These videos overview how businesses are seeking a Winning Edge in challenging economic times through powerful experiential learning techniques. Contact Grand Dynamics today to discover how we work with businesses to tap into the potential of their people. We offer dynamic programs and events across the country and the globe. We are headquartered in Jackson Hole, Wyoming with offices in the US in New York and California and strategic partners in Arizona, Ohio. Our international destinations include and Chiang Mai, Thailand and Mallorca, Spain to name just a couple. Our specialty is in delivering corporate retreats, team building events and leadership development programs through a variety of offerings. We bring synthesize adventure and learning and challenge participants to bring out their best. We also deliver unique challenge events in collaboration with strategic partners to create massive impact for charities world wide.
The book, Seeking True North, provides a powerful story of two characters who learn over 120 models, methods and tools offered in many of our programs. Enjoy the videos and please let us know what you think!
PART 1!
PART 2!
Part 3!
Thanks to our Hotel Partner for this program, Spring Creek Ranch and to the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where much of this program was filmed.
- Tim Walther and the Grand Dynamics team
]]>Step 1
Reflect on 2009:
Celebrate what was RIGHT in 2009:
Begin by reflecting on all the positive, beautiful, magical moments of 2009. Brainstorm all of the experiences, people, relationships, emotions, decisions and whatever else you feel was a positive element in your life. Writing down the 12 months, January through December, often facilitates memories of that time of year. Where were you? What were you focused on? Who were you with? Why were you doing what you ere doing? What positive decisions did you make? What are you proud of? The focus here is on feeling good about all the things that you are grateful for in the year 2009.
What did you learn in 2009?
What are some lessons that you might find useful in bringing forward into 2010 and beyond? What was challenging about 2009? What do you NOT want to experience moving forward?
Consider what you have learned and any insights that you might find useful for creating a positive future in 2010.
Step 2: Create Momentum with a “life-list”
Create a positive state of physiology in your body to prepare for creating momentum in 2010. Stand up, shake your body out, go for a quick run, breathe, smile, get excited and expect great things are to come your way.
Brainstorm a list of all the things in life that you would like to experience in your future – 2010 and beyond. These can be BIG dreams and Goals for ANY time in your life. Write down even the most improbable or outrageous things that you can imagine that would excite you about living life. Experiences, people, relationships, emotions, decisions and whatever else you feel was a will bring fulfillment to your life.
Step 3: PREPARE for 2010
Take your momentum list and add additional clarity for 2010 by reviewing your brainstorm life-list and circling all those things that you would like to accomplish or move toward in 2010. Choose what you want to be prepared for and determine your desired end results. Write out your clearly defined desired end results, including a date by which you will achieve them. Expect that you will achieve your desired end results which are full of purpose and meaning. What beliefs must you have in order to accomplish your results? Why are you seeking to achieve them? What will it mean to you if you achieve them? What will it mean to you if you don’t?
Step 3: PRACTICE in 2010
How will you PRACTICE in 2010? What are your resources to support your goals? What systems will you utilize? How will you challenge yourself to step into the Growth Zone? What actions will you take to move toward your goals? How will you monitor your progress? How will you seek feedback along the way? How might you focus on the process as you move toward your desired end results?
Step 4: PASSION in 2010
Decide to create passion in 2010 and get excited! Your world is ready to be created and the universe is conspiring to do you good! How will you embrace the moment and create happiness and meaning in 2010? What positive people will you surround yourself with? How will you learn from the meaning of each experience? How will you feed your body, mind and spirit with positive, healthy food? How will you embrace the process in 2010?
Final Thoughts: Complete your journaling exercise by writing down whatever inspires you to create momentum in 2010. Consider all the positive emotions that you want to experience and how you will maintain a positive state of being, no matter what external event comes your way. Choose to be the master of your internal being and enjoy the process on your pathway to Freedom, Beauty and Success!
Check it out, and then be prepared to get hooked on TED!
When you do, let me know what creates FLOW FOR YOU, will you?
