Does fear allow you to be in alignment with your purposes in life?

Fear. People are fascinated by it and driven towards it.  Like fire, people creep to the edge of fear testing their threshold. Scary movies, books and theme parks are among just a few examples of how the multi-billion dollar fear industry taps into this curiosity.

This subject of how fear can place a person in mental bondage is different from our engrained instinct towards fight or flight when presented with a sudden perceived threat. However, even this survival response can be conditioned by the mind to react in irrational ways.  The emotion of fear places blinders that cripple the mind from:

• Creative thought and expression
• Exploring and discovering truth
• Recognizing opportunities
• Taking action
• Long term commitments
• Setting and achieving goals

 We are born with only two fears:

1. Fear of falling
2. Fear of loud noises

Therefore, all other fears are learned behaviors that can be traced back to an origin. Perhaps it was a traumatic event or an opinion you heard. When Balanced Edge takes a family or group on an adventure we are commonly confronted with fears of heights, animals, “creepy-crawlies”, and dark spaces.

Fears are beliefs, and a belief is like a seed. It sits for a time with little consequence. Then, it begins to germinate. With each passing day, it continues to grow and mature until it becomes a vine that envelops its host. It becomes a lifestyle.

And, it gets worse. Fear is also a contagion that is passed on through the words of others who desire to share this emotion. Kids and the elderly are at the most risk of this debilitating process.

The bondage of fear is great and directly affects your:

• Capacity to love
• Impulse to trust others
• Beliefs
• Behaviors
• Actions
• Ability to communicate your feelings
• Ability to be decisive without hesitation

It forces those afflicted by fear into indecision and doubt. It compels the mind to believe opinions rather than searching for facts. Yes- fear comes at a high price, as it becomes the captain of your choices, lifestyle, and future.

The good news is that these learned behaviors can be changed, eliminating this barrier to progress. If fears are beliefs and beliefs are based on perception, you can eliminate your fears by changing your perceptions.

Handling fear is a two-part process that requires you to:

1. Recall the origin of the specific fear with its every detail
2. Focus on increasing your knowledge and awareness through facts- not opinions.

The more successful the person, the less that person has a mindset of fears.  Therefore, get out of your comfort zone and surround yourself with people who will, by their nature, demand and support your transformation into the freedom of being at the wheel of your own destiny.

Rather than fear, focus and awareness will provide you the:

• Ability to recognize opportunities
• Ability to align with your purposes in life

Be fearless with your fears and take action today. It is a process that requires commitment and courage, but well worth the effort.

Was this helpful? More thought provoking entries are on the way.

Written by: Jason T. Hull

What do Drug Dealers and Firefighters have in common? And, how can it improve my business?

You may be asking yourself- if firefighters are heroes and good guys, and drug dealers are villains and bad guys, what could they possibly have in common? A lot.

Firefighters and drug dealers share the following 15 traits. They:

1. Set and achieve targets
2. Have a sense of urgency and purpose that is greater than a single person
3. Understand that the consequences of failure are massive
4. Use communication effectively
5. Apply current and relevant information to make quick decisions
6. Have an ability to redirect a course of action with rapid speed
7. Are highly disciplined
8. Understand that excuses have no value
9. Are very well organized
10. Understand loyalty
11. Have contingency plans for the unforeseen
12. Are well trained
13. Are vigilant
14. Are solution finders
15. Have an ability to innovate and implement new technologies and methods

While there is a long list of differences between drug dealers and firefighters, I summed it up to the top three:

• Firefighters are dedicated to preserving life
• Dealers destroy life
• Firefighters reunite families
• Dealers divide families
• Firefighters gain loyalty through follow through and admiration
• Dealers gain loyalty through fear and intimidation

Do you and your business have these 15 traits for success? How can you apply this information to improve your business?

Did you find this interesting? More to come, as we break this down.

Written by: Jason T. Hull

If you want to cause an accident, tell someone to “be careful”.

"CAREFUL!!! Don't fall into that fountain."

It is a word quickly ushered to others with little consideration. Who are the most common recipients? Kids. Often, it just seems to be the best phrase to use when you want to encourage concentration and focus. We have good intentions, but the results are not promising. 

We’ve all heard it, and we’ve all said it.

• Hand a child a glass of milk followed by, “careful”
• Translated: “I am worried you will spill this milk and break this glass.”
• Tell a child who gets on a bike, “Have fun… be careful”
• Translated: “If you fall, it will hurt and bad things will likely result.”
• Say goodbye to a loved-one and say, “Have a good drive, be careful”
• Translated: "You might get into an accident."

