Hello beautiful people!
Let’s talk timing.
It may not feel like so much fun to study that murky, uncertain middle part between caterpillar and butterfly of any tier (because the process of evolving to be ready to live at that new tier is something we repeat many times in life as we grow from tier to tier to tier), but if we don’t do a little examining of that in-between space, we may panic when we’re stuck in it “too long” and revert back to caterpillar status yet again (because unlike caterpillars, we *can* revert back after entering cocoon. We don’t HAVE to become the butterflies we were born to be).
And as I’ve said before in this course, I’d rather you never taste next-tier success than taste it only to crash back down and never again achieve it, simply because you haven’t built the muscles for sustaining a life at the next tier. Yep, I’m basically anti-Alfred Lord Tennyson here, because I’m saying there’s less pain in life when we’ve never loved at all when compared to having loved and lost… and then spending the rest of our lives obsessing about that lost love, pining away for what once was, kicking ourselves, no longer living in the NOW moment because we’re so attached to a moment in the past that was beautiful yet fleeting. Because we know in our very souls that we are the ones responsible for creating and sustaining a life we love to live. And the pain of not giving that to ourselves is just too much to bear.
So we study butterflyology. And cocoonology. And even do a bit of “how to be the best damn caterpillar possible” in our caterpillarology work as well. It’s all important. And yet, even with all this work, there’s still the one thing we simply cannot control.
Timing.
Here’s why: It’s not just about *our* timing; it’s about the timing our partners in getting to the next tier might be experiencing too! Meaning, we can have everything lined up, know we’re putting out the best version of ourselves, creating the most exciting content, and doing all the essential inner work to keep ourselves as next-tier ready as possible… but maybe the audience isn’t ready, maybe the hell-yes agent isn’t at the hell-yes agency yet, maybe the network isn’t buying shows we’re made for this season, and so on.
This is one of many factors covered in Outliers, and when we map out our own relationships — and this is a relationship business after all — we can see “missed connections” all over the place in the time before we actually landed smack-dab in the middle of a new relationship that turned out to be a little slice of heaven for a while. Whether it’s the concept for your little webseries that you upload to YouTube just happening to go up right as some “thought leader” out there catches wind of it and tweets a link out to her millions of followers, sending your viewership into the stratosphere or it’s that dream agent of yours finally leaving behind that company that didn’t offer enough growth, starting a company of their own, partnering with a slightly-better-than ho-hum manager you took a meeting with a year ago, thereby creating a partnership that magically gives you the combination of a history, an “in,” a hell-yes, and all the new energy of this collaboration that infuses your next tier with audition after audition after audition — the message is the same: Your work is to get yourself so ready that WHEN the stars align for it, you’re THERE to step on the welcome mat they put out to that next tier.
I want you to think about better timing every time you feel yourself frustrated with the fact that you’ve gotten yourself so ready but it’s not coming together. “Better timing” means it’s coming… better than you ever imagined… just not right now. You’ve done everything to get yourself to that thinnest line. Now stay engaged, stay active, stay out there, and continue to invest in your next-tier self, work to keep the junk out of your head, and continue shining like the lighthouse you are so the right people can find their ways to your shore.
Sometimes our greatest work is not to allow ourselves the luxury of self-hate that comes from doubting the journey itself. There’s nothing WRONG when the timing hasn’t lined up yet. More importantly, there’s nothing WE’VE DONE WRONG! If we’ve done our work, if we’ve actively put into practice the upkeep for our next-tier selves, and if we’re staying plugged in and out in the world where these beautiful intersections can occur organically — and on their own magical time — it’s simply faith that’s required. Whatever shape that takes in your world.
Today’s work: Share what shape faith takes in your world. For me, it’s a deep knowing that I am on purpose. That I was born with a purpose, that I was born on purpose, and that I live my life with purpose on purpose for that purpose. That deep knowing is all the faith I need that everything is always working out for me (because it is) and I never stress about trying to *earn* anything in this life because I know I’ve put in the work, I continue to put in the work, and I stay the hell out of my own way even when I may be tempted to doubt the journey. The timing for the right and perfect intersection of every deep and meaningful relationship in my life has only one thing to do with me: My readiness to receive. And my readiness to receive is always on point due to my consistently putting in the work, keeping up my practice for next-tier ME on the regular, and being out there where relationships happen.
Share how you’re prepped for the magical unfolding of your journey’s timing that may still be a mystery right this second. Share how you’ll stay engaged and on purpose (and out of your own way) as this gorgeous next tier takes shape.
’til tomorrow… stay ninja!
