Death, Taxes, and Fastballs

Apr 28, 2017


Scientist, inventor, author, diplomat, wit-extraordinaire and Founding Father, Ben Franklin, had an underlying philosophy about life certainties.

Among them are death, taxes, and moments when the proverbial crap hits the fan. Franklin wrote:

“Men are subject to various inconveniences merely through lack of a small share of courage, which is a quality very necessary in the common occurrences of life.

”Those “various inconveniences” come like fastballs. Just as you’re happily skipping along…BAM! BOOM! WHACK! You get hit with one. Your girlfriend dumps you, you lose your job, someone scratches your new car, your sister gets engaged to Mr. Megajerk.

It’s a common occurrence of life to get knocked down, not because life hates us, but because people are generally ill prepared for those “various inconveniences” that we see as problems.

Doesn’t matter how rich, smart, pretty, thin, religious or stylish you are, you can’t outrun them.

You are meant to evolve from all the fastballs life throws at you—and at times, the fastballs you throw at yourself.

That means being committed to the pain, the process of discovery and the journey of self-development. You need to be prepared so you don’t miss the lessons.

Old Ben warned, “by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

This is where we appear… A gym membership helps maintain your body; Productive Learning maintains your self-development.

We coach you through life’s fastballs or as Franklin put it, through “various inconveniences.”

Our workshops prepare you to face problems. Our teachings challenge you to bring out your best decision-making skills so you can move past them intelligently and convert your vision into reality.

 

Franklin was a sage investor in self-education. He said that, “an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

In the spirit of his sagacity, we invite you to begin your personal development journey by enrolling in Beyond Reasons . It is an introspective look at your fixed beliefs.

We teach you how to identify your unproductive thinking and behaviors. You choose a theme—romantic relationships, money, career, etc.—and we guide you to dissecting what beliefs about the issue are holding you back. Then, we help you re-shape them to empower you.

Some people end up mastering one life-changing belief and return to Beyond Reasons to master another.

Later next year, we head to China for one of our Learning Intensives, Extraordinary Thinking . We immerse you in Chinese history and culture while observing how you express values. In settings like The Forbidden City, you begin pushing past your resistance, while drawing from the spiritual, cultural, historical essence around you.

Our workshops also come with exclusive access to a community of people learning together because sometimes you need a league of your own.

One study from the University of Michigan showed that getting by with a little help from a supportive peer group fights depression. Your Productive Learning tribe can also help you summon your “small share of courage.”

Growth is a life-long process. Fastballs will come at you continuously. They will trigger you. But, you don’t have to let them knock you down.

Check out our schedule for a list of workshops. Don’t forget to bring a friend along too!

In this lifetime, while we await death, taxes, and fastballs, we can also exercise our self-determination by finding ways to better ourselves.

Productive Learning isn’t here to solve your problems. We merely coach you to hitting homers and gently remind you that while there’s no crying in baseball, we don’t judge you if you need to cry over death and taxes.



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