Troy P Zehnder

“For only $500 I can teach you how to reach your apex.” This is similar to the end of every sales pitch that offers to help make you a better, more successful person. There is nothing wrong with this if the goal is to make money and help people, but I believe (due to my faith) that the Good Lord will find a way to bless you for doing it for free.

In high school we have teachers. In college we have professors. What do we have in the real world to guide us toward our goals? We have mentors. A mentor shouldn’t be seen as a negative word, as if you are too weak to make your own decisions, rather a mentor should be viewed as a special life coach that is in place to help us achieve certain goals and ambitions. Mentors should be these unique people who have a skill or knowledge base we wish to possess. Perhaps a mindset we wish to master. The purpose of a mentor is to help you grow into the best version of you. Since you are the only one that knows which direction you wish to grow, you are the only one who can determine who that mentor can be. That being said, I’ve created my own little methodology I refer to as the SLOAP Method, and am happy to share that now.

The SLOAP method can be utilized by anyone, of any age, of any knowledge base, of any education. The whole purpose of SLOAP is to help you build a better you! So what is SLOAP? SLOAP is my acronym for Select, Listen, Observe, Apply, Practice. Simple right? Let’s examine the steps.

Select – Selection is easy. It is simply selecting the person you are choosing as your mentor. This isn’t a process that involves asking someone to mentor you, it is merely choosing that person or people who are at a level you wish to achieve. Do you admire their skill? Their mindset? Their faith? Whatever it is you admire enough you can learn from. Select wisely.

Listen – When your mentor speaks, listen intently. If your mentor is writing, read it twice, three times, four times, etc.. Take in everything they say and how they’ve used it in their lives. Exact replication seldom works in the real world, but when you listen closely you will find the elements that are applicable to where you want to go.

Observe – Watch what your mentor is doing. If they put out videos, watch them over and over again. Look at their lives, and the steps they are taking to achieve their goals. Much like listening, choose what is applicable and move on to the next step.

Apply – You’ve selected your mentor(s). You’ve been listening to them. You’ve been observing them. Your knowledge base is increasing. You’ve chosen certain things that are transferable to your own life. Now simply apply them into elements of your life. Begin reshaping your though processes and/or your practices with this new information.

Practice – Practice is the fun element. It becomes a period of trial and error. Sequences that work for one person will not work the same for everyone. We must work through the steps of what is effective for each of us, and we must do it over and over and over again until it becomes second nature.

Practice isn’t always what we think it has to be. When I was in high school, I attended a basketball camp called the “Yes I can!” camp. This camp was my first experience with positive thought plus visualization to achieve a higher result. Stan Kellner seemed revolutionary to me. I was watching people jump higher, run faster, shoot better, then experienced it myself. As a teenager, I didn’t know there was a more advanced term for this. Autogenic Conditioning (Training).

The first time I heard the term autogenic conditioning was from Dale Comstock, and I could immediately relate to my experience in high school. What is autogenic conditioning? Autogenic conditioning is a technique that involves repetitions of a set of visualizations accompanied by vocal suggestions that induce a state of relaxation. It is based on passive concentration of bodily perceptions like heaviness and warmth of limbs, which are facilitated by self-suggestions. While in this state, we visualize the perfect actions we wish our bodies to achieve. Almost a form of muscle memory without using the muscles.

The night before any match, game, training evolution, or exam, I would practice each and every physical movement repeatedly in my mind until it felt second nature. Perfect form, perfect action, perfect result…over and over again. I would do this for golf, basketball, firearms training, running, and anything that required my best effort to be the best. When the next day came, my body would follow through with what my mind told it to do.

The mind is the most powerful tool in our tool box. It can convince us to give up, or to push on. It can tell us we are weak, or that we are strong. It can make us grow, or it can hold us back. It can drive us to success, or placate our failures…and it is solely within our control to train. Develop your mindset.

SLOAP is far from rocket science. It’s just an acronym for training yourself to attain your goals. Select your mentors, listen to what they say, observe the way they do it, apply it to your life, and practice practice practice.

Good luck on you journey!