So far in this series we’ve named what hurry is actually costing you. We talked about what happens when you rush past God and the beauty right in front of you every day. And we looked at the belief system underneath all the hustle: the fear that if you stop producing, you’ll lose everything you’ve worked for.

Today I want to tell you a story of what made all this REAL for me vs. theory.

The Challenge I Never Saw Coming

In January, I traveled halfway around the world for an event and didn’t attend it.

When I showed up for dinner in London the night before, my coach did something I’ll never forget.

I told him the value I hoped to gain as a result of attending this event and instead of nodding his head, impressed by my answer, he paused.

And then he asked if I wanted a high-flame response or low-flame.
I always go for the high-flame.

“Then you aren’t allowed to attend this event, Jason. If you really want to gain what you said, then you aren’t going to get that from coming to the event.

Take the next 4 days and go explore the city. No agenda. No schedule. No outcomes. Just… go be. You’re constantly doing more Jason, and the next level in your life and business can only be reached through BEING, not doing.”

My first reaction?

I was pissed!

I didn’t fly halfway around the world to go visit art museums! I came to learn, grow, to gain something from this event that will have made the time, energy, and money worth it.

Besides, who has time to go “explore” a city? That feels irresponsible. I’m not on vacation, I’m here to WORK!

But I went. And what happened over the next several days led to a powerful shift I’ll never forget.

What Forced Presence Actually Feels Like

At first, it was deeply uncomfortable. I kept reaching for my phone and feeling the pull to make the time count for something.

But slowly, something started to change.

I stopped rushing from one thing to the next and actually gave myself to wherever I was. I stepped into an art museum for several hours (the LAST place I’d EVER want to go!),sat, looked at paintings, sculptures, and artifacts that were thousands of years old.

I stepped away from proving, trying to impress, and performing. I leaned into something I rarely experience: being fully present to the moment in front of me, unhurried, and without the need to feel “productive”.

It was exactly what I needed, but had been avoiding.

A Wrong Perspective on Time

Somewhere in the middle of the second day wandering around London a question surfaced that I’ve been sitting with ever since:

What if time is not something to be maximized or managed,
but something to be enjoyed?

My gut reaction was the same as yours probably is right now.

“Sounds nice, but I don’t have the luxury of that! I’ve got fires to put out, a million things going on, people counting on me. I can’t afford to just sit around enjoying the moment.” (insert giant sarcastic air quotes!)

And look, I realize this was a unique set of circumstances. I was thousands of miles from my family and my normal responsibilities; I obviously can’t live every day wandering around doing whatever I felt like with no calendar or higher agenda other than go wherever my desires take me. And neither can you.

This isn’t about an empty calendar; it’s about the PACE at which you’re living each day.

Your frantic energy doesn’t make you more effective.

It makes you reactive, scattered,

and hard to be around!

The truth is, you can’t afford NOT to slow down. Because the way you’re running right now is costing you the very things you’re working so hard to build.

Being vs. Doing

DOING has been what’s brought me to this point in my life and career. And it’s produced a lot of great things. But it’s also had a dark side because I’ve become a slave to it.

In London I started to see that the next evolution of my growth has very little to do with growing my skills or knowledge or efficiencies. It’s primarily about my presence, and how I’m showing up when I’m with other people.

So much of what’s driven how I show up with others has been driven by fear. Attempting to perform, to impress,

to have others validate that I’m exceptional.

Fear of loss, fear of failing, fear of not being enough.

And my constant motion has been one long attempt to outrun that fear.

London slowed me down long enough to see it clearly for the first time.

The Fear I Brought Home

If I’m honest, even after this experience I was afraid that optimizing for presence would cost me my intensity. I worried that I’d become warmer and more present but that the burning fire and laser focus would dwindle, costing me the results.

And I’ve been asking this question ever since I came home:

What would it look like to be fully present and not in a rush?
What would intense presence actually look like?

That’s exactly what we’re going to get into in part five.