]]>An unbelievable construction industry charity event we developed in collaboration with the Coins Foundation that involved teams of 4 climbing 3 North East Peaks (Whiteface in NY, Manadnock in NH and Mansfield in VT) all in 24 hours! Check it out!
The advanced Grand Dynamics multi-day open enrollment program focused on integrating the STN models, methods and tools and including leadership strategies, complex team adventures, neuropsychology, facilitation techniques and more! A few program highlights included a Native American Sweat Lodge and purification ceremony, Tyrolean traverse bridge building and Iron Chef cooking competition. Thanks to all who can out! Birget we can’t wait to be together soon in NY :o) A special shout out to the California contingency – Stephani and Holly – YOU ROCK!
This year marked 10 beautiful years with our partner, the Construction Financial Management Association. Two groups, each coprised of about 25 finance professionals in the construction industry – engaged in an experience of a life time with Grand Dynamics lead facilitators Rick Erickson and Tim Walther. More to come on this – and a special THANK-YOU to all who SHOWED-UP!!!!!
Not to mention – the Great Will Leggett has been rocking programs across the North East. From Catapult Building events and Collaborative GPS and facilitate managment advances – GREAT work willie!
I look forward to working and playing with you all soon!
Live your Adventure -
Tim
]]>WOW – am I excited! On Friday afternoon, September 25, 2009 we will be joined by my good friend and Investment Strategy Master Phil Town. Those of you in Jackson may know Phil or have seen him around town (ha, ha). But then again, maybe not because he has a wild travel schedule, speaking to 20,000 people at a time! (No kidding!) You might have heard about his NY Times # 1 Best Seller, Rule # 1. You probably haven’t heard about his new book, Payback Time. He told me that he had a 5 day window between Singapore and travel all over the US this fall, and he’s coming to Jackson to be with us! Why? Because he not only BELIEVES in the Seeking True North message, but has LIVED IT. Phil is an expert a knowing when to hold em, and when to fold em, so to speak. He puts on his pants just like we do, except when he does he makes gold records. (ha! Obscure More Cowbell joke)
Seriously, If you are going to be learning about financial success, why not go to an EXPERT?
I want you to learn all about investing in your most important assets while Seeking true North in your own life, regardless of whether or not you can make it to our seminar. So here is a post for you that has success strategies about your relationships, peer groups, and strategies that are cross contextual. Yes, this is all part of the Grand Dynamics strategy to offer our perspective and empower individuals, teams and organizations – whether that comes across in a dialogue, email or our team building events, seminars or speakers.
So get this, part of Seeking True North is about surrounding yourself with a peer group that raises your standards. One principle I have known to be true is that our lives are a direct reflection of the EXPECTATIONS of our peers. Do your peers truly raise you up? Do you raise to the expectations of those around you? Do your relationships serve you to evolve into your highest self? If your relationships do not serve you, consider the reframe of the relationship that empowers you to your highest self.
You may find this concept similar to the STN tool known as the Prax Factor, which in essence says that if you want more of a certain thing in your life, then seek out people that have those qualities! Want more happiness and laughter in your life? Then surround yourself with people that are happy and laugh a lot! What qualities might you want more of in your life? Who might be someone that has those qualities? The same principle applies for anything you want more of.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that we all would like to make smart investment decisions, whether that is investing your energy, your time or your money. Which leads me to another point, and that is that many success strategies are cross-contextual. This means that what you learn in one situation can be applied to another. Where have you already been successful in your life? What strategies have worked for you already? I can certainly vouch for this principle in my own life. The first thing that comes to mind for me is Rock Climbing. That’s another post, another story, but my point is that when I apply those concepts that have brought me success in the mountains, I immediately begin to experience results in other parts of my life. And as I continue to continue to seek out those people who have been VERY successful in many contexts, I begin to discover their patterns that I can apply in my life.
