The Journey #7: The First Treasure Map
Doing stuff is easy. Doing the right things is extraordinarily hard. As my friend and newsletter subscriber Dr. Paul Corona often tells me, many “highly successful” professionals go through much of their lives before it finally dawns on them that success is not the same thing as fulfillment.
To avoid this fate, our first steps on the journey ought to begin in solitude and silence. For me, it goes something like this:
Be quiet, focus on one thing long enough to prime my subconscious mind about the question I wish to consider (i.e. “how can I be of greater service to the world?”), then be patient.
And then keep being patient.
And then be patient some more.
The quieter you are, the better your ability to avoid distractions, the greater your odds of coming to an insight that serves you well.
I think of it like this: stillness is how you tell the universe (or your subconscious mind, or God, or however you prefer to think about the source of intelligence) that you are listening and paying attention.
It is always tempting to start hiking up the mountain, but it is prudent to first make certain it is the right mountain.