Do athletic kids read Wheaties boxes, or do the readers of Wheaties boxes become athletes?
In part one of this series, Roy H. Williams helps us see how our brains strive to conform our lives to the patterns we pay attention to.
In today’s P.S. on the memo, he mentions a seminar being hosted by our U.K. Partner, John Cassidy-Rice on May 13. Peter Nevland will be there. I’ve got travel plans elsewhere that week or I’d jump across the pond. If you can make it, you should. Hanging out with Peter is always a good time.
I think you’ll like today’s memo…
By Roy H. Williams III
Half your brain sees a hierarchy.
Deductive reasoning is a product of this.
Vertical. Sequential. Objective. Scientific. Hard facts. Details.
"Be for what is."
The other half sees connectedness.
Intuition is a direct result.
Horizontal. Chaotic. Subjective. Relevant. Relationships. Big picture.
"Recognize the pattern."
Intuition is a form of pattern recognition. Wordlessly it whispers, “I’ve seen this behavior before. I know what happens next.”
We call these whispers “hunches,” “gut feelings”, “premonitions.”
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is what happens when these whispers get too loud.
We are pleased when a mystery is solved.
Another way of saying this is, “We are pleased when the Challenge pattern resolves into the Guide pattern.”
That’s when things come together and “make sense.”
The pieces of a jigsaw puzzle can be interlocked to form a rectangle. The correct assembly of these uniquely shaped pieces is the Challenge pattern.
The photograph on the front of the box is the Guide pattern. Consequently, the image fragment on the face of each puzzle piece gives us a clue where that piece belongs.
The challenge pattern is what we’re trying to solve.
The guide pattern tells us where things belong.
Imagine how much harder it would be to solve a jigsaw puzzle if you had never seen the completed picture on the box.
The choices you face each day are your Challenge pattern.
Your Guide pattern in life – the picture on the box – is your schema, your worldview, your expectations. Your Guide pattern is influenced by your culture and customs, training and religion. Your Guide pattern is influenced by what you read, how you play, and whom you admire.
As your life unfolds across the tapestry of time, your desires are simply your life’s attempt to satisfy the Guide pattern.
Change the guide pattern and you change your desires. Change the guide pattern and you change your life.
Here’s another example. In any scientific experiment, there’s a Guide pattern called the “control” group. The challenge pattern is represented by the “experimental” group.
(I fear you won’t find much else written about Challenge patterns and Guide patterns because I made these terms up to explain some things in my mind.)
Challenge patterns and Guide patterns, the calm before the storm and the morning after, labyrinths and fractals are all expressions of Archetypal Patterns.
Archetypal patterns are the Guide patterns of every happy moment. Learn to employ these patterns and you’ll have the ability to create greater and more frequent success. But beware. When an archetypal pattern becomes obvious, it becomes a cliché.
Next week I’ll tell you how to discover archetypal patterns you can use as Guide patterns to launch yourself to new heights in business and the arts.
Roy H. Williams
PS – If today’s memo didn’t seem insane to you, you’re ready to study Advanced Thought Particles. Color is a language. Harmony is the third dimension of sound. There is a mathematical basis beneath all things beautiful. We accept only 14 students for this class, so everyone is guaranteed a free room with free meals in Engelbrecht House, Wizard Academy’s student mansion. I teach this class only a couple of times a year and one of those times is coming up right away. Can you be here April 29-30? You’ll arrive the evening of the 28th and leave the morning of May 1. The campus is gorgeous this time of year.
Wizards in England – Following the lead of Craig Arthur, managing partner of the Wizard of Ads offices in Australia, John Cassidy-Rice, managing partner of the Wizard of Ads offices in England, tells us that Peter Nevland will be headlining a seminar event for him in London on May 13. I wish I could be there. Maybe you can. For more information contact johncassidy-rice@wizardofads.com
