a difference in them!

3. If you are a business man, then you ought to work hard to make your business a success!

4. But never…never…allow your job or your business to come first in your life!

B. Some will put the accumulation of wealth first.

1. Many spend their time and energies gaining and getting.

2. But they often lose their sense of God.

C. Some people put pleasure first.

1. God isn’t opposed to a person having a good time and enjoying life!

2. But pleasure should not be our chief aim of life, and nothing should come before God!

3. Jesus is clear in this verse, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteous- ness”.

D. Some people put their family first.

1. Now don’t get me wrong, family is important.

2. They are not more important than God!

3. I know a lady who moans and groans nearly every time I see her about her children and the fact that they aren’t in church today.

4. And yet when they were still at home, she taught them by example that going to Grandma’s and Aunt So-in-so’s was more important that going to church, and serving God!

II. What Does It Mean to Seek First the Kingdom?

A. Putting God first in our life means that we conform our lives to His principles.

1. Romans 12:2 tells us to “be not conformed to this world:”

2. How close we are to the Lord will impact how closely our lives will conform to His!

B. Putting God first means serving in His kingdom.

1. 2 Co. 5:20, “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ…”

2. An ambassador is supposed to serve his king.

3. Unfortunately, God has many ambassadors who poorly represent Him to this lost and dying world.

4. If the lost is to hear the Gospel and be saved, we must be actively serving our King and seeing that Gospel preached at home and around the world.

C. Putting God first means putting His church first.

1. We owe the church our prayers.

a. Paul asked the church to pray for him on many occasions.

b. James 5:16 tells us to “pray for one another”.

c. Who knows what mighty things this church could do if everyone was praying together?

5. We owe the church our power, by this I mean that we ought to totally give of ourselves to the ministry of this church.

III. God’s Reward to Those Who Seek First the Kingdom.

A. “All these things shall be added unto you”

1. He is talking here about material needs.

2. Is God a liar or did Jesus mean what He said?

3. Putting God first means that we will have our needs met.

4. It is hard for me to understand how someone can say they trust God’s promises for eternal life, but they simply cannot trust Him to take care of their needs!

B. Note: Psalm 37:25

1. Here is an observation of King David.

2. “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging for bread.”

3. I have seen a number of people come to this church looking for a handout, and I have heard all sorts of stories about how they don’t have this or they don’t have that, (and without a doubt many of their needs are real!) but not one of them have been living for the Lord!

4. God is faithful! He keeps His promises! Put Him first and then just watch Him bless you!

Conclusion: Before one can seek first the kingdom, they must be a part of it. The only way to become a part of God’s kingdom is to put your faith and trust in the shed blood of Jesus Christ and accept Him as your personal Saviour! Once you have done this, then you can begin to put God first in your life and reap the benefits of His promises to His own.

We are entering the time of year when things get really hectic and confused. Let’s keep our focus clear! What is most important for us is to put God first in every area of our lives. We need to seek to conform our lives to His principles and, to serve Him through His church as a faithful ambassador…

If you care to make more of this article then you may want to visit Operation Promised Land often at www.bring2help2.com

You can also join us for Home Meetings…such as the one in Mount Dora, Florida every Monday night starting at 7:30….The address is 4300 Mount Dora, FL 32757 Unit A-205. For more information on the Home Meeting call 352-455-6700. Find out what all the buzz is about with this inspired concept of taking people out of lack by simply helping each other. So come and of course bring a friend with you. 

James O’Connor

Leadership Team

352-455-6700

Good People,

The following article by Andrea Sittig-Rolf caught my attention because of questions a number of starting out entrepreneurs have asked me over the last few months. Andrea has hit on a few good points that I am happy to pass along.

Stop Closing and Start Selling

The close has to be a natural extension of the sales process, not a question fired at random.

By: Andrea Sittig-Rolf | 03/29/2010

Contrary to popular belief, the secret to successful sales isn’t necessarily the “close.” While asking for the business is an important step, sales is a process that requires careful strategic planning as well as a succinct tactical approach.

The strategy is the overall plan in developing your business and gaining new customers, while the tactics are the specific steps you take within the overall strategy to walk your prospects through the sales process to the close.

The “close” should be a natural next step in the sales process, not a question you ask your prospect out of the blue, such as “Are you ready to place your order?”

Here are a couple of ideas to consider when walking your customers through the sales process so that closing is seamless–the natural next step.

A philosophy I live by in my business is, “The purpose of a meeting is to get another meeting.” In other words, the purpose of a meeting is not necessarily to close the transaction, unless you’re in a business where “one-call closes” are common. If your business is like most, it will require more than one meeting, as well as other forms of communication such as phone conversations, e-mail exchanges and supplementary written correspondence before you actually close the sale. By ending the first meeting with an agreement to take the next step with your prospect, you are ensuring that the prospect is willing to move through the sales process with you.

