We broadcast these Arenas LIVE for one main reason:

Let you watch.

There’s oodles of wisdom and insight unpacked every month on these calls, and even though, as a viewer, you don’t have the same opportunity to bring your own challenges and goals into the call, you might find your questions answered by other’s participation.

You’ll also get a taste for what it’s like to Engage the Field and work each month on unlocking your Most Immediate Constraint, ever increasing the chance that you get everything you want in life.

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The goal?

Let you watch.

There’s oodles of wisdom and insight unpacked every month on these calls, and even though, as a viewer, you don’t have the same opportunity to bring your own challenges and goals into the call, you might find your questions answered by other’s participation.

You’ll also get a taste for what it’s like to Engage the Field and work each month on unlocking your Most Immediate Constraint, ever increasing the chance that you get everything you want in life.

The Recording for this Arena call, from September 25th 2024, is available below for TGA+ and Arena members:

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Those who are in The Arena get to attend and share the process they are going through learning and applying concepts and ideas to their life, to increase the likelihood of getting what they want.

For all things Arena, Intelligence, and Learning, we recommend starting here:

During our Arena Calls, we have our members step into breakout rooms to share a 6WU and discuss the context of their update and their situation (a "Case in Point").

While they are in their breakout rooms, we often have a side discussion.

Soon (possibly this month), The Arena will be streamed live for all to see - and you’ll be able to watch in on these conversations as we have them.

On the recent call,

While everyone was in breakout rooms, Randy, Nic, and Joseph hung out and discussed the reason we love 6 Word Updates, as well as dynamics between Preparation and the Paradox of Authority.

You can enjoy that conversation here:

The rest of the call remains private for Arena Members Only.

If you're wondering what The Arena is all about, or how you can use the action-taking, implementing framework we apply with our members in real time,

You may find our Engage the Field Handbook¹ to be enlightening.

Ready To Step Into The Arena?

Get on the Waitlist: engagethefield.com

Be Useful. Be Present. Love the Journey.

, CMO The Guardian Academy

• Engage in discussion with the author and TGA+ Community in the comments below - give us your 6WU and/or thoughts after reading. Together we make a rising tide that lifts all ships.

• Ready to apply your ideas to reality? You may find our Engage the Field Handbook a useful and effective resource.

• Get your hands on awesome unique swag and opportunities by sharing this article. We treat our ambassadors like royalty :)

Share

Those who are in The Arena get to attend and share the process they are going through learning and applying concepts and ideas to their life, to increase the likelihood of getting what they want.

For all things Arena, Intelligence, and Learning, we recommend starting here:

As we build out The Arena, we are moving closer to a model where our main Arena calls (like the one today) are broadcast live for some parts of the call. We want to share with everyone the clarity and understanding that can come from stepping into The Arena while also providing a private and safe space for our members to be open.

During our Arena Calls, we have our members step into breakout rooms to share a 6WU and discuss the context of their update and their situation (a "Case in Point").

On the recent call,

While everyone was in breakout rooms, Randy and Joseph hung out and discussed Moving Forward in Uncertainty.

You can enjoy that conversation here:

The rest of the call remains private for Arena Members Only.

If you liked what we talked about in that chat, you may enjoy this article:

If you're wondering what The Arena is all about, or how you might implement the action-taking, implementing framework we apply with our members in real time,

You may find our Engage the Field Handbook1 to be enlightening.

Ready To Step Into The Arena?

Get on the Waitlist: engagethefield.com

Be Useful. Be Present. Love the Journey.

Joseph Robertson, CMO The Guardian Academy

• Engage in discussion with the author and TGA+ Community in the comments below - give us your 6WU and/or thoughts after reading. Together we make a rising tide that lifts all ships.

• Ready to apply your ideas to reality? You may find our Engage the Field Handbook a useful and effective resource.

• Get your hands on awesome unique swag and opportunities by sharing this article. We treat our ambassadors like royalty :)

Share

The Champions Corner Live Session

With Champion Maker, Cornerman and all around great human, Dr. Jeff Spencer.

10am pacific.

Arena members get access to all Arena sessions

TGA+ members get access to select Champions Corner Sessions and replays.

Today, all TGA+ members are invited to join us live.

Remember, it’s Arena style. If you’re not sure what that means, tune in and you’ll get caught up real quick!

10am pacific, 1pm eastern

Link to join us live:

Read more

Don’t know what to do or what to focus on? Here’s a quick start guide on figuring out what to focus on.

Here’s the process/framework we use in the Arena:

1. Identify the most immediate constraint. Here’s a quick start guide for that.

2. Focus all resources (beyond maintaining the mundane) into removing that constraint.

3. Work on articulating the constraint and asking effective questions to get help. Here’s a quick start guide for asking effective questions.

Sometimes, the most immediate constrain is not obvious or there is nothing more you can do at any given time. If that’s the case we recommend four “Force Multiplier” prompts.

They are things anyone can do at any time that will benefit them in many ways. Below are the four core “force multiplier” prompts inside the Arena.

The Arena “Force Multiplier” Prompts

Refer to the Engaging The Field handbook or Arena members area to learn more about how to use these prompts.

• Free digital summary & overview

• Physical copy of the full handbook

Note. Prompt #1 Resource Engineering has a training and a place to submit homework for additional trainings and bonuses.

1. Introduction To Prompts:

2. Prompt #1 Resource Engineering

3. Prompt #2 DALA

4. Prompt #3 Via Negativa

5. Prompt #4 The Rearview Mirror

Ready To Step Into The Arena?

Get on the Waitlist: engagethefield.com

Live to learn. Give to earn.

Nic & The Guardian Academy

What’s inside this one?

A look at the power of understanding “force multipliers” and why we tend to miss them entirely.

From afar, people often wonder how others get so much done.

Up close, people often wonder why the same people aren’t doing more.

It seems contradictory.

It’s not.

The simplest way I can think to explain it is this: imagine you’re tasked with chopping down a giant tree. You have a choice:

• Option 1: An average sized hatchet; about 13 inches long and a little under 2 pounds or…

• Option 2: An average wood-cutting axe; about 34 inches and a little over 3 pounds.

If you choose option 1, you will do a lot more work.

If you choose option 2, you will make a lot more progress - you’ll get more done - in the same time period.

See the difference?

The axe gets more done than the hatchet. The hatchet gets more done than if you held the metal head in your hand and swung it at the tree.

The handle acts as a Force Multiplier.

Force Multiplier: A tool that amplifies effort to produce a greater output. The tool can be a technology, a skill, or a strategy.

A force multiplier results in either:

• The same output with less effort

• More output with the same effort or

• Exponentially more output with a little extra effort.

Engineering a greater output with the same input is engineering asymmetry. Some force multipliers are obvious. You hit a nail with more force with a hammer than you do with the same effort and your bare hand.

Some are less obvious (and way less sexy). For example, every couple of years I set aside an hour each morning to take typing classes.

Why?

Because if I can become a little more efficient at typing, it will multiply the amount of work I can get done sitting at computer for the rest of my life.

Opportunities for this multiplicative-type growth are everywhere, they aren't exciting and they’re hard to identify day to day.

First, we have to appreciate compounding returns. Many force multipliers appear to be linear on a short timeline. On a longer timeline, they compound to create outsized results.

Imagine an investor learns a new principle. If applied, this principle will increase his average performance by 5%. 5% on each trade he makes compounds to many millions of extra dollars. The principle is a force multiplier if applied consistently.

Then, we have to appreciate fundamentals.

The greatest force multipliers are the fundamentals. Basic, universal principles give us a slight edge in everything we do. we get a little more output out of every minute if we apply the basics. When things aren't going your way or you want greater results, go back to the basics.

Forget the complicated stuff.

Want better results in the gym? Drink more water and get better sleep. Until you can do that consistently, all the complicated stuff has diminished returns.

A new routine and a few supplements might give you a tiny, momentary boost. Proper hydration and sleep will improve the quality of your exercise, focus, and recovery. It will even make those fancy new supplements more effective.

Force multiplier.

Lastly, we must understand sequencing and our sense of urgency

Humans aren't great at either.

Sense of Urgency: mistaking what feels urgent for being high leverage or a top priority. Urgency hijacks our monkey minds and prevents us from seeing or creating leverage.

We want to get in better shape now, so we don't have time to fix our sleep. It's a process and we want a shortcut.

We have a pile of work on our desks now, we don't have time to learn how to type a little faster. (I take a typing program every year. An hour a day to make every other hour of my life on the computer more effective)

We need to chop down as many trees as possible today, can't waste time sharpening the axe.

A sense of urgency will have us swinging a dull axe and finger-pecking our way through the day. Those that take the time to sharpen the axe will lose a step today on us, and blow right past us tomorrow.

Sequencing is important. The next thing to do is the next right thing, not the thing that feels the most urgent. Sometimes they are the same thing, oftentimes they are not.

