A Fence Around the Seminar

Isn’t it interesting that, when we make a big gain in our personal practice, we sometimes discover that the thing we just learned is something we’ve already been teaching?

Confront.
Reach.
Structure.
Objectives.
Love.

In my own case (I use that word advisedly…)  I’ve begun to realize that in the early years, I had built an emotional “fence” around the seminar — in that while I was doing a good job of “wording” the material, or speaking the material, I was not actually “living” the material.

I had to confront the fact that my martial manner, acquired from living with and among a bunch of sweet but aggressive Aikidoists, was not the direct, yet feminine approach required in the seminar room.  OK, focus on making them like being obedient!

I had to confront the fact that “the look” I had spent so much time perfecting in Seattle, had no validity in the New York financial industry.  Time for a new appearance!

I had to learn intention by riding a horse down a sheer valley wall after a Dude Ranch Seminar!  “Point his nose down-slope and intend the best!  Stand Up in the stirrups and Hang On!”

I had to deal with the fact that the “niceness” that worked so well in mid-level advertising meetings, was way too soft-touch for selling to world class CEO’s.

I had to face the fact that in dealing strictly with executive men, I had to let go of being sexually attractive and focus on being smart and clear about what had to happen next.  Being sexy is fun, but doesn’t always lead to the right kind of order.

In counseling, I had to recognize that all the aggression, assertion, swiftness and certainty were not so useful as compassion and engaged silence.

And all of these were lessons contained in the seminar material I had been teaching as a professional for years.  But I had “fenced off” the lessons because I wasn’t ready to face them.

Here’s the “Aha!”  It’s right there in front of you!  The next step in your development is right there in the seminar, the participants or the circumstances of working here.  Our careers develop — or not — the way they do, because the Universe has a way of setting the next barrier clearly in our path.

Try seeing your challenges as a universal expression of what you need to learn in order to get ahead.  The Tao is a good teacher, but sometimes a tough one.  Listen Up!

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