It takes years to experience a substantial, life changing breakthrough because most of what matters is invisible at first. I’m often laying foundations that aren't fully seen in the moment. Skills, patterns of thought, emotional resilience, strategic perspective, inner clarity, and so on. These things don’t show results immediately, but they are prerequisites for durable, enduring success. I think many years ahead.
The compounding effect is slow and often painful. At first, rare progress looks like failure to others. I’m not following a standard, conventional path. I’m exploring, learning, and discarding what doesn’t work. And since I’m unwilling to conform blindly to society, I've spent years patiently becoming an outlier.
Scripted systems are so slow to reward outliers. Institutions mistrust originality. Mediocrity is safer to them. So if I’m building something rare, there are difficulties to overcome. Doubt, rejection, bureaucracy, loneliness. Most settle for mediocrity quite easily. I didn’t. I've always been resourceful and creative enough to negotiate with people. I see every challenge as perfectly imperfect, and then I make the most of it.
When the breakthroughs occur, it’s not because something changed suddenly, but because I didn’t quit through all the unseen progress. There's a sort of worthwhile ripple effect. I made myself ready. Day by day. Month by month. Year by year. Eventually reality caught up.
"Flexible on the details. Firm on the vision."