Breaking Boards, “MasterMinds” and Protecting Your Dreams

One of the core tenants of “Think And Grow Rich” (possibly the world’s most popular self-help book) . is the “Mastermind” principle. Basically, the notion is that “any time two or more minds operate in a spirit of complete harmony and alignment, they form a third `supermind’ with capacities unavailable to either/any of the individuals.”

So when people ask: “how are we going to solve problem X?” my first answer is: “first get people to agree that there is a problem.”

“But HOW are you going to solve it?” This is often accompanied by comments to the effect of “the only way to accomplish X is Y, and we’ll never get people to do Y!”

Now…what they MEAN is “the only way I can think to do X is Y, and I can’t think of any way to do Y” such that they are revealing a core belief: no one is smarter than them, no group is smarter than them. If they can’t think of an answer, there is no answer. Their mind is the limit of possibility.

Whoa. Really? The biggest problem is that if you start with the assumption that you cannot do something, you limit your ability to do it. Initially, breaking boards in the martial arts has some basic application to physical technique, but it is mostly psychological. Most adults or children can easily generate enough force to split a board, but their fear will stop them. From fear of hurting their hand (for instance), they will SLOW DOWN as they hit. The board resists, the energy rebounds back into their hand, and OUCH.