THE PARAGON PROPOSAL BY JOHN H.

SCHOPPE

THE FORUM*
This is an exercise for the Benefit Specialist Training Workshop. It is to be completed prior to the beginning of the workshop. Please read the three subjects and answer the Questionnaire. Everyone participating must have signed a non-compete, non-circumvention and non-disclosure agreement prior to obtaining any materials and all materials are proprietary. This should have been preceded by viewing the movie, EVERYONE AN ASTRONAUT? a presentation of the Concept Document, and enrollment in the Benefit Specialist program.

*Forum is defined as, an assembly, program, etc. for the discussion of public matters.1
It employs the process of Sir Francis Bacon, Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man and writing an exact man. Forum Rules and guidelines: Forum is open to those people enrolled as Benefit Specialists or participants enrolled in any of the various workshops or teams engaged in The Paragon Proposal. Forum is intended to be the clearinghouse and meeting place for all participants in The Paragon Proposal. The Forum Editor(s) will poll for issues that seem germane to the particular participants and their environment and needs.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. (VMS) Victim Mentality Syndrome 2. Process 3. A Decision-Making Process pages 2 to 9. pages 9 to 10. pages 10 to 10.

Websters New World Dictionary, Warner Books Paperback Edition, 1990 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., pg. 235. The Law & Institute ACW: Advocates of the Common Wealth 1 The Business and Human Resource Center 4/9/2012

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SUBJECT NO. 1: (VMS) VICTIM MENTALITY SYNDROME PURPOSE: Individual and Team Empowerment

There is an epidemic in our culture (the United States of America). Perhaps it even touches a very large segment of our world society. It is more insidious than AIDS or any other of the ills of our time. I call it V.M.S., which stands for Victim Mentality Syndrome. If you are not familiar with these terms then now would be a good time to find them in your dictionary or Glossary. Sometimes it is called entitlement mentality. It is easily recognizable if you know the symptoms. It can be witnessed in many gradations. The symptoms seem to conveniently fall under the category of celebrating the problem. One of the many mottoes of The Paragon Proposal is, You are allowed to celebrate the problem only to the extent that you have invested in a solution. The symptoms seem to be endless in their variations but they always have the same affects; they use time, expend energy, and most importantly dissipate personal and social (collective) power. Some symptoms are seen in the form of negative self-talk.2 Such as the following examples: You cannot improve anything here. Men are the cause of all grief. Women are the cause of all grief. If only I were rich, things would be different. Bad things always happen to me. I never get an even break. If I were better looking, smarter or stronger, life would be better. If management just had a clue what the real problems are, maybe things could change for the better around here. If employees werent so stupid and insubordinate, then things could improve.

Write some of your self-talk below (If you cannot think of any then ask someone who knows you well enough to help you):

_____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

_.

_.

See Adamic: The Power of the Tongue, by John H. Schoppe. 2 The Business and Human Resource Center 4/9/2012

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_____________________________________________________________

_. Focus is broken and thereby made ineffective or focus is intensified to manifest more of the ills being celebrated. Have you ever tried to not do something or to not be something? It contributes to or creates deprivation buildup and eventually will create what you are trying to not do or be. Because functionally you must first manifest what it is that you do not want to do or be and then negate it. This is inefficient at best and more commonly just not accomplished since most people have not developed the ability to sustain the self-directed focus necessary to produce the results desired. It is immensely easier to simply focus on the desired state and manifest it. However, most people who fall prey to VMS do so precisely because they have not learned the art and science of self-directed positive human manifestation. It appears that most people are simply not aware of the power of the tongue and self-talk. They are often unwitting masters of negative human manifestation. The irony in this is that it is functionally the same process as that for positive manifestations. The missing ingredients are just not learned and internalized. The fact that there are people who are manifesting the states of being that are desired by those who are inflicted by VMS establishes that these states of being are attainable. The fact that they are desired establishes their desirability. The ability (power) to change from manifesting negative states to positive states is simply a process. This process, in my opinion, should be the primer before all other learning or endeavors take place. The mechanisms are already in place and need only to be redirected. This is not necessarily an easy process but it is doable (capable of accomplishment) and worthwhile if you truly desire the stated results. When something becomes a process3 it normally ceases to be a problem. There are several paradigm shifts that must take place first. We will address only three of the primary models (paradigms) in this particular Forum.