Another key factor at the end of the first meeting, after agreeing to the follow-up, is to ask your prospects for a commitment that they will, in fact, respond to your follow-up contact. How many times have you followed up at a prospect’s request and received no response? Maddening, isn’t it? I don’t know about you, but if the answer to doing business together is “no,” I’d rather know sooner than later so I don’t waste my time following up with someone who isn’t really a prospect.

One way to ensure that your prospects will respond to you when you follow up is to give them an “out” if they decide not to do business with you. To do this, after you’ve agreed to the follow-up step, say something like, “Can I ask you a favor? When I follow up with you in two weeks, if for some reason you’ve decided not to proceed, will you please let me know? There’s a saying in sales that ‘a fast no is better than a slow no,’ and if you’ve decided to go another way, that’s OK. Just let me know so I won’t waste your time or mine.”

Sounds a little bold, but most prospects will respond positively to this because, one, it gives them the out they need if they decide to go with another solution; and two, it shows your prospect that you are a busy professional and you don’t want to waste anyone’s time. This technique also works well because suddenly you’re not a desperate salesperson, but rather a confident consultant who has something of value to offer.

I’ve found it necessary to practice this technique over the years when I come across prospects who are too nice to say “no.” The funny thing is, more often than not when I use this technique, rather than hearing “no,” I end up closing the sale.

The next step is to prove that your solution not only shows a return on investment, or ROI, but actually creates a profit center for your prospect. That is a persuasive reason for your prospect to continue to work with you through the sales process to the eventual close of the sale.

For example, if implementing the solution you provide costs your customer $10,000 but saves $15,000 in other operating costs within six months, that’s not only an ROI in six months, it’s an actual profit of $5,000. (Savings can be viewed as profit since they ultimately affect the bottom line, which is probably the thing your prospect cares about most.)

Finally, creating a sense of urgency will help move the sale through the process as well. Creating a sense of urgency requires your solution to be so compelling that it doesn’t make sense for your prospect to go another day without it. You create a sense of urgency by emphasizing the pain your prospects are experiencing by not having your solution and showing that your solution will stop their pain.

Now all you have to do is show that the sooner your solution is implemented, the sooner their pain will go away–and the next logical step in the sales process will be the sale.

Andrea Sittig-Rolf is a sales trainer, public speaker, author and president of Sittig Inc., a sales training and consulting firm. Andrea’s latest book is Power

If you care to make more of this article then you may want to visit Operation Promised Land often at www.bring2help2.com

You can also join us for Home Meetings…such as the one in Mount Dora, Florida every Monday night starting at 7:30….The address is 4300 Mount Dora, FL 32757 Unit A-205. For more information call 352-455-6700. Find out what all the buzz is about with this inspired concept of taking people out of lack by simply helping each other. So come and of course bring a friend with you.

James O’Connor

Leadership Team

352-455-6700

Good People,

Sometimes we need to check our foundation. Patch a few cracks. Reinforce some areas. Simply be in touch with what is holding us up. With this in mind you may find the following article by Brad Sugars a nice intro to a couple of my future posts. The check list in this and the following post are to help prepare us for what will be coming in two weeks…..fro what I feel, and I am sure you will agree, the important forms needed for a solid profitable foundation.

Brad Sugars: Startup Basics

What Are Your Guiding Principles?

A well-defined credo can guide you through rough entrepreneurial waters and steer your business to success.

By Brad Sugars   |   April 02, 2010

Defining your beliefs and guiding principles is important to running a successful business

. If you don’t define your beliefs, others–be it friends, associates or the marketplace–will do it for you.

By taking ownership of your own values and defining what’s important to you, you are setting up a system that will guide you through the rough waters of entrepreneurship.

Early in my career, I created a simple credo (Latin for “I believe”) to define my values as an entrepreneur. This credo has proven to be a powerful and flexible guide over the course of owning and operating more than 30 different kinds of businesses.

The real value in a credo is the act and process of developing one of your own. However, you can use the 14-point outline below as a template for deciding what principles will guide you in running your business. 

