We have a treelike bush on our balcony. Several months ago it got attacked by white fungus creepy crawly looking things. I treated it with several remedies, overtime, to no avail. I pruned back the dead branches until it was basically a few larger stalks without any leaves. One weekend, when it looked completely dead and we thought we had lost our battle, friends visited and looked at the suffering treelike bush. A friend gave us hope saying that it was not dead. All it needed was a little peroxide and water mixture sprayed on its leaves and it would be fine. I immediately started to spray the bush with peroxide and water. A month later, it is on its way back to life.

What does the story of a reviving tree-like bush have to do with my Week 6 B-School journey. Marie told a story in this week’s module about the value of pruning, and that message resonated with me. This week has felt like the moment when I stripped the treelike bush of all the dead branches, so that the healthy parts of it had a chance to flourish. I have not really engaged with the content of Module 5 other than to watch the videos and begin the fun sheets. Rather, I have really focused on engaging with the healthy heart of my business and set my eyes and mind and heart toward creation of my ideal.

Week 6 Small Victories

Website Progress

I have known since early in B-School that my website needs deep and serious attention. Last week, I initiated a landing page design contest on 99 designs and conducted two polls to get feedback on which design resonates with my Facebook and Twitter community. This week I chose a design, created a scope of work for the web development project that will bring life to my new design, requested quotes from 5 web developers, and chosen a web developer to build out that changes on my site. I felt a bit overwhelmed when I initiated the design project, and got even more overwhelmed as I learned what work would still need to be done once the design had been created. The cost of the whole project brought up a great deal of fear and second guessing. Putting all that aside, I am engaging full force and getting clearer and clearer and clearer. I am headed toward a new website.

Foundation Proposal. Done.

Completing a Templeton Foundation proposal has been whispering in my ear for several months. I have not been listening because: “Foundation support is like winning the lottery.” “Who really cares about wide-awakeness?” “What exactly do I want to be able to do?” The Templeton Foundation funds individuals doing the kind of work I have learned, in B-School, that I want to do. B-School has made my amorphous longings, my researcher’s ramblings, my heart sick protestations of building a better world real. Simply put, writing this proposal this week, which grew out of the clarity I have gained in B-School, is taking my game to the next level. Writing the proposal allowed me to clearly see what I want to do and how I want to do it. Writing the proposal kicked my fear in the butt. I am now asking for feedback on the proposal from trusted (ICAesque) friends. My goal is to submit it on April 23, before I leave to run a half-marathon in Louisville on Saturday April 28.

Work and Work Balance

Achieving a balance between my grant writing work and my B-School work is tough. I want to be spending all my time on building my B-School dream. I say I have effectively met this challenge because I have finished significant tasks in both work and B-School. That feels pretty good. I still need to use my calendar more effectively. I still need to get my work outs in more routinely. I still need to drink more water. But I am headed in the right direction.

Offer Checklist Clarity

I came to the realization this week that I have been working on my true offer for many years. Writing the proposal showed exactly what I need to consider when checking things off my offer checklist. I know I must stand for something bigger and communicate that stance. I know I must be crystal clear on my audience and on my offering. This is tricky because I just can’t say “I am offering wide-awakeness” and expect people to know what I mean. I still have more work to do in the story sharing and bonus departments. I am not sure how those elements of the list work for me.

One Hour and Thirty Minutes

I am running a half marathon at the end of the month. It is my tenth half marathon. In my long training run this week I was reminded of a message Marie shared this week that I really needed to hear. She talked about the value of finishing strong. She asked us to recommit and really finish B-School strong. It made me cry when I read it. I needed to remember that at that very moment. I am a slow runner and the one hour thirty mark was only the half way mark of my 10 mile run. At the half way mark I was reminded of the truth that Marie spoke, of the truth I have known for a long time. Success happens when we finish strong. As the sun beat down. As my eyes could see the amazingly beautiful, but really long road ahead of me, I made a conscious decision. My speed did not really pick up, but my thoughts began to soar. My attitude shifted. I thought. I have half of the training run left. I can hate every minute of it, or I can breathe and go for it. I chose to breathe and go for it. I will do that for B-School, too.