1. The Human Manifestation Dynamic

The main model logically and functionally is the Human Manifestation Dynamic4. This has been discussed in various forms and formats over the last decade. Dr. Steven Covey has called it an organizing principle5. Hyrum Smith uses Belief Window6. The way I explain it is as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4.
3 4

Your perspective (world view) dictates your perceptions (value judgments) Your perceptions dictate your focus Your focus dictates your behavior. Your behavior dictates your experience (manifested outcome).

Thesis - Antithesis Synthesis System Process. Created, coined and diagramed by John H. Schoppe. 5 Covey, Steven, The Divine Center. 6 Smith, Hyrum in a speech at the Grant Taggart Symposium in Provo, Utah. The Law & Institute ACW: Advocates of the Common Wealth 3 The Business and Human Resource Center 4/9/2012

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5. Complete cycle = experience (reality). This is better envisioned as a laser-like cycle or as reflective thought with ever increasing intensity. Actually it is best to experiment with as many variations and approaches to this model as you can find or imagine because I feel that we have not found the one that truly captures the essence of this dynamic. The work of Dr. Dennis Weightly and studies in psyche-soma relationships might shed some light on this critical area. My attempt is as follows: 1 PERSPECTIVE 5 4 BEHAVIOR 2 PERCEPTION

3 FOCUS 1. Whatever a person believes is (their world view or perspective) determines what they perceive to have value. 2. What a person values becomes the focus of their attention and directs their behavior. Motivation fits in here and can be either directed towards benefit or avoidance. My experience indicates that most people are motivated predominantly by avoidance. This is mostly negative. For example, we do not want to be old and poor versus being successful financially. Celebrating the problem with its attendant behaviors is another example. 3. Ones focus determines how one behaves, what activities are pursued and the nature and effectiveness of those activities. We, for the most part, derive our perspective and perceptions through enculturalization and socialization. This is an interesting irony because even though we are causal by virtue of the dynamic, what we cause is derived externally and thereby makes our causality an affect. 4. Our behavior determines our experience or outcome. This is full cycle. It is in essence a self-fulfilling process. 5. What we begin with as our world view dictates what we manifest as the world we live in and subsequently reinforces our world view. This is a vicious cycle for those inflicted with VMS. How often have you said or heard someone else say, See, I told you so. This just proves that I was right. Just look at what happened. I said that I am ___________________ (insert whatever their self-talk is, good or bad) and these results simply demonstrate that I am right. If, of course, you do not believe that you are part of the process then the evidence does seem to support your claims. After all is this not the empirical method? The inverse to this explains the saying, Success breeds success. Have you ever wondered why some people simply expect fame, fortune,
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happiness or success and get it? Have you taken time to examine their environment, mind-set, expectations and modus operandi? What is meant by, Shes on a roll or Hes in the zone? Does the Human Manifestation Dynamic hold true? If so, to what degree? If not, how not? Does the model hold true for the negative instances? (There should be no shortage of data in this respect). What is the predominant nature of your environment? Does it have an affect upon you and upon others? Do you have an affect upon others? To what degree? Is this consistent with your desires and aspirations? Please stop and respond to your findings, thoughts and feelings at this point:

One can look at the process in reverse. By examining what someone is (5) manifesting (the world they live in) one can determine the (4) behavior and thereby determine the (3) focus and thereby determine the (2) perceptions or value judgments and thereby determine the (1) perspective that is driving the manifestation. If this is accurate then this is extremely relevant personally. One can see with this model how when a person experiences a paradigm shift (a legitimate change in their (1) world view, mind set or mentality) the dynamic automatically changes the resulting (5) experience or outcome. Maybe, this explains how knowledge is power. This explains functionally how the pen is mightier than the sword. I believe this could also explain why Logotherapy often show dramatic results.7 This Human Manifestation Dynamic is crucial in any effort to understand how we manifest what we manifest and how to manifest otherwise. I believe that all human systems are belief systems (meaning they are a function of the Human Manifestation Dynamic). If this is the case then the world we live in, for the most part, is human contrivance. If the world we live in is mostly contrived, then why do we not contrive better? Write your response here: ______________________________________________.

