Growth - A Conversation with Chris

Growth is so important in our lives as we are always fighting stress, anxiety, boredom and especially now in the middle of this pandemic. Social distancing and lack of options is really making us all stretch our imaginations and create our own projects, trips, experiments, art, music, and growth in some way. I have been writing and playing my guitar more than I ever remember and reaching out to friends whenever I can to catch up. It is always so cool to speak with my network and find out what they are doing in their lives and sharing our thoughts to pick each other up.

I called a good friend of mine last night who I haven’t spoken with for about 4 months. It was about 8;30 at night and at first I hesitated because of the time, but I did it anyway and it was a great decision. Chris and I had met at a Guitar Workshop a couple of years ago and really hit it off—becoming good friends sharing a great deal about our families and lives over the last year and a half. As we spoke about what we are currently up to during this time, he asked about my book and when it would be finished, complimenting me on the legacy of the project and how cool he thought it was. We got into a very brief discussion of the mundane and really boring current state of the pandemic, politics, money, markets, etc. and we turned to what we are up to for growing in some way through all of this. He had such an interesting project he opened up on that I found intriguing and wanted to share.

He was on a trip recently where he was playing in a card game and was the first one to lose. As his wife and another couple played on, he grabbed his guitar and started playing. He ripped through a few songs and the other gent complimented him on how many songs he knew off the top of his head. This sent him into a loop of analyzing actually how few songs he really knew for how long he had been playing music. Funny how this works on the psyche when we get our minds telling us how much we need to get better at something—we go into self-judgment. So he decided he was going to learn 50 songs in 50 days when he got home. Wow! What an aggressive goal he set and I told him it must be crazy to try and remember that much music. He said it was really interesting that after 4 days he thought his head was about to explode and was going to give up but kept going. On day 9 it was like he had the enlightenment and everything was expanding much quicker in his learning process and he felt a real breakthrough. He said it forced him to really get out of the moments when his mind was idle or thinking of nonsense and continually focus on what the words and chords were on the song of the day.

When he was grocery shopping, getting gas, or driving for thirty minutes, it was occupying his mind and he was conscious about growing. This is a powerful example of focus and tenacity to grow and these songs will be with him forever. What an awesome way to find your groove and joy in growing in a meaningful way to your own personal interests. Keeping his mind engaged in the positive forward skills he doesn’t have time for the negative outlets of TV, social media, or engaging in useless conversations.

Kudos to Chris and it is something I really took to heart as I continue to explore my own missions for growth in the new world we all live in. It is such a great lesson for my Prosperity Project journey and hopes you find some inspiration in what Chris is taking on and sharing with us all!

by John Lohrenz the Author of The Prosperity Project.

The Prosperity Project is available now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, If you are interested in finding your own formula for building abundance and a map for a life well lived check out The Prosperity Project.