Week 12

Week in Review

Monday December 19, 2016

Today we attended our weekly Toastmasters session. Here we present speeches to a panel of peer judges ranging from Grammarian (to correct our grammar) and even an “Ah/Uh” Counter (to track our crutch words and help us with proper transitioning of sentences). We had different types of topics today that started out with Tony T.’s informative speech on the interview process. He showed us the proper techniques, from approach to appearance.

Zachary P. taught us about gardening and boy, does that man know about gardening. Just when you think that you’d heard it all, Chris W. had everyone at the edge of their seats with his speech! We all fear many of the same things, and at the top of the list is public speaking. Toastmasters gives us a chance to remove that fear, and when we are done we receive feedback from our personal evaluator on ways to improve next time, or even a compliment just to start the day.

We also had computer lab today. We are learning Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. One thing that is not going away is technology, and specifically computers. PEP gives us not only the tools but instruction on how and when to use them. Getting to this point in the program is only just a sample of what potential and capabilities we possess as we work hard to improve ourselves and our futures.

                                         Omar Moran (a.k.a. Sweet Two-Lips)

Tuesday December 20, 2016

Integrity Selling has been the most rewarding event so far. We learned so much about selling today, including strategies that we had no idea had to do with selling. It was truly a blessing to attend this event. We learned how to sell yourself. We were taught to develop a strong approach to gain rapport. The interview needs to be solid, and it should identify the need(s) of the customer and even your own. You must demonstrate to show how you fill those needs. That’s something I didn’t know. Seeing how active and engaged everyone was brought a big smile to my face.

Then we learned about Behavior Styles, which showed me that I am a talker which makes it easier to open up to people. Of course, that also means that I am friendly, which I somewhat knew already. I guess the point I’m trying to make is you never know how much fun you can have learning until you apply yourself. I also learned how people buy, starting with the person, company, product, price and timing.

If you cover those five areas well, you should have all you need to convince a buyer to make a purchase. I believe I already have the people skills, which is also very important. What this means for my customers is great services from my company, Diamond Interior Designs. Today’s event was a great experience and a great crash course on selling.

Robert N. (a.k.a. Wendy Williams)

Wednesday December 21, 2016

Today was a very interesting day for us in PEP. When we first arrived, we took a pop quiz on this book we been reading over the past few weeks, Living in The Village. There is so much valuable information in this book. We have learned what it means to establish credit and how to save money. This gives us extra protection in case of an emergency. Learning how to use your credit cards wisely in order for you to develop a good FICO score, as well as saving money in stocks and bonds, is new to us all.

We are all thankful to have one of our committed brothers take his time to teach us this book. We also had a lot of fun today. Fun is one PEP’s 10 Driving Values. We have a big banner in our PEP classroom, and it has all of the Driving Values on it. Fun, however, is the biggest one of them all and it’s something we try to do every time we meet together.

One of our brothers had his pray-out today because he will be leaving us the beginning of January. When one of our brothers is going home, he is given the option to select three of our other PEP brothers to say something of value to him, but they can make a few jokes about him before they leave him with something positive if they choose to. This is something that is recorded on video and provided on a flash drive upon our release. We had a lot of fun seeing our brothers dance and make fun jokes about our brother who is leaving soon.

Ricky O. (a.k.a. Sweet Chinchilla)

Thursday December 22 2016

My day started rather early today. At 7 a.m. I was already doing homework. We needed to write a short essay on our favorite of the 10 Driving Values and how it applies to us. My favorite one is accountability. It reminds me about my younger years and giving my mother a hard time. She always held me accountable, but I was not very receptive.

A little bit after 7 a.m. the new Phase One class was going out the door: Summer ’17. I was going along with them, not because I am in Phase One but because I am a facilitator. Basically I help out with whatever they need me to do. Whether it is passing out assignments, guiding the new guys in the right direction or helping with the authentic manhood groups, it is our turn to give back. It is amazing to see the closed-up guys open up and share some of their feelings with us.  That is the best example of the willingness to change. It is a good feeling to be part of that. I remember when our class was going through the growing pains. Even though we are still a work in progress, I will forever be grateful for the men who helped us. One way of showing that gratitude is by giving back.

As the day went on, so did its activities. When Phase One was released we had time to study a bit before we went to class to take our test. It was a good thing that we took advantage of the extra study time because it paid off. Afterwards we went over Chapter 11 in our Entrepreneurship books: business as usual. All in all our day was short because Brian T. had some administration task to attend to. It was good to catch our breath for once.  Although there is no growth without struggle, at times rest leads to more growth.

Jaime O. (a. k. a. Sweet Can of Busted Biscuits)

Expressions

We had the Integrity Selling event on Tuesday, which was a change of pace. It was more interactive and good practice working on AIDINC (approach, interview, demonstrate, validate, negotiate, close) from Integrity Selling. Our guests were great help and definitely knowledgeable. We were given seven thank you cards this time that are due Wednesday. I guess the in-house management is trying to motivate us to step our game up. Our seven and a half minute pitches are coming up soon as well, so we need to stay focused and take care of business.

Christmas is coming up on Sunday, and the vibe around here is pretty relaxing. We get to look forward to a holiday meal from the Warden. I wish the best of the holidays for everyone and their families.

Zachary P. (a.k.a. Sweet Mary Kate Olsen)