2. The Victim/Responsibility Matrix

The second paradigm is the Victim/Responsibility Matrix. The first exercise is to determine to what extent you are a victim. On a scale of 0 percent to 100 percent mark to what degree you are a victim. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Victim/Control Scale

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Frankl, Viktor E., Mans Search for Meaning. 5 The Business and Human Resource Center 4/9/2012

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If, for instance, you say that you are victimized in the events of your life 25 percent of the time then you would mark the 25 location on the scale. If you feel that only one out of every ten events in your life you are in control then you would mark the 90 location. The point is that the degree to which you are not in control is the percentage that you are a victim (for good or bad). Conversely, the residual (what is left over after you subtract the percentage that you are a victim from 100%) is the degree to which you are in control (for good or bad). You can calculate it either way. First, if you feel that you are a victim 25% of the time then that means that you are in control 75% of the time. Of course there is the possibility that you are victimizing yourself and it could distort the exercise. If you victimized yourself then you could feasibly be in control 100% of the time and be victimized (by yourself) 100% of the time. However, let us simply try to understand that the intended utility of the model is to illustrate relationships and proceed accordingly without worrying too much at this stage about all the possible mutations. If you were in control 80% of the time then you would mark the 20% location. The scale marks the victim percent and the balance is the percent to which you are in control. The corollary is the control/responsibility/accountability relationship. If you are a victim 20% of the time then you are not responsible for what happens to you that 20% of the time. If you are not responsible for what happens to you then you should not be held accountable for what happens. This affords some people a great degree of comfort. If most motivation were avoidance then this indeed would be a workable ploy. If by being a victim you can fill your needs then why not do so? My answer is because the price is simply too great to pay! My experience has been that society puts a ceiling on benefits to victims. I cite the recent decline in peoples willingness to give handouts to the supposed homeless. This is because their plight is perceived as manipulative and not true victimization. We (as a society) will buy the salve for or consciences only if we own responsibility for the victims and/or we feel we are not being manipulated. More importantly, I think, is the loss in personal power! To the degree that we do not control our destinies we are not empowered. Even if this were only a mental exercise it has benefit. Remember the relationship of mind set to experience in the Human Manifestation Dynamic. Let us examine these relationships a bit further. If I am not in control then I have no avenues of escape. If other people or events are dictating what happens in my life then to that degree I am not dictating what happens in my life. There is no empowerment in this position; only to the extent that we are in control is there any chance of self-directed change. If, on the other hand, I simply state that I am assuming responsibility for everything that happens in my life then to that degree I am empowered. I will assume responsibility and with that responsibility accountability (if only to myself). From this position I am empowered. I will begin to investigate how to improve my situation and take the appropriate actions. All methods of improvement would become personally relevant. I would be motivated by benefits as well as by avoidance. For better or worse I would be captain of my fate.

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3. Contrast Conceptions Model8

The Contrast Conceptions Model helps explain how people can rise above the prevailing modes of human interaction. There are two basic needs that form the essence of the Contrast Conceptions Model. First is the concept that we are born into an alien environment. We come from a very supportive, warm and secure womb to an environment where we have an extended dependency relationship. There is a turning point where we are expected to become selfreliant. The human systems may not always be symbiotic. We are in a situation where effort is required to obtain and sustain creature comforts as opposed to the rather passive existence in the womb. To not make the effort required is to atrophy and cease to live or live in a distressed manner. Survival skills are at a premium. VMS is perhaps a form of survival skill although not necessarily the most desirable or productive. Some of us go so far as to try to return to the womb (withdrawal). This uncomfortable situation creates a certain amount of resentment. How this resentment (for lack of a better term) is expressed or vented is the first need. How does one strike out at the rain, cold, and demands of nature? I believe that much of the dysfunctional behavior that seems so prevalent today (drug abuse, violence, recreational fixations, and other forms of abuse of others and ourselves) is symptomatic of alienation. By not understanding ourselves and how we can obtain our optimum refined lifestyle and satisfy these two basic needs in constructive ways we suffer what I call the Ugly Duckling Syndrome: an identity crisis. Yes, everything is a syndrome to me. I am certain you get the point. Simply think of the Monday Morning Syndrome. Now, for contrast, think of TGIF. What accounts for the difference? The second need is derived from the concept that humanity is essentially social. We are gregarious. We have a need to belong, to be appreciated, to contribute, to find meaning, to love and to be loved. Once again, I think you understand even if this is a difficult area to obtain exactness in what may be acquired and what is genetic. These two needs interact in human behavior. How could the Nazis dehumanize others and be so harsh in their treatment of other humans, namely the Jews? How can anyone fall into these behavior traps? It is easy. We do it every day. Almost anytime that we belong to a distinguished or select group. By the very nature of it being exclusive vs. inclusive it makes the two needs operative. Good guys wear white hats and bad guys wear black hats. Everyone knows this. Just begin by counting the associations that set you apart from the crowd: Name of Organization Traits of Members vs. Non-members _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________
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Bernstein, Peretz, Jew Hate as a Sociological Phenomenon cites Alfred Adlers Contrast Conceptions Model. The Law & Institute ACW: Advocates of the Common Wealth 7 The Business and Human Resource Center 4/9/2012