1. Be Organized. Organized minds are clear, and clear minds take action towards clear objectives, so get as organized and as clear as possible in your life and business affairs. Start with your desk and work area, then with your plans and actions. Schedule a written plan of your activities and objectives and stick with it the entire day. Do this the night before and you’re ahead of 90 percent of the rest of the population–including your competitors.
2. Be Dedicated. Every day, do at least one thing you’ve been putting off. As the great Jim Rohn has said: “There are two types of pain you will go through in life–the pain of discipline and the pain of regret.” Each moment you can decide which you’d rather experience. Successful people know that the pain of discipline is the price of their success. Start making it the price of yours.
3. Be Confident. Feel as good as possible and achieve a sense of well-being by just being quiet and contemplative for 15 minutes every day. Also, find a way to exercise at least 15 minutes every day. Both will boost positive feelings about yourself, which translates into a confidence that is attractive to others–including new customers and clients. 
4. Be Appreciative. Tell your family, friends and business associates how much you appreciate them. Be generous with praise and compliments–and find more things people in your world are doing right, rather than doing wrong.
5. Be Optimistic. Leave past failures in the past and focus positively on your future. If you are a glass-half-empty person, start seeing the glass as being half-full. Life–and business–is more enjoyable that way.
6. Get Educated. Read something that improves your mind every day. Keep yourself away from unproductive people, activity and news. Become a master and an expert in your industry, and more business will flow to you over time simply on the basis of your credibility and expertise in your field.
7. Be Thrifty. Never pay full price. Consume less and never pay more tax than absolutely necessary. Don’t be in business simply for tax reasons, but always recognize that the more resources you pay out to the treasury, the less you will have to put back into your business.
8. Be Sociable. Be charming and agreeable. Never speak badly of anyone. You never know if your next big client or customer is within earshot of something you have to say. Make it positive, and you’ll never have to worry about negative consequences.
9. Be Alert. Open yourself to new ideas, experiences and people who can teach you something new–and stay out of ruts and routines. This is one of the best ways to be aware and focused on new opportunities. Remember that some of the greatest product breakthroughs have come from people recognizing the value of interesting and unique innovations.
10. Be Dependable. Meet all of your business, social and moral obligations punctually, honestly and honorably. If you are the “go to” person or the “go to” business, you’ll never have to worry about having to generate extra leads or word-of-mouth referrals.
11. Be Decisive. Make a decision right now. My general rule is that if I’m 80 percent certain, the extra 20 percent of my indecisiveness is a mixture of emotions based on both excitement and fear. My attitude is to let excitement win more times than not. Is it 100 percent successful every time? No. But then again, nothing ever is. All I know is that I’ve had a lot more fun when I’ve let excitement win.
12. Be Human. Remember to experience the journey as well as the results. It’s absolutely necessary to keep your attention focused on your goals, but don’t miss out on all the great experiences going on around you right now. After all, when you get to your destination, you’ll realize that some of the greatest lessons learned and values gained were found in the trip there.
13. Be Tough. Demand only the highest and best standards of everyone you surround yourself with…and that includes setting, demanding and being accountable for high standards for yourself. Remember that as the leader goes, so goes the organization. And if you are truly leading, you have to be firm and consistent in setting, establishing and following your own “rules of the game.” 
14. Give and You Shall Receive. Give the thing you want most and you’ll be amazed at what you get in return. See all opportunities as a way to give and share and add value, and you’ll see your efforts multiplied in ways you couldn’t have imagined, for the greater good of you, your company and your customers.

Over time, you’ll discover that to truly build up your business, you’ll have to build up yourself as well. Think of your credo as guiding principles that will help steer you toward success.

Brad Sugars is the founder and chairman of ActionCOACH, the world’s number one business coaching firm..

If you care to make more of this article then you may want to visit Operation Promised Land often at www.bring2help2.com

You can also join us for Home Meetings…such as the one in Mount Dora, Florida every Monday night starting at 7:30….The address is 4300 Mount Dora, FL 32757 Unit A-205. For more information call 352-455-6700. Find out what all the buzz is about with this inspired concept of taking people out of lack by simply helping each other. So come and of course bring a friend with you. 

James O’Connor

Leadership Team

352-455-6700

Good People,

You may find this article by Scott Halford of significant interest and a help not only in looking at yourself but in a guide with working with others.

Scott Halford: Brainy Business

Alter Self-Sabotaging Behaviors

5 ways to override the negative effects of ‘danger surfing’ in yourself, your employees and your customers

By Scott Halford   |   March 30, 2010

The road to success is filled with obstacles. Finding your way around them predicts winning and losing. Some of the obstacles show up in the form of survival behaviors brought on by the brain’s innate wiring to protect us from the dangers of the world. The only thing is, the dangers have changed from 200,000 years ago when the wiring evolved, and we have to find a way around it or suffer the consequences of what is called “danger surfing.”

In a previous column, I’ve discussed the concept of danger surfing, wherein the brain surfs the horizon for threats and helps us react properly in order to survive. It’s automatic and was useful when we were more beastly than we are now, but in present day, danger surfing often leads to behaviors that can be harmful to achieving your goals. It’s helpful if you know when you, your colleagues, competitors or clients are danger surfing so you can override it or use it to your own benefit.

The brain is organized primarily to maximize reward and minimize danger, and our behaviors are molded by these two things. The danger receptors in our brain are more active than the reward receptors, as we spend a good deal of time danger surfing. In short, danger surfing sometimes shows up as childish behavior. There are five basic ways we danger surf.

