Rabbit Fight Club

Meet Jacob Gibson.

Jacob is a marriage and family therapist by profession, and while I’ve known and loved Jacob’s wife for a long time, one of my first encounters with Jacob himself was when he joined our Mindset Mastery group and shared the following video (which told me that not only does he have a great sense of humor, but that he also gets our culture and is ready to dive in and be an active part of it).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7NtBSYRBKU

Jacob has a beautiful family, and stays busy helping other families in his private counseling practice.

And now…

I’m thrilled to be introducing Jacob Gibson to you as a Mindset Mastery Honors Graduate!

As he applied for graduation from the Mindset Mastery program, I had a few questions:

Q. Did you face a Terror Barrier during the course?

Yes … I struggled with maintaining the belief that I could find an office, that I was good enough to employ other therapists, and to operate a wellness center. I had to push through and hold that vision and read it often, and now it is easier to maintain.

Q. What would you tell someone who is facing a fear right now?

Create an anchor with a vision statement, make it detailed and with lots of positive emotion and hope and intent, and then read it often to maintain the vision without all the doubt.

Q. What was your Phase 1 experiment (the inconsequential goal)?

I wanted to see the 2018 Orange, 4-door, manual transmission, sport package Toyota Tacoma driving on the streets with me.

In our family, we have more drivers than cars, and playing musical-cars gets old, so my inconsequential goal was to see ‘my truck’ on the streets so I’d feel some of the excitement and joy that will come when I get it for real. My truck is the 2018 Orange, 4-door, manual transmission, sport package Toyota Tacoma. I kept my eyes open, and saw lots of Tacomas on our streets, but none that were my truck.

I was taking my wife to the airport and we were talking about some item of business we needed to address, when my truck drove past us. I interrupted our conversation with, “hey, my truck!”. Of course, I then had to explain what I was talking about, which she understood because she has already completed the Mindset Mastery program. On my way to work after dropping her off, I saw another Orange Toyota Tacoma, AND the Cobalt Blue with black trim model (my 2nd choice for my truck), both within 100 yards of each other driving on the same street with me.

I have since seen both the Orange and Cobalt Blue Tacomas a few times on the street and for sale. Each time I see them, I allow myself to experience the joy of no longer having to scramble to get everyone where they need to go, while stranding my wife at home with no vehicle. Seeing the truck was probably a 3 on the scale of difficulty, I knew they existed and I knew that I was going to get the truck eventually (thus feeling inconsequential). However, to hold space for the manner in which this goal was to be accomplished was probably a 7.

I have always held that if you have a goal, YOU work toward it. This would require me to search and ask around for the right model and color. To have this work like it did, it changed the way I felt and thought about goals. I had already read the Jackrabbit Factor, and when this worked the way it did (even if it was longer than I anticipated), I was all in and read Portal to Genius (which is my favorite; there is so much in there!) so I could learn more and take full advantage of the class.

Q. How effective were you at being able to think truth in spite of appearances in assignment/lesson 18?

In my large goal of creating a community wellness center that will offer a multidisciplinary approach to wellness, I fear failure. I fear that no one will find it valuable, that I will not be able to keep it open, that I won’t be able to provide for my family, that it will prove that I have nothing to offer the community, and ultimately that I’m not good enough. When these fears come I feel a cold stabbing in my chest, and to write these fears and answer them without emotion was very difficult.

It took a few episodes of effort to get it all down without feeling it, but now I can hear the fears with an acknowledgement of them and a recognition that these are not from me or from God, but are there to limit me and the good I can do. As I write this, I’m having a similar experience to when I was in class, where I feel hope, faith, and confidence that the wellness center will come to pass, that it’s just a matter of time for the appropriate gestation of the idea and for all the factors to come together.

These are long standing fears and belief systems, so they are taking some time to push out of my subconscious, and some days are harder than others, but what I am seeking is seeking me. And I just have to keep the faith, doubt not, fear not, and it will reach me because I am going to keep walking toward it.

Q. What was your goal or intention for the Phase 2 experiment?

To find a new office for the expansion of my therapy practice closer to home, with room enough to hire and grow in the next couple years. It must feel comfortable and be a place I could teach and mentor my clients.

This goal was much more difficult than the inconsequential goal, because the process forced me to address a couple terror barriers, even though finding an office doesn’t seem that hard (they’re all over the place, right!?). The full goal I have is to create and establish a wellness center for the community, where therapy, coaching, psychoeducation, and other multi-disciplinary services can be provided.

At that time I was in solo-practice with a single office that has no room to expand, and is further away from my home, so the next right step seemed to be to find an office that I could grow in, closer to home, that felt comfortable, and had access to a large conference room that would allow me to do all that I wanted to in support of community families, including teaching these principles of thought.