If you want to master many skills in your life, the first thing to master is the skill of mastery. By doing so, you will be able to master many more skills, at a much deeper level, much more efficiently.

It’s a force multiplier.

If you want to make better decisions in the future, the next skill to develop is the skill of making better decisions.

I'm guessing there is something you want to do at a high level. Whether it's chopping down trees, writing novels, getting in shape, or having a great relationship, there is always something. Whatever that thing is, a force multiplier is hiding in plain sight. It will amplify your future efforts and compound into outsized returns.

It may be worth taking a step back today to slingshot forward tomorrow.

Be intentional about the order in which you do things. Prioritize the force multipliers. Develop habits that allow those returns to compound over time.

Simplicity..

It’s another force multiplier.

The Ultimate Force Multiplier

Here at the Guardian Academy we define intelligence as “the ability to get what you want”. Anything that improve your ability to get what you want makes you more intelligent.

Which is why we built this publication and the Arena the way we did.

The ultimate Force Multiplier is developing skill that improve your ability to get what you want. So how do you do that?

First, you have to be able to identify where you’re at now and what it is the you want; where you want to be.

Then, you have to identify the most immediate constraint, the next “kink in the hose” that needs to fixed.

And then you need to develop the skill to remove that constraint.

And the only way to remove a constraint, in the real world, is to…

Step Into The Arena and Engage The Field

This months Arena is Wednesday at 11:30am pacific.

Next months Arena schedule:

• Second Monday of the month: MBD Arena with Laurel Portie

• Second Thursday of the month: TGA Arena with Dr. Jeff Spencer

• Last Wednesday of the month: THE ARENA

You can get on the waitlist to join the main Arena at engagethefield.com

If you’re not ready to step into the Arena you can still follow along and engage the field on your own or as a TGA+ member.

Here are some Force Multipliers to try

• The Engaging The Field Handbook.

  I believe this is the number one force multiplier. If you learn how to engage the field, it will amplify everything you do in the future.

• Force Multiplier Prompts.

  Not sure what to do or what to focus on? Any of these exercises will act as a force multiplier.

• Resources Engineer/Recapture & Reallocate.

  Recapture and reallocate is a staple. We’ve changed the name to Resource Engineering, the Arena prompts and trainings will have a heavier focus on the resources that are not money (time, bandwidth, energy, etc).

• Part 1: What To Focus On Next.

  Not sure how to figure out what to focus on next? This short series might help. Part 2 and 3 can be found on the page linked.

Partner Highlight Of The Month:

What else is there to say about TGA Cornerman Dr. Jeff Spencer?

This is one of the most heartbreaking and simultaneously heart warming presentations I’ve ever seen. The story of his daughters adoption goes far beyond the adoption itself, it’s a masterclass in…

• The key to becoming supernatural. How to stand above our natural tendencies of bitching, sniveling and whining.

• Leaving space for a Miracle. Why more detailed plans fail to deliver on the promise and the important of holding space for the unknown.

• Staying in the game. The strategy for staying in the game while waiting for investments in the future to pay off.

You can listen to or watch the whole whole thing here.

Hope to see you in the Arena soon. If not, that’s okay. You can engage the field on your own, with another community or right here in the comments below.

See you on the other side

live to learn. give to earn.

Nic & The Guardian Academy.

PS. If you found this helpful or interesting, please feel free to forward it on to someone who might benefit.

Dr. Jeff Spencer has had a major influence on the Arena structure. The Arena structure was built around his observation(s) helping extraordinary people reach the pinnacle(s) of their field(s).

Below is an excerpt from the forthcoming “Engaging The Field” Handbook.

The Phases of Engaging The Field

Reaching Your “Full Potential” 

There are three phases of Engaging The Field. While all the rules of engaging the field apply the same, the phases look different. To lay the foundation for this, we’re turning to two legendary mentors, Dr. Jeff Spencer and Randy Massengale. They use different frameworks to explain the same general principle. 

Dr. Jeff Spencer’s Three Potentials

The Three Potentials come from Dr. Jeff Spencer, Champion Maker and The Guardian Academy's Cornerman. According to Jeff there are three potentials. 

1. Known Potential: This is what can be observed, tested and measured. Height, weight, speed, IQ, etc. Reaching your known potential can be done with hard work and a little bit of focus

2. Unknown Potential: Unknown potential is an emergent property. You won’t be able to tap into it with more work or longer hours. It is something that is already inside of you, dormant. Unknown potential is awakened through exposure, proximity and receptivity:    

• Exposure to people, places and things that tease it out of you

• Proximity to those people, places and things.

• Receptivity, because it’s not going to be something taught directly to you. Sometimes it’s overhearing a conversation between two people that awakens your unknown potential - and they don’t even know you heard it. Sometimes it’s just seeing how a group of people interacts.

 When you do the work to reach your known potential and get the exposure and proximity to awaken your unknown potential the result is:

3. Full Potential: Exponential growth, impact and progress. Full potential is also an emergent property, it emerges when your known potential and unknown potential are reached simultaneously. 

Randy Massengale’s “Purpose” Framework

Years ago, Randy Massengale first introduced his process of finding purpose. Randy has been studying extraordinary leaders for decades and what he found was that their purpose emerged from what he calls “intensity” which emerged from frequency. Purpose emerges from intensity. Intensity emerges from frequency.

Frequency → Intensity →Purpose 

which, inverted, looks like this:

Purpose ←Intensity ←Frequency

Intensity, in this framework or context, is the unique stamp that you put on your work. It’s breaking the rules in only the ways you can break the rules because of your unique disposition and skillset.  Have you ever seen a movie and immediately known who the director was without seeing the credits? Or read a passage from a book and could immediately discern the author because of the language, style, grammar, etc? _That’s intensity._

Again, Intensity is the distinction created by breaking the rules in ways that only you can break them because you are you. In order to break the rules, you first have to master them.

The Three Step Process.

1. Frequency. Do the work. Engage the Field. It’s the whole “wax on, wax off” thing. Write thousands of pages by hand, build hundreds of funnels or spreadsheets. Whatever the work in front of you is - do it at a frequency that alarms other people.

2. Intensity. As you do the work, you’ll find shortcuts, loopholes and styles that work for you and only you. Lean into that intensity

3. Purpose. If you’re able to maintain the frequency - but with your unique style - purpose emerges. It’s not a flash of inspiration - which is fleeting - it’s an earned purpose.

And what happens if we marry the two frameworks together?

Known potential is found through frequency, doing the work consistently.

Unknown potential is awakened through intensity, exposure, and proximity.

Your Full Potential (Purpose) emerges when you find your Known Potential (Frequency) and awaken your Unknown Potential (Intensity). You can also use the process above to keep and maintain momentum. 

Have you done the reps and feel like working harder is not delivering on the promise? Move up the ladder and engage the field on the intensity level. Done the work and put your unique stamp on it, already? It’s time to focus on engaging the field by getting in the right rooms with the right people. 

Not sure that you’re playing at your full potential or clear on your purpose? That’s okay, just go back to engaging the field on the intensity level. In other words, just get back to being you. Not sure who you are any more? That’s okay (happens all the time) just go back to engaging the field at the frequency phase and your intensity will emerge.

You won’t find it by looking harder or in more places. It must emerge from Engaging The Field.  

Ready to Engage The Field?

Thursday, Jun 13th 10am pacific

See you there. (Comment access and the link to join us live tomorrow are below.)

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Here’s what’s going on today.

THE LAUREL CORNER LIVE (Monday at 10am pacific)

Have you been engaging the field? Want to hang with me, Laurel, The Success Circle and Laurel Portie? Here’s who is invited to join us live the second Monday of every month:

• The Arena members. That includes LOL, The Success Circle and Guardians

• Letter subscribers

• Man Bites Dog paid subscribers (The link to join is below the paywall just below this)

• This month, TGA+ subscribers are welcome to join as well. (The link to do so will be just below the paywall)

Jump into the Laurel Corner in the navigation menu and brush up on her advertising ecosystem if you want to be prepared. You’re also welcome to just come hang.

Monday the 10th
10am pacific

Hope to see you there

If not, that’s okay. Like all Arena sessions, the more people that engage in the Arena the more benefits they unlock… for themselves and for everyone else.

Dr. Jeff Spencer will be joining us for the Cornerman Live on Thursday at 10am pacific, so get your questions in before then if you want them answered.

Link to join is below

Subscribe now

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1. I did this. Share what you tried. The Arena is not a “consume more information” program, it’s an implementation structure to engage the field, to turn “book smarts” into “street smarts”.

2. Here’s what happened. Share the results; the data, the observation(s), and anything else relevant.

3. Solve or share. Ask for help given the above (solve) or share your takeaway, strategy or insights just to be helpful to others in the Arena.

In other words, to get the most out of the Arena you have to be doing or working on something - actively engaging the field. And while you’re definitely doing something every day, sometimes it can be difficult to figure out what to bring into the table (or in this case, into The Arena).

