Before I begin with my helpful hints, I’d like to tell you a bit about my experience with Landmark’s Forum & Advanced Courses. I took mine in 2014-2015 in NYC. I absolutely loved both courses. I went in with low expectations and a bit cynical and came out with way more insight into why I do & don’t do certain things. I was also taught how to chart a new course in order to live a happier, more abundant life! I was so impressed with both courses that I had my 8 year old daughter take “The Forum for Children”! I will post a full review in another article.
It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT you elevate your chance of success if you intend on taking any of Landmark’s courses. Why? Because these two courses are life altering if they are done the way they were designed to be done. If you add my helpful hints, I believe you will double your chances of getting the most out of these courses.
I took “The Forum” twice & “The Advanced Course” twice. Do you have to? That’s up to you! A year later I felt a strong desire to take them again. Wow, I’m glad I did!
By participating in “The Landmark Forum” you would be embarking on one of the most interesting experiences you have ever had, and probably ever will! I have seen the majority of the people in my groups move through barriers they have had their entire lives. It was so cool! I also saw people that just sat back as if they were in a typical classroom situation, which is the opposite of the way these classes were designed. So I guess you could say I’m a very good judge as to how to get the most out of these courses! It’s that cool!! So here we go:
- Disconnect from work & any drama you have going on in your life for the length of the entire course! Setup your life at home & work, ahead of time, to run smoothly without you for the 3 days!
- Do NOT attempt to impress anyone with your wisdom…Vulnerability makes you a Rock-Star here!
- RAISE YOUR HAND AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE, starting at the very beginning of day 1. Don’t wait till the end of day 1 to start participating. The people that share the earliest & the most, get the most respect & FaceTime with the coach.
- You MUST be coachable! That means for the 3 full days, do the curriculum the way it was designed to be done.
- Before you leave for most breaks put something down on a chair so when the break is over, you have the seat you want waiting for you when you get back. Remember you will be changing your seat after each break.
- For some of the lunch & dinner breaks, you may not be able to leave anything to mark your chair, in this case come back 20 minutes early to get a good seat. Positioning is VERY important. Sitting close to the coach encourages much more involvement in the class. It’s the same at any event.
- **Choose a seat near the center isle & within the 1st 5 rows or so. Front row 3-4 chairs on either side of the isle is ideal if you have the balls!
- YOU MUST DO EVERY ASSIGNMENT! I’m gonna say it again: YOU MUST DO EVERY ASSIGNMENT or stay home!
- Think outside the box while you are there! Be creative! Be daring!
- Don’t try to look good or sound good. Just be real!
- No need to wear expensive Jewelry. There is no one there you need to impress.
- Wear comfortable clothes.
- Seats don’t have much padding. If you can’t sit for long, bring a high density seat cushion. They do have some better chairs that are available by request. But then you are may be stuck sitting in a less than optimal area of the room.
- Feel free to take your shoes off if you want. Many people do.
- Put your phone in “airplane mode” so no calls interrupt plus it will keep your phone battery from draining down quickly. NO TEXTING or reading texts during the course, wait till the break. You need your distractions cut down as low as possible so you can focus on what you are there for!
- Bring an a/c phone charger for your phone, Landmark has power strips in the back of the room so you can plug your phone in while the courses are going on.
- You may or may not be able to take notes. It depends on the coach & the course. Call ahead to find out. Bring a notebook or a tablet, if they allow them.
- You can call ahead to find out who the coach is going to be for your class. Landmark doesn’t like you too because they can’t guarantee that will be your coach because sometimes circumstances change. I have had 4 different Landmark coaches & they were all awesome.
- Only water allowed in the forum room, no other food or beverages.
- Get a list of the places to eat in the area.
- Do not travel back & fourth to your home Friday & Saturday nights if it is more than 30 minutes away. Look into a hotel/motel or a friends place as close to the venue as possible. You will be wiped out by the end of each night & won’t want to spend it traveling too far.
- During the breaks, the forum leader is available for FaceTime at the front of the room. So you may want to hang out there. Otherwise make contact with other people & just talk. The people that have already done the course would be the best to start up a conversation with. You will be able to tell who they are because they will have a black line below their name on their name tag. There will only be about 18 people who are re-taking it, so search them out. They will be extremely approachable & willing to guide you 10x better than a newbie!!
- Stay away from the pretty girls, too distracting, HaHa.
- NEVER EVER BE LATE GETTING THERE IN THE MORNING OR COMING BACK FROM A BREAK. Plan to be back in the room 20 minutes early each time.
- When you get back to your place of rest, do your homework & review your notes. Have any questions you may have, ready for the next morning. ((Review the syllabus I gave you the link below))
- Always allow extra time when commuting. Anything can happen & probable will! Plan on being super early.
- DO NOT “LANDMARK” your spouse, friends or family, EVER. That means no teaching them or trying to change them. After your course is over you can sincerely suggest they take the course, but that’s it. No trying to pressure them. If you have actually done the course and fully participated, people closest to you will notice that you are operating at a much higher level. When they are ready, they will probably want to know what you did to get to where you are.
- Do not EVER use Landmark jargon outside of Landmark unless they are a Landmark graduate. Every industry has its own jargon, Landmark is no different. Jargon is meant for you to be able to have a clearer form of communication with others that share your education. If they do not, then It will put up a barrier between you and them.
- Landmark does not do typical advertising. They do a lot of telephone soliciting. If you ever get to the point where you would prefer they don’t call you…just kindly ask them to take you off their call list. They are more than happy to do this.
- VERY IMPORTANT. HERE IS A LINK For the Landmark Forum Syllabus: . http://landmarkforumsyllabus.com/ GO TO IT NOW. AT THE TOP HAS CHAPTERS FOR DAY 1 – DAY 2 – DAY 3. Open each day & print out the course outline & bring it with you. This will keep you on track & answer most questions you have. It will also keep you from getting lost so you can absorb the most! Don’t study it ahead of time, you’ll just get frustrated. The Advanced Course doesn’t have a syllabus on-line as of the printing of this article.
Good luck!
Steven D. Arecco
Contact Landmark Education if you are interested: http://www.landmarkworldwide.com