Yet another STN Principle is that SUCCESS LEAVES CLUES. If you want to achieve a certain thing, there is a pretty good chance that there is someone out there that has already achieved it. A personal motto I like to say a lot is that success is reserved for those that search it out! Thus the Seeking part of the True North equation! Who might be a role models who has already achieved or is currently achieving the success you with to have? Generate your own list and find out what they are doing! And don’t forget the implementation part of it. Choose the action and begin to MODEL their success. Develop your sensory acquity along the way and notice what it working. Learn, adapt and continue on with power and confidence. Soon the results will be coming your way.
I personally desire to continuously learn more about financial success. Phil Town has and continues to experience that. And What I love about Phil Town is that he started off, well, very similar to many of us in Jackson Hole who moved here to ski, climb or guide rivers. And he took a borrowed $1000 and 5 years later had turned it into a million. Now he is one of the most sought after speakers on investment anywhere.
I’ll spare you the details of his rags to riches story (which is awesome by the way) and skip to the present. Phil town will be at Spring Creek Ranch on Friday afternoon from about 3-5 PM sharing his Seeking True North story and success strategies for investing. Yes, Phil will be talking about investing. He’ll share secrets about how you can begin to capitalize on the current market, even if you have never traded a stock in your life. And for those that have, or do regularly, you’ll gain insight that could make all the difference. Yes, Phil will share secrets that could make you millions. And yes, the strategies that Phil will share will be concepts that you can APPLY to many aspects of your life. Remember, Success Strategies are cross-contextual!
Now you may or may not be a stock trader. You probably at the very least have a 401 K or an IRA or something of the sort. Maybe you do have a bunch of stock and maybe you have lost a lot of it. Here’s what Phil has to say about his new book, Payback Time. “PAYBACK TIME is about just that – how to get it back if you’ve lost it. If you’ve been following my advice you should be in pretty good shape and now starting to get back into the market. But millions are not. Most of these people are not people who are interested in investing, nor do they want to trade. They are buy and hold mutual fund investors. And they’ve been killed financially. Now all they are doing is praying the market will go back up. In a recent email exchange with Phil he told me this: ”This market is the opportunity of a lifetime for true north investors who understand the basics of great investing: buy only wonderful businesses. Buy them only when they are on sale. Knowing how much to pay for a business is all about knowing Payback Time.”
WAIT! What if I can’t make it to the ENTIRE Seeking True North Weekend?
Well, I want to make this presentation accessible for anyone interested. Of course, there is only so much room at Spring Creek, so we’ll have to cap the numbers, so if you are interested in attending this portion of the weekend, then contact us immediately at info@granddynamics.com to reserve your spot. However, I want to reinforce that this weekend is about immersion into the MANY success strategies that apply to our lives personally and professionally. The weekend is designed to take your life to new heights and to breakthrough anything in your way. I look forward to seeing you there. http://www.seekingtruenorth.com/a-personal-invitation/
Here are a few posts of Phil’s that I personally like. You might enjoy them:
About Phil Town: His story, information, links, etc:
http://www.philtown.com/phil_towns_blog/about-phil-town.html
Phil’s post about the MEANING of what you are investing in, and investing using your values to make decisions (awesome!)
http://www.philtown.com/phil_towns_blog/2009/08/rule-1-and-meaning-reap-what-you-sow.html
Phil’s post on what you do if you don’t have the money:
http://www.philtown.com/phil_towns_blog/2009/03/what-to-do-if-you-dont-have-the-money.html
Here’s a sweet video of Phil in Action:
Phil Town on CNBC from Phil Town on Vimeo.
I look forward to seeing you soon. Until then, LIVE YOUR ADVENTURE!
Tim
]]>In the words of Warren Buffet, there are only two rules. #1: Don’t lose money. # 2: Don’t forget Rule # 1!
On the journey of Seeking True North, we understand that success leaves clues and that our strategy for success can be made profoundly easier by modeling patterns from the success of others. I love this approach because, as Phil explains, our investment strategy begins with looking at the businesses you already love and are passionate about. Wouldn’t it be great to learn from a guy like Phil Town about how to master our finances?