Here are some prompts we think will be helpful to you, whether you’re participating in the Arena or not…

PROMPTS

Not sure what to ask in the Arena? Or what to be thinking about while watching the Arena or working on your own stuff on your own time?

These are the themes that came up from the private TGA+ event earlier this month along with some resources. Read, watch, or listen. They are short, sweet and may very well kick your brain into gear.

1. VIA NEGATIVA

Addition by subtraction. Instead of thinking “I need to exercise more” think “I need to sit less”. Generally speaking, sitting less is an easier thing to solve for than exercising more.

Prompt: what are you trying to do more of (exercise more, eat more healthy food, practice more restraint) that could be reframed into doing less of something (sitting less, eating less junk food, making fewer impulsive decisions).

Here is clip and exercise from this month’s event

2. THE REARVIEW MIRROR

You’ll be surprised at how many things “worked” for you in the past that you haven’t done again or consistently because it's not new or exciting or because someone else told you to stop doing it.

Prompt: What are you trying to accomplish? What has worked before? Have you done it again? If not, test it again.

Sometimes the next step step it something you’ve already done - just have to peak in the rearview mirror. The article below also has a video embedded with an exercise from the event:

3. RAISING THE FLOOR

Still trying to better than your best?

We’ve had dozens of people come forward over the last few weeks sharing how raising the floor has helped them make more progress than they’ve ever made trying to do “better than their best”.

Prompt: Instead of pushing harder on my best days, are there ways that I can have better worst days?

A few of them will be sharing the how and the what live on the Arena call. Here’s an article that can act as a prompt for you while also giving you the context to understand the Arena discussion(s).

4. THE THREE LISTS

Ever since we shared the three lists, TGA+, Arena Members and Guardians have been sharing all of the things that have been popping up in the “morning inbox”. For many, it’s unlocked dormant and previously unknown potential.

Even though it’s last on this list, I would consider starting here and then using the “Three Lists” and the morning inbox to process the others. But… you do you.

Also, we just added a new video from the last event to the article below.

What To Do Next.

Whether you’re joining us in the Arena, taking this journey on your own, or anything in between, here’s what we recommend…

ENGAGE THE FIELD.

If one of the prompts above resonates with you, don’t just nod your head in agreement… make a commitment to take a tiny action related to it. If you have a breakthrough, get stuck or just want to share, we’d love to hear about it in the comments below or in the Arena, live!

See you on the other side

Live to learn. Give to earn.

Guardian Academy.

PS. If you’re not on the waitlist, you can learn more about The Arena and get on the list here. You will keep your spot until you request to be removed.

• Most Popular Posts can be seen by clicking here.

• Social Media: Check our our new Instagram for aesthetically pleasing stuff and exclusive video clips. Twitter (Or X) for more frequent updates and insights.

• Forthcoming Event and Experience Dates can be found by clicking here. Nothing compares to being in the right room with the right people. It doesn’t have to be our room with us - just get yourself in proximity to the right people, places and things for you.

When you realize you're running a race you don't want to be in, you have to make the choice.

Chris Forrest made that choice.

I want to share some of his story with you today.

If you find yourself in a similar position, you can know there is a way through. You can know that, the path you may end up taking is probably very different than you realize. And you can know that, when you take steps into uncertainty, and you have that fear and feeling of wondering how the hell it's going to all work out ...

That you are ok.

It's supposed to be this way.

And when you slow down to acknowledge that, you may just realize, you're no longer running a race you don't want to be in.

Chris's story starts off like so many.

He went hard and fast, he worked his ass off, he pushed, he applied force at every turn, he ground ground ground.

Sure he had a little burnout here, and a little fearful struggle there - but he was in it.

And then Covid hit.

"I had a gym. It got really really big, really really quick."

Because of local laws surrounding the Pandemic, Chris's situation was exacerbated greatly.

"I was gone, 16-18 hours a day, just to try to keep the gym open, for like 2 years."

Eventually the dynamic became too challenging for their customers, and over time their customer base dwindled to the point where the gym had to be closed.

Necessity then drove him online.

The dynamic now was one of speed. One of great fast short term need.

"I knew I had to get money really quickly. One to pay out the debts for the gym and two, to support the family. It was like October 2021 and I had to get money for Christmas. So I went into the online world and online coaching and health and fitness very quickly and very fast."

I would wager that every Entrepreneur reading this has been in that space, in one way or another. Where you have a driving need, and you feel like with vision and application of force and speed you can achieve what it is that you need and want.

But the harder you grasp, the more things slip from your fingers.

The beginning of Chris's online coaching experience would look like a great success to many people.

"I went into the online world and online coaching and health and fitness very quickly and very fast. I found a mentor. And it was higher ticket coaching and I put the word out that I was doing it. I signed 30 people in four days.

It was really cool, Yeah. I get to support the family and everything, but I would never do that again. It was just so hard. What happened was that speed become like that dopamine hit. And I kept chasing it."

This is the flaw inherent in comparing your journey to others. You don't see what is happening behind the scenes. You don't see how the outward result doesn't necessarily serve what it is the "successful" person needs or even wants in life.

In addition to the coaching, Chris had also taken on a part time sales job in order to maintain the level of consistency his family needed from him.

"I kept chasing these massive highs, like big sales and all that kind of stuff. And then also it took a sales job just to support both needs. And that was 14 calls a day. It was the same sort of thing. It was very pushy, very hard. I think I only lasted 12 weeks before I burnt out on it."

Burnout is the story.

Driving hard fast and with force lead Chris to burn out.

"It was still just like that whole thing, force. I was just forcing it, trying to push it really, really hard. I started just not enjoying the coaching anymore. So I started taking calls away, started taking things away."

And it was by perhaps sheer fortune that, in a state of burnout, knowing - with the clarity from his Wife - that he was pushing himself beyond any reasonable measure and that what he was doing was not sustainable ...

Chris discovered Bumpers.

"My wife actually kind of called me out. She goes, you can't keep going like this huge push and this massive collapse.

It was the Bumpers book. And then raising the floor. It was like something clicked. Like it's sort of the stuff you kind of know it. But the way he said it, I was like, that makes so much more sense. And it feels way more enjoyable."

This was the inflection point.

The point where Chris realized he was running a race he didn't want to be in. That he hated what he had built. That he had to make different choices if he wanted to not just be happy and support his family sustainably, but also to hopefully live a life of purpose and fulfillment while doing so.

He dug into Bumpers and followed lessons from there. Going through the fundamentals we teach in TGA - slowing down and shifting to raise the floor instead of constantly chasing higher highs.

And within this he found himself wondering ...

What would this all look like, if it was fun?

And that's when The Arena1 showed up.

As Chris put it,

The Arena ended up being just the obvious next step for him at the time. He had burnt out many times, he had hit a wall, he had discovered new understanding and a possibility of a new way of doing things ...

All that left him was the doing. Taking the next step by Engaging the Field2 with this new understanding and these new questions.

"I think I wanted to be in a community doing this philosophy pretty much. So being part of that world... The Arena was just like the next logical step where I could have a place and accountability to come in and practice to unlock the next steps.

The idea of just playing in The Arena ... I was like, it's just such a cool concept in the way it works ... The Arena is where if I come in and share, I don't know what the next step is, this is probably going to tell me, this is probably what you need to do."

One of the notable aspects of Chris's experience with The Arena,

Is that he has yet to stand up live and be one of the people sharing actively. Contributing to this challenge is that he lives on the opposite side of the world.

However, Chris has found just being in The Arena to be immensely valuable, and he has taken the initiative with himself (as we all must do anyway), to apply lessons unlocked and learned on the live calls with others.

Shortly after the first Arena call, Chris went through our Recapture & Reallocate3 exercise.

"The recapture and reallocate tools for us first and figured out... She does really well with her job... So the recapture and reallocate was for time and money at that time. And it turned out like, if we had to, like the bare bones, we could make it through. It was only $200 a week, which is bizarre. When we looked, we didn't see it. And we looked at it and it was like, there's this stuff we're just spending, which is stupid. So recapture and reallocate was amazing just for the family side of things."

As Chris explained it, when he stopped doing the sales calls and the coaching, they were worried about making enough money to survive. The recapture & reallocate exercise actually showed them that the gap between where they were and where they needed to be was not only a lot smaller than they thought, but it was achievable by dropping expenses they didn't need to have.

And then he did for his business.

"Then I did it for my online business stuff. And I found like 10 grand on software that I had in case I would use it. And I hadn't used it for ages, like the whole thing. So I said to Kat and I'm like, ah, I just found 10 grand annually in my business. She just sort of tilted her head and looked at me. So [that was] another $800 a month."

Prior to this exercise, they thought they were going to have to do something significant in order to make ends meet. But not only did they figure out they needed a lot less than they thought, they also had all the money they needed sitting right in front of them already.

This is why Engaging YOUR Field is so important.

Chris's engagement with the Recapture & Reallocate process is such a great example, because it wasn't just money he got out of it.

