Listening… Meditating…. Praying for your intervention…
It is the time in your life when veils can start to fall away.
You know I want that more than anything.
Be mindful of your purpose on Earth.
Unity.
Be curious about your practice of it.
Avoid arms’ length unity?
Consider the degree to which you do indeed reach out and enjoy 1:1 communication with individuals, without agenda attached.
It’s like I haven’t got time… Or, it’s only ‘worth my time’ if money will arise from it… It’s hustle, then zone out – and repeat.
This is it. You’ve got it. So, imagine a world in which you communed with one person at a time.
The idea is so tender and sweet it makes me want to cry… and then, heavens, shrink away and retreat… “What about all the Things To Do?!” says the voice inside. It’s this sense of my moving so fast, and also sometimes of others moving too slowly for me to know if they’re onboard with me (for work for example), so the only answer is to spin the plates of lots of ‘other people projects’ at once. I guess, I’m seeing myself as rather over-accelerated…
What happens when we travel too fast?
We miss the views. We arrive in a frazzle.
You are surrounded by potential teachers: your elderly neighbour, your sick relative, your newly returned to the UK friend, your frailing aunts and cousins. But life is travelling too fast for you to be able to be with them.
And I’m missing the learning? I used to be able to spend time with people. What happened?
You selected a professional pattern which would dominate your days.
And it was a choice wasn’t it? I didn’t feel the light-touch method of a 2 hour session a day would work… I didn’t feel it would pay the bills. Probably because nor did I feel I could charge what it was worth. And so now I am offering up all the hours people want, and not having enough time for daily self-care (though the Daily Dose of MEDSAN is a good start if I can keep it going) and generally running out of steam. I know, I think that super-busy is super-successful. It’s not, is it? Can I be more modest and just go for the daily 2-4pm 2h appointment (remote/local) slot? “I offer one 2h appointment slot a day, at 2pm, either remotely or locally.” One flavour of jam only. (This refers to G’s anecdote of the woman who couldn’t shift her 12 types of jams at fetes and sales, but when she took the advice to sell one flavour of jam only, saw them flying off her stall.)
What would it take for me to commit to laying down that (sustainable) 2 hours at 2pm pattern?
The realisation that simplifying your offer in this way could allow you to:
- cover all your bills
- get a satisfying caseload on the go
- allow you to put fitness and self-care first
- make your business sustainable
- leave you time and headspace for friends
- allow you to commune 1:1 or 1:2 successfully
- open the doors to ongoing remote working from anywhere in the world
- still do the occasional training day
Yeah, ok, I’m in.
What about parents with children to collect at 3pm?
Let’s let everyone look after themselves for now. You look after yourself. With zeal.
Ok. I am shifting to selling one jam only. I am making the shift now, so that in 2020, this “2@2” (2h at 2pm ‘clinic’) protocol will be my main source of income. I will be able to say, I only work 2-4pm, knowing that the rest of my day is well-used in covering case prep, admin, marketing, invoicing and self-care. I know I will have time and headspace to spend 1:1 time with friends and family I care about. Others will know my normal flow of the day. This is my strategy for a sustainable, self-caring business. Anything else I need to know?
Glamour. This is not the most glamorous way of working, because it’s largely unseen, and you are not working with a crowd (as with teaching). It’s casework. Are you ready for that?
I am! And also, some days, I can use 2-4pm for running training workshops, can’t I?
We want you to focus on working with people. Not at people. Can you hear them? Can you work with their needs? Can you be receptive to their stories?
Yes. I hear you. Thank you.
I am committed to a sustainable work pattern (2@2)