015: Holding the Pose Towards Mastery

Computers were my original passion.

I started learning to code back in middle school, and enjoyed figuring out how I could build websites way back before that was a thing. I started with Basic Programming, and then began playing with video game engines, as I was interested in learning how to design games like the ones I was enjoying at the time like Doom and Wolfenstein 3D.

I stuck with developing my coding chops for a while but then decided that I wanted to pursue music, and really dove deep into learning how to play the trumpet, at times practicing up to 3 hours a day on my quest for mastery.
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Then I stopped taking it seriously my junior year of high school when I decided I wanted to be popular, actually get a girlfriend, bulk up and get fit. I joined the wrestling team at the suggestion of a friend, and for the next year and a half the gym was my home away from home. I gained about 20 pounds of muscle and before long was dating the captain of the cheerleading team.
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I've always had this pattern that once I knew I was on the path towards mastery, something would sound off in my head telling me "You've got this - what else can you achieve that seems impossible right now?".

On one hand I think this love for learning amazing new skills is honorable, and on the other theres a huge difference between "being on the path towards mastery" and actually achieving mastery in your craft.

And as I entered the professional phase of my life after college, I can see where this pattern continued to play out with similar effect.
I wanted to work in the music business, so I went out got an internship which led to a pretty cool job. Before long I was spending most of my time working alongside very famous people.
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Think of anyone that was on top 40 radio in the early 2000's, and there's a pretty strong chance I was working with them during this time.

I did that for a few years until I had the realization that the lifestyle wasn't really what I wanted for myself long-term, and if I'm honest with you, I struggled with keeping myself away from the temptations that came along with it.

After a few sideways years, I made my way back to my original love of computing, and landed myself a gig of a lifetime working in tech at Intuit.

I directly helped manage key accounts with big brands like Tesla, Playstation, and Google, eventually working my way into a pretty sweet gig as a product manager before getting the entrepreneurial bug after reading one two many Tim Ferriss and Zen Habits blog articles.

So I pivoted again, this time jumping ship to help my wife run her growing audiology private practice, before moving full time into running a marketing agency in the hearing healthcare space.
I massively grew that business over a couple of years, landing a few high-profile fractional CMO gigs in the online business world before that was really even a thing, which brings us pretty close to where I am today.

It's been an amazing ride of following my passion and shaking things up, but sometimes I can't help but wonder where I'd be if I had stuck around long enough in any of these roles to really achieve true mastery.

I don't regret my path, and I'm super happy with my life as it is, and with what Carolina and I are building here at Sacred Business Flow.
But ... I have had some good reflection as I look to move forward with a different energy, and building new skills rather than continuing to fully lean on the ones that brought me to this point.

I suspect that this may be a common experience for many people, especially those driven and captivated by the allure of being on the entrepreneurial rollercoaster.

What if you had just kept going with an earlier decision you made for yourself?

Where might you be? Who would you have become?

For me, this is where frequency 8 from our harmony map is important, faith.

It is an intuitive certainty, a knowing beyond the logical mind, that what we are undertaking, and our life experiences are unfolding just as they should, even in moments of doubt or uncertainty.
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I don't believe it's helpful to look back at your life and second guess the way it's played out beyond having a willingness to take a pause and ask yourself a single question:

Are the same patterns that got you to where you are today, the most useful way of approaching your next step forward?

For me, its reflecting on the difficult act of balancing two internal motivations that are often in direct conflict: Should I stay or should I go?

Sometimes there are very valid reasons why you should make a meaningful change in your life. If you are consistently unhappy in your current work and burning out then you should ask the question, what sort of new career will better align with your passions and skills, lead to you feeling more connected, and ultimately provide you a better quality of life?

If you stay too long in a relationship that isn't nurturing your soul on a deep level, and contributing to a amazing life, could you be limiting your capacity for having a beautiful new experience?

That said, many of us tend to orient more to the go mode even when it might make sense to stay with something. We can often find a million reasons to justify any given change we're contemplating.

Maybe more often than not, it's simply boredom at the root of things.
Maybe sometimes we're simply in the pursuit of something exciting, getting ourselves caught in the trap of chasing novelty to keep ourselves entertained.

This constant pursuit of something new can sometimes lead us away from the path of mastery, as we get distracted by the allure of the unknown.

This is not to say that exploration and novelty are bad.

In fact, they can be incredibly enriching and lead to a life filled with diverse experiences. But it's important to recognize when our desire for the new is causing us to abandon our most powerful commitments prematurely.

The uncomfortable truth is that we'll never fully know whether we're making the right decisions or if we're simply being led by our desire for novelty.

Again, that faith thing.

Allowing yourself to quiet, sitting with yourself, and cultivating present awareness helps.

If you find yourself at a critical inflection point where you have the awareness that there is something greater that your soul has been calling you towards, I believe the best thing you can do is to make that scary commitment that you've been afraid to make.