Yes he recaptured $10k annually for his business, and the figured out how to make their short term finances work *without* having to push and burn out again.

But more importantly,

This exercise helped Chris find the clarity and space necessary to finally hear himself and what matters most to him.

"Recapture and allocate time, like how much time do I want to spend and putting those bumpers in place? And what it's going to look like. So I can support Theo, my son through his, to make it better, his autism or autistic journey, like the stuff he's got to learn and creating space for it.

All that come about where it's led me to what I want to do. And it's like literally helping parents creating that space, becoming space builders with a financial space, recapture and allocate tools, and then side hustles to get more income if they need it."

This is why we need to slow down. To step into our own Arena.

Because it's that presence with ourselves in our personal Arena which shows us what is most important.

"The idea that Arena playbook of where you come in, share what you did, what are you working on? And this can unlock the next tool that in itself is amazing. If you've got a big group of people, it makes it individual, which is really hard to do and make people feel like their path is unique to their own, which it should be."

Each of our paths is unique. The Arena, for Chris, has provided the ability for him to discover his own unique path in life.

As we were talking about unique paths and how Chris has found himself doing something now completely different than he has done before, he recounted a line someone had told him in the past and the new meaning that has taken on.

"Someone was saying to me, this is my thing. I tended to just wanted to go on tours all the time. I wanted to follow everyone else's path because it worked for them. And like, the analogy I got told to myself, this guy told me, so you go on these tours, and you come home and you forget it, like you don't get anything out of it.

And what you really want is an adventure. You want the next thing to knock over the next obstacle, the next tree that's in your way, the machete to knock it through. That's what you want."

We trick ourselves into thinking that success and getting what we want in life is by following the paths which have been laid by other people who show that "success" we think we want.

But the truth is, life IS the obstacles.

Life IS walking your own path, whatever it may be.

The happiness and success we can find in ourselves is going on that adventure. It's loving the process of discovery rather than the end result that we have in the past chased.

And often that presents itself as watching other people, and then thinking that we're now finally going to be doing the right thing if we just follow their path.

More than anything for Chris, the driver into The Arena has been a shift 'from thinking to becoming' - to embrace the uncomfortable uncertainty to reveal what is necessary to keep going and living the life he really wants to be living.

"I love learning, but I wasn't taking action... getting in The Arena, literally, and doing the actual work instead of just absorbing the info was a big driver for wanting to join.

I just want to put myself in areas where other people are doing really awesome things... but also just put myself into uncomfortable situations, which are meant to be that way, where I've got to do the work. I've got to come share what I did so I can get next steps."

Now?

Chris's experience with life and work is completely different. Where he used to push and force and drive and chase dopamine and ride highs and burn out and really hate the things he was building,

He has found calmness, and clarity. He has found joy again in what he is doing. He has found a way he can live with purpose and intent in his life.

"There is uncertainty in the product I want to build, but I know what I want it to look like. It just came to me yesterday, which is creating space for parents whether that's health, wealth, that kind of stuff. I had a really hard time of like, how am I going to market that? But, Recapture & Reallocate lead into R3, which has lead me into Stealth Influence.

So, you go play in The Arena. Get proof of whatever it is. I'd had this idea [for a long time] of a podcast ... I just wanted to have conversations, I didn't give too hoots what it was about. I just wanted to talk to people because that's what I like.

To have interesting conversations and see where it leads. But I sat on that idea for a long time. I got this idea from my son - every dinner time without fail, 'mum, dad, I'd like to have a conversation.' And we'd go off on the weirdest tangents you can think of.

Now ... I don't know what I want to coach people on ... but I love holding space for people and letting them work through and solve their problems and the topics are always varied. That's really hard to market."

Like many of us, Chris had an idea that he wanted to do for a long time, but couldn't figure out how to make it happen. How could it be a business if he couldn't figure out how to grow and market it like a business?

The Arena provided an answer.

"Kind of using Stealth Influence ... I asked myself how can I ... stealthily ... get into people's worlds and they can feel the tone and the presence of what holding space with me would feel like?

So I had to get proof. If I hold space for other people in conversations, will people start coming to me because I'm doing it anyway?

Something I wasn't doing before - if I didn't get a sales call (if a scheduled call didn't show up), I'd be like 'oh well' and go watch tv. Just the wrong energy.

So this year it's been about, what are the times I want to do this and hold space? And then just show up and hold space, even if someone is there or not."

That's the whole point of The Arena, of Engaging the Field. It's about embracing the process of discovery in things which can only be discovered by putting them into action.

We often either forget that, or don't ever realize that we can't just mimic someone else and hope we discover the happiness we desire.

We've got to slow down and discover it within ourselves.

Would Chris have ever found this gift and interest and skill of holding space for people if he didn't slow down, listen to himself, and then try it out?

"With the podcast I launched ... I'm going on 4 weeks now so it's only new. The conversations have been super varied - parenting, autism, the depression and alcoholism I went through, that kind of stuff, other people coming on for interviews.

Already people are coming to me to ask questions, asking to come on the podcast and share and hold space with me, and share their stories and their struggles and what they are working on, and I haven't even done the next step (which is marketing/advertising).

This is FUN, I'm really enjoying it. I play over 35 soccer, and these are all Aussie, stoic, beer drinking dudes. They don't have that emotional conversation, we never do. I come in on the weekend before a game and they are all like 'we just listened to your last 3 episodes and they are awesome. It's stuff that no one talks about.'"

Now Chris is slowly, step by step, publishing this podcast and holding space for men who have otherwise not had the space to have this kinds of conversations.

What will that lead to?

But more to the point ...

Could he possibly have pre-engineered this outcome? Because when we look at other people who've had successful podcasts and businesses built around them, it's easy to look backward and think "oh that's how you build a business with a podcast step by step."

But the truth is, all of that for Chris is only possible if he takes each step at a time, tries out each idea in HIS Arena.

No more force.

No more burnout.

He nurtures the process of growing himself and literally making space for the things which matter most to him and his life,

And what he needs and wants is slowly naturally coming to him from that very process.

Is this how YOUR journey in The Arena will look?

Certainly not exactly. Each of our adventures is unique. Each of our paths is unique and can only be uncovered by our own footsteps through it.

But if you do slow down, and step into The Arena, you will find a joy in embracing that uncertainty, because on the other side of that uncertainty is a discovery within yourself and your life which could only be possible by taking that action.

Thats The Man in The Arena - the one who realizes what matters is his path and his steps. Not what others will tell him he can/should/might be. Not how others may paint a picture of success or failure. Only his Arena. Only his path.

If you're ready to walk your own path in The Arena,

First, join the waitlist here: https://guardianacademy.io/arena

The next live Arena is May 30th. We will open the doors to join - for those on the waitlist - for 24 hours only a few days before the call.

And then, if you'd like to check out Chris Forrest's new podcast and the work he is evolving from Engaging the Field in his Arena, follow Chris over here on Substack.4

This article is designed for people who’ve joined The Arena - for those who haven’t it will give you a taste of what you can expect.

NOTE: The Next Arena is scheduled for May 30th. We will open the cart to join The Arena a few days before, for 24 hours only (get on the waitlist so you don’t miss the window). The only way to receive the link to be able to join is to be on the waitlist. We will also have limited spots opening up.

Join the waitlist here: https://guardianacademy.io/arena

Consider this article to be an ongoing updating resource for How to Prepare for Your Next Arena Call

What you get out of The Arena depends on how you show up in The Arena. It’s up to you to show up and say “I tried this and that happened.”

So, here’s how you can do that …

For your quick reference, here are all the sections in this article:

The Arena Structure

How to Ask Effective Questions

But, What if I Look Dumb?

On Observation vs Solution

On What to Work On

Sources to Reference

Ideas to Explore and Implement

Examples of People Doing Stuff (In The Arena)

Ready to Join? Here's What You Need to Know

In addition to the content in this article, also be sure to review the following:

The Arena Structure

The Arena is NOT a class. Many of us have been exposed to the kind of "coaching" or "mastermind" where you show up and a bunch of stuff is taught to you.

This is not about more information.

This is about action. And more specifically it's about showing up with action you've already taken.

Our basic format, which we ask everyone to show up with (those who wish to work on their stuff live and get help) is this:

1) You'll present the idea you're working with, and ideally the source you got the idea from.

Example: I read Raise the Floor in TGA and now I'm thinking about how I can Raise the Floor in my freelance business

2) Heres how I implemented that idea In the Field

Example: To raise the floor this month, instead of trying to get a new client, I went to my oldest client and added on another component to our project

3) Here's what happened

Example: Adding that component to the retainer increased my retainer with that client by 20% and ultimately had almost no impact on my time spent

4) Ask or Share

Example: I'd like to reliably continue raising the floor and hopefully surpass my best month. What are some other ways I can raise the floor?

How to Ask Effective Questions

We want to do our best to ask Effective Questions in The Arena so that we can get Effective Answers and move closer to what we desire.

