“I hear all these awesome things about being in a flow state, flowing, being in flow, being like a pro athlete in the zone.”
What do you hope to do with that?
“Lots of things. Washing dishes, driving a car, managing a project, stretching a canvas. Everything!”
What about juggling?
Flow wasn’t the genesis of my interest in juggling some months back, but it was a wonderful ancillary good that came along quite unexpectedly.
“What was the genesis?”
My mentor had just announced his retirement from the bank. I wanted to manage myself the way he had managed me. And I happened to be watching documentaries about Formula One racing drivers.
I noticed every driver juggled before his races. That filed itself away in the subconscious.
About that same time, during a flight to Guadalajara to visit my son, I read a joyfully interesting book: How to Drive by Ben Collins. Somewhere in the book, he encourages a driver to keep a soft focus on the horizon while trusting her peripheral vision to detect nearby motion – specifically other motorists.
Then it clicked: That’s exactly what juggling cultivates.
It took about a month, but with some excellent instruction and daily practice, I was juggling three balls for 50 consecutive tosses at a time.
About halfway through that month, best of all, I noticed that after a minute or two of juggling, a dropped ball amused me more than it frustrated. Then I started juggling before every Daily Stand Up and coaching session.
The magic of flow started to happen, started to make sense, and became 60-seconds-accessible anytime.
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Happy discoveries like these don’t come from great ideas; they come from more ideas. Coaching helps get these ideas bubbling-up. Schedule a sample session with Bart and see for yourself.