Week 15

Week in Review

Monday July 23, 2018

We started our day bright and early with our tradition of praying in, followed by the word of the day. We had two special guests join us named Steven H. and David R., who danced their way to the front of the room to teach us about the importance of Integrity Selling. Today’s presentation was about communicating values with many steps. Steve and Dave are very successful men. Both men partner up twice a year to come teach us. The Integrity Selling book was a great read, but to hear it from them and to interact with them as well as my class was pretty easy, yet we still get shy and nervous speaking in front of the class.

Did you know that there are six steps to selling? It’s about approach, interview, demonstrate, validate, negotiate and close. We also learned how to identify the customers’ needs and how we can tie it to a benefit that we can provide. We demonstrated how to approach a customer and figure out if they are a talker, a doer or a controller, and if they are a supporter. We also figured how much we need to talk and listen during the time we are selling our service or product. The experience and practice was really something new to us. And the presentation was worth the eight hours we spent together. Thanks PEP for this great opportunity. “Go Legacy ’18!”

Edward T. (a.k.a. “Teletubby”)

Tuesday July 24, 2018

Today was a fruitful day in PEP. Our lesson today was about mentoring. That is something that is probably not commonly talked about amongst the majority of us. The odd thing is that most of us seem to know what it is. We discussed it in our groups, and some of us have had some mentors growing up and some of us feel like our parents or loved ones played that role. Our inabilities to discern whether it was positive or negative mentoring helped us come to the conclusion that it was our own choices that have gotten us to where we are. PEP is enlightening us and enabling us to recognize these shortcomings. Being able to point out these things that we have experienced, or may not have experienced, we can learn to utilize them and implement them to help us make better decisions in our futures.

Another thing pointed out was that we can also become the mentor and have the power to influence the next person or child, which also forces us to dig profoundly and analyze before making any bad decisions. Knowing that our actions influence the next generation gives most of us a sense of needing to do the right thing, even if it’s just to influence the next person, and some of us can use this as a reminder to help us stay on the right side. Mentoring may not be the solution to all of our negative behaviors, but it is sure a major step to begin using and thinking through our wise stewardship.  

Noe U. (a.k.a. “Now & Later”)

Wednesday July 25, 2018

We showed up at 7:00 a.m. to get our usual PEP talk before our tests. By then we’d had a hearty breakfast and crammed in as much studying as we could, but either way we were ready. Everyone knew they were going to do well. Once we got the hard stuff out of the way, we relaxed and went straight into praise reports. This is sort of a metric to see how we are measuring up to PEP’s 10 Driving Values and mission statement. This only inspires us to strive for dynamic ways to enhance our position as a PEP brother.

We broke for a little while so that we could have a servant-leader meeting. This strengthens the comradery of PEP and passes on modified and revised wisdom to the classes after ours. We had a pray-out for one of our brothers, which very briefly summarizes one’s time through PEP. We were glad to see him go home and pray that he’s taken care of out there.

After that, we also had a brother who pitched us a business plan about home domes. This just reminds us of how much support the PEP movement has for those who are truly and genuinely ready for complete transformation. The opportunities are everywhere in PEP, and they seem to be coming more frequently and with intensity. We feel a sense of being free when we’re asked to fill out a job application to put us in a position for great things. We know with all this support that we have a chance at life once again. 

Lino V. (a.k.a. “Jerry Curl”)

 

Thursday July 26, 2018

Today was a wonderful day. Our spirits are still high from Monday when we had guests come in and teach us about Integrity Selling. Today is our relax day, plus a few of us have computer lab.  We are finishing up our business plans and make sure our financials are ready. Next Friday is our Pitch Day event, so we are all trying to perfect our business plan pitches which last seven to 12 minutes. For the most part, we are coming along pretty well with our pitches. For my brothers who are having a little trouble memorizing their pitches, we are continually encouraging those brothers and helping them with their progression. It’s amazing how far we’ve come. Graduation is a little over a month away. This has been a great experience for all of us. Being able to put an actual business plan together while also getting the opportunity to pitch our ideas to volunteers and executives is beyond our dreams.

This is also a great opportunity to help the guys that are in Phase One. Today, they are in class and many of my brothers are facilitating and helping these new PEP brothers transition into the program. This is truly an opportunity of a lifetime, and I am happy that PEP chose me and my brothers to participate in PEP.

Dejuan W. (a.k.a. “MC Hammer”)

Expressions

The University of Texas football coach, Tom Herman, said in response to questions about the pressure that comes with coaching at U.T.: “Pressure is that uneasy feeling that you feel when you are unprepared. Pressure is self-inflicted. We are prepared for this job. We’re prepared for success and adversity; I don’t feel any sense of pressure at all.”

This is also true of PEP when we have a test to take – we have studied hard, and we actually look forward to it. Nervousness from pressure is a non-factor. If we don’t study like we know we should, that’s a different story. This quote is inspirational because it conveys the importance of proper preparation. The work we are required to do in PEP is not easy. It helps if we understand that the work we do now will help us be ready to handle any issues that arise when we are released  We have learned that with preparation that instead of feeling pressure, we will have a comforting sense of confidence. Exceptional performance starts with belief; confidence is belief and it is built with preparation. The education that we are receiving in PEP is that preparation.

John W. (a.k.a. “Sylvester”)