Diving Deep into the LCO

Thus far on our website, we’ve provided a broad overview of The Last Chance Oasis. Now, it’s time to dive into the deep end of the pool. Here's an in-depth overview of the course. 

Foreword – a word about Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter (and whatever comes next).

Our common lament, “Will 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 ever end?” We’re isolated, frustrated, stressed, angry and depressed; probably more so than in any period in recent memory. But, the sad fact is that the stress of these two issues, Covid-19 and BLM (and a myriad of others), will last well beyond 2023. And, who knows what surprises 2023 and 2024 have in store for us? Rather than “playing ostrich” and sticking our collective heads in the sand, it would behoove us to develop coping techniques to guide us through a protracted period of stress. That, my friends, is what The Last Chance Oasis is all about, living in comfort with a stressful world. 

Week 1 – Setting a Stage for Success

Many years ago, Lennie attended a financial seminar. At the end of the seminar, the presenter said, “I’ve offered you great stuff. The probability is that you will leave here and never make any of the changes I have recommended. You will get involved in your busy lives and forget we ever met.” Lennie makes the same claim, but at the beginning of the presentation, specifically with the intent to help you avoid failure. He highlights the potential pitfalls to your success and shares how to turn the tables on those wily adversaries to guarantee your success.

Week 2 – The View from Higher Ground

Before issuing the warning about how severely stress affects our cardiovascular system, Lennie takes you to a “higher ground” where, together, we can see the landscape more clearly and examine disciplines that may bring us greater insight.

For example, he quotes Coach K at Duke University, “I run my life on five fingers, each of which represents a core value in my personal and professional life.” Coach K’s five values are available to us all. Or, we can choose our own.

Perhaps you would like to Pay it Forward or find your own Plimsoll line? The view from “higher ground” is worth the climb.

Week 3 – Stress and Cocaine – a frightening parallel

Then comes the warning about how stress affects our hearts, even to the point of putting us at increased risk for high blood pressure, cardiac irregularities, congestive heart failure, heart attacks and sudden death. Lennie warns about the very real risk of developing a “Swiss Cheese heart,” your very own heart full of holes.

He reveals that stress and cocaine are “twins” when it comes to creating heart disease. Robert Eliot, MD, one of the icons in the field of stress management, did the research documenting that stress and cocaine kill by the same physiological process.

Week 4 – Prevention – first session

Lennie’s preventive disciplines present themselves freely and readily. As he describes himself, “A man with Scottish heritage that appreciates good value, how can you argue with something that is available now for free”? He offers the centuries-old technique of mindfulness meditation. He explains the value of thinking and writing. Of course, there is exercise and nutrition to consider. Journaling, talking, and listening also spring to the fore.

Week 5 – Prevention – second session

But there are always more, so many more, and so critically important, that the Preventive session expands into two weeks. Self-guided visual imagery, assertive communication and love round out the preventive disciplines.

Week 6 – Principles of Stress Management

The principles of stress management include awareness, perception, choice, responsibility, going with the forces of Nature, and humor. He explains the power of each and offers any and all as a “foothold” or “handhold” at times of crisis, a place to get a grasp on “what’s tearing you apart.”

Week 7 – Techniques – First session

He shares with you a time-honored list of functional stress management techniques, guaranteed to work. Each technique finds its roots in the principles of stress management. Having an up to date resume gives an employee a sense of control. The balance sheet technique, used regularly by accountants, serves for stress analysis and control. How about the six months to live game? Consider that you have six months to live. Divide all of the “things” in your life into three categories; what you think you (1) should do, what you (2) must do, and what you (3) want to do (before you die). “Wouldn’t it be a shame if you died and didn’t do what you wanted to do?” Lennie implores you to identify what you WANT to do and get busy doing it!!

Week 8 – Techniques – Second session

He has a bag-full of other techniques waiting for you in this week’s session. Among others, how about this? We all lead busy lives, so periodically we need to go somewhere to soothe our souls. That is your oasis, a place where you can rest, recover, think and just be. Lennie encourages you to find your oasis. Finding your oasis is so critical that it became the title of our course.

Week 9 – Time for Some R and R - Review and Reflection

It has been a very full eight weeks. Now, it is time to sit back, take a deep breath and think about a few things. What, to this point, has resonated with you? What in the eight week course will apply to your unique set of problems or challenges? Where could your oasis be? Are you willing to create it and own it?

Week 10 – Metrics Update 

Before we go any further, it’s time to update our stress metric. Pull out the stress metric that you completed at the beginning of the course and do it again. Compare the results. Do you see improvement? If so, great. If not, why not? Spend some time in personal soul-searching. Now we will get our minds set to begin the pursuit of long-term success.

Weeks 11-14 Writing Your Life Plan

Writing Your Life Plan – what business person would ever begin his or her business without a well-thought-out and well-written Business Plan? Answer: no one in their right mind. Well, given that your life is your most important “business,” doesn’t it make sense to envision and articulate a plan for your life? This four week session within the LCO will guide you through the process of Writing Your Life Plan. Beginning with your Vision, Mission and Values statement, we take you through an inventory of your life, steer you to lofty (but attainable) goals, set a time-line and map the route to success. This is good, catalytic stuff, for sure.

Week 15 – How About a Week Off? 

You’ve worked hard. Let’s reward ourselves with a well-earned week off. Do some thing fun with this week’s “hour on the couch.”

Week 16 - Leadership Principles and Techniques for Your Life Plan - Part I 

Become the CEO of your life – following the sessions on Writing Your Life plan, we encourage you to take charge of the process. You will become the Chief Executive Officer of your life. We’ll employ leadership techniques to ensure your success, personally and professionally.

