Thursday, February 18, 2021 (Day 49)
Meditation Music: Balance: Liquid Mind – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge066guNr90
Question: When you think of “the past,” what images or memories come to mind?
Answer: Once in a while, I’ll thin back to the time when my ex-wife packed up the van and left for Georgia – and right after that, I left to head south to Maryland (we lived in Middletown, Delaware at the time) to attend Skip Downing’s On Course I Training at the Bon Secors Retreat and Conference Center. That was such a defining time in my life, where I felt like I was closing the chapter of one part of my life and starting a new chapter in my life. It was one of the two most recent (in the past 20 years) defining moments in my life – the other being the blood clot in 2016. Anyway, between Skip’s workshop, and then going through and getting certifications as a dream coach and a spiritual group coach, led me to create the Life Design Catalyst work that I do today. In fact, I reflected on these experiences earlier this morning, when I was reading a book on coaching – and came to the realization that student success (at least at the college level) isn’t about learning academic skills, getting high grades, and obtaining a college degree. It’s all about ONE THING – moving from your current state to a desired state, moving from where you currently are to where you want to be. A degree can help, but only when aligned with who you really want to be and what you really want to do. I am very fortunate to be in a position where I get to help students (and others) transform their lives…but I know that it’s not a philosophy shared by many in higher education. And all I can do is keep doing and sharing the work; at some point, students will understand that college should help them create a meaningful, purposeful, visionary plan, then help them enact that plan. As you can probably guess, I spend a lot of time thinking and reflecting. Right now, I’m working on the next chapter of my life, where we (my business partner Stephanie and I) want to find ways to impact more students, young and old, by changing the way they see education and transforming their lives in a positive way.
Other Stuff
I’ve been reading responses from students on classes asking for help figuring out what to do in life. At the same time, I’ve been re-defining the work I’m here to do, including a constant revision to my definition of purpose. If you want to see what keeps me up at night, one thing is this definition of purpose. In its simplest form, it’s about: (1) becoming the best version of yourself, and (2) profoundly serving others. But I’m realizing that purpose isn’t something that you “find,” it’s something that continues to evolve over time, and I believe, even after you leave this earth.
Today’s article is not about purpose, but about passion; however, I love how he weaves purpose and passion into his answer, as well as how it’s not necessarily this ONE thing. Check out his thoughts here:
- Ask Andrew W.K.: “How Do You Find Your Passion?” – https://www.villagevoice.com/2015/08/09/ask-andrew-w-k-how-do-you-find-your-passion/
Explore, express, and evolve – those are the components of the passion and purpose journey!
The Dream Dean 