Monroe Mann’s

AMERICAN BREAK DIVING ASSOCIATION

2008 Official Handbook - v.3 (5/2008)

©(tm) 2002 - 2008 by Monroe Mann
American Break Diving Association
NO RULES. NO EXCUSES. NO REGRETS.®
www.BreakDiving.com

BREAK DIVING
Break Diving is the lost art of finding and creating opportunity.  Members live by the Break Diver’s Creed of “No Rules, No Excuses, No Regrets”. 

MEMBERS
Membership is comprised of Unstoppable Artists' alumni, as well as those who meet the public criteria for membership.  Members are unified in their quest to become and stay successful, to do as many cool things with their life as possible, and to help others do the same.  They actively strive to live a life of no rules, no excuses, and no regrets, and want to hang out, interact, and succeed with other people of a similarly driven mindset through our online message board, online chats, phone conferences, in-person get togethers, and our 1-degree networking system. 

THE BREAK DIVING MOTTO
Break Divers are today's rule breakers, and tomorrow’s champions.  Break Divers don’t give up.  Break Divers push on when everyone else wants to quit.  Break Divers do whatever it takes to find opportunity where everybody else has stopped looking.  Bottom line, instead of waiting for opportunities to float to the surface, Break Divers dive right in to the cold and icy waters of resistance, and emerge triumphant, with opportunity firmly grasped in both of their hands.  Wait for opportunity to knock?  We don’t think so.  We’ll knock that door to the ground.  We are Break Divers… and we will find a way.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION & ACCEPTANCE REQUIREMENTS
In order to be eligible to join Break Diving:

A.       - You must be a current client of Unstoppable Artists (OR pay current initiation fee of $100)
B.       - You must agree to live by the Break Diver's Creed and philosophy
C.       - You must pay pro-rated dues for the current period (current dues $50.00)
D.       - You must complete an application online
E.       - You must be informally interviewed and personally invited by Monroe Mann

TYPES OF MEMBERSHIP
A. Basic Membership: you will have access to message board, chat rooms, phone meetings, and basic break diving get togethers. 

Minimum Activity Requirements:
1. you must be in good standing with dues;
2. you must share 5 contacts each month and help those members who contact you through the 1-degree program

B. Advanced/Elite Membership: you will have the same benefits as a basic member, PLUS, you will have access to the 'Elite' forum on the message board, and you will be invited and eligible to attend Elite get aways, retreats, meetings, and events reserved exclusively for Break Diving Elite members.

Minimum Activity Requirements:
1. you must be in good standing with dues;
2. you must share 5 contacts each month and help those members who contact you through the 1-degree program;
3. you must have a clear 'dive plan' AND be interviewed by phone by Monroe Mann;
4. you must be certified as at least an 'intermediate' break diver;
5. you must earn at least 20 participation points each dues period.

DIVING
In our shared quest for greatness, members can choose to work to achieve official ‘dive’ certifications from the American Break Diving Association’s ever growing list of official ‘Break Dives’, such as:

*  ‘Politician’, for someone who has run for or held public office
* ‘Thrill Seeker’, for someone who has gone sky diving, scuba diving, and bungee jumping
* ‘Pilot’, for someone who has earned their pilot’s license
* ‘Published Author’, for someone who has at least two books published and available
* ‘International Living’, for someone who owns a home outside of their home country
* ‘National Celebrity’, for someone who is a national celebrity
* and tens and tens more. (See 'Official Dives')

Members strive every 6 months' dues period to get closer to reaching another of the goals on their personal ‘dive’ list.  You’ll gain help from your fellow members along the way—on the message board, during Break Diving conference calls, and even during in-person meetings, held across the country in various cities.

ONE-DEGREE NETWORKING SYSTEM (tm)
Each dues period, all members are required to share the names and affiliations (NOT contact information) of five people with whom they can connect other Break Diving members.  These names are compiled each dues period into the latest ABDA ‘1-Degree Networking List’ which is provided at no additional charge to current members.

NOTE: No contact information of your connections is ever shared with ABDA members unless you so choose.

MEMBERSHIP LEVELS
The more dives you certifiably accomplish, the higher your status in the break diving association:

The various levels of membership

a. Break Diver      Upon Joining     
b. Intermediate    5 Dives             ($25 to apply for certification processing) 
c. Advanced        10 Dives           ($25 to apply for certification processing) 
d. Expert            15 Dives           ($25 to apply for certification processing) 
e. Dive Master     20 Dives           ($25 to apply for certification processing)

NOTE: you may certify on individual dives for $10.00.  You are not certified on a dive until you receive an official email from Unstoppable Artists confirming your certification.  You may not list yourself as a member of Break Diving if your current dues have not been paid.

RATIONALE FOR CERTIFICATION LEVELS
Members want to move up the ranks for a number of reasons:
* For every successful dive, you can add a new ‘dive’ to your break diving profile, i.e. Thrill Seeker, Pilot, Weight Dropper, etc
* Each dive certification confirms you are accomplishing something amazing with your life
* The higher rank you are, the higher your discounts with participating merchants

REQUIRED MEMBER PARTICIPATION (only applies to Elite members)
Since the success of the group as a whole depends in large part on group interaction, Elite members are expected to participate in the success of the group as a whole.  In order to do so, and thus remain an Elite member in good standing, each Elite member must earn a minimum of 20 participation points during every 6 month dues period (Participation Points System, or pps).  Because Elite members are each involved in diverse and varied lives, with different strengths, and time schedules, there are a number of different ways Elite members can earn participation points:

            Point System

                        1 point     For each post/reply in the online message board
                        3 points    For participating in half of a group phone chat
                        5 points    For participating in a full phone chat
                        7 points    For attending half of an in-person group meeting
                        10 points  For attending a full in-person group meeting
                        10 points  For mentoring a Basic member for one month via email
                        12 points  For referring someone to the group who joins
                        18 points  For officially certifying in a new ‘dive’
                        20 points  For officially certifying at a new ‘level’

            Examples - During any given six month dues period:

* Member A might reach 20 points by posting/replying at least 20 times on the message board (20 points).
* Member B might reach 20 points by posting 5 times on the message board (5 points), attending one full member phone chat (5 points), and for referring someone to the group who becomes a member (12 points).
* Member C might move up in rank from the intermediate level, to the advanced level (20 points), and at the same time, his 6-month dues payments get reduced according to the schedule above.

If you are interested in applying for membership, please click on the 'Apply Now' button and let's get you started!