Author: Chet

Becoming BTL involves finding the melody line and then a thousand nuances and a thousand more. Let’s start with finding the melody line. CORE, OPUS, PoP. This is the melody line. Discovering and cultivating who you are. Authoring an authentic aim for work and life. And the discipline of productive action. CORE. OPUS. PoP. CORE. … Continue reading Day 10 (The melody line of BTL)…

Today is our daughters birthday. She belongs with our family. She is a grown woman, autonomous and figuring out where else she fits in. She has a boyfriend and a few close friends. She works for a great company and with solid citizens. She is a work in process. She, just like you and me, … Continue reading Day 9 (Belong and become)…

Today, during another transformational Friday Band practice, we talked about death as regards to our work. For many of us our identity is tied to our work. We talk about faith and family, certainly. We talk about our identities as a neighbor and friend. We talk about hobbies, travel, and charitable contributions. However, when we … Continue reading Day 8 (Death)…

When I was a kid, fear ruled me. I had nightmares and couldn’t seem to get them out of my weak mind. My dad would tell me stories and lay beside me on many nights to calm me down. Was. Not. Pretty. I was afraid of the basement, darkness, and always thought to look over … Continue reading Day 7 (Big Five Fears)…

This is one of my favorite days in the book. My worldview and life changed for the better when I began to believe that life is designed to be hard. I used to run from anything hard. Now I run into a few things that are hard. I still run from lots of hard things … Continue reading Day 6 (Hard to hardened)…

You and I are designed to love the Shire and leave it too. Your Builder’s journey is hard OPUS. This is by design. The good life, as I described to a client this early am, is not meant to be the easy life. In fact, great lives are defined by ones ability to do hard … Continue reading Day 5 (Builder’s journey)…

You and I cannot truly give ourselves to another, or to anything, until we’ve flipped ourselves into someone CORE centered and self controlling. This is grueling, relentless, and revealing. Few have the stomach for it. Most of us settle for being less self absorbed than our neighbors and leave it at that. The CORE centered … Continue reading Day 4 (Self centered and other controlling)…

You and I are wired to chase metrics over meaning. It’s easier. Most Americans know their net worth. Few know themselves. Becoming BTL takes a lot of solitary confinement. You must go to your room and come to love not loathe alone time. Happiness, remember, is a horrible aim but a wonderful outcome. So, this … Continue reading Day 3 (Happiness)…