And the list goes on and on. The actual result of our intention to spread safety and caution by saying, “Careful…” is that we are planting seeds of fear. The emotion of fear harnesses debilitating power. It removes enjoyment. It robs of curiosity. It strips creativity. It kills motivation and enthusiasm.

• The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Definition of careful: Giving attention or thought to what you are doing so that you avoid hurting yourself, damaging something or doing something wrong.

• The Oxford Dictionary Definition of fear: Be afraid of (someone or something) as likely to be dangerous, painful, or threatening.

The seeds of fear are doubt, indecision, anxiety, depression, ill health, broken relationships. Once it has time to germinate, it becomes well rooted into the psyche of that person.

Have the most successful and influential people in our society operated and based their decisions on fear? Did Thomas Edison tell himself to be careful each time he created his next invention? Does Chris Sharma begin each difficult climb with a mindset of “be careful”? No! They possess focus and awareness. They are always looking and always evaluating hazards and opportunities. They are realizing solutions.

So, here’s the challenge… count how many times over the next 21 days that you speak and hear the words “be careful”. Each time you speak these words, stop and restate the message, until eventually you no longer utter the words, “be careful”. Pay close attention to the reactions of others, as you have now empowered them.

Here are a few other empowering words that will produce better results:

• Be aware
• Focus
• Look
• Be alert

Have fun with this. And, “be careful”- as you might discover game-changing results.

Was this interesting? More to come on overcoming and eliminating fears. Stay tuned.

written by: Jason Hull

A weekend of new experiences!

Hi everyone! This is Spenser Robinson at Balanced Edge! I had a lot of fun this weekend in Joshua Tree with a group of students from Valley Christian High School (VCHS) in Bellflower, and their teacher, Jeff Westrup. Jeff, the founder and director of the Wilderness Challenge, offers this unique opportunity each year for his students to focus on outdoor skills and leadership.

I was invited to join the Wilderness Challenge group in Joshua Tree by Jeff and Jason Hull, co-founder of Balanced Edge and the co-architect of the Wilderness Challenge. Jeff and Jason have been friends for quite some time and have worked together for twenty years to develop the Wilderness Challenge for students to experience something new and exciting outside of the classroom. These two constantly push each other to raise the bar and create experiences for others to learn and grow. As a result, there are a lot of core purposes and values that align between Balanced Edge and the Wilderness Challenge. Being with them over the weekend was a great opportunity to experience this synergy first-hand. 

While I do not have a lot of camping experience, this was a great way to become oriented and push myself to learn more.  After pitching my tent, I joined the group, excited to experience the challenges ahead of us.  

The first group did the rock climbing challenge and some students learned how to belay climbers. The second group was a cave exploration challenge. I was with the climbing group and was delighted to be able to encourage the students to reach new heights. It was truly rewarding for me to share my knowledge of climbing and provide them ideas on how to get to the top of the climb.

There were a lot of ability levels with the climbers and it was fun to see how everyone took in the weekend with open arms. Each student accepted tasks with ready minds and pushed themselves. They often surprised themselves with their accomplishments.

Bright and early the next morning, the students split into groups again to explore the caves and climb. We also led a small group on a breathtaking hike through the high desert. 




I had an amazing time this weekend and I want to thank Jeff Westrup, Jason Hull, Nathan Board, Dan Barcroft, Bernie Drake, and the students of VCHS. I knew what it meant to push myself to the next highest level, but it was refreshing to do so once again in a completely new way.

Knowing your team at a new level

Do you really know who you work with? The game has changed.

As an executive or business owner, we are always looking for:

• Hidden assets
• Overlooked opportunities
• Underperforming activities
• Undervalued relationships

Surprisingly, these observations are rarely discovered within our own team- the managers and employees who power the ship.  Knowing and understanding the core traits of each person and identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your team will:

• Create a heightened and lasting environment of trust
• Allow you to allocate resources and personnel with greater awareness
• Allow you to tap into the hidden assets and potential that each person possesses
• Provide your team with greater control and empowerment
• Transform a group of individuals who are top performers into a team of top performers

Written assessments and personality tests can be great, but they are easily dismissed and ignored. Employers who try to discover these traits on their own run the risk of costly surprises, avoidable delays, and the decay of corporate culture. The opportunity costs and opportunities lost can be high.

Are you ready to disrupt the normal and implement change to reach the next level, whereby heightened communication, real honesty, and clarity of goals is normal?

Balanced Edge has pioneered the Ultimate Assessment- a process that combines multiple assessments with a team experience that gets to the essence of each person- and your team. The results are undeniable and lasting. It’s kind of like a team MRI without the radiation. 

Learn more. Contact us today. 

www.BalancedEdge.com