So I proceeded to do what I usually do to accomplish a goal, I searched and called and visited and wondered when I was going to find the right place. Then I started this class and wrote the large goal, including a portion of it as finding my office. Through the process of next right steps, I kept hitting the barrier of “who are you to think that you can do this… that you are good enough… that you have anything to offer…, because big influencers that run places like this are are charismatic, extroverted, salesy, and full of hype that astound people when they speak” and “What other therapists/coaches will want to work with someone who struggles to apply these principles consistently and effectively…?”

With the encouragement of my classmates, led by Dawn Norton, I held to the vision, because “what I am searching for is searching for me”. Then one day, while having this goal in place the right way (a written, detailed expression of what will be accomplished when I achieve it, and how I’ll feel when its here), I thought of what Anne Furgeson taught at GBC about the goals not needing to be hard, so I called my brother-in-law who is a semi-retired realtor for counsel on how to go about it. He offered to make a couple calls to follow up with an old inquiry he made a few years ago when he was looking for office space and to take on the project for me (not what I called him for…).

He called back within a few hours (I had already spent weeks visiting places and talking to people with nothing feeling right) to say that an office space he considered a few years ago was available and to call the building owner. I left him a message, and in the meantime visited it and walked through (it was not locked during the day). I liked the offices, the building was in a good location, and the price seemed good. I did not realize until later that the good feeling I got was a “yeah, these COULD work, but could be better” type of feeling. Later that day the owner called and we discussed the offices and lease terms.

He asked what I did for a living, and I told him I was a family therapist and would have teenagers and their parents, and young adults coming into the offices. He suggested I look in the basement because other therapists had liked it down there. My first thought was “basement?? what?? Who wants to have an office stashed away in a dark basement somewhere?” But, he seemed genuine so I said I’d take a look. The next day I stopped by and was impressed by the lower level. The elevator opens to a brightly lit entry way that goes right or left in to two suites of offices. Mine would be to the left, right next to a large conference/class room, a kitchen, 2 offices available right now and more possible later.

The two offices are bigger than what I was working from at the time, with plenty of room for the tools I use, and each for less rent than I currently paid. The location was right where I wanted to be, and it felt just right. I could not believe what I had found! (or what found me!) I later learned that the building owners built the basement with the intent to house therapy offices, with thicker, more sound-proofed sheet rock, doors with sound barriers going all the way down to the carpet, an education room for groups, and located in the lower level for greater privacy for clients.

They have been using it for support groups and classes for betrayal trauma victims and their families, and for sexual addiction recovery groups, among other professionals who came through before me to rent the offices. I would not have found this office without turning to Anne’s ‘easy way’ and without envisioning the result, which the full version is still in the future from when I write this. I look forward to being found by it. Initially I thought the goal was a 7, but after battling terror barriers that slowed me and almost derailed me, I realize it was a 9 or 10. I’ve let those barriers hold me back since I completed my state license (15 years), but no longer.

When the course was over, he shared his final thoughts:

I decided to take Mindset Mastery after reading the Jackrabbit Factor, at the encouragement of my wife. The concepts in the book were new to me and I still had a lot to wrestle with as I learned and began to apply them. The course added so much to my understanding and my ability to apply the principles to personal and business development. Now, I am inviting everyone I work with to read the books and take the classes! The potential these principles have to benefit my life, my family, and my clients is incalculable. I’m still new to the ideas and needing to refine my understanding, but I have no hesitation in recommending this to anyone ready to learn. “When the student is ready, the master will appear.” Get yourself ready…

It’s been a total pleasure working with Jacob. His perspective, honesty, and dedication have been a valuable and truly appreciated quality enjoyed by his entire class.

Congratulations, Jacob! Keep up the great work!!

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Jacob’s business is South Valley Family Wellness – In person and telehealth counseling for families – “Here for your family needs!” Learn more at http://svfamilywellness.com/

Jacob has also joined us on the Rare Faith Program Facilitator Track to help us deliver Mindset Mastery and Genius Bootcamp classes to others. About this opportunity he wrote:

To join the Rare Faith Facilitator program, I had to overcome my own skepticism for “something that seems this easy” (little did I know…), my new private practice’s limited budget (I’ll find a way to pay for it; it’s that important), and my own limited beliefs that have kept me playing small for many years. But when something feels right, it’s time to act.

I believe we will be seeing both his practice AND his facilitator business growing significantly in the upcoming months and years. We’re thrilled to have him on board; he is already a tremendous contribution to the team. Keep an eye out for his events on the calendar coming soon – they are going to be awesome!

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Leslie Householder
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