Frequently Asked Questions:
Why did you create the Master Plan and what is unique about it?
Ok here’s the thing about the Master Plan, I created it because I knew there was a way for people to be uber productive and purposful with out sacrificing their health to do it. I am out to tranform the way people are managed and how they manage themselves. You don’t need to be “under the gun” or operating in a state of emergency to get things done, in fact that ethos is counter productive over time. I believe the atmosphere of forced emergency wears people down and makes them sick. The Master Plan trains people to take care of themselves and to set up their enviroment in such a way that they are naturally more productive, creative and fulfilled. The main tenet of the Master Plan is that self care is an access to and required for sustainable high productivity. The Master Plan is about operating in the FLOW of work not in a PRESS.
What are your thoughts on Death and Dying?
As I say in some of my Speechless Speeches, here’s the gift of ALS ~ I have a yellow light on my road on life. Some people die in an instant with a Crash, Boom or Pow. There’s no warning its a shock and here’s no chance to communicate. Some people hang on and see a century or more…The thing about a diagnosis with no cure is you immediately stop doing what you don’t want to be doing and IF you are lucky you have a purpose to fulfill on with the remainder of your time ( so you don’t waste the time you have worrying about dying). I recommend people pretend like they have a yellow light for a moment and look at what they would change ie: what would you do now if you knew you only had 5 yrs, that you are not doing now?
What’s the biggest challenge of living with ALS?
The biggest challenge with ALS is the continual adjustments you have to make to new physical weaknesses and the corresponding grief you feel with each loss, you get caught up in the cycle of grief sometimes and this is why maintaining an empowered mindset is the #1 challenge of ALS and other NMD’s. To transend this grief which could prematurely bury you…that is the triumph of people like me, to have kept your spirits up over time and even to dare look to heal onself in the absence of any evidence that it can be done. This is what it looks like to be undaunted, unbreakable. This is possible. I am out to optimize my health in the face of ALS, I focus on that. I believe this attitude will either heal me or at least keep me alive for a cure.
Are you ever annoyed with people who seem to be completely distraught about trivial concerns?
Yes.
What would you say to them?
The evolved answer is to know that everyone is given what they can handle and in that case and from that space I could comfort and support them.
The knee jerk reaction (and perhaps more appropriate) is to say, “Get a bigger problem!”
How did you come up with the Speechless Speech?
Last February, I held a fundraiser for ALS research because I felt the need to DO SOMETHING! I had over 150 guests and we raised $32,000. I needed a way to address my guests at the event and a friend of mine, Anna Belyeav suggested using a power point and assisted me in creating the presentation. The effect of a silent “speech” was profound and moving. We made it light hearted and funny and it still brought people to tears. That was when we knew we had created something special. A few months later I was asked to “speak” at an event by the Story From a New Friend organization. That “Speechless Speech” is available to be viewed on this sight. Feedback from the event was overwhelming and I knew we had something that was unique and could make a difference. I knew I wouldn’t be doing another fundraising event on my own as it took way too much energy from me, but the I saw the possibility of reaching people through the “Speechless Speech” and using it as a fundraising tool for ALS research.