The less effective we are in our questions, the more difficult it is to move forward with clarity.

We have a fantastic resource in learning how to ask effective questions (and answer them!) in The Adaptive Dilemma: Part 1 Language and Self Efficacy.

For the full picture, I highly recommend reading that article.

Here's the short(er) version.

Precision:

You want both your questions and your answers to be precise. What are you really meaning to ask? and Are you really answering the question being asked?

If we're clear and honest with ourselves, the questions we often ask aren't really the questions we want answered.

For example, we might ask "Is Facebook Advertising good?" When the most precise question we could ask, which we want/need the answer to is "can I sell my product using paid advertising on Facebook?"

Imagine how many different ways "is Facebook Advertising good?" could possibly be answered. Not a good question.

Then when it comes to answers, you also want to be precise. If someone asks you "Is Facebook Advertising Good?" How would you answer? Can you even answer an imprecise question, precisely?

The answer we often start with, when people ask a question, is "It Depends." Because most people ask imprecise questions.

That's ok. We just want to be aware of what we are asking, and what we are answering.

Colloquial Speech:

You also want to be aware of colloquial speech patterns and self efficacy.

Here's a quote from the above article which explains this well:

“Oreos make me fat.”

This implies that a sleeve of Oreos snuck into your apartment and tied you down while you were asleep and then forced themselves down your throat against your will.

That’s probably not what happened.

Contrast the above statement with:

“I don’t have very good self control around Oreos, I can’t eat just one or two of them. So, it’s best for me not to keep them around the house”

In other words, be aware of the words you are using and what they really mean. Think literally, as that will help you drill down to greater precision and clarity.

Valid vs. Useful

The final frame which is very helpful in learning how to ask more effective questions is Validity vs Usefulness.

This often comes up when answering questions or responding to someone - am I being truly useful in the entire context of what's going on, or am I just making a valid statement?

You can ask yourself this of your questions.

Am I seeking validity?

Or am I seeking usefulness?

A question that seeks usefulness is well constructed to get a specific answer that will lead to clarity in your next step.

Example.

"Is it a good idea for me to run Facebook ads for my business?"

That is not a useful question. The context and answer are highly subjective. You are seeking a yes or a no so that you can have a burden of determining certainty OFF your shoulders.

"How can I determine if Facebook Ads are a good idea for my business?"

THAT is a much more useful question, because it can lead to specific answers and actions that can be made, which can ultimately answer the question FOR YOU.

So just ask yourself,

Am I seeking usefulness? Or am I seeking validity?

But, What if I Look Dumb?

Its not an uncommon feeling. To feel like whatever question you have is too simple, too obvious, too plain, too boring.

Understand,

You are not alone.

There are MANY people who will have the same question you do. They will have the question with regard to their own challenges. They will have different ideas of what the question is and can mean and what the answer can be.

By asking the question, you will look like the smartest person in the room to those people who also had that and similar questions in their mind.

They wanted to ask that question but were afraid to - maybe they didn't fully know how to articulate it, or felt like they would be judged by it.

Give those people the gift of the question being asked, of being able to go second.

On Observation vs Solution

Observing your thoughts and ideas with the intention of not solving the question is an important practice.

When we talk about learning in this cycle:

Consume

Reflect

Engage

Reflect

Repeat

-

Reflect is the point where you think about what you consumed or did, where you observe questions that you have, experiences that you had, what came from those experiences, etc.

So I encourage you to think about getting good at observation, and letting those observations sit.

This will open up greater levels of possibility in what you can get out of this process, because it's not about the outcome ...

Its about the dang process.

For example, you might decide that you're interested to figure out what impact Dopamine is having on your life. Like I did, which you can read about in The Real Cost of Dopamine.

You can approach the entire learning process like this:

Consume - you read my Dopamine article, or watched videos from Huberman (like I did), or heard about it being discussed elsewhere.

Reflect - I wonder how much Dopamine is impacting my day to day? I have noticed that I interrupt myself while working frequently to fiddle with my phone.

Engage - I'm going to remove all easy dopamine outlets from my periphery during working hours for the next week and see what happens.

Reflect - in logging my work, I have noticed that I ended up writing more

Notice how it's all observation. Observation initially based on the new idea. Then observation of what occurred from Engaging the Field.

Get good at observing outside of any outcome you expect. For example, in my own Dopamine experiments, one thing I observed which I didn't think about at the beginning, was how hard we snapped back on Dopamine after cutting it out completely.

That observation led to different approaches in ultimate outcome, as I continued experimenting, Engaging the Field more and more as I learned.

I share all this because,

You may feel like you need to get a specific outcome from this process, from The Arena.

The Observation is enough.

If you can bring your observations, both of your initial ideas, and of the action you took, to The Arena, we can help you progress with clarity and certainty.

On What to Work On

Entering The Arena requires that you Engage the Field with your ideas/challenges/questions

You may have joined The Arena knowing, believing, or just feeling like you ought to be working on something.

So.

Let's make the best use of your time and energy for growth and figure out what that something is.

First, what's the point of all this?

Ideally to learn and to grow.

We talk about learning as same situation different behavior. That is, you re-enter a situation and exhibit different behavior than you did before - you learned something.

Example: You walk up to a hot burner, put your hand on the stove, and burn your hand. Next time you walk up to the hot burner ... if you put your hand on the stove again, you learned nothing.

Learning is a process of Engaging the Field - of putting our hand on the burner - so that we can have the opportunity to change our behavior.

You can't change your behavior if you don't Engage the Field. You can't learn. You can't grow.

So,

What do you want to change?

That's the big question.

Do you want to make more money than you are now?

Do you want to lose weight?

Do you want to be happier?

Do you want to stop having foot pain?

Do you want to be able to sit on the floor and get up with ease?

Do you want to cook more impressive meals?

Find the big overarching broad thing you want to change that has driven you here - you probably know what it is - and then ...

Ask yourself questions about that.

Why do you want to make more money? What does more money even mean? What is more to you? is there a specific number? What happens when you have that more money?

Keep asking. Dig down to the root of the thing you think more money is going to get you.

Your digging might not take too long.

I want to cook more impressive meals, because I love tasty food and sharing experiences with the people I love through food, so I just want to have the joy of doing that more frequently with ease.

And then

Ask yourself - What do you think you need or can do in order to start doing that?

Maybe you, to make more money, I think “I need to start a business.” To start a business, maybe I think I can sell a service to someone specific. To sell that service to them, I'm going to have to have a conversation with them.

To cook more impressive meals, I'm going to have to cook more, but I'm also going to have to prepare more in the kitchen. To do that I'm going to need to plan around types of meals, make sure I have everything I need to make the meal ... and then cook it. So next week I'm going to do one fancy meal and plan it the whole way through.

The Action Point

At a certain point, you will find yourself up against fence, a wall, a junction point. A place where you are saying something like "well, I think I should or I want to do this thing because if I do this thing then xyz will happen."

I think I want to have a situation with my business where all I need to do is send an email every day and make all my money through a daily email. (Example pulled from my personal experience)

Well, if I'm not already emailing every day, and I'm not already making money from offers I can put in those emails ...

I better start trying to email every day.

What happens if I don't like it? What happens if I can't do it? What happens if I can't make money that way?

Until you do something, you don't know that you can do the thing, and you don't know how that thing is going to work out for you.

That's why we always come back to Engaging the Field.

Once you start doing things - Engaging the Field - you start having a million and one other questions.

Those questions reveal new paths.

"I've been emailing every day for 4 months and I feel like I can keep doing that forever - I've figured out how to have endless entertaining emails every day - but my list is not growing well, I think I need to figure out how to make my list grow more."

You see how that reveals new paths. Now we look at all the options for growing a list. And we say "let's try that out."

So,

Find the thing you want to change.

Find the thing that you think you can, need to, or should do to move forward.

Then just do that thing.

That's really all you need to do in order to prepare for The Arena,

We've got your back.

You come to the calls, and you say

"Hey I wanted to change this thing. I thought this would be a good idea so I did it. Here's what happened."

That may sound simple.

But you will be blown away by what happens when you start doing.

Sources to Reference

Here are a few sources you can reference.

Obviously we have the full library here on The Guardian Academy

For marketing you can dig through Man Bites Dog

For fitness you can dig through Commandment One

Books we have referenced and recommended over time (will update):

Bumpers

What's in it for Them?

Never Split the Difference

The Master Key of Wisdom (via The Gray Wolf)

Super Duper Profitable Ads

Ideas to Explore and Implement

Slow Down

Raise the Floor

Dopamine Without Effort Will Destroy a Person

Clarity

Certainty

Collapsing Time

From Form to Function: How to Think Your Way to Clarity

Bumpers

The Path to Playing Your Own Game Starts Here

The System for Getting What You Want in Life

The Solvable Problem For Life

(And anything else in our Library)

These are all philosophical and principle based ideas which The Guardian Academy is built on.

