Malena Henderson's Notes On:

Day 1

GrowthDay LIVE 2025

Day 1 focused on the core concepts of alignment and activation, teaching us to become the "director" of our character rather than the reactor, while addressing the "FADE" factors (Fatigue, Aimlessness, Discouragement, and Ego) that keep people stuck.

Guest speaker Damon West shared his powerful "Coffee Bean" metaphor from his prison transformation story, inspiring us to transform our environment rather than letting circumstances change us.

Brendon introduced the "Ascendancy Drive" mindset and practical techniques for realigning when life knocks you into the "pit", emphasizing that greater alignment leads to greater assignments in life.

What started as a great way to get "aligned" with life, business, and relationships, my husband Matt and I purchased tickets the moment they went on sale.

Unfortunately, Matt and our dog Marty ended up not being able to make the trip. So, this became a solo adventure for me into the unbelievable world of GrowthDay!

These are my personal notes from the event. I am not associated with Brendon Burchard, GrowthDay or Ultra. Any links on this site are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you use them to purchase any product.

Our #1 Job

Summon & Activate

  • If the best version of you showed up, what would that character look like?

  • Are you the reactor in the scene or the Director of the character?

  • Always enter a scene with intention

Director vs. Character

  • Summon and activate the best of who you are

  • Be a bigger priority for yourself; when you improve self, you help others improve

Align & Activate

  • What are the 3 big goals or reasons you need to activate?

  • Alignment

    • Things have aligned in the past; have faith they're aligning for the future

    • Must stay vigilant with realigning when off course or discouraged

  • Activation

    • MOVE! Get in play state

    • Activate to generate joy, generate happiness, generate wealth

What started as a great way to get "aligned" with life, business, and relationships, my husband Matt and I purchased tickets the moment they went on sale.

Unfortunately, Matt and our dog Marty ended up not being able to make the trip. So, this became a solo adventure for me into the unbelievable world of GrowthDay!

These are my personal notes from the event. I am not associated with Brendon Burchard, GrowthDay or Ultra. Any links on this site are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you use them to purchase any product.

Overcoming Being Stuck: Levels of Growth and Ascendancy

Understanding Feeling Stuck

  • Feeling stuck = suffering when things aren't changing

  • People feel stuck in various areas: health, marriage, business, revenue, career

  • Key question: Why don't you get aligned and activated?

  • Same fear affects people differently - some face it, others avoid it

  • Two roles in the room: learning for yourself and as a leader

  • Personal development isn't about fixing immediate problems but leveling up

Levels of Consciousness and Being

  • Different levels of consciousness define species and progress

    • Matter (rocks) - Plants - Animals - Humans

      • Humans uniquely can see and scale beyond biological/species needs. We have “capax universi” (ability to internalize the universe)

  • Levels apply to personal growth, progress, love, capability

  • Important to acknowledge we're at different levels than before (e.g., high school vs. college, college vs. now)

  • Certainty vs. Curiosity

    • Certainty = stubbornness, less questioning or seeking

    • Curiosity = we need to stay vigilant, curious, and dynamic

FADE Framework

  • F = Fatigue

    • Tired at current level - just too tired at this level to level up

    • Need to identify where you’re fatigued; mentally, spiritually, emotionally or biologically

    • Remember - our current energy levels are primarily determined by last 72 hours of sleep, food, recovery (need to optimize to ensure our fatigue happens less

  • A = Aimlessness

    • Wandering with no aim, distracted - distraction is stealing our destiny

    • Phone/technology creates a prison-like distraction

    • More aimless days lead to more time in the “pit”

  • D = Discouragement

    • When discouraged, people detach from motion

    • Need to release discouragement quickly and REACTIVATE

    • It’s okay to fall into the “pit” but we can’t stay down there; speed up our time to resilience

  • E = Ego

    • Separation from the moment, people, better strategies; “that’s just who I am” mentality

    • Makes you feel special, deserving but higher ego = more self-criticism

    • EGO (Edging God Out)

Deficiency Drive vs. Ascendancy Drive

  • Deficiency Drive - trying to fill a void

    • Driving life based on what’s missing (I need, have enough)

    • Boom and bust cycles

    • Fighting to return to homeostasis/victory is actually just the same level

  • Ascendancy Drive: leveling up!

    • As humans we look up; sky’s the limit, look up to the sun - upward aim

    • Growth mindset; shift from “why is this happening to me?” to “but what I want is..”

    • Be the director of your character, not the supporting role

MAPS Framework for Ascendancy

  • M = Motivation

    • Need to understand what is driving you; tap into inner drive

    • Doesn’t always mean enthusiasm/happiness

    • Can’t have discipline without motivation

  • A = Assertiveness

    • “Assert yourself back into play motion”

    • Clarity and directness of communication; “say it straight”

    • Example of using a sword; straight/forward/direct

  • P = Priority

    • We must manage competing interests; “I want to start my own thing but I need health benefits”

    • Achievement isn’t the problem, alignment is

    • Effort isn’t the problem, prioritization is

  • S = Socialize the journey

    • Be a role model, lead others

    • When in the "pit" we just fight for ourselves

    • When in ascendancy drive we're fighting for others

What started as a great way to get "aligned" with life, business, and relationships, my husband Matt and I purchased tickets the moment they went on sale.

