My Seven-Minute Evolution
According to my best paleological sources, evolution doesn't happen slowly and gradually, it sits quietly in the background, building up 'pressure' until, suddenly, it bursts out onto the scene all at once. That's what happened in the evolution of the universe and, at least in my opinion, that's what happens to you and me. We don't progress incrementally, but by quantum leaps.
Yesterday, I flew from Los Angeles back to the East Coast. I took the free shuttle from the hotel where I was staying to the airline terminal — a trip that took less than ten minutes. An airline pilot named Gary was sitting next to me, and we got to talking. Since he was in uniform, I hardly needed to ask what he did for a living, but we life coaches don't wear any distinctive garb, so he had to ask. I told him that I was a coach, and I told him that I was working to encourage people to reorganize their lives, so that they'd have more time for themselves and their families. What he said next stopped me in my tracks.
A little background: I was just coming from a three-day intensive workshop on the subject of creating incredible workshops, and I was really psyched and ready to get going putting together the program I was planning: a program to help busy realtors cope with the current housing market in a way that wouldn't over-stress them or their families. At least that was the plan before I spoke to Gary.
What Gary said to me was that he wished there were a kind of program that would address the concerns of many successful men in his stage of life. The light went on in my head, and suddenly the plight of my realtor friends had to take a step back. The issue that Gary raised with me is a very serious problem, and one that will only get worse as time goes on. I imagine that you could hear the 'click' in my brain (and my heart) from 'sea to shining sea'. The fire was lit, and I was off and running!
It would be more comfortable if evolution happened gradually; unfortunately (or, maybe, fortunately), it doesn't. Little fissures of inspiration open up just for a brief instant in the strict order of our plans, and it takes a kind of extra-sharp awareness to catch them. They're here and gone before you know what's happened. In business, in life, in the entire universe, the principle is the same: evolve or die. You can be sure that the forces of your own evolution are building within you right here and now. You can also be certain that you're not going to be able to predict the time or place when that evolutionary pressure cracks open the shell of monotony and confronts you — maybe even only for seven minutes on a shuttle bus to the airport!
What does that mean for creating and maintaining a balanced life? Just everything! Balance isn't boring. Balance isn't static. Think of yourself poised on a surfboard, skimming along the top of a raging, roaring wave. To stay upright, you've got to maintain your balance, but only by being ready to shift your weight in any direction at any instant. That's balance, not some imaginary stasis where you don't need to expend any energy and you don't need to anticipate the unexpected.
OK . . . Consider that you've got an evolution building inside of you (because you do). Now consider that, in order to allow it to take hold of you and transform you, you've got to be ready for it. What does that mean for you right here and now? What's weighing you down and holding you locked in place that you need to get rid of right away? What kinds of preparations do you need to make this instant in anticipation of the fact that tomorrow might not look anything like your best expectations? When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. When the visionary is ready, the inspiration will appear. What frame of mind do you have to create to make room for your 'seven-minute evolution' to appear? Mark my words: it's coming!
H. Les Brown, MA, CFCC
Copyright © 2008 H. Les Brown
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