They are all ideas which can be implemented into YOUR unique domain and situation.

They are all ideas which you can use to grow.

Examples of People Doing Stuff

I'd like to pull some examples from recent arenas of participants who showed up effectively, so you can use their action as inspiration for your own participation.

From David Higdon, Arena #1 --

The resource he referenced - Bumpers and DALA

Here's what he did - After watching a DALA video, he got focused and tried to apply Bumpers to his life

Here's what happened - He discovered a challenge in scheduling his needs and interests (through the lens of Bumpers) and how that impacts his health

Solve or Share - He asked for help in how to resolve that and move forward

From Sean Anthony, Arena #1 -

The resource he referenced - In discussion with Nic, while trying to figure out a solution to a front end problem he was seeing, was introduced to Substack

Here's what he did - He created a Substack (Email Rainmaker) as a front end, low ticket option, utilizing a library of content he's made over the past few years, sent it out to his current list

Here's what happened - Close to 400 people initially joined

Solve or Share - Now he's trying to figure out what type of content the Substack should ultimately focus on so he can end up working with the people he really wants to work with.

From Kris Bradley, Arena #1 -

The resource - After a conversation, realized in her business, she had slipped into flash sales on the front end, short term thinking, and that she may be better served giving away more at the beginning

Here's what she did - Went through her catalogue of information and videos to pull out a ton of useful stuff she'd always kept behind a paywall

Here's what happened - She's currently in the process of executing on a publishing plan to put the free stuff out there

Solve or Share - (this was a share)

From Dave Montore, Arena #1 -

The resource - The Commandments, and Function over Form, alongside the idea that he may not be around when his kids are older, to pass on what he knows

Here's what he did - He started recording videos, talking to his kids, adding in Life Lens Progression from Dr Jeff to help them understand what they might expect in life

Here's what happened - This has led him to Fathering with More Intention

Solve or Share - Mostly a share, but he's also feeling disorganized about what he's working through, knows engaging the field is the way to go, opened the door for people with ideas to help him structure and move forward with more intent

You can watch these conversations and more in Arena #1 on the post below. It's a great way to orient and get familiar with what the conversations are like, and how you might show up in The Arena for yourself.

Ready to Join? Here's what you need to know

Each month, we open the cart to join The Arena approximate 1 week before The Arena call.

When we open the cart to join, it will only be open for 24 hours.

There will also be limited spots.

The only way to receive the link to join The Arena is to be on The Waitlist.

You can join the waitlist here.

After joining The Arena, there will also be a private live orientation call, where we will walk you through what The Arena is like, what you can expect, and how you can prepare for your calls to get the most out of the program.

We recommend reviewing this article as well:

The Arena:

The Arena is designed as an additional structure to engage the field. Arena members and Guardians are invited to the zoom and in-person events to actively engage the field.

Learn about engaging the field here.

Get on The Arena Waitlist here.

The Arena is streamed live for free. Select replays and all resources will be available for TGA+ members. All recordings, resources and premium resources are available in the Arena members area. How they get unlocked is explain in the first few minutes of Arena #1.

Arena #1
Replay and Resource List:

Video:

Audio:

Read more

Future Guardian,

On Monday, we shared the first glimpse into “The Arena” and the important actively engaging the field with some structure and intent. Before engaging the field, you’ll want to make sure you do the following, first:

1. Read this article on Engaging The Field

2. Read this article on preparing for the Arena

3. Watch the recording of the Engaging The Field workshop from Monday.

That will give you the necessary context for rest of this post.

The Arena, Initial Thoughts:

Immediately after the workshop wrapped up, we asked what attendees thought of the workshop and the private Arena session that followed. You can see the rest of the conversation here.

An Invitation to Step Into The Area:

How To “Engage The Field”

*IMPORTANT* In and around the Guardian Academy there are multiple opportunities to upgrade to higher tiers. However, it’s important that you know that you can absolutely engage the field and work the entire process without paying for something if finances are an issue. There are benefits to the paid programs (structure, access, accountability, exposure, proximity, community, etc), but do not let anyone tell you that you HAVE to spend money to engage the field. You can work the process on your own with the resources available to you.

Here are some ways to engage the field within our structure. Feel free to apply outside of our structure.

FREE:
(Note: Ambassadors can get basic subscribers access for free)

1. Consume:

   1. Free articles, videos, ebooks and podcasts

   2. Conversations with people around you

2. Reflect

   1. Journal

   2. 6 Word Updates

   3. Use the unofficial Facebook group, instagram or Twitter

   4. Form study groups with friends and peers

3. Engage

   1. Do the damn thing (or at least start doing it)

4. Reflect

   1. Journal

   2. 6 Word Updates

   3. Use the unofficial Facebook group, instagram or Twitter

   4. Form study groups with friends and peers

BASIC SUBSCRIBER:

1. Consume:

   1. Free articles, videos, ebooks and podcasts

   2. Conversations with people around you

   3. Paid articles, videos, ebooks and podcasts

   4. Premium courses and workshops

   5. Direct mail packages (yes, we send paid subscribers direct mail content sometimes)

2. Reflect

   1. Journal

   2. 6 Word Updates

   3. Use the unofficial Facebook group, instagram or Twitter

   4. Form study groups with friends and peers

   5. Use the comments section in substack

   6. Form study groups within the paid members group

3. Engage

   1. Do the damn thing (or at least start doing it)

4. Reflect

   1. Journal

   2. 6 Word Updates

   3. Use the unofficial Facebook group, instagram or Twitter

   4. Form study groups with friends and peers

   5. Use the comments section in substack

   6. Form study groups within the paid members group

   7. Join the live workshops when invited

Basic subscribers that are engaging the field consistently will get random invites to join the Arena, live. If we see someone implementing, sharing, and engaging with others, we may reach out to them inviting them to a session in the Arena.

GUARDIANS

1. Consume:

   1. Free articles, videos, ebooks and podcasts

   2. Conversations with people around you

   3. Paid articles, videos, ebooks and podcasts

   4. Premium courses and workshops

   5. Direct mail packages (yes, we send paid subscribers direct mail content sometimes)

   6. Live event content and presentation

   7. Direct mail packages

2. Reflect

   1. Journal

   2. 6 Word Updates

   3. Use the unofficial Facebook group, instagram or Twitter

   4. Form study groups with friends and peers

   5. Use the comments section in substack

   6. Form study groups within the paid members group

   7. Reflect on Guardian calls Monday

3. Engage

   1. Do the damn thing (or at least start doing it)

   2. Implement/engage with in person help at events

4. Reflect

   1. Journal

   2. 6 Word Updates

   3. Use the unofficial Facebook group, instagram or Twitter

   4. Form study groups with friends and peers

   5. Use the comments section in substack

   6. Form study groups within the paid members group

   7. Join the live workshops when invited

   8. Reflect on Guardian calls Monday

   9. Engage in the Guardian Academy Arena

As you can see, the basic steps are the same. If you don’t have access to the tier you want to have access to, yet, that’s okay. You can still work the process until you have the resources to get to where you want to be.

Building The Skill

Engaging the field is a skill to develop. Start where you’re at. You’ll more out of the process as you build up to Level 3. The skill levels are as follows:

Level 1: “What should I do?”

If you come to the arena and ask “what should I do?” you’re probably still learning the skill of engaging the field. The answer to “what should I do?” is: engage the field and then come back with data. Which leads to a Level 2 skillset.

Level 2: “I did this, here’s what happened”

When you come into the Arena having taken a small step and gotten data, you’re at a level 2. Level 2 means that you have evidence that you are engaging the field and you have data Level 1 participants don’t: real data personal to you and your situation.

Once you engage the field at this level, you can start to make progress in leaps and bounds utilizing the process.

Level 3: “Look at the unique way I applied this”

When you come into the Arena showing how you applied a principle to your unique situation, you have overcome functional . fixedness and developed the ability to carry principles across domains and situations.

This means that you can consistently achieve outsized/extraordinary results, become a market of one and stay ahead of the rest of your industry.

“Look at the unique way I applied this” is innovation - the ability to create what does not exist the way you are doing/using it.

Laurel Portie and Dan John are great examples.

Laurel took Guardian Academy principles and has become ones of the most well known coaches in her industry by applying them to paid advertising and combining them with her unique skill (video).

Why do we talk about Laurel and promote her stuff all the time? Because she reached Level 3.

Dan John has been around much longer than we have. But he consistently shows us how he was been using different language to explain the same thing in fitness and performance. Sometimes, he tells us when he adopts our language, instead. Either way, it’s an example of…

“Look at the unique way I applied this”

Why do we talk about Dan and promote his stuff all the time? Because he reached Level 3.

(The B-Message here is that if we identify Level 3 Arena members, we will probably want to talk about you and promote your stuff)

Engage. The. Damn. Field.

It doesn’t matter what level you’re at right now.

If you’re level 1, the feedback will likely be a list of resources to help you get started and a suggestion to go do something.

