The Words of the Fleisher Family
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The Words of the Fleisher Family |
Note 1: Each presentation should be 15-25 minutes long, and followed by a discussion. The presentations themselves should highlight the questions talked about during the discussions, and be geared towards asking questions that the students have to answer. The discussions should be somewhere between 20-40 minutes in length. With 3 presentations and 3 discussions this would take somewhere between 105-195 minutes. Add 3 breaks, a few songs, and this is easily a half-day presentation.
Note 2: These presentations are outlines. More examples are obviously needed. I tried to keep the examples to a minimum because each speaker needs to come up with their own examples. However, each point should have one or two examples or short stories to illustrate the point.
Before you can unleash anything you need to understand what it is you are trying to unleash. Imagine trying to unleash a flood, only to later realize that your flood destroyed a peaceful little village, or imagine unleashing your anger only to have it destroy someone’s well being. Similarly, the strength of character and purpose one has when one realizes one’s birthright can either build or destroy. On a softer note, it is also important to understand one’s potential so that one can find the way to realize it. For example, if someone has the heart of an artist then artistic expression may be one avenue one should pursue along the road to unleashing one’s divine potential.
With this in mind, what does it mean to realize one’s potential? (Ask the audience)
To realize your potential means to find what it is that makes you come alive, and do it
It means to accomplish your dreams, and it means to be the real you
To complete the three blessings, to become a co-creator, and to teach others to do the same
What are the benefits? Why should one bother? (Ask the audience)
Live a more fulfilled life, be happier, and find contentment with who you are and what you are doing.
To be able to make a positive change in the world, and to be a role model for others.
To be successful in every sense of the word. To be in control of yourself.
So, where does this potential come from? Where does it exist? The simple truth is that it exists within us. It is the possibility of what we can become.
In physics they have this concept of potential energy vs. kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is the energy that actually exists, while potential energy is all the energy that an object can possibly produce. So a rock sitting on a hill has a lot of potential energy, since it can roll down the hill. However, until it actually starts moving it has no kinetic energy.
Similarly, we as human beings have an incredible amount of potential, however until we do something with it that reality of what we can accomplish does not actually exist. It remains a possibility, but nothing more.
So, the first step on taking this potential and making it a reality is to understand what our potential is, then finding ways to grow ourselves so that we reach this potential, and finally using the things we do and the potential we reach to build a better world.
With this in mind, the audience should split into smaller teams and discuss the origin of potential, the origin of identity, and where these two meet.
Possible Questions for Discussion:
Where do you think potential comes from? Who are you? What is your identity?
Where does your identity come from?
Where should your identity come from?
How does your identity affect your potential?
What is Your Divine Potential?
What does it mean to unleash one’s potential?
It is important to start this presentation by asking the audience what they talked about in the last discussion. Make a simple list based upon the audience answers for: Where does one’s identity come from? And where should it come from? This should take 3-7 minutes.
To a large extent who we are as people dictates what we will become. For example, a trustworthy person, who loves math and working with money, will probably become an accountant. Similarly, a person with a deep and abiding love for God and religion will probably become a priest of some kind.
In this sense, one’s identity helps to decide what parts of a person potential a person will actualize.
So, if you are an artist at heart, then some of your potential has to do with art. If you are a human being then some of your potential has to do with what it means to be human. Similarly, if you are a child of God, then some of your potential has to do with being a child of God.
It is also important to understand where your identity comes from because it is through understanding your identity that you learn what you can do.
So, if your identity comes from school mates and they all think that you are worthless then you will probably realize this identity and become worthless. If your identity comes from your teachers, and they think you are smart, then you may realize this and become a better student (This was actually proven in sociological studies). If your identity comes from God, then this may push you to unleash the potential you have and become the person you should. This is called a self-fulfilling prophesy.
There are other things that leash people and keep people from becoming true people. What are some of these things? (Ask the audience.)
Hate and un-forgiveness. You are bound to the conditions that you cannot forgive.
Sin, apathy, and lack of understanding. Sin keeps you chained, apathy stops you from trying, and lack of understanding keeps you in the dark.