Week 17 – Leadership Principles and Techniques for Your Life Plan - Part II

More on Leadership – drawing an analogy to Cape Cod in the summer where the peninsula succumbs to the throngs of world-wide visitors, and the locals lament, “Oh, summer people … and some aren’t.” The same is true with leaders, “Some are, and some aren’t.” We will continue to help you develop more leadership skills.

Week 18 – Personal Insight

Intuitive Knowing – we mentioned it in the basic course, but it deserves more attention. We have extolled the virtues of mindfulness, but think about the power of combining mindfulness with your innate intuitive knowing. The more you access your intuitive knowing, the greater your potential.

Week 19 – Taking a Moment for Review

Let’s slow down for a moment and review. We’ll provide you with a quiz about what we covered to this point. No grades, just a learning experience.

Week 20 – How Low Can We Go?

We’ve focused primarily on stress during the LCO, but have alluded to the gargantuan problem of depression, not only in our country, but around the world. With the advent of Covid-19, and the fact that it looks like it may be here for a goodly while, we are seeing an increase in an already alarming incidence of depression. We will take this and the next two sessions to address depression specifically. What is it? How does it develop? What can we do about it?

Week 21 – Depression has Good Company

More on Winston Churchill’s “Black Dog” – that is what Winston Churchill dubbed his depression, his “Black Dog.” At one of my live presentations, one audience member asked, “Is depression a choice?” We’ll discuss that perspective.

Week 22 – Getting Practical

A practicum on depression – what in the LCO can apply to our depression? How can we integrate those concepts to battle and beat our depression?

Week 23 – Re-visiting Our Precious Present

A practicum on mindfulness – as mindfulness is one of our best tools for preventing stress, it will be also for depression. So, let’s do a series of sittings that will hone our meditation skills.

Week 24 – Dreaming

A session on Imagineering – we’ll take this week to “let our minds soar, and then engineer our dreams back down to earth.” This was the admonition to engineers at Alcoa Aluminum during World War II. Part I of Imagineering is the “dream phase.” Yes, today we will dream without limits.

Week 25 – Making it Real

Second session on Imagineering – we’ll take this week to engineer our solutions. As I contended in LCO the course, there is no problem that we can’t solve within an hour. So … let’s get at it.

Week 26 – Giving Thanks

Gratefulness – let’s follow the advice of Robert Allen, and commit some things to paper. What are we grateful for in our lives? Write them down in your journal!!

Week 27 – Celebration Time!!

This is our six month celebration – we have made it this far, and it is time to celebrate. We’ve learned some great tools and techniques. In the months to come, we will sharpen these tools for lifelong benefit.

But, first, we’ll take a deep breath, relax and review. Perhaps we’ll make a few notes to start working on Our Life Story. We’ll review our Life Plan to make sure we are on track. But, most importantly we will give ourselves a well-deserved pat on the back for our persistence and success to this point. Oh, yes, it is time to update our metrics. I trust you will see an improvement. 

The Second Six Months – this is the “Danger Zone.” This is when you are most likely to quit. But, we won’t let you succumb. We will, however, issue you a challenge – Take ownership of the process, NOW!

You would be well-advised to go back to square one and take the LCO again. You’ll shock yourself at seeing the same old things with a new eye, a new perspective. Listen, read and make notes.

We began with a warning, that you would find a myriad of excuses not to do the LCO. But, if you are reading this, you are a rare bird, indeed. Good for your persistence.

It is time for you not only to review, but to create your own support system. Initially, we planned to provide you with support throughout the Two-Year Stewardship of Behavior Change. Experience has taught us that the sooner you take responsibility for your support, the quicker you will own your behaviors. Everything you need is found within the first six months of teaching material. So, at this point, the didactic portion of the LCO is done.

From here on out, success will be found in practice. Make the process your own. You will be so happy you did.

Year Two – it’s primarily about personal and professional growth (but still doing R and R for stress management). Here are a few thoughts during this time:

• It’s about growth, but with caution about failure.
• Transitioning to ownership and doing.
• Realize and accept that you are on your own now.
• Developing your own support systems.
• Assuming/achieving the objective observer position with journaling.
• Reviewing for recidivism – are we being proactive in this endeavor?
• Reviewing for ego defense mechanisms – are we being proactive in this endeavor?
• Celebrating – during and at the end of The Last Chance Oasis.
• Reviewing Life Plan for next 2-5 years.
• Considering Culture – could we initiate a Values Based Culture in our families, social circles, or at work?

How to Use the LCO for Best Results 

Before you dive head-long into the LCO, I would like to give you some suggestions that will make your journey more enjoyable, efficient and productive.

• Be alert and actively engaged – for an hour a week, can you do that? Of course you can. 

• Do you think you don’t have time? Well, take the time, make the time. It’s not only worth the time, it’s critical to your success. 

• Think: Learning, Ownership, Support, Culture.

• Repeatedly ask, “Why?

• Journal from the beginning – journal about yourself, about the journey and to gather raw material for “Writing Your Story.” Choose a personal notebook with blank paper for notes and capture of thoughts

• Ask yourself, “What do I need?”

• Ask yourself, “How am I feeling?”

• Listen with purpose – listen for what you need.

• Read with purpose – read with understanding and with attention for solutions. Read with ownership.

• Don’t hesitate to listen to a module again – you’ll surprise yourself what you learn a second time through.

• Participate in discussions, but, be solution-centric.

• Participate in all interactivities.

When you do these things, you will save:

• Money
• Time
• Life
• Marriage
• Relationships
• Jobs