 THE PARAGON PROPOSAL BY JOHN H. SCHOPPE

My need to belong and to be appreciated is satisfied in the following ways: _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ My need to strike out and vent hostilities is satisfied in the following ways: _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ From a functional point of view of lifestyle maintenance there comes the realization that life style maintenance is an interdependent process. However, most systems and institutions (and therefore individual mind-sets in the U.S.A.) are based upon assumptions of independence. We do have a Declaration of Independence and what we need today is a Declaration of Interdependence. This will be dealt with only superficially in this Forum at this time. Suffice it to ask, How long can you maintain your optimum lifestyle without money? Do you make your own shoes, food, automobile, gas, textbooks, house, and on and on ad nauseum? Money is the prevailing belief system in the world. Mastering money is considered the essence of independence. People who satisfy this criterion do not always show the traits of self actualized9 people. So, by now I am certain you are asking yourself and perhaps others (if indeed you have survived to this point) does this seemingly endless diatribe have a point. I assure it does for me. Does it for you? Think for a moment about what kind of environment you truly would like to spend your life in. Please describe it below: _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Is the environment you currently have the optimum? Why? Why not? Who is responsible/accountable? Would the prevailing environment we have here be acceptable elsewhere where you have control (like your home for instance)? Why? Why not? Would you want it to? Who is responsible/accountable? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Can you take the three paradigms (models) and merge them into one operative with constructive vs. destructive applications? Can you rise above the circumstances and be a cause for improvement?
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Maslow, Abraham Harold, Motivation and Personality (3rd Edition) 8 The Business and Human Resource Center 4/9/2012

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Thomas Jefferson stated that for representative democracy to function it required an enlightened citizenry. Does our behavior reflect that we are voting in our enlightened selfinterest? Change is rarely easy. Easy is not a virtue. To be successful in molding our life and behavior we are constantly in need of exchanging less productive habits with more productive habits. When our leaders at even the highest levels seem to be at a loss for a comprehensive guiding game plan which would make them leaders instead of administrators can we still develop our own game plan? It seems true that institutions take on the traits of those at the helm but can you see changes happening that are initiated at the grass roots? Can we not only excel at celebrating our problems but at envisioning, discussing, planning, and implementing the means to provide and experience optimum lifestyles in optimum environments? Be careful how you dream, because you may just realize them! Actually, that is exactly what we are doing now.

SUBJECT NO. 2: PROCESS PURPOSE: Discover the place of process in Team Function

When you think of the word process what exactly do you mean? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ What is the significance of the following progression? Thesis/Antithesis Synthesis System Process

What is it that differentiates system from process? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Please explain what it means that, When something becomes a process it ceases to be a problem?

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The following is a sample process for human manifestations of most any kind. It is a human engineering process. Please review it and be ready to discuss what steps are necessary and which steps are sufficient. Does this process work?

SUBJECT NO. 3: A DECISION-MAKING PROCESS PURPOSE: TO PROVIDE A SAMPLE PROCESS P

PHASE I PLANNING 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Awareness/Orientation Assumption/Values Agreement/Contract Commitment Data Collection/Fact-Feeling Decisions Data Analysis/Organization Review Fixed Point of Beginning Measurement Recommendations Given Strategies Recommendations Chosen and Programmed

PHASE II - IMPLEMENTATION 7. Implementations Analysis 8. Selection Strategy Actual 9. Negotiation/Application Tactics 10. Analysis After Completion Supervision/Monitoring 11. Adjustments Feedback 12. Introduction to PHASE III including synergism, leverage, or other participation arrangements to increase and broaden individual and collective capacities. Are there any steps missing in the above process? ___________________________ Are there too many steps? _______________________________________________ Are disclosure issues adequate? ________________________________________ Are contract issues addressed adequately and in the appropriate order or place? ____________________________________________________________________ What is your favorite process? ___________________________________________ I hope these Forum articles have enough issues to get us started. Sometimes we mistake the map for the territory. Sometimes we even have difficulty reading the map. Sometimes there is not a map to read. We all stand on the shoulders of our predecessors if we stand at all. I think we stand at the door of one of the greatest opportunities, if not the greatest, of all time. Sometimes teaching is dysfunctional to learning. But the most effective and most meaningful instruction is through apprenticeship and I am thankful that there are people willing to transfer their skills and knowledge, but we may have to be pioneers in some of this enterprise.
The Law & Institute ACW: Advocates of the Common Wealth 10 The Business and Human Resource Center 4/9/2012

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