Conversations For Transformation: Essays Inspired By The Ideas Of Werner Erhard

Conversations For Transformation

Essays By Laurence Platt

Inspired By The Ideas Of Werner Erhard

And More




Recordbreaker

Napa Valley, California, USA

December 21, 2013



This essay, Recordbreaker, is the companion piece to
  1. The Friends Of The Landmark Forum In South Africa
  2. Werner's Work Is Coming To Fiji
in that order.

It is also the prequel to World Records.

I am indebted to Sam Lemay and to Ofelia Fonts and to Loata Baleinave and to Vaimoana Litia Makakaufaki "Moana" Niumeitolu and to Anna Taglieri and to Anthony Maria Noel and to Alberta Lemay and to Andrea Fono and to Frank Rocky and to Jonathan Batres and to Julie Bartleson and to Luke Qiritabu and to Mani Subramanian and to Mary Symmonds and to Tama Liga who inspired this conversation.





Republic Of South Africa Republic Of Fiji


There's a way of living, which is to say there's a place to come from, a way of relating to life  in which we're prone to dominate  yet avoid being dominated, in which we're thrown to be right  and avoid being wrong, in which we'll strive to win  and avoid losing. Contrary to what it may look like, not much thought goes into this. It's a primitive response (call it an instinct  if you like - actually it's almost a reflex). It's taken for granted, unexamined, and unchallenged. We conclude it's what's to be learned about life as we grow up. We know everyone knows  it's the smart way to be in life - as if it's obvious. And when we live this way, we consider we're in the know.

In the context of this way of living, the paradigm for winning and avoiding losing is "In order for me to win, someone or something else has to lose.". Listen (here's what's not so obvious): when your compass is set to winning and avoiding losing, you've already lost  ie you're already "coming from lose"  (so to speak).

Transformation offers a totally fresh paradigm for winning. The paradigm for winning in the context of transformation isn't "In order for me to win, someone or something else has to lose.". That's the way of a you or  me world. In the context of transformation, the paradigm for winning is "In order for me to win, everyone and everything  has to win ... and  ... we've already won"  ie I'm already "coming from win"  (to to speak). This is the way of a you and  me world (as Werner Erhard may have said).

All that said ie having set the listening  for this conversation, I'll now share a recordbreaker  of an event with you.

Often when we say a record has been broken, it occurs within the context of a competition  ie in a win / lose situation: someone wins (the new recordbreaker) and someone loses (the old record holder). But this recordbreaker didn't occur in that context. It didn't occur in the context of win / lose - which is to say it didn't come from lose. Rather it occurred in the context of win / win - which is to say it came from win. No one lost. Everyone won. Here's what happened.

Werner's work in Fiji started in much the same way as Werner's work in South Africa started: graduates (which is to say people who are graduates of Werner's work in other countries) went there and started sharing themselves and the new possibilities like breakthroughs  which participating in Werner's work makes available in their lives. People who were enrolled (which is to say, people who saw the possibility of possibility  for themselves in Werner's work) registered to participate by traveling to other countries where Werner's work is offered, until offerings became available locally.

One of the first people I enrolled in the possibility of Werner's work in South Africa before his programs became available there, traveled from Cape Town South Africa to London England to participate, a distance of six thousand miles requiring twelve and a half hours flying time, the longest distance anyone had ever traveled until then to participate in Werner's work for the first time. In 1979, it was an impressive record. Nothing and no one else came close. It was a record which stood for decades ... decades that is, until it was recently broken in Fiji: some of the first people to enroll in the possibility of Werner's work in Fiji traveled from Suva Fiji to Boston Massachusetts USA to participate, a distance of eight thousand miles requiring seventeen hours flying time.

A record has been broken, but this isn't a competition. This isn't win / lose. This isn't Fiji wins and South Africa loses (this isn't rugby  ...). This is win / win. This is the people who enrolled to travel eight thousand miles from Fiji to participate in Werner's work for the first time, win. This is the guy who enrolled to travel six thousand miles from South Africa to participate in Werner's work for the first time, wins. This is the people who brought Werner's work to Fiji win. This is the people who brought Werner's work to South Africa win. This is Fiji wins and South Africa wins. This is Werner's work everywhere wins. This is you the listener win. This is I win. This is everyone wins.

It's more than that actually. It's much  more. Here in the United States of America, Werner's work is readily available. In the San Francisco Bay Area for example where it all started, it's estimated one in every eighty people is a graduate of Werner's work. There are four centers delivering Werner's programs within a fifty mile radius. Every once in a while I'll ask people whether or not they're enrolled in a seminar. And if they aren't, their reason often is it's too far to travel.

That's right. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, the epicenter  (if you will) of Werner's work, fifty miles is "too far to travel".

I wish someone would explain "it's too far to travel" to the people in Fiji who traveled eight thousand miles to participate in Werner's work. What did they hear was possible for this recordbreaker of an undertaking to make it worthwhile? That's what I'd like to know. I wish someone would explain "it's too far to travel" to the guy in South Africa who traveled six thousand miles to participate in Werner's work. What did he hear was possible for this recordbreaker of an undertaking to make it worthwhile? That's what I'd like to know.



Republic Of Fiji Republic Of South Africa



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