“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well worn path; and that will make all the difference.”
Its been a bit rough moving forward with one of my new ideas, #CONQUER10K also due to the fact that I again have a torn back muscle which has lead me to do absolutely nothing in physical terms as its been quite painful. Nonetheless the motivation factor to then work on the project has dipped despite noting down many of things going on in my mind. One thing that has helped is the accountability with those I am working with. The guys, both Filip and Tim, continuously spark my passion for what we are doing. When we talk, I see their posts or see the enthusiasm we all bring to the table around excelling and pushing our bodies, it, even being unable to do things, sparks this inner flame of wanting to push harder. (Heal faster body, heal faster!) The guys have been actively involved in several races prior and now after our goal to complete the triathlon (one I didn’t get around to this year).
#CONQUER10K has a big vision and it is a big idea, one that when I think of it, does leave me short of breathe because it ignites that inner passion of what my heart yearns for. Keep in mind not to confuse great idea for big idea. Big refers to our ambition and the amount of work needed to justify itself.
So as we have been building this new idea, we are all very aware of all these dots that are somehow related and somehow part of the bigger picture, and we have tirelessly and to date somewhat unsuccessfully been racking our brains to connect all the dots and make sense of everything. The biggest problem in our case is that the thought process seems like a infinite loop, knowing where and what and how, but illogical due to various assumptions around the project.
One thing you might have noticed browsing on the site the way you see it in front of you today is that it still is very vague in terms of what we want to “get out there.” On the other hand it does reflect at least one thing perfectly – where we stand in terms of the project and how we envision it in our heads.
Initially the site was very blank. A lot depending on our actual activity in the real world in order to implement things digitally. However the past weeks have sparked moments where at least some of those dots have come together and we are able to see the bigger picture. To me its like this; you walk into a dark hallway and as you walk the lights switch on. The first step is always into darkness. You don’t know where you are heading until the lights come on, but you do know you need to walk straight. That intuition of where we need to head. Implementing projects and businesses are often the same. That first step is into darkness and as you learn and things begin to settle that is where you push yourself to create certain paths which in retrospect will hopefully connect.
#CONQUER10K, as it is today is still in its infancy, one without manners or the ability to string more than a couple words together to perhaps make a sentence or any sort. If you meet this infant for the first time (by visiting the site), honestly you probably will not have the best first impression. To me, that is okay.
The first step is always into darkness.
My advice is to not make the same mistakes I have made and in this instance its to sit on assumptions and considerations which you are trying to figure out in theory. That is literally just sitting in infinite darkness.
Figuring out the future is a journey that requires you to take on small steps, one at a time so that you can look back and can say the dots actually connect.