I love this quote by Steven Pressfield:

"When we put our ass where our heart wants to be, we're taking a step that has terrified the human race since our days back in the cave. Why is commitment so scary? Because when we commit, we're moving from the Known to the Unknown ... Don't try to overcome your fear. Fear cannot be overcome. Instead simply move your body into the physical space you fear ... and see what happens."

The part of us that loves the new doesn't want to make that commitment. Once the novelty of a project or decision has worn off, it would much rather find the fastest path to exit door, and seek another playground to rejoice in for a little while.

But I believe that continuing to let this part of us lead the way may be cutting us off from a richness of life that is experienced only by the brave few who are willing to hold the pose and simply stay with their commitment.

This will take practice. It will require self-awareness, patience, and a willingness to sit with discomfort.

By learning to balance our love for new experiences with an unwavering commitment to our goals, we can lead a life that is both exciting and fulfilling beyond our wildest dreams.

Let's embrace novelty, but not at the expense of our commitments.
Since you are still here with me, what is one commitment your soul has been whispering to you to make?

Can you verbally acknowledge it by saying it out loud?

Maybe take a walk as you lean into a new future where you've already put aside distractions, said no to things that aren't aligned with your soul's purpose, and powerfully committed to the road less traveled of becoming masterful.

How does it feel in your body to be living into your dream?

Stay with it a little bit longer. Enjoy.

Happenings

The Sacred Business Harmony Map Assessment™

We are continuing the work to codify a HUGE part of what we'll be offering in our brand new coaching offering Be The Flow, as it relates to the 9 Fundamental Frequencies of Sacred Business.

The 9 Frequencies represent the aspects of you, your business, and the divine that need to be developed and brought into harmony.

When brought in to harmony, this is when we achieve more clarity, confidence, and connection with our purpose.

You begin to experience a true abundance of time, money and freedom accompanied by natural, calm energy levels you could only dream of previously.

Related to this, we've begun work on a harmony map assessment to represent the frequencies you should be working to powerfully bring your sacred business forward.

Be one of the first to check it out here.

A Strong Start to 2024 ...

We're all full for 2023, but we've decided to continue to offer 3 additional vip weekends in Q1 of 2024 for driven entrepreneurs looking to connect with the most powerful version of themselves that shows up authentically, creatively and powerfully in alignment to a plan for action.

It's time to fall back in love with your business.

We've been doing this over a 3-day weekend in some of Costa Rica's most beautiful locations.

If you'd like to start the new year strong with a powerful plan and vision for the next year in your business, simply reply to this email and we are happy to co-create an experience with you in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Who We Are Celebrating This Week: Kimmy Seltzer

Carolina and I caught up with Kimmy in San Antonio, Texas recently at Ron Reich's Limitless Experience where we shared the stage for the 7-figure growth panel. I met her originally back in 2017, but it was a real joy to reconnect and see how far she has come in her business!

Kimmy is a joy to be around and brings such light into the room.

Kimmy is a dating, makeover and confidence expert who teaches people over 40 how to build confidence from the outside, in.

She’s consulted thousands of people to revamp their style, boost their confidence and most importantly, find love.

We're celebrating Kimmy's recent appearance on The Tamron Hall Show where she joins a conversation with “The Golden Bachelor” Gerry Turner to get candid about dating after 40. TikTok star Tiffany Maldonado also weighs in on the discussion.

Check it out here:

Follow Kimmy on Instagram Here.

Things I'd Like to Share

GigaBrain (Click Here)

GigaBrain scans billions of discussions on reddit and other online communities to find the most useful posts and comments for you.

Lessons for Living (Click Here)

I learned about this brand new book from Brian Johnson, in one his Heroic Coaching emails. It is written by Phil Stutz, one of Brians mentors and author of another very famous book called The Tools.

I've just started reading it, and I have to say, its full of some great wisdom.

Here is a quote excerpt I really appreciated:

"Remember: whatever you are creating, you are not creating alone. Everything new is a co-production between you and the life forces of the universe. A correction means you approached these higher forces in the wrong way. You may discover you are a novelist, not a screenwriter, or that you need to start a different kind of business. Co-creating with higher forces is a profound activity and we rarely get it right on the first pass, or even the first hundred passes. Once you accept this you begin to feel a divine wisdom from even the most negative consequences. At this point you can’t be stopped. You can create every day for the rest of your life. And that feels better than all the money in the world"

Heartbeat (Link)

Carolina and I have been evaluating community tools for a new offer we are brewing up for 2024 called Sacred Business Club. I've been a longtime user of Circle, but recently I've been impressed with the simplicity of Heartbeat, the all-in-one platform for community businesses.

We've migrated our Radiant Flow practice group here, and plan to build out more using this platform going forward.

Memorable Quote:

"We change only by changing the now. That is all we have to work with. What I do now is me and molds who I will become tomorrow. Make no mistake, there is no other time. The whole rests on what I do now" - David K. Reynolds, Constructive Living​