Octobr 26, 2022 – JOLT – Part III: The Call of Becoming

PART III: Been out of touch, but I was answering the call of Becoming

Did you miss my last “I’M BAAAAACK!” JOLT Notes from the last two weeks? See PART I and Part II HERE and, if they speak to you, follow them up with the third installment below. Thanks for your interest in “Becoming”.

Turning Talk Into Walk

In the case of my previous big goal and 20-year journey of birthing The Back Forty, and perhaps because of the sheer volume of raw, revealing and authentic exposure required in the process, after a few months of running on the prescribed treadmill that generally follows the publishing of a book – speaking events, guesting on podcasts, semi-or full-blown book tour, interviews, etc. – I realized that I had to just STOP. I simply couldn’t go forward in the way I had “been.” I saw that a whole new paradigm of Becoming (“Being”) was now necessary in my post-partum life as the book’s parent.

My favorite definition of paradigm is:
• a framework containing the basic assumptions, ways of thinking, and methodology that are commonly accepted by members of humanity.

The book, The Back Forty, gives a deep and thorough roadmap and midlife-makeover reevaluation for individuals feeling the need to repurpose their life. In its somewhat stealth introduction to the world a few months ago, it garnered notice by Midwest Book Review as “a perfectly timed tool for reevaluation brought on by ‘The Great Resignation’ occurring in today’s world economy.” It supports a reevaluation of many of the biggest aspects of our lives, including limiting beliefs, meaningful careers, self-expression, play, passion and purpose.

In truth, the book was initially written by me and for me in support of a new lease on life after a particularly harrowing midlife opportunity (nee “crisis”). Yet, that Midwest Book Review points to the fact that the book apparently fits today’s life and times as well, when many individuals are looking for direction on meaning and purpose.

After screaming, scratching and clawing that book out of the birth canal –even though I had already transformed in many ways over the years to actually be ready to birth it – a next level of Becoming stared me right in the face. (NOTE: Though I don’t purport to know what true childbirth feels like, I can speak for the resistance that can show up when one is birthing a big project). And that’s the Becoming I’m living into now: living The Back Forty.

What does it mean to “live” The Back Forty? In short, it means to be freed up from the weight of past and present limitations and self-conceptions, to clearly grasp the unique and incredible expression of Self that I Am (and that You Are), and to cultivate a second half of life to fulfill on the reason for which I exist (for which I lived a first half of life conducting R & D, research and development). It means constant growth, fuller Self-expression and Becoming.

Matter of fact, my favorite line in the book comes from the back cover: “You are never who you ‘are’ or who you’ve been. You are who you’re Becoming.”

Again, in appreciation of your time, I’ll end here for today and continue next week with the forward movement coming from my hiatus of Becoming: PART IV, “Every Step You Take”. Stay tuned and thanks for listening.