Recognizing them before or as they are happening can help you take steps to avoid them in yourself and others, as well as taking the edge off their damaging effects. The acronym we’ll use is C.H.A.S.E.

C = Choice. Our brains like choices. Autonomy is one of the things we look for as humans. If something is presented as an ultimatum, then you can expect stubborn, childish pushback. Also, if you give a person one choice, you have a 50/50 chance of a “no.” However, when you offer choices, the likelihood of one of the options being chosen goes up tremendously.

Choice Tip: The magic number seems to be three choices. Influence psychology tells us that when you give people options, start with the luxury model first, then midline, then economy. More times than not, the midline will be chosen. But when you start with the economy choice, people tend to split between economy and midline. Make sure all options are ones you can live with if chosen.

H = Hierarchy. Our brain pays a lot of attention to pecking order or status. You see it in a roomful of people when the boss’s boss walks in. Everyone becomes more polite and less forthcoming. On a one-on-one basis, you can tell when someone feels like their status has been questioned. It typically happens when you offer advice, make criticisms or give “feedback.” Defensive-toned retorts like “I already knew that,” “I’ve tried that already; it didn’t work,” or a putdown like “What’s your point?” are clues that the other person is danger surfing and is going to shut down, get defensive or offer very little to the discussion. Until they feel their status is restored, the conversation won’t move forward.

Hierarchy Tip: People get into status battles when they feel like others are commenting on the quality of their work or their competence. Something as innocent as offering someone advice can be seen as a status change because we’re in the driver’s seat as the advisor. Ask before dispensing advice to ease the danger surfing defensiveness that comes when status is shifted without permission. A simple “May I give you some thoughts about how I’d approach it?” goes a long way.

Another quick tip is that when you go into a meeting, figure out the roles everyone thinks they are playing. Are they the leader, a participant, a listener, encourager, feedback giver? If someone else thinks they are the leader of the meeting and you wrestle control from them, essentially becoming the leader, you have a status battle.

A = Assurance. When things feel uncertain, the brain goes into survival mode, and we begin to think and behave in ways that make us feel safer. In times of uncertainty, you won’t see a lot of extraordinary thinking going on. In fact, people tend to do what they know is a sure thing. That’s why when things at work feel very uncertain because of a merger, acquisition or layoffs, people vigorously protect their turf. 

Assurance Tip: When things are shaky, over-communicate the things you know are certain. Give people a sense of safety so they don’t danger surf too much and fall into auto-pilot, uncreative thinking. If you feel unsure yourself, organize a drawer or your office. The sense of knowing where things are brings down the anxiety from uncertainty.

S = Social. We are a tribal species. Before we established our dominance and lived in caves, we had to take care of each other in order to keep our species around. If you were exiled from the clan, you died. It still feels the same way when we aren’t included in a group we want to be in. The next time someone holds a meeting you believe you should have attended, take notice of how you feel about it–probably snubbed. Dr. Naomi Eisenberger studied inclusion and exclusion at UCLA and found that emotional pain switches on the same part of the brain as physical pain. It hurts to be left out. When we’re hurt, we don’t communicate as much or as well. We withhold important information, get angry or become agitated and don’t perform as well.

Social Tip: The social realm is dictated by the rules of the group. Have a departmental meeting about the rules the team should live by. Everything from what’s acceptable dress to how tardy you can be to meetings to expectations about how people behave after hours are all about understanding the social makeup of a team. The more everyone understands the rules, the less confusion and hurt will result from being treated as an exiled clan member.

E = Equitability. When things feel equitable or fair, the reward part of the brain turns on. Conversely, danger surfing occurs when something doesn’t feel fair.

If you offer someone a proposal with something that feels unfair, they will scan the rest of the proposal more stringently for inequitable items and begin inspecting the relationship for other things that might violate a sense of fairness. When something feels unfair, we might not always be able to put our finger on it, but our behavior becomes more cautious and cynical until we pinpoint the inequality and make it right.

Equitability Tip: To discover someone’s definition of fairness on certain issues, simply ask what feels fair to them. If you’re selling a product or idea and someone asks a lot of questions about one topic, they could be trying to get fairness clarification. Check to see if the issue in question is out of balance in your favor, no matter how trivial you might think it is.

Danger surfing isn’t going to go away; your brain has been doing it since you came into this world. If you think about each of the pieces of the CHASE model, you’ll find examples where danger surfing affected your behavior. Be aware of it and you can offer choice, switch up the status, communicate certainty in uncertain times, pay attention to tribal rules of inclusion and exclusion, and be sensitive to what is fair for everyone.

Danger or reward? It’s up to you and your brain.

Scott Halford is President of Complete Intelligence, LLC. He’s an internationally known speaker and writer on brain-based success behaviors. He is the author of Be a Shortcut: The Secret Fast Track to Business Success.

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Leadership Team

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