Getting It Fixed, and Levels of Working

How are things?

Do you have one of these areas where something is not quite the way you want them to be, and they've been that way for years?

You've tried to fix it many times, but nothing really worked, so now you've just left it alone.

Could be your weight. Could be a pain in the lower back. Could be your financial situation. Could be your relationship, or lack thereof. Could be many things.

And then one day, something changes, and you decide to do something about it. To finally fix it, once and for all.

That's how I felt last week about some tensions I have that restrict my breathing, something that's become very evident when I sing.

I used to be one of those people for whom the body was just a necessary transportation vehicle for my head. I thought my brain was the important part, and my body was just a nuisance. It had to be fed, and every so often it would be in pain, which was really annoying. I considered myself decidedly "not a body person".

Then I met Phoebe, I moved to India to practice Ashtanga, and slowly over a number of years, I got a much different relationship with my body.

And now I'm ready to do something about this piece, too.

When I get to that point, my favorite strategy is just to try a bunch of different things. Come up with a list of things that might work, and try them all, all at the same time, or a few at a time. If something feels like it's working, I'll keep doing it. If it doesn't, I'll stop and keep trying other things. And sooner or later things start changing.

The important thing to know is: Whatever it is that bothers you right now, know that it can be fixed. It might take effort. It may even take a lot of effort. But it can be done.

Realizing that gives you two things: It lets you relax and accept things as they are right now. You know when the time is right, you'll get it done, so there's no need to worry about it.

And it lets you choose the time when you want to do it.

Back when I was in my 30s, I smoked a pack a day. I always knew I wanted to quit eventually, and I was always worried I wouldn't be able to. In the end, quitting was so easy, because it was all in my mind, and my mind I could control. Looking back, I wish I'd known this more firmly in my gut. I would've enjoyed the smoking more, without the worry and the guilt, knowing full well that I'd quit when the time came.

That's what I want for you. That whatever it is for you, that you'll accept and even savor and enjoy whatever the situation is for you right now, knowing that in due time, it'll be different. Soon enough it will be no more, and you will even have trouble remembering it was ever there. So enjoy it today. It's all part of life.

And yes, sometimes you put in a lot of effort, and realize that you're still not quite ready to tackle this issue. It may turn out to be related to a bunch of other things you need to get done first. That's fine. You made major progress. Allow yourself to take a break from it, trusting that you'll get back to it when the time comes.

I had a teacher once who said: Most people overestimate what can be done in a year, and underestimate what can be done in ten.

Love all that is right now.

What Level Are You Working On?

I just feel like taking a moment to talk about this again, because I know you used to see a steady stream of new features, and now it's trickled to a much slower pace.e

There are three levels to the work that you do with your business:

1. You can work in your business
2. You can work on your business
3. And you can work on yourself

Each of those has its merits. But the further to the right you go, the bigger the leverage. And most of us tend to get stuck way too much on the first one, and we end up not really having much of a business. The goal "should" be to create a business that's not just another boss, another entity you work for, but rather an independent system that works for you.

I used to work a lot in my business, in the form of coding new features. That was great in that features got done, but lack of features is not really the primary bottleneck at this point. It was more a case of doing what's familiar rather than what's effective or what's needed.

So I've shifted the focus to working on my business, in the form of marketing and building a team. Those are really the two critical pieces to the growth of the company and the product.

Work on myself... that's sort-of my bread and butter, but there's always room to take it to another level.

What about you? What level are you working at in your business?

Love,
-Calvin