Hi Folks,
For those of you who have subscribed to this blog since 2017 and those who are new alike, I wanted to share some news.
I have started to publish my book, Breaking | Building | Belonging, still under construction, as a video podcast.
Some of you are like me and want to read and hold a physical book in your hands, and that time is coming.
Until then, consider this podcast a teaser of the unedited edition.
These first 5 episodes will give you a feel for how this book is constructed. It is part memoir, part thought leadership book, and part collection of blog posts.
In this book, character portraits like Mosquitos | Miseries | Mindsets are used as anchor points. They are provided to give you a glimpse into the characters we all have running through our life stories. My characters are likely different from yours on the surface. Still, I hope the portraits I introduce reveal something about your reality. Perhaps they will remind you of someone or something along the way.
Memory is a trickster, and I have tried to portray people and events as I recall them. As necessary, the portraits are occasionally amalgams of more than one person, and I have changed some names, relationships, and minor details to further the narrative in some stories. While the thoughts are primarily my own, I have used many anecdotes and lessons from my real life and virtual mentors. If I miss calling that out anywhere, please charge that to my head and not my heart. Similarly, I am thankful to the “real life” and virtual editors who helped me better build this blueprint for you to follow.
I believe each character, whether spot-on, accurate, or hopelessly embellished, was placed as a marker to guide me through the dungeons and doors of my reality. Hopefully, I played some small role in their story as well.
My characters and I have made it this far together, and I can’t wait to see where we go next!
Likewise, your characters have been placed there for you; they help color and contextualize your reality and guide you in making decisions that move you forward.
Another recurring feature of this book is the Reflections on Reality. These chapters, like Episode 4 , are intended to help guide you around some key curated takeaways from the previous character portrait. They are my best attempt to share the crux of the lessons I’ve learned. These discoveries did not happen in real-time. I have continuously reflected as I grow and sought live, virtual, and spiritual thought leaders to help me through things. You shouldn’t expect to understand all your lessons at the moment either. Time and emotional distance from events of reality, especially those featuring strong characters or circumstances, are great allies in this challenge called life.
The “What I could have done differently” sections are a window into my after-action review of my actions. They are my attempt at finding humility and grace. These have been critical in moving forward with Purpose. I am sharing those with you to temper each reflection.
Although I have benefited from wise “in real life” (IRL) and virtual mentors and guides through over five and a half decades of life and four decades of leadership lessons, I encourage you to see my reflections, or theirs, as one way to process reality—not the only way. My decisions and perspective are imperfect, as are theirs (and yours.)
Leaning into the reality that there are no perfect solutions and navigating the messiness of the imperfect decisions we make, more and more wisely, over time, is an essential learning I hope you leave with.
The “Build on Reality” segments are your call to action. They are designed to give you one or two simple things to do quickly to gain traction and Reflect On (your current) Reality. Any new reality, Purpose, and insightful perspective must be built. We must do this one paving stone at a time. We must lay down a new path and start from right where we are. I know I’ve never been able to jump to a whole new outlook and pivot so wholly from anything that I was an entirely different person in a new situation overnight. I hope you can give yourself the permission and grace to try things and to fail.
“The “Go Deeper” stories, like Episode 5 : Stuck ? Lift the needle on the broken record in your head, are optional supplements to the other sections. They are meant to be more symbolic or instructive and less biographical. Think of them as another way to explore each topic. We often want to get to the practical lesson immediately in our busy lives. We also want to have control over how we spend our time. Rather than taking that control away by editing the stories for you, I have allowed you to move through the subject matter at your own pace and preferred depth. If you prefer, you can skip these “bonus” chapters or return to them later. You can use these Go Deeper tales, primarily from my blogs, videos, media, and podcasts on YouTube and other social channels @Four4Soaring or @FourforSoaring , to reflect on how you can Build on Reality better. I’d also encourage any reader to check those other channels out, as we all learn differently and retain more when exposed to multiple input modes.
Are you ready to build on reality and belonging to live a “better together” life?
Let’s get started. First, forgive me in these early chapters, as I have to take you to a dark place or two before I turn on the light.
I want to see you soar ! #Iwant2CUsoar
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