Mark Brown

By Mark Brown

Our last training message focused on the power of axioms. We stated that because axioms are by definition true, using axioms as you identify core values helps you live according to true principles. And, if you establish core values that aren’t based on truth, you will eventually find your actions, and therefore your life, drifting from truth.

The importance of core values cannot be overstated. We live in the information age and are bombarded from all quarters with all sorts of data—some of it useful, most of it vacuous, and all of it with the power to distract. If we are not clear on our core values—if we do not have clear priorities—and if we do not take the time to remind ourselves what those core values are, we can lose sight of them.

One may wonder how one could lose sight of a core value such as being a trusting and loving father, for example, but just ask yourself when you last gave more priority to something of far less importance and you’ll see what I mean. It’s like a radio signal that you can’t quite pick up because of all the noise in the spectrum.

In our Max Living seminars and in the Max Living System Guidebook, we provide a thought exercise to help you identify your core values—for what would you cross a six-inch wide, 192-foot-long I-beam 1,483 feet above the ground? Perhaps a few would cross for baseball or Starbucks, but the vast majority would only do so for what truly matters most—family, friends, knowledge, liberty, etc.

All of your core values together help build a picture of your “why”—tile by tile, you are crafting a mosaic. They provide the “what” of your why. Most, if not all, of the companies in our industry talk about a “why”—why are you devoting your time to building a business? The idea is to go beyond the surface benefits of the chance to earn an income and identify the underlying value that such an income will support or make possible.

Max International gives deeper substance and structure to a why by helping you identify the core values that comprise it. Core Values of “I am financially independent” and “I am a devoted and loving husband and father” can obviously work together to produce a powerful why that will propel you to success with Max. As you routinely review your core values, you can keep the foundation of your why at the forefront of your activity. In this sense, the means justify—or, more precisely, clarify—the ends.

If you have developed your core values, be sure you are taking time every week to review and, if necessary, revise them, and don’t lose sight of them. If you haven’t developed your core values, it’s time to get started! Go to the “Your Max Business Plan” section of the Max Living System Guidebook and take the first steps on what will be an illuminating journey.

To your success!

Training Message: Core Values–The What of Your Why is a post from:

Mark Brown

By Mark Brown

In our Max Living training and in the Max Living System Guidebook, we emphasize core values, and with good reason. The core values you identify for yourself should serve as a personal compass, guiding you in the ways you use your time. Or, perhaps a better way to put it is that your core values should represent the “ideal you” that you can constantly measure yourself against. When you find yourself drifting from the ideal, you make corrections.

A future message will devote more time to identifying core values. This message is about axioms that guide behavior. You might almost look at core values as atoms, and axioms as the protons, neutrons, and electrons that make up those atoms.

So, what is an axiom? One definition is “a generally accepted proposition or principle, sanctioned by experience.” Because the concept can be considered “self evident,” proof is not necessary. Axioms are, by definition, true; using axioms as you identify core values therefore helps you live according to true principles.

On the Max Living blog, I recently reviewed Snow Rising, a book that had a profound impact on me. The central message of this book was the power behind four characteristics that the author labeled “axioms”—compassion, humility, gratitude, and conscience. (Axioms don’t have to be one-word concepts, but you get the idea). Most rational people would accept these four axioms as something everyone should demonstrate in their lives. The value of living according to these axioms should also be self evident, making them worthy foundations for core values.

As one passage of Snow Rising explains it, “The strength of my beliefs and values, the power of my convictions, is defined by how closely what I believe to be true mirrors the axioms, or what is actually true.” Shortly later, this illustrative idea: “Life isn’t necessarily easier when I believe gravity to be a true principle, but it is a lot less dangerous. So, first: axioms; and second: beliefs and values.”

In other words, gravity isn’t something we “believe in.” Rather, it simply is, and when our actions conform to its existence, things work out better for us. The closer your core values adhere to axioms—to truth—the better it will work out for you. Working against principles we believe to be true will only create cognitive dissonance—an internal realization that we hold conflicting ideas, or that our actions do not reflect our beliefs.

To resolve the discomfort caused by cognitive dissonance, we rationalize and typically surrender some or our beliefs. This is entirely contrary to the concept of core values. If you establish core values that aren’t based on truth, you will eventually find your actions, and therefore your life, drifting from truth.

By acknowledging axioms, you can more effectively define your true core values that sustain you over time. This process can help us really know ourselves, which is what personal development is all about. And of course, the Max Living System is designed to help you identify and—more importantly—focus on these core values in your everyday actions.

Post from: Max International Blog