Hola Amigos, As we wind down a year, take stock of our lives, and prepare for a new chapter in 2025, I find myself again, looking at the Vision for My Life, where we last left off…. This has taken me a bit of time and humility, since I wanted to be honest and really look at my life - to see myself, my choices, my actions clearly. Are they aligned to my vision for my life, for my service and purpose on this planet? There has to be a curiosity afoot, in place of judgement, because it’s all in service to my evolution and growth. A constant reminder I get from my community at Leap Forward and its founder, my friend and guide, Ronit Herzfeld. I realize how often my ability to think, “I know some shit” kicks in, and then I’m humbled with life’s lessons. I see now, that there exist parts of myself, that I do not want to see. Without the support of trusted friends and guides, there mirroring daily, I won’t look. And I would and will do the same for them!
The same goes for the land projects, homes, retreat centers and all of the visions being birthed now - what parts of this do we not want to see, look at, even consider shifting? Can we eliminate or change something, or are the sunk costs and agreements too far along? Sometimes, we think we have to know everything, but in this field of work, it’s hard to be an expert that really “knows” something definitively. I rely on teams and advisors, support structures and mentors, experts with “ex-perience”, to help guide me. I rarely give these people the credit they are due. They have shaped who I am today, and continue to do so, and I am truly grateful!
My life is not a series of projects, retreat centers, and communities - its a group of people that I interact with daily. There’s care, there’s trust, there’s responsibility, and cooperation toward a larger goal - albeit wobbly at times. That’s the work! That then becomes my life, and these relationships, my day-to-day reality and glue. I really see the importance of being aware of who I’m in relation with others and how I show up, be it personal or professional. I will be interacting and evolving with these people daily as we build and co-create the next chapters of our lives and meaningful projects!
Here's What I Want to Share This Week:
After years developing land projects and retreat centers in Costa Rica and abroad, I continue to learn lessons everyday and see them through the hard learned experiences of my clients and peers. Especially as we try to disrupt and evolve the old ways of doing things, and begin to step into new territory. There's no way you can be an expert at something that is yet to exist, or talk about things like the "new paradigm" with any certitude. So there's a power to humbly saying, "I don't know. Who can help me?" Then taking our time, discussing, being curious and exploring the unknown.
This cannot be rushed, the cost is too high, once the agreements are entered thats it! Years of engagements with teams ranging from architects and investors, to lawyers and accountants, personal relationships and family, financial stability, available time and energy - all become part of a soup that you must enjoy for the next 5 -7 years. You’ll be waking up to a life, that can be bliss or a day-in and day-out drudgery. Consider each choice you make with a high level of reverence and humility.
I say this because 20 years ago, I too arrived with a big vision for community and healing centers, eyes ablaze with passion, and drive to bring something meaningful to life - but the Truth was, I didn't know what I was doing back then, I wasn't prepared. I didn't have the support, the teams, the experts and my own experience to call upon, as I do now. I got the download, and just moved ahead - no filtering or fine tuning needed. And it all came crashing down on me - everything burnt to the ground, my business, my relationships, my entire life seemed to implode. It was a big wake up call and intervention from Ronit Herzfeld, that really helped me see the Costs of my choices and start to think about how to avoid potential pitfalls in the future. How do I want to live my life? In Service of what? Why am I here? How badly do I want it?
So, when people come through our doors at LTP looking for support, telling our team that they want to build collectively owned education centers, and spaces for people to heal and evolve, to live and co-exist together in community, we take a deep sigh of reverence and pause. On one hand, I'm happy they got the download (along with 100 other people) on the other hand, I wonder if they know how hard this is, how much humility and respect it commands, how many brilliant minds and hearts are working tirelessly to crack this puzzle - albeit in silos. Ronit, helped me not just see, but understand, that we can only do this part together, and that's truly the next stage of human evolution. Learning how to do things together, to cooperate, to ask for help and receive it! If we can model it and practice it in our day to day, then we can shift.
Places: Small Spaces, Big Nature…
Some architectural inspirations that caught my eye this week!
Resources: Sacred Business Map
Thank you to Phil & Carol at Sacred Business Flow for helping keep me aligned!
⚡️ Land Project Compass Assessment ⚡️
I've created a powerful tool to help you assess where you're at with your land project called - The Land Project Compass Assessment. It's free, takes 5 minutes, and it will reveal a lot! Regardless of whether you have a project already underway, or are actively dreaming something up, this assessment will help guide you to the heart of what's important. After completing it, you'll get a visual scorecard of your project's health, important insights across key areas, and suggestions for next steps if you are looking for support. I hope this assessment helps you see yourself and your reality with greater clarity. Click here to take the assessment now.
Thank you for sharing such a vulnerable and thoughtful reflection.
Your journey really resonates with my own experience - particularly that humbling moment when we realize our "I know some shit" mindset needs to give way to something deeper.
What struck me most was your observation about life not being a series of projects, but rather the web of relationships we weave along the way. There's profound wisdom there that connects to something I've been contemplating lately: how our businesses and projects are really just vehicles for our own evolution and growth.
Your story about "getting the download" and rushing ahead without proper support and experience reminds me of my own wake-up call - in my case, it was a health crisis that forced me to see how my fragmented approach to business was creating unsustainable patterns. Like you, I needed guides and mentors to help me see what I was avoiding looking at.
I deeply appreciate your emphasis on humility, especially when it comes to building new paradigms.
You're right - we can't be experts at something that doesn't yet exist.
This reminds me of what we call the "Love-Led Leap" - that moment when we commit to creating something meaningful while remaining humble enough to know we'll need help along the way.
Your words about doing things together being the next stage of human evolution particularly resonated. In my work with entrepreneurs, I've seen how the most profound transformations happen when people stop trying to figure everything out alone and start embracing the power of aligned community and support.
Thank you for modeling such honest self-reflection.
It's a beautiful reminder that the real work isn't just in the external projects we create, but in how we show up in relationship to ourselves and others along the way.
Always love hearing your insights.
Phil
PS - I noticed the mention of Sacred Business Flow at the end - deeply honored to be part of your journey!