Of late, I have been starting to share on ongoing conversations I am having with Raven Warren around mental health and self care… and Dawn Gough on environmental Responsibility… and Guy Matthews around life and living it. I will be sharing other streams of conversation over the coming weeks from Digital Coffees and TUGtv. I am learning so much; and eager to continue.
That said, I have been pondering, wondering and wandering around on LIFE/work Planning and more of late; working on my own carefully discerned and decided 9 year plan towards 2030.
With that, I have discerned and decided on nine areas of my life… I like to call my ALs. SpirituAL. RelationAL. PhysicAL. MateriAL. FiscAL. ProfessionAL. EducationAL. PersonAL. And EntrepreneuriaL. I have considered the periods 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-30. I have considered my Soulful desires, choosing to focus on my Hell Yeah callings of meaning, if you will. I have built in Flexibility to allow for outside forces at work, but I have decided on including only those things for which I have a true sense and practice of Devotion and Commitment.
I recommend the activity of doing same. You can decide on how many ALs you deem important. In my case, I liken them to planets in a System… 9 for me (I like the idea that Pluto’s size and orbit are different lol).
That said, while I believe and contend that the longer vision keeps our eyes on the prize.. the shorter term can keep our feet on the ground.
So, I considered the next year. I took into account what I had Soulfully discerned and decided for 2021-22… and created a road map of progression that made healthy sense for me teaching and doing business… and living my life fully and Soulfully.
I also personally recommend this activity, in creating your own road to walk. Funny shaped stones, colored with Sharpies and you get a cool little path envisioned for the shorter term. I must note that the path is broken into terms or semesters not simply because I teach College, but because 90 day intervals are what we have most control over in terms of focused effort. Try it for yourself.
With that all said, such creative visioning and planning has helped in discerning and deciding around Epic Engage and its ever more clear focus of Service.
That clarity was born of what was cropping up for me in terms of my passions around studentry over mastery. Personally, I humbly suggest that it is more important to decide that around which we choose to be a true student… and the mastery will be a life long journey. For me, and as a Baha’i, I kept coming back to the betterment of the world. And, I kept coming back to the global goals. I kept coming back to business with a conscience. I kept coming back to the work of The Virtues Project…. and Character, Purpose and Unity.
I kept coming back to books I wanted to read, and music I wanted to explore… like Shinedown and so much more. Atlas Falls is so singing to me these days.
As I creatively and joyfully dug into this conscious process once again (I have done it at least thrice before in my life with wonderful returns on the investment of time and thought), so much bubbled up and I was able to let go, keep and add to my working vision for the proverbial next chapter.
My thought to you is to start with what you are truly interested in learning. Around what do you passionately, naturally and persistently see yourself as a student? Our studentry, our true studentry… is our path to mastery. Perfect as a noun is but a myth. Perfect as a verb is our best reality; enter studentry. For me, all signs point to the ongoing exploration of Character, Purpose and Unity. Once the destination is known, we can truly set sail. This ship is setting course and sail.
For more on such exploration, check this out. Onwards.
Peace, passion and prosperity…
Barry Lewis Green, The Unity Guy with Epic Engage.
“Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.
Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. ― Abraham Lincoln
Riding on that, I have ben considering what the shorter term one year road looks like.