Well Done! You’ve taken the first step towards building a life of meaning and purpose. Now, the question is, “How many hours can you go until you tap-out?”

Quitting is easy; anyone can quit; and, anyone can find a way to not quit. The choice is yours: quit (again), or not-quit. Like most of the things in this book, it’s that simple: choose the easy way out or choose the less easy, less comfortable, more rewarding way in.

This self-study[i] program is designed to be completed in 28-days; in about 100 hours; thus, about 4-hours per day. In prison, it’s not hard to find 4-hours.

The first lesson, for those who find it hard to finish what they start, is to break activities such as this 28-day program into manageable chunks: don’t think of the days, don’t think of the hours, just think of current activity. Just tell yourself that you are going to get through the activity. Then, once you do, notice that you suddenly feel good! Congratulations, you just got a shot of the neurotransmitter dopamine[ii]! Want another? Use your pen to highlight important information and use the blank pages for notes. We’ve intentionally used minimal formatting because you will get much, much, much more from this if you highlight and annotate (and then review daily). Thus, whenever using the book, have a pen in hand –always at the ready to make it your own.

What is this program? It’s a neuroscience-oriented program designed to help struggling, yet motivated, adults learn the tools and techniques of Success. That is, unlike psychology (especially cognitive behavior therapy) courses, we don't simply focus on behavior, thoughts, beliefs, etc. in order to help people become their best selves (that would be like teaching people how to drive a car by driving a car); we drill-down into how the brain actually works (like teaching people to drive a car by understanding how the car works --the engine, brakes, aerodynamics, friction, etc.). We focus on on neurons[iii], neurotransmitters[iv], and the Reticular Activating System[v]. 

Yet, while focusing on what’s happening in the human brain, we always strive to avoid Clarke’s 4^th Law[vi] problems; we do this removing the need for reliance upon an expert.

We use neuroscience to help answer two fundamental questions: “Who am I?” and “Why do I behave as I do?”

[i]      (or better yet, group study

[ii]      In the brain, dopamine functions as a neurotransmitter—a chemical released by neurons (nerve cells) to send signals to other nerve cells. The brain includes several distinct dopamine pathways, one of which plays a major role in the motivational component of reward-motivated behavior. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine

[iii]     The approximately 86 billion specialized cells located in the human brain that store our lived-past, our anticipated future, our imagination, our ability to simulate, etc..

[iv]     A chemical substance that is released at the end of a nerve fiber by the arrival of a nerve impulse and, by diffusing across the synapse or junction, causes the transfer of the impulse to another nerve fiber, a muscle fiber, or some other structure. Google Dictionary

[v]      Interconnected nuclei that are located throughout the brainstem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reticular_formation

[vi]     “For every expert there is an equal and opposite expert.

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke

Greetings! This Journeyman course (i.e. Stage 2) is designed to be started after completion of the Apprenticeship program because there are vital skills that you will need before starting this course. Remember, a key to success is to not take shortcuts; just do what you are supposed to do.

The Journeyman program can be taken in a staffed classroom (best), in a small group (next best) or as a stand-alone course (not recommended because there is a lot of work and thus, there can be much ambiguity, frustration and doubt. Small groups overcome these problems and have the added benefit of enabling us to bond.

You should start each day as you start Stage-1

1. sign-in
2. Typing 20 minutes (you can download Mavis Beacon to your windows based PC) or download a typing app
3. Coursera 2 hours
4. Google Suite 1 hour
5. TED Talk: one as review

Remember Learning how to Learn: take a break every 20 minutes or so in order for the information to sink in to your brain.