Find your answer…

This morning, during a one on one practice with a strong, young, stud of a client, I sent him some unvarnished truth in LOVE. We’ve been working for quite some time on his CORE and OPUS. He can’t quite seem to finish his labor of love writing, much less living. Here are the verbatim notes from our practice. I hope this helps get you going…

We started with me asking you about your writing. You did some of your own but not the writing I asked for around opus. Why, I wonder. You told me you get better questions from associates when the CEO is out of town. And, you get to spend your time very strategically. Less blocking/tackling and more strategic. I asked what this has to do with your opus. You said alot. As you figure out your overarching vision this will energize you, you said. I stopped you and asked you to write what you are thinking about your job vs. your opus. 

You were hired, you think, to kinda clean up the crap so the CEO could focus on bigger things. When he’s out you get out of the pig pen and out in the clear. It feels fresh and invigorating. You get different questions and do different kinda chores. You like it. It seems more focused on strategically developing the younger teammates and thinking more long term how you impact the culture. You haven’t bought in to the concept that authoring your opus will enable this. You keep hoping you’ll just have more weeks like last week and eventually the labor of love will simply appear. I asked you to write why you believe this. You wrote at 8:50. 

You told me earlier, “I don’t have a good answer for that.” You say this alot. Do you know this? 

You began to explain your thinking. You think it’s a fear of what happens when you let other things you are busy doing, drop. Therefore you haven’t put in the time. You just keep doing what you think is supposed to be done and look, longingly, or not so longingly at the half finished masterpiece and imagine what life might look like when you finally have time to finish it, much less live it. “Inherently,” you began, “I’m more of a doer than a thinker.  I rarerly ever pause. These days most people are simply running on the hampster wheel, which makes me average which isn’t what I strive to be.” 

I told you that you are mired in the mediocre middle even though God gave you world class talent. You’re coasting. I then told you the story of your cube. You are settling for shoveling shit in a cube when the offer of a soccer field, mountains, blue sky, and a river stream are being offered. You are a soft, settler. You are better than this. I asked you to write what you’re thinking at 9:08. You are wasting the gift you’ve been given, you began. You are not doing the hard work on your masterpiece. You are accepting the mediocre middle and with your talent level it looks pretty good. It’s not.

I reminded you of your strengths and encouraged you while kicking your ASS. You are much better than this. Finish your masterpiece. Enjoy the process. We’ll get busy doing soon enough. Finish the painting, first. 

You can do this. Will you?

PA:

It’s time to focus. Opus in a tool to give you this kinda focus. Stop shoveling all day long. Don’t you think it’s time to live up to your God given potential instead of just getting by? 

Find your answer for that. Don’t ever tell yourself, again, you don’t have an answer. Find your answer. Good.