The flames licked up the empty pizza plates,
The rich tender smokiness of the tree fronds long gone in the ash
We all leaned in,
As the light bloomed, illuminating Jason Campbell's face.
He pointed to the coin around his neck.
...
Jing.
Qi.
Shen.
...
Matter.
Energy.
Consciousness.
...
His voice blends in with the heat of the fire and the dancing shadows in the waning light of the day.
Almost as if called forth by summons, as Jason speaks of Energy, I can sense the Energy of everyone lean forward. Pulled toward the fire. Pulled into the moment and the space around us.
The words spoken become not important.
The energy and connection they foster ripples with the flames and dances through the eyes of those watching.
Its the kind of moment where you don't want to be anywhere else.
I am only here, it's only me, it's always now.
Jason points to the coin again.
Where do we begin and end? Where does life begin and end? There's the earth, there's the heavens, we're somewhere in between, but where?
To the outside observer we're just a bunch of people sitting around a fire pit, drinking wine from red solo cups, eating pizza.
Talking about giants.
To those present ...
That's all that matters.
Until you makes the unconscious conscious, it will rule you.
- Akshay Nanavati
The Cornerman Opens the Door
It's Day 1 of The Guardian Academy Event, March 2024.
Two dozen of us sit around the u - arranged tables, facing the front of the room. There's the calm patter of conversation, as the team gets ready for the day.
We're in Joe Polish's office building, where he hosts Genius Network and his 100k group. We're looking at the chairs where just the previous weekend, Lance Armstrong and Joe Polish sat in conversation.
There's a gentle energy. We're looking forward to the start, but there isn't a huge amount of hype.
TGA is like family, and the room is warm and welcoming.
Nic starts us off with a little welcome, a little housekeeping.
He sets the stage by presenting the idea of "Engaging the Field."1 Just sit with it.
Then with little bravado hands the floor over to Dr. Jeff Spencer.2
I had entered this Event thinking I'd be an observer. I, the writer, finally able to be in person could likely see and get a sense of what people are saying much more clearly. So I came to watch.
As Dr. Jeff starts speaking,
And throughout this opening hour or so of TGA, I felt completely pulled into the present moment.
Not an observer.
Compelled to BE.
To show up as clearly and fully and completely as I possible could.
Jeff opens the even with The Human Mindset and The Champions Mind,3 leading us into the idea that No One Wins Alone.
We got together as teammates and discussed what that means to us.
We shared our 6WU from our groups of 3.
Ours - “unique energies combine for true creation”
I didn't even realize what would unfold over the next two days - but that's what came from our 3 minutes together.
Being in the room there, listening to Dr. Jeff brought out something different in me.
What he shared with us was great of course. I love listening to him speak even in the recording.
But in the room it's different.
Because Dr. Jeff shows up with complete and total presence.
You can FEEL it in the room. In the way he speaks and stands and moves. In the calmness of his voice as he speaks of the most important and impactful aspects of a living a life of Full Potential.
After we all shared our insights around Nobody Wins Alone,
Dr. Jeff invited us to stand,
And let us know that now, because of our action, because of our presence together in this room, we were no longer attendees ... we were teammates.
I don't think I can fully communicate the idea of Presence in the written word.
Just like my own experience, I had to be in the moment in order to feel it. I had to be in the room with the energy of everyone else. I had to be around the fire.
I couldn't see with only my eyes and my ears and my mind.
I had to see with my full being there in the present moment.
Full Potential
If you were to reduce The Guardian Academy down to one major benefit, one thing that we stand for and help you with, the one thing that you come here to receive ...
You could say it's To Unlock Your Full Potential, so that you can live a life of meaning, purpose, and impact.
Full Potential has two halves:
There is known potential. Which you can discover in yourself by living, engaging the field, learning, growing, being present.
There is unknown potential. Which you need help to discover. We talk about this as exposure, proximity, and access.4 There are strengths and gifts in you that you may not be able to see or find - but are within you now, and you need the energy and understanding of others to help you find them.
Yin Yang.
Together, they make The Grey Wolf. Known Potential + Unknown Potential.
In order to access both completely, I believe you need to find the ability to come into the Present moment.
This is one of the keys you need to understand to find your Full Potential
Presence is The Beginning
It's the point where everything real and meaningful actually starts.
Because full Presence in the moment, with yourself, with your surroundings, with those around you, with what you are engaging ...
It's necessary to not just "get the most out of" the thing you are doing or the place you are, but to connect completely with those people, those things, those actions, with your full and complete self.
How can you do that without being present?
How can you do that without having Presence?
I didn't realize this completely in "Get Good at Being Bored,"5 but complete Presence with yourself in the moment is all you need to enjoy every single moment.
No matter what is happening.
Whether there's absolutely nothing going on, or everything completely overwhelming happening around you.
Presence