A Distillation: A short and useful lesson
Hey there. You may have wondered where I’ve been. Me too. In a nutshell: I sat with the questions above, mulled things over … and I’m back on the bike.
I don’t always decide to go on.
I sketched this article out when I was sitting, watching the sunrise, at Bondi Beach – it’s one of Sydney’s classic destinations – and it brought to mind the moment about ten years ago that I tried to learn to surf here.
Even though the waves were tiny, even though the surfboard I was trying to stand up on was as stable as a jetty and just as wide … for some reason, I could not manage it. I ended the day defeated … as I did when I tried and failed again in Tofino and then again in Hawaii. Clearly, this man is not meant to surf.
But, a newsletter? I’m happy to get back on the board, paddle out through the breakers, and see if I can catch a new wave to shore.
There’s still nourishment for me to harvest from the fields of pleasure (I like to teach and write), mastery (I’m still striving for a newsletter that’s helpful, entertaining, irresistible), and impact (an avenue to unlock people’s greatness.
And as it happens, the gods of my Sydney visit were nudging me forward. The cafe where I wrote this? It was called Chapter One.
And sunrise, of course. A new day. Warmth. Light. A moment of renewal.
In that translucent moment, I realized that the offer to restart was not a burden but a beckoning.
If we’re lucky, we’ll have the pleasure of starting something again, a chance to reimagine the work and reimagine ourselves.
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