Hi Friend
What a fun week! I moved Lincoln into his studio apartment in Chicago. I drove him there because he didn’t want to have a vehicle. He loved living in Madrid for his brief study-abroad in 2020, partly because of the transit system. After he gets his MBA, he thinks he wants to live in a city where he doesn’t need to own a car. Chicago is at the top of the list. It was my first time to traipse around chi-town. Love the architecture!
Also, this week, Monica and I met a couple times to discuss marketing and content creation. Sarah and her come to my house every Friday morning, where I make scrambled eggs and we spend a few hours discussing the future. I’m grateful for our team and the sense of momentum we have going into the summer. We do a LinkedIn Live from my back porch too. It’s been a lot of fun. We would love for you to join us next Friday. #ScrambledFridays
Progress.
That’s the sensation I get from considering these past seven days. Moving forward towards goals and dreams facilitates having more hope and focus.
Progress.
Feeling like many of the challenges I’ve faced over this past season are diminished significantly enabling a clarity for decision making.
Progress.
Remaining entirely humbled by both the extraordinary and devastating, confidence emerges as a sustaining strength.
Progress.
Believing the effort exerted now will produce a multiplied return in the near and distant future.
This invisible force is such an energizing stimuli! When we’re in it, I suspect it’s not always immediately recognizable. When we pause to consider, the indication of its presence seems to sparkle. We might not realize it’s happening without moments of reflection.
Progress Leaves Evidence!
Often times in the day-to-day details we don’t notice our own growth. The benchmark from where we were to where we are to where we’re headed isn’t glaringly obvious. Without consistently monitoring advances, we may think we’re remaining the same.
Progress Markers
PAST PLACEMENT. Having reference points for the condition of our soul, accurate capability assessments, likely possibility gauge and health of our physical & spiritual being is essential. Progress inherently is advancing and improving. If we don’t have a specific location we’re looking back to, assessing our own growth, we’ll certainly lack accuracy in our gains (or losses).
Time is our friend in these matters. Asking ourselves where were we six months ago, a year ago, three years ago or even two weeks ago… whatever point we pick gives us a starting slot for measuring. What criteria we use is uniquely determined by us.
Where have you made progress in the last three months?
What will progress look like three months from now?
THOUGHT GENERATION. You and I can’t consciously conjure new ways of thinking. It’s a layered evolution of seeing, interpreting, repetition and learning. We can easily have a new thought, which I hope you experience frequently. But systemizing how we think, leading to determined actions is no small undertaking. That’s why it’s a fabulous beacon of our betterment.
Exposure + Practice = Mind Alteration
With all the resources: podcasts, books, how-to videos, TEDtalks, etc – we have enormous opportunity to ingest new ideas, information and insights. Yet progress doesn’t occur without implementation. Incorporating a freshly learned thought gives us a chance to accommodate improved understanding and form neural-pathways.
PEOPLE PERSPECTIVE. Friend, you and I have lots of blindspots. Those first two markers won’t help us move forward if we have no perception about our condition. 🙃 Trusted voices are excellent for self-awareness.
Daily living with all its minutia prevents us from noticing our gradual growth. An outsiders view provides a refreshing reminder of our rising reality.
Finally, being around others who act, think, communicate and live like we aspire to, provides a helpful measurement model.
Instigating Ideas…
1. Write down five different areas you’d like to see progress in your life.
2. Assess on a scale 1-10 where you currently believe yourself to be.
3. Set an appointment for two months from today, to chart your progress.
I’m super grateful you continue to read my weekly offerings. It is a well established habit in my life to review the week I just lived and extract something of value from it. I discover what it is when I sit down here to write. Without any pre-determined thought, I’m continually surprised at what appears in this letter to you. I appreciate your attention and consideration of my words.