After a week with tons of meetings in the scale-up world of how to create growth in your business as well as how to pivot into growth in hard times, I'm tapped-out on growth strategies. Being a meditation teacher I often talk about making the time for a practice and all the benefits it might give you. Even so (with full respect) it is hard to carve out the time. But if we step back and think about it for a moment- what happens when we don't take our time for grounding and want to grow anyway? Personally, I think we end up creating a world full of weeds.

“I rather dream about doing the thing 3 times a week than actually doing the thing once a week NOW” this is a line that has really stuck with me from a podcast I listened to the other week. It ties into the topic of daydreaming vs living, but it isn't about finding a winner, rather for me it is to lean in and follow the right inclination at the time. There are times for daydreaming and there are times for doing- both are necessary.

I recently read the story of the Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge who in 2018 shattered the marathon world record. When he was asked about the secret to his success he said that the key is not to overwork himself, not trying to be incredibly great all the time, and that he very rarely pushes himself above 80%. Instead his key strengths are his consistency and patience.

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

It started almost 9 years ago now when my first born was just a baby. I was always on my way somewhere, having been an elite swimmer, getting my Bachelor and Masters while studying abroad in the US, and then focusing on my career as CEO of a small Swedish tech company. You could safely say that stillness wasn’t really a part of my life.

The artisan’s battle lies within. The unseen imperfections by the untrained eye are like memories of torment in the artisan’s mind. Each imperfection and mistake acts as a mirror, reflecting the flaws within ourselves.

The artisan’s way came to me one day,
It picked me up and carried me away,
I was placed down in front of an oak,
and using my hands I set to work.

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart's longing. 

A whisper soft as a breeze of air,
like a divine gentle nudging,
risen from despair.