The Journey is the Reward

I've used the Taoist saying, "The journey is the reward" many times. I recently came across another saying that compliments the statement:

"The initial mystery that attends each journey is:how did the traveller reach his starting point in the first place?" -- Louise Bogan (American poet)

You are on a journey. Your life is a journey - whether that be your spiritual journey, your journey through age, your professional journey, etc. You must stay focused on the inner journey to hear life's secrets, to know the mystery, to have the wisdom revealed.

A friend was telling me recently about her "rediscovery" of who she really is - her true identity. She had been "trying on" new perceptions and behaviors that just didn't suit her. She called to tell me her new revelation - I know who I AM! I'm not that "leaf in the wind" floating willy-nilly through the air after all! I really do have roots, a foundation, a basis for my SELF. She was trying to be something she isn't and that is a formula for much unhappiness.

Ah, the journey is the reward. So true. If I only focus on the destination I may miss the joy of discovery along the way. This is especially true as we transition from one thing to another. Dynamic Transitioning INSISTS that we honor the journey and pay attention to the "smell the roses" factor - what's going on with me, with those around me, with the world, the workplace, the school, etc. The joy is in the journey. The joy is in knowing who you are. Know Thyself, not in a limiting sense, but in the sense of having a foundation. From that base you can extend as far as the eye can see. You can soar, you can fly, you can dream. And you always have a homebase to return to, to re-charge, to retreat. This is not limiting. This is the ultimate freedom.

I cannot believe that the inscrutable universe turns on an axis of suffering; surely the strange beauty of the world must somewhere rest on pure joy! Louise Bogan

Balancing Priorities

Please forgive me for not posting in over a week. I have been busy with conflicting priorities. The good news about having a full life is that I have many exciting projects. In addition to spending time with my husband and my son and new daughter-in-law, my company, Y&M Partners LLC is thriving; my coaching business, Blackbelt Coaching, is growing; my Dynamic Transitioning book is almost ready for the editor; and finally, I'll be teaching a new class at UCLA. Oh, and I'm working a course at the request of the Industrial Engineering Department at USC. Normally I teach at UCLA in the Fall but this year I'll teach the Winter semester:

MARKETING STRATEGY - CUSTOMERS AND COMPETITION; Steven P. Schnaars

Here's the UCLA Extension course description:

This course explores the concepts of: strategic models; consumer behavior and strategic segmentation; positioning strategy; product development and product life cycle strategies; value chains; competitive advantage and competitive edge; customer satisfaction and loyalty; and branding and advertising. Students will examine the forces that drive changes in the business environment and devise plans for identifying them and managing outcomes. Lastly, we will look at three emerging areas of interest: International Marketing Strategy, the Internet and new Electronic Economy, and Strategies for Entrepreneurs.

I am a good time manager and my priorities are usually perfectly aligned. And when there's so much to do that it's simply too much to accomplish everything, I just do the next thing on the list. Whatever that is. I need to be sure my priorities map to my business needs, my home and family needs, and my spiritual needs.

I've missed communicating with you on the blog and I'm committing to regular posts from this point forward.