I wrote this article once, then once over, and then once more. On the job, always check your work three times, as my father used to say.
The main challenge with starting to write online is not knowing who the reader will be. Sure, I have an idea who might benefit from my contributions – know your avatar, your target market, as a business consultant would say - but I don’t know who’s actually reading. Hoping that my thoughts will be useful to you, the initial step will be to present the general framework of my perspective, and to do it in a way that you can benefit from it. How to present my ideas in a way you can grasp? What’s your experience, your context, your language?
There are as many paths leading to this platform as there are people using it, so I don’t really know you yet. Can’t feel the vibe from here - or even see your face – so please let me ask: who reads articles with the #growth tag? Artists? Geeks? Pros? Mothers-of-two?
To one and all, welcome, welcome!
Hopefully I get to meet you through time and in the comments. For now, though, I hope you understand that I’ll have to stay general. I’m aiming at a smart crowd, who can hopefully identify real value when they see it, and we’ll start from there.
So let’s pick my brain and see what you might like. It’s like a library being converted into a temple, shifting towards zen while coming from an encyclopedic background - there are still fresh books piled up by the yoga mat, and plenty of well-worn, earmarked classics in the corners. My brain studied Physics, loved understanding complex systems, but got disappointed when the Standard Model failed at improving the human condition. That brain understood the limitations of strictly-rational, overly-dissociative intellect, then resolved to balance left and right, to study holistic perspectives, and to apply through practice.
9 years later, constantly refining my model of reality, I’ve come to understand that we always have more options than we can see, that even though it can be hard to accept, life actually is a game, and that the key to leveling up lies in facing discomfort. Mental, emotional and spiritual discomfort more than physical, but that is definitely there too.
I learned that we can fall and pick ourselves up, but that if we never risk the fall our return on investment will always remain minimal.
So what will you find here? You might find the endocrine function of brown fat mentioned in the same sentence as the biodynamics of essential oils, or a discussion of chaos physics leading to the practical application of meditation. I don’t know what I’ll say, but I do know that I will speak it with goodwill and integrity. So, whatever you find here, remember that “it is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain an idea without accepting it”, as supposedly said Aristotle. The only thing I'll ask you is to stretch your mind and value knowledge in practical application, rather than intellectual abstraction (though there’ll be some of that too).
So what tools should I discuss first – well, it depends. What are the main challenges you are facing in your lives? Whatever it is, there are solutions that we cannot see until we expand our perspectives. For now, I’ll take a guess and keep writing – hopefully I’ll get to meet you in the comments. One thing I know for sure, the path really only starts when we learn to stand in discomfort as we face the unexpected and the unknown, and start to expand our comfort zone rather than shrink away. Open your mind and Life will bring you all you need.
By the way - have you tried yoga? Or being an entrepreneur? Both of these, although seemingly unrelated, allow you to accelerate your growth by facing the music.
And when you face the music, you finally have a chance to dance.
Utmost blessings,
@MasterCoach