]]>Notes on Happiness:
Happiness, Optimism, and Self Regard are all correlates of Self Actualization. Generally speaking…if you are high in Self Actualization…it generally boosts your level of Happiness and Optimism as well as your Self Regard. Think of Self Actualization as the “Silver Bullet” of Happiness. Self Actualization is about having a sense of vision, direction, purpose, & meaning in life, with a sense that one is a living a life that counts. “Human beings want to have meaning,” says Martin Seligman, University of Pennsylvania psychologist and director of the Positive Psychology Network. Additionally, Self actualization acts as the Silver Bullet for unlocking potential: Vision creates Passion for life…Passion Fuels Drive…Drive Unlocks Potential.
Seligman defines three categories of happiness. “The first is ‘the pleasant life’: the Goldie Hawn, Hollywood happiness–smiling, feeling good, being ebullient. The problem with the pleasant life is that not everyone can have it.” And that, he says, is a matter of genetic predisposition. Research on identical twins has shown that up to 50% of one’s degree of Happiness is genetic.
Maybe you are in the other 50%. But, says Seligman, “these people are capable of the second form of happiness: ‘the good life.’ It consists first in knowing what your strengths are and then recrafting your life to use them–in work, love, friendship, leisure, parenting. It’s about being absorbed, immersed, one with the music.”
Seligman calls his third and ultimate level “the meaningful life.” It consists, he says, “in identifying your signature strengths and then using them in the service of something you believe is bigger than you are.” And you don’t have to be conventionally happy to achieve it. “Churchill and Lincoln,” Seligman says, “were two profound depressives who dealt with it by having good and meaningful lives.”
The Most Powerful Number In The World
Notice Dr. Seligman’s previous emphasis on one, and doing something “bigger than you are”. This is the key to finding ultimate meaning in life. The Hebrew Word “echad” often translated as “one” means much more…it means “unity”, or “compound unity”. Applied to this discussion, it means:
1) Becoming one or living in unison with your true divine purpose…something bigger than your are…to become one with it…you have to find it…once you do, it will transform your life because it gives energy because you will be doing what you love…what you truly were meant to do, which means you will never have to work another day in your life!
2) Being one or living in unison with that purpose within yourself. To know it or say we know our purpose is one thing…but to live it is another. Living in unison with our purpose within ourselves means not being divided in one’s mind, or double minded…such as when we are conflicted over our true purpose, saying we stand for something, but living something else…remember…the power is in being single minded, not divided in our focus…living in unison with our true purpose…a laser like compound unity that brings all one’s being to focus on true purpose.
3) Being one with others in that you are living a life that counts by living a life in unison with your divine purpose by making a difference in the lives of others. Living with others not against others.
Purpose and meaning is a search for significance that we seek that will live past us…our true legacy…by the difference we make in the lives of others…one person at a time.
The Need for People
The two factors that may matter most are marriage and religious belief, Seligman says. “Married people are happier than any other configuration of people. And religious people are usually happier than nonreligious people.” Perhaps both of these represent the idea that none of us are islands unto ourselves, and the need we have to live in unity or harmony with others.
Don’t Worry—Be Happy
You can still beat the odds by lowering your stress level, says Dr. David Spiegel, director of Stanford’s Psychosocial Treatment Laboratory. “We did a study of metastatic-breast-cancer patients in which we measured diurnal levels of cortisol [a stress indicator],” Spiegel says. “The women who had the highest levels had survival rates a year and a half shorter than women with the lowest cortisol levels.”
Happiness isn’t so much a euphoric state of self-satisfaction as it is a full-time job. It can be practiced and mastered. Happy people are very good at managing emotion.
And what makes us happy? It is “the ability to practice appreciation or love,” says Baker. “That sounds sappy, but studies show that when people engage in appreciative activity, they are using more neocortical, prefrontal functions–higher-level brain functions.”
I once was struggling with a question of trying to do something bigger than myself, and whether what I was doing was the “right thing”. I had a wise friend from the Middle East who was perhaps the overall most broadly knowledgeable person I have ever met.