If you’re level 2, the feedback will likely be a high five and then some suggestions on the next step(s).

If you’re level 3, the feedback will likely be super custom and unique. Once you’ve developed the ability to re-invent something, the possibilities become endless and we will do anything we can to help - and we can justify the time because becoming level 3 is PROOF that you have actually done the work.

There is no judgement. You are where you are. The only way to change it, is to step into the Arena and engage reality.

Engage reality however you want.

If you choose to do it within our structure(s), we are here to help.

Live to learn. Give to Earn.
Guardian Academy.

More on The Arena:

“What is the Arena?” - Interview:

• Video Here (YouTube)

• Audio Here (Spotify)

Update 1: Shortly after this article was published, a member provided a perfect example of engaging the field in a powerful and meaningful way. You can see it here.

Update 2: The Waitlist For The Arena Is Live Here. Invites will be sent in the order you get on the waitlist.

UPDATE: ARENA MEMBERS, IF YOU’RE STUCK USE THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW TO GET UNSTUCK

• Most Popular Posts can be seen by clicking here.

• Social Media: Check our our new Instagram for aesthetically pleasing stuff and exclusive video clips. Twitter (Or X) for more frequent updates and insights.

• Forthcoming Event and Experience Dates can be found by clicking here. Nothing compares to being in the right room with the right people. It doesn’t have to be our room with us - just get yourself in proximity to the right people, places and things for you.

• Our “Out Of Print” Business Development Books and Letters are available by clicking here for paid subs. A lot of marketers try and resell this stuff, just get it here. The pre-req or “Starter/Self Stay Guide” to understand marketing and sales through the lens of TGA principles can be found right here.

  Engage The Field. Stay Ahead of the Curve. Enter Your Best Email Below:

GET READY TO GET WEIRD!!!

I mean

GET READY TO TAP INTO THE METAPHYSICAL ESSENCE THAT MAKES YOU UNIQUE!!!

I mean

GET READY FOR THE GREATEST SINGLE THING YOU CAN DO TO GET EVERYTHING YOU WANT IN LIFE!!!

I mean

GET READY FOR A SPECTACLE OF WONDERS, A PANORAMA OF POSSIBILITY, AS WE UNVEIL THE SECRETS TO UNLOCKING AN ABUNDANCE OF SUCCESS AND SATISFACTION HERETOFORE UNIMAGINED!!!!

But for real,

You're gonna see us hype this concept up everywhere.

It's because it's true, and everyone of us who now "gets it" has had monumental shifts in personal growth, business growth, health, etc ... whatever you are trying to "do."

But

THE IRONY

If you can call it irony ...

Is that there's no real way for you to 'get this' without accepting the words we say and then just "doing the thing."

Yea

There's no possibly way I can convince you past the intellectual understanding of it's potential value.

It's a real chicken and egg type situation. Before you "get it" you've got to implement with faith in yourself.

No matter how much I hope you "get it", really there's nothing I can do beyond the words I'm about to share.

So actually this works pretty well as a litmus test.

Either you get this and do the thing, or you probably won't really get anything else out of TGA nor change your life nor get what you really want.

YIKES!

Who let THIS guy out of the box to write??

He's all comin in here being like "if you don't do this YOUR GONNA DIE!" That's my favorite (read: sarcasm) marketing framework. If you don't do this you'll forever fail.

It's great. Really makes people feel good and helps them get what they want. (again, read: sarcasm)

Here's the thing,

What we're about to share IS ACTUALLY FUN, and ITS ACTUALLY SIMPLE.

You might find it scary sometimes.

Because doing new and different things is scary. And being completely real with not just yourself but others can be scary. But it's not complicated. And you probably already do it for a lot of things.

So, to help you out today

We're gonna try to make this as WEIRD and as FUN as possible so you can enjoy THIS moment and hopefully see what we're talking about.

READY?

Since the subject is in the title, I'm not going to tease this out a bunch more.

It's time to ENGAGE THE FIELD!

And what does Engage The Field mean?

Well,

It means to uh...

Go Engage The Field.

THAT'S IT FOLKS!

Thanks, and see you in the next one!

Oh, I suppose that wasn't very helpful was it.

Ok let's figure this out for real.

But,

Before we actually get into "Engaging the Field" ...

We need a little context.

Let's start with "what the hell are we even doing here?"

I mean right here right now.

Why am I writing this article and why are you reading it?

I can't put words in your mouth ...

But I suspect you have a desire to get something in life. That's a frequent theme 'round these 'ere parts. Get what you want in life.

It's general because the principles and philosophies we follow are not solely owned to a particular realm. We have a lot of entrepreneurs who read and we speak about business quite a bit because many of the people in our circles fit those interests.

Also, one of the most common interests is "how the hell do I get more money?"

But you may also be interested in "how the hell do I get rid of this tire around my midsection?" Or "how do I have a relationship with someone I really actually love who really actually loves me?"

And many variations therein.

We're not here to tell you what to do. But what we can do is help you behave in a way which increases the likelihood of you getting the result you desire.

So,

Context. What the hell are we even doing here?

Hopefully trying to increase the likelihood of getting what we want in life. And we're doing that by learning. We're learning so that we can grow.

How do I know we all need to grow?

Well ... if you, right now, are exactly who you need to be to have what you want in life, then you would be having it. Since you don't have it, that means something different needs to be in order for you to have it.

That something comes from growth. Change. A difference from where you are now to where you want to be.

(Also if you ascribe to similar ideals as we do in TGA, you’ll realize that life is growth)

You still with me?

Quick recap - we're here to get what we want in life by growing and changing (ideally becoming more ourselves as we do so).

That requires gaining intelligence.1

Our definition of intelligence is "the ability to get what you want." So if you are more capable of getting what you want, intelligence has increased.

You learn in order to gain intelligence right?

Sure,

But,

Wait hold on.

You know,

We probably should be wearing togas and drinking wine while we go over all this.

Don't you think?

Ok back to it:

What is learning?

Our definition of learning is "same situation, different behavior."

In other words, if you are standing before a hot stove, and you put your hand on the hot stove, and you burn your hand, and then you stand before the hot stove again, and you put your hand on the hot stove again, and burn your hand again,

You clearly haven't learned shit.

But if you stand again before the hot stove, and you DON'T put your hand on it because you know you're gonna burn your hand << look, you learned something.

Same situation, different behavior.

That is learning. It is also growth.

Ok

I have a story to share,

But before I do that, I want to give you one more framework to consider.

In TGA we talk about Open Loops and Multi Loop Learning.2

Let me bring this all together for you:

Learning is "same situation, different behavior." You gain intelligence by learning. What do you need to do in order to exemplify different behavior in a situation so that you have learned?

(hint ... get in that situation and do behavior stuff)

Here's the loop ...

1. Consume (this is reading/watching/etc)

2. Reflect (think deeply on what you have learned, 6WU, etc - critically, do NOT close loops, leave questions unanswered)

3. ENGAGE (go out into the real context and enact your new behavior)

4. Reflect (now that you’ve engaged the field, journal again, consider your original challenge, consider new questions and then repeat the process - different person, different river)

That is learning.

MOST people stop at consume and think they've learned. Oh I watched Laurel Portié's video on creating power content, now I know how to create power content.

NOPE. You haven't learned squat yet.

SOME people stop at reflect. They watch the power content video, and then they write notes, reflect, plan what they would do. And they think they have learned how to create power content.

NOPE. You still haven't learned a darn thing.

Because you can't understand what it really means for yourself and your own person until you do the full behavior in the context of it being done ...

THAT MEANS, for power content specifically, you don't just make power content, you make it in the context of your ads strategy, publish it, spend money to run ads to it, talk to people who comment/respond, reflect on what's happened because of all the things you've done.

And then you take that experience and you loop it back to the beginning.

ONLY THEN have you learned. Even if you didn't get a good result. It doesn't matter. The outcome does not matter.

Only THE PROCESS matters.

And that part of the process which is most important for learning?

ENGAGING THE FIELD.

Are you starting to see it?

Why we're like "THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING EVER AHHHHHHHHHH"

It's because if you take Engage out of there,

No one learns a damn thing.

No one's behavior changes.

No one grows.

We just all turn into mulch.

Womp Womp.

OK, now I want to show you WHY Engaging The Field is so powerful.

Are you ready?

Heh.

You have no idea what's about to come to you. And that's ok.

Let me tell you a little story.

This comes from The Guardian Academy Event in March of 2024.

We had the distinct privilege of the Presence of Dr Jeff Spencer.3

I use presence in every sense of the word.

Dr Jeff is the kind of person we call A Cornerman.

Because he's lived enough of life, experienced enough, done enough to be able to see around the corners (little tidbit, because of the cycles of life, you can't be a real Cornerman if you haven't lived at least 70 years - but more on that later).

Dr Jeff understands the value of being fully and truly present in the moment.