Bad relationships, negative peer pressure, and fear can also keep one leashed.
If these are the things that keep one bound, then how can someone unleash themselves? How do you free yourself from the things that hold you back? How do you become free to be who you want to be?
Please discuss this in your groups.
Possible Questions for Discussion
What is the ceiling of your potential? Is there a ceiling? Who decides what that upper limit should be?
What kinds of things keep people leashed? What holds them back?
What keeps people from doing the right thing, even when they know they should?
What kinds of things uplift you? What inspires you?
What gives you the energy or motivation to do the right kinds of things?
How does this tie into your identity?
At the start of this presentation spend some time talking to the audience about their last discussion. Ask them about what keeps them from being free, and what makes them free. Make a list of the best answers. (This should take 3-7 minutes.)
Before talking about methods that one can use to unleash this potential I think it is smart to spend some time talking a little more about why one wants to unleash this potential.
According to the divine principle there are two distinct answers as to the purpose of creation. The first is for us as human beings to be happy, and the second is for God to be happy. The reason why we should unleash our potential is because it fulfills both of these purposes, and the direction we should unleash our potential in is towards the completion of these two purposes. (If you want you can spend some time talking about people who reached a high level of potential, then did something wrong with it.)
We should raise true families because those are the happiest kind, we should love our spouses because marriage is a wonderful thing. All the research shows that married people live more fulfilled lives, have better sex, live longer, and get paid more. Similarly, strong families lead to healthier children. The research shows that broken families lead to broken societies. For example, in most places a 10% increase in the amount of single families leads to a 17% increase in crime. (There are many other statistics like this.)
It is important to realize our dreams because it is through the completion of these dreams that we find fulfillment. However, it is also important to realize heavenly dreams because these dreams lead to a better world. When we unleash ourselves in these directions not only do we live a better life, but we create a better world.
It is important to find your hearts dream, find a way to tie it into God’s dream, and then fulfill it.
What are your dreams? What do you want to accomplish before you die? (Take a few answers. Talk with those people until they have something a little concrete as a singular dream.)
How do you tie this dream into God’s dream? (Take a few of the things people talked about, and explain how people can accomplish this while helping others.)
This is important because dreams and potential are very closely linked. The kind of goals one has usually has to do with the potential one wants to unlock. For example, if I want to be a pastor I may focus on unlocking my potential as a public speaker, and as a person who understands my father’s heart.
In essence, having a dream or series of goals to work towards gives people a list of areas in which a person can grow themselves, and as a person grows themselves they unleash their potential. The dream or hope in this regard is the outcropping of the potential that one unleashes.
So, the question becomes: How do we identify our goals? Then, how do we accomplish these goals?
There are of course a lot of things here. I would take three or four methods and talk about those, and leave the rest of discussion.
Goal Setting is important. Ideally one should have a series of small goals that lead to a bigger goal. These small steps make the larger dream more achievable.
Always keep in mind that the way one takes to accomplish the larger goal changes. The smaller goals can then change as well.
Goals should be achievable, measurable, have a time frame, and be specific.
Finding role models is a great way to fulfill a dream.
Find someone who has accomplished their dreams, and figure out what they did. (Especially if their dream is similar to yours.)
Take the things that they did that work for you, and then do those things.
If this person is alive, ask them for help. Offer to take them out for a coffee so that you can interview them and ask their advice.
Study. Learning is a great way to grow oneself. Doing HDK, reading self-help books, reading the bible. Etc.
Prayer is a great way to center one’s self, and gain spiritual support. Meditation also helps.
Get to know people.
Serving and caring for people is a great way to make friends and contacts.
Good friends can help one accomplish one’s dreams
Progress is often a lot about who you know, and learning who can help you overcome your challenges.
Lastly, discuss in your groups. Talk about what it is you want to achieve, and how to achieve these things.
What are your dreams? What do you want to accomplish before you die?
How can you use that to help God?
What can you do to accomplish your dreams?
What are some real steps you can take when you go home to realize some of these dreams?
Who are some people that have realized their dreams?
What did they do that you can learn from?
Who can you ask to help you accomplish some of your goals?