He told me: “If what you are wanting to do magnifies your creator, is good for all, and is a harm to none…then it is the right thing and will be done.” I thought about that from many angles…now I pass that on to you to ponder about what you are doing.
]]>Multi-day Team Building event with Web-Sense in Jackson Hole – Grand Dynamics delivered an action packed multi-day program for Web-Sense participants from across the globe. More than 42 participants representing more than 15 countries converges in Jackson Hole to celebrate their success and foster team-work and collaboration. Our three days includes a custom-designed sled-building event, an intown teaming with GPS program and complex search and rescue scenario on snow-mobiles! Thanks to the awesome GDI Team – Chuck, Diane, Adrian, Rob and Brendan – for spot on delivery.
Data-Net Solutions Team-Building - I travelled to San Diego to work with Data-Net President Mandy Parent and her Datanet team. What a pleasure that was! What can I say about Mandy Parent? She’s AWESOME! She exemplifies exceptional leadership and continiues to make her professional, team and organizational development a MUST. The program was a series of team initiatives that provoked excellent insights about how to foster a positive culture and environment for success. It continues to be an honor to work with Mandy and her team – a relationship we have mainted for more than 5 years!
STAFFING UPDATES – We are excited to have Stephanie Sibille joing the Grand Dynamics as Western States Regional Director. She will be representing Grand Dynamics at industry conferences, including the upcoming Association for Experiential Education Western Region conference and, and leading sales efforts with Holly Baade in the Western States region, including San Francisco Bay area events. Stephanie is a sharp, energetic individual and we are excited to have her join our team! Welcome Stephanie!
Summer Interns – We are also excited to be finaliziing our Grand Dynamics summer interns for both Jackson Hole and New Yor offices. I’ll comment more about that later – but it is always great to share the wealth of experience with excited interns!
UPCOMING EVENTS
COINS 3 Peak Challenge – UK – and USA! One may 6, the GDI Team is travelling to the UK to climb the high peaks of Scotland, England and Whales in the Number 1 construction industry networking and fundraising adventure! Check it out! http://www.coins3peakschallenge.com/cp_root/h/Home/The_Event/1/ And what’s more is that we are doing so to create the Coins 3 Peak Challenge – USA! This construction industry networking and fund-raising adventure will take place September 19-20 in the North East where teams of 4 will climb the high peaks of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont! http://www.coins3peakschallenge.com/usa/h/Home/Home/21/
SEEKING TRUE NORTH – LAKE PLACID – check out the info about this incredible opportunity! Rick and I will be together with whoever wants to join us for this amazing weekend of leadership development in an inspiring setting. This will take place over Memorial Day Weekend. Please register today and join us! See the Compass on this home page for Seminar info and registration.
SEEKING TRUE NORTH – BALTIMORE – One June 11th we will be delivering a one-day program for CFMA members and is also open to the public to join us for the ACTION-PACKED LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT DAY! I will be joined with the great Todd Walther, brother and GDI managing partner. Todd primed the pumps with his CFMA breakfast presentation – Riding the Possibility Curve and Seeking True North. Todd facilitated a series of leadership development topics related to HOW WE VIEW THE WORLD, our perspectives on business and how we can optimize our resources and experiences during current economic challenges. Yeah Todd! Register today! See the compass on this page for seminar information.
SEEKING TRUE NORTH JACKSON HOLE – Another STN event at the place where it all began – Jackson Hole WYoming! Save the date for this incredible event the end of September this year.See the Compass on this home page for Seminar info and registration.
TIM’s ADVENTURES – Well – I am off for my annual Spring Abalone Diving Trip! What an adventure it will be. Diving 30 feet down to search for the elusive abalone amidsts crashing waves, flowing kelp and abundant rocks… let’s not forget dodging great white sharks! (Keep your fingers crossed for me!) From there we will head to Yosemite Valley for a couple days of rock climbing! Gary, my long time friend and climbing parner will be there and I can’t wait for the Yosemite Cracks! I will give updates upon my return next week.
Keep on smiling … and LIVE YOUR ADVENTURE!
Tim
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