He knows the value of the gifts he brings to the world and the value of sharing those gifts in a room full of present and receptive people, like those of us in The Guardian Academy.

He shows up. And he gives of himself. Completely.

(Personally I am forever grateful for that gift and I hope you have the chance to meet him one day)

He began our event with a call to be present, and to be teammates (more on this idea another time), that no one wins alone.

Then,

He let us know that we are all here NOW to Engage The Field.

A concept we could somewhat grasp at first,

But critically, we were told to just let that sit. Let it sit as an open loop. To percolate. To mingle with the rest of the thoughts and experience of the day.

And then,

Whether it be knownst or unknownst to those in the room,

As we sat with it, we experienced it.

We experienced it throughout that first day, and into the evening as we all sat around the fire together, discussed life, energy, and giants.

Day 2

Dr. Jeff brings a new perspective to us in "the field."

Those who have stepped into The Arena will be able to watch a reply of this and get the full in depth Dr Jeff version.

Which is important.

I'm going to give you a shorted explanation.

We are essentially made up of vibrating energies. All of us. Every one of our cells is held together by vibrating energy. And when we, our own unique selves, come into the moment, into presence, into the actual space, INTO THE FIELD ... our own unique vibrations come into play.

They interact with the world around us, with other people. We receive back vibrations. And we learn and understand *a lot* that is not conscious because of this.

Be aware that your authentic self matters.

If you are showing up trying to be someone else then there will be a disconnect between your personal vibrational energy and the energy you are attempting to put out there.

But that's another conversation for a different time.

What matters,

Is that when you yourself show up in the field your specific vibrational energy makes all the difference in the world.

We all know the tangible energetic difference between seeing people in person and seeing them on Zoom right?

Consider a zoom meeting - there's a ton of energy and behavior which is different simply because the thing you are actually interacting with is a camera and a screen, not other people.

Say, for example, you're sitting in a group in person and you look around wondering ... gee, can I get away with picking my nose? I don't think I can. I'm not gonna do that.

But, if you're on ZOOM ... you can just turn off your camera and pick your nose.

You're not gonna let a fart loose in a room full of people if you can handle it.

On zoom though?

Y'all could be fartin away at will and no one would know.

We behave differently.

We show up differently.

We feel differently - both of other people and within ourselves ...

When we Engage The Field.

Let's go further with another story from the weekend.

After The Guardian Academy Event over the weekend, we had Laurel Portié's4 Super Duper Awesome Ads event the following 2 days. A handful of those who attended TGA also attended Laurel's event and got many first hand experiences of Engaging The Field with TGA concepts.

But the story I want to share is actually from a guest speaker.

On the afternoon of our second day, we were visited by Vince Reed5, who shared with us his unique experiences in selling.

Now,

I can't tell you everything he told us. A lot of what he told us I don't think he's shared anywhere outside of his business before.

But what I can share is a story he does tell quite a bit.

For context, Vince Reed sells a unique video hosting platform called Eboov.6

He tells the story of first starting off selling this saas program. The story of how he lost $150k in 30 days, and then gained millions from his mistake.

When they launched Eboov, Vince did what most people do in launching a product like this. He hired a sales team and then worked his ass off getting as many people in front of that sales team as possible.

He quickly noticed that some of his sales team performed a lot better than others. This is nothing new. He also quickly discovered that MOST sales were coming from one sales person. Also nothing new.

Sales were going really well.

But, about 1 month in, they discovered a significant problem.

They noticed two things at once.

The first was that most of the people who bought from that one sales person never used the product ...

And the second was that nearly all of the people he sold to were starting to refund.

They figured out that one sales person wasn't even really selling the product, he just pushed people into buying encouraging them to refund within the first 30 days if they didn't like it (and since they didn't know what it was, didn't really want it, and didn't use it, they refunded).

Vince fired the sales team, and incurred a huge amount of loss. In his story he explains $150k of ad spend on all that, but there was significantly more loss involved as well.

Down to the wire,

Vince was forced into one position.

He had to do all the selling.

He was good at it. Really good. He closed 40-50% of his calls. The problem is it wasn't scalable or sustainable. He figured he'd train people on his team to do the calls. They did fine, but at best 20-30% close.

He continued pushing, and then he had a thought.

If he was so good at selling, why have anyone else do the pitch? He recorded his best pitch call, turned it into a video, and then had his team run a simple script into the video pitch.

Same result as him doing it live.

Fast forward, Vince is running a fast growing saas with a really impressive sales system. (I wish you’d been there to see it)

How do you think he did it?

He ...

Everyone all at once now,

ENGAGED THE FIELD

He brought his unique energy and person into the actual work, into the actual field, into the actual people who were buying.

He knew what he was selling best and with his unique individual person right in the midst of THE FIELD, he was able to figure out all the nuance, all the details, and because he himself was in the thick of it, he was able to figure out a selling process he *never* would have figured out otherwise.

Engaging the Field is putting yourself into the literal physical real context in which you are trying to enact your ideas and your principles.

If it sounds simple, it's because it is.

Not necessarily easy - we have to confront our fears and what is stopping us from being fully present in the space we need to be in. But it is simple.

Put yourself actively, with your behavior, into the context of what you are trying to accomplish.

Want to lose weight and think lifting weights is gonna help? Go lift some damn weights, consistently, for a month and see how you feel.

Want to get more sales for your coach/service/course/product business and think Laurel's program might do the trick?

Make the damn videos, follow the damn process, DO THE DAMN WORK ... because what you really need to know in order to have growth can only come from Engaging the Field.

Are you guilty of this?

If you "learn" something new … let's say at a Guardian Academy Event. Something which changes your perception. Something which you think is now very important to you ...

And you do NOT change your behavior because of it,

Then you are violating your own personal and economic principles.

If you say "wow, I really resonate with 'what is enough?' I think that's going to help me solve several problems" - and then you don't go and apply that concept, what the hell are you even doing?

If you do not put that thing into action,

You are being an asshole to yourself.

You are engaging in mental masturbation.

As the writer of this fine publication, I shouldn't be so harsh. I mean, probably many of you are going to enjoy reading and then not implement. Not Engage the Field. And really, that's your choice and that's ok.

In many ways, I'm writing to myself.

Because I'm 100% guilty of this. None of us are perfect. Take Laurel's Ad program for example. As a copywriter I've applied that to clients before and gotten great results.

But I've never fully applied the process to myself, while simultaneously acknowledging that's my best way to get conversations and sell what I'm selling.

This is stupid. DALA. I'm being a total a-hole to myself.

Yep, Calling my own self out in my own writing. If I can do it publicly like this, you can do it for yourself. Just,

Go Engage The Damn Field.

Are you READY?

This Substack, where we publish our knowledge, information, experiences - the writing, the videos - this is all …

1. Consume

And then if you take what you read here, you think about it, you write about it, you make a 6WU or two and share that ...

2. Reflect

You can reflect in the Unofficial TGA Facebook Page7 if you like. Paid subscribers get the added benefit of being able to reflect in the comments where we like to reflect back with you.

Do you see how that fits?

Free and Paid Substack are 1 and 2, Consume and Reflect.

If you want to learn, to change, to grow ?

You've got to Engage.

You can engage however makes the most sense for you and your situation. We’ve created a structure to help.

In comes…

The Arena.

We’ve created “The Arena”… where we take those who are READY to take action, and provide a useful structure for ENGAGING THE FIELD.

The Arena along with TGA Events are steps 3 and 4, Engage and Reflect Back.

Its this point where we go past simply taking in information and going into action. You already know everything you need to know, now it is time to DO.

The Arena will be presented primarily as ongoing live workshops where those who are in The Arena will get the opportunity to be on live calls with the TGA Team (including our favorite people like Dr Jeff Spencer and Laurel Portié) to go over the problem/challenge you are currently trying to Engage The Field with.

On these calls we are able to give you the unique guidance and direction necessary to solidify Certainty of your next actions.

Then, you will take what we suggest and ENGAGE THE DANG FIELD.

(Are you seeing the theme here?)

Those who Enter The Arena, and Fully Engage The Field will be supremely rewarded - not just by the intrinsic reward you will get through the action, but we're also gonna do some really cool stuff for those who follow through and do the work.

Everyone who is not in The Arena will be able to watch, as we will find ways to stream the sessions when appropriate or possible.

You don’t have to choose to participate in our Arena, but we do recommend you step into an arena and engage the field consistently. It’s the only way to learn.

The link to join us is in the Arena on Monday is at the bottom of this post.

• Most Popular Posts can be seen by clicking here.

• Social Media: Check our our new Instagram for aesthetically pleasing stuff and exclusive video clips. Twitter (Or X) for more frequent updates and insights.

• Forthcoming Event and Experience Dates can be found by clicking here. Nothing compares to being in the right room with the right people. It doesn’t have to be our room with us - just get yourself in proximity to the right people, places and things for you.

Recording of The Arena Workshop and Links To Step Into The Arena:

Read more