It has been three months since I lost it with a friend over having to sell myself for the sake of my work. We resolved the issue very effectively and in the intervening period we have moved at a rate which has brought us to a place of abundance. We now have a new website, with another one in development; we are filming videos for both sites; I have begun recording a podcast series; and we have a clear direction, with what feels like formidable momentum.
This post is about something which Karaj used to talk about: continue to lay the foundations and things will happen (quickly). Until then, be patient. Here is an entry from February 2001:
I just need to have faith and to continue laying the foundations, which is another subject we talked about. Karaj has said to me before that when it happens it will happen quickly. However, it cannot happen until the foundations are in place
And this from September 2001:
…we are now at the stage where we have solid foundations upon which we can build the next level, and with those solidly in place we will be able to build some very impressive structures.
[Karaj: We need to keep reminding ourselves of the foundations with each new brick we lay.]
It all began at the end of last summer when my friend invited me to sit with him at a beach café and work out how we could simplify my work in a way which everyone could immediately understand. Our job that afternoon was made easy because a year before I had already compiled a list of the most important blog posts. That list effortlessly yielded nine areas of importance when working on yourself. (Note: it was effortless because the foundations were already in place.)
Within three weeks, the whole idea became encapsulated as The Instruction Manual. A simple imperative to write stuff down and see what happens. (What happens is that you experience the first eight of the nine areas, and you naturally discover more about yourself as you do.) Those nine areas soon became the nine Tiles, with Tile9 created as a separate website dedicated to following what happens when we look beyond the instruction manual.
The videos for both websites are being filmed and are beginning to appear. The two of us are enjoying the process immensely. We work well together, and we have high standards which will ensure that the videos, as well as every other area of our collaboration, will be the best we can possibly produce.
One nice example of foundations and patience came when my friend shared his ideas of what else we might consider doing. Podcasts, for example. I explained that for three years I’d had the idea to read from my own instruction manual, adding extra insights and explanations along the way. He already had the equipment and technical know-how, and so the first episode is about to go online. Again, effortless because of the foundations.
We can easily become frustrated because we have expectations(!) about how things should work out. But if you let go of them and simply work on building your foundations, you will find that when the time is right, things will happen swiftly. You need to be ready, so use the time to prepare yourself, too. Be patient with yourself and your process, keep building the foundations brick by brick… and enjoy the magic when it happens.
[Update: This whole project came to an end less than two months after this post. You can read more about what happened in the entry, The Pendulum Swings.]
Related posts: Laying The Foundations | Solid Foundations | Continue To Lay The Foundations | Punctuated Equilibrium | I Am My Own Foundation |