Postcard 037 - The Waves Keep Coming
I haven’t sent a postcard in over a month, even though I’ve written dozens of them in my head.
The last month or so has been full — of good things, new experiences, high highs, and exhaustion. I made three trips to San Francisco, taught the fourth live cohort of my Reforge program, gave one of the biggest talks of my life, ate some of the best food I’ve had all year, published a few research related guides for El Cap, and wrote what felt like thousands of words per day.
The consistent thing I realized was that the waves keep coming.
One good thing would be followed by another. One challenge followed by a different one. So much of the last month was about perspective — whether I wanted to see good or bad, opportunity or obstacle, I would be successful. This is probably a truth about life broadly, but it was something I was acutely aware of over the last 30+ days.
I had the chance to celebrate a friend’s wedding, and in doing so visit friends in Santa Cruz that I hadn’t seen in many years. The two of them are regular sources of inspiration for me, a couple that seems to always lean in and live a life they’re proud of. They embody the idea that true wealth is choosing your stress. Getting to grab coffee and meander a farmers market with them was a particular joy amidst an already joyous weekend, and it was a reminder that the strength of connection between people is far more dependent on will and choice than distance or time. Being present is one of life’s greatest gifts and I’m grateful we all made time to be present together when the opportunity arose.
I knew that coming into this winter season, I wanted to spend time unplugging a bit and reflecting on the last two and half years of being independent. I’m carving out time to audit what I’ve done and plan for what I want to do more of moving forward. In running the studio, timing always seems to be on my side in a strange way. I planned for things to be challenging when I started, but didn’t plan for a pandemic. I knew I’d be in a season of planning and reflection again, but didn’t imagine so many potential clients would be tightening up their budgets. It’s giving me a chance to perhaps be more critical or conservative in my plans moving forward, a thing that someone who has grown up professionally in a bull market could benefit from, especially in the world that we’re moving into.
Thankfully, as I’ve started to engage in these reflections, new opportunities and collaborations have arose — things I had been curious about exploring before, but hadn’t taken the initiative on. I’m looking forward to turning inward for a bit and cocooning professionally, in hopes of the studio emerging as a (different) butterfly in the new year.
Until then, like always, the waves keep coming.