Darren Hardy’s Compound Effect – Hands-On Assessments (LONG-READ)

Gratitude Assessment

Three amazing people in my life are……..

This was very difficult for me to think about.  I mean last year was an exodus.  One of my “best” friends unwittingly booted herself out of my life.  Two of the three people I praised back in October/November ended up disappearing.  So, I had to go back to my roots and really just see who’s always been there for me. 

1. Andre.  I was teaching at night and I got an odd call while teaching.  My best friend Andre, who lives in New York, called me to inform me about a tsunami warning.  There’s no one else who would do that for me in my life.  Although the tsunami was way out of Thailand’s reach, he knew that I probably knew friends in Japan who could’ve been affected by it.
2. Joy.  If there’s someone I can FaceTime at anytime, even her being an 8-hour flight away, it’s her.  From meeting her in a bar-that-I-Won’t-Mention-In-Honolulu, to being my best friend.  Joy is a remarkable human being with even more remarkable kidlets (sorry, Joy).
3. I’m going to put my colleague Nelson here.  Nelson, who is from Uganda, is a man that helps me de-shroud the black smoke that surrounds me some days.  Him and I went through a ridiculous fallout last year, but him being the bigger man — approached me in the restroom and we talked it out over drinks a week later, eyeing some gorgeous women (lol).  He’s the one that is currently giving me guidance in terms of where to teach next and what to do.

Three great things about my physical body are….

Running for a long-time without any physical exhaustion.  What my body has turned into through hard-work in a wonderful gym in the heart of Bangkok (The Lab), to doing competitions all over the world, is a spectacle. LOL! I’m so grateful for looking at myself in the mirror, up and down, saying “god DAMN! Now that IS a spectacle indeed!”  If I look at myself from when I first came to Thailand, to now….it’s been an amazing transformation.

Three great things about my home and where I live are….

Now just a months earlier, there’s not a thing I would say that would be positive about where I lived. I got sick often, dirty looks lunged towards me because of ____________, no courtesy, ignorant teenagers with spoilers, zooming in the night and waking me up constantly, loud music – pretty much the worst situation imaginable.

Now? Ultra-gorgeous condominium in a wonderful neighborhood where middle-upper class people live….people who have lots of courtesy, smiles, and don’t give me any dirty looks.

Three great things about where I work and what I do for a living are…..

HA! That’s a hilarious joke on my part.  Well, where I work now,I don’t work there anymore. I mean my body is there, but my spirit isn’t.  That place is finished.  A conclusions on top of a conclusion.  HOWEVER, where I’m soon to work has me more excited than ever, all thanks to Linkedin.  YES! Not only that, but the brand and online presence I’m building is exciting beyond anything I could’ve ever imagined.  Outside the primary job, which accustoms for only 5% of my life, is staggering.  The podcast, which is booming more than ever, is on fire.  My YouTube channel, which is hitting the highest marks ever, will soon be converted to an online classroom.  There are a handful of other things, and I’m grateful for all of them.

Three great gifts of unique talent or skills I’ve been given, or that have been created are…….

My personality, which was developed by being around my best friends in high school.  My discipline, which I continue to develop by listening to the likes of Gary Vee, Lisa Nichols and MindValley.  And lastly, my ability to make people laugh.  Yeah, I can point out the confidence, too.  However, I seriously have such a strong personality to the point that you either love me or hate me.

Three great gifts of knowledge and experience I’ve been given are….

I’m not black.

PERIOD.

I’m a being that has the opportunity to change the lives of millions around the world.  I have a core genius — something that I can focus on, develop, and improve — ultimately leading to unfathomable success.  (3) This country, known as Thailand, is the best place I could’ve developed my intra/interpersonal skills in the wake of some much racism.  BOOM!

Three ways in which my life is wealthy, abundance, and prosperous are……

Having a stacked savings that can protect me in times of turmoil.  Having unbelievably wonderful friends in my life who can help me at any given time.  Lastly, seeing my life without blinders are and seeing the true meaning of life – from the animals, to the people smiling everywhere around me.

Core Values Assessment

Who is the person I respect most in life? What are their core values?

Les Brown, Lisa Nichols, Tony Robbins, Bob Proctor, Alan Watts, Vishen Lakhiani and a few others got me into the game.  However, a person who has become a huge part of my life that doesn’t even know it – is Gary Vee.

Patience, keep creating and hard-work.  Now, his motto revolves a lot around “hustle,” which I’m not particularly fond of (because of the nature of the word in the streets of African American neighborhoods), but him telling other podcasters about being patient has helped me tremendously.

Who is my best friend and what is his top three qualities.

Andre – perseverance, never gave up, and persistence.

This guy has been through hell and back.  I won’t put his business all out there, but he lost a wonderful sister to Leukemia back in the last quarter of 2004.  He was accused of the most outlandish happenings from 2005-2008 and blamed by his family members.  He finally left in 2010 to New York and never returned.  Since then, that man has had a kid –with another on the way — and found a wonderful girlfriend (soon-to-be-fiancé-and-probably-wife-maybe).  He persevered through HELL…and I mean HELL…to become an owner of a warehouse.  He’s my inspiration.

If I can have an quality instantly, what would it be?

I have no regrets about who I am and what I “need,” but if I can have a quality instantly, it would be everything Gary knows.  That quality.  Whatever quality that is…I want it.

Which personality traits, attribute or quality do people most compliment me on?

This is my favorite.  I was speaking about this recently with one of my students.  I recall being in my college dorm and having Shayla, Alissa, DJ and Angie sitting in the room.  We had to take terms singing songs, and I had to sing “I swear” by  All For One (or what I thought was Soul 4 Real).  I sang it under my breath, but it seemed like she was trying ridiculously hard to hear my voice, and she succeeded.  I can’t remember when, but probably within a few months, people started raving about my voice.

One thing I didn’t have but developed — were dance moved.  I was made fun of by the entire softball team because I kept “snapping” my fingers and had the same move.  LOL! Good times.

But then there was my professor in dental assisting who said, “Arsenio, what you have is a gift.  You can’t teach personality and what you have is going to take you a long way in life.

She was absolutely right.

Also, my body.  That’s right.  What I’m not good at is accepting the compliment about my body.  Lol.  When I get compliments from South Americans, I find it super sexy.  Women from Costa Rica, Chile and other places say “muy guapo,” and I feel what they actually say.  However, I think when people call me handsome in Thailand it’s either with condition (they want to solicit sex for money – hahahah), or they’re just being nice but what they really wanna say is, “you’re a black man.”  Nonetheless, I know I’m becoming a freak, and that’s exciting.

Life/Habit Assessments, along with influences, are in the podcast down below.