Been a bit melancholy the last few weeks. I get like this occasionally when I allow myself to fall out of balance. What causes me to fall out of balance? It’s when I grind for a prolonged period of time.
Grind can definitely create huge leaps in one’s life, especially when mixed with significant grit. However, if you’re not careful, it can take a toll on your health. Let it go unchecked too long and you may end up giving up the very gains you sacrificed so much to achieve due to new unforeseen challenges.
In the last fifty-two weeks (sounds a lot longer than a year huh?), I woke up on thirty Monday mornings with a specific job to do. To support the torrid pace, and huge expense, of renovations at my two business properties in Hawaii, I needed to identify and raise approximately $100,000 by Friday each week.
I’m not talking about identifying a potential lead by Friday. I’m talking about all potential leads contacted first thing on Mondays, pitches scheduled for Tuesdays, commitments secured by Wednesdays, legal docs out by Thursdays and funds wired in by Fridays. Celebrate any wins over the weekend, and start over again on Monday.
It was a very intense run. It took extreme focus and commitment. There was no room for error. Failure was annoption but not a good one. Stress was high and it was a roller coaster of emotions. Wins were euphoric and losses were gut wrenching with consequences. Mindset played a massive roll - worthy if its own post.
It was extremely stressful mentally and very challenging professionally. In the end, I got’er done, going 30-for-30, raising $3.5 mm to complete 100% of our planned renovations. I definitely had to stretch some Fridays to Mondays and Tuesdays, but in the end, each financial obligation was met and the value of both our properties has skyrocketed!
My takeaways are as follows:
- I never want to do that again.
- My choice to renovate both properties simultaneously was a challenge.
- Pride from a job well done. Feels good to know that I can still tap into the grit from my youth when I need to.
- I am very grateful that this grind is done and behind me!
I flew to San Diego for forty-eight hours to see two of my former personal Bliss mentees realize their dreams of performing on a TED Talks stage. This gave me an opportunity to reconnect with the most inspirational guy in my life Patrick Combs. I always seem to end up at his house whenever I’m in need of some wisdom to get unstuck.
After hearing me out, he gifted me this pearl of wisdom, “You’re about to enter a period of learning.” It was not lost on me that that he did this while attempting to discourage a hoard of bees from nesting in his short-term vacation rental before his renters arrived. Kinda reminded me of a scene from the movie “Forrest Gump”. Oh, the joys of ownership!
My big takeaway from the trip is to grant myself some grace. I have been beating myself up for allowing such a prolonged grind to even happen, forgetting that I also completed a 40-day water fast, a 45-day cold plunge protocal, built up to swimming a mile a day, walked over a thousand miles and completely transformed my health in the same 52-weeks.
Sometimes we fall out of balance and it’s ok. Beating yourself up because you know better is unnecessary. It’s clear to me that it’s time to focus on rebalancing and doubling down on even more self-care. To begin this part of my journey, Lori and I are moving back to Miami next month. It has become our haven for balance while we continue to chase our dreams. Europe will play a major roll by year end as well.
Photo of Patrick attempting to make it unpleasant for his bees to move into his house while gifting me wisdom. Time will tell the results. I’m betting on me AND the bees! 🐝