Unfortunately, Matt and our dog Marty ended up not being able to make the trip. So, this became a solo adventure for me into the unbelievable world of GrowthDay!

These are my personal notes from the event. I am not associated with Brendon Burchard, GrowthDay or Ultra. Any links on this site are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you use them to purchase any product.

"Only two things change your life: Either something new comes into your life, or something new comes from within"

Brendon Burchard

Damon West: Becoming a Coffee Bean

Damon West

  • “If someone took control of your life tomorrow, what’s the first thing they would change?”

  • "Uptown Burglar"; 65-year prison sentence; served 7, on parole until 2073

  • Privileged background: two-parent home, nice town, successful athlete

  • Congress, then stockbroker at UBS when tried crystal meth - lost everything w/in 18 months

  • Became coffee bean in prison; took on fights, dealt w/hard stuff but also helped educate inmates, became chapel clerk

  • Parole officer said he didn’t just change himself; he changed entire prison around him

  • Power is inside of us; we can BE THE COFFEE BEAN

The Coffee Bean

  • Fellow inmate Muhammad told coffee bean metaphor

  • “Prison is like boiling water”

    • carrots become soft and weak

    • eggs become hard and bitter

    • coffee beans transform the water around them

  • Coffee bean represents our ability to transform our environment vs. it changing us

Coffee Bean Principles

  • Have positive body language everywhere you go

    • Smile is so powerful it creates chain reaction of positive energy

    • You either "infect" or "affect" every room you enter

  • Set a loop of accountability

    • Work on yourself daily; spiritually, mentally, physically

    • Daily prayer, exercise, mind work

  • Servant leadership

    • Help others reach their goals

    • Look for purpose in helping others; will find success

  • Understand what you can and can’t control

    • We can only control what we say, do, feel

    • Toughest prison is the prison in our mid

  • Your past does not define you

    • The past is a lesson (remember times you’ve won), present is a gift and future is motivation

    • Must persist through rejection and difficulties; you want to win?..get up!

Remember

  • Life is the pot of boiling water; hard, stressful, difficult but we can choose to be a coffee bean (vs. carrot or egg)

  • Integrity is what we do when no one is looking

What started as a great way to get "aligned" with life, business, and relationships, my husband Matt and I purchased tickets the moment they went on sale.

Unfortunately, Matt and our dog Marty ended up not being able to make the trip. So, this became a solo adventure for me into the unbelievable world of GrowthDay!

These are my personal notes from the event. I am not associated with Brendon Burchard, GrowthDay or Ultra. Any links on this site are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you use them to purchase any product.

Alignment and Activation for Personal Growth

"How Do We Ascend?"

Ascension and Alignment

  • Achievement is not the problem; alignment is (mental & physical)

  • As humans we try to ascend but hit challenges; we must realign to progress, or go up

  • We “FADE” (fatigue, aimless, discouraged, ego driven)

  • People try to "ascend" but face challenges

  • Our physical alignment connects to our mental alignment

    • Poor posture restricts breathing

    • Correct alignment provides more strength & flexibility

  • When we’re in alignment we get more power

  • Never limit vision of the future based on current circumstances

  • Live in our intention, not just the state

Energy and Mental Activation

  • Take breaks every 15 mins to realign

  • Energy - tapping technique while saying your intention, or 3 words

  • Mental - visualize energy, think of fireworks in your mind, deep breathing

Generator Mindset

  • Need to generate the things we want vs. waiting for it to happen.

    • “I’m generating wealth” vs. “I’m rich”

    • I choose growth

  • 3 reasons we generate

    • Aliveness (feel alive, energized)

    • Connection (relationship w/self and others)

    • Meaningful Pursuits (activities w/a purpose)

  • We must always choose to grow

    • Fall down? Recalibrate - aim high.

    • Fall? Recalibrate - aim high

We Get ZAP’d

  • Z - Zoom in on negative & catastrophize (this is scary so I’ll stop) vs. zoom out to see bigger picture and realign

  • A - Attach identity to the negative vs. connecting to something higher

  • P - Punish or procrastinate vs. progress and get back in the game, play state

Confidence

  • "belief in ability to figure things out"

  • Must look back and remember our past wins; give self credit for overcoming challenges

  • Speak w/encouragement about self

Alignment = Assignment

  • "Greater the alignment, greater the assignment"

  • TRUST that these present things are aligning for a positive future just like the past aligned to get us into Growth Day

What started as a great way to get "aligned" with life, business, and relationships, my husband Matt and I purchased tickets the moment they went on sale.

Unfortunately, Matt and our dog Marty ended up not being able to make the trip. So, this became a solo adventure for me into the unbelievable world of GrowthDay!

These are my personal notes from the event. I am not associated with Brendon Burchard, GrowthDay or Ultra. Any links on this site are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you use them to purchase any product.

Want to Implement These Insights from Day 1?

These notes capture what I learned, but the real transformation happened when I started using the GrowthDay app daily.

It's where I:

  • Journal with Brendon's guided prompts every morning

  • Get personalized coaching from Brendon AI

  • Track my progress on becoming "the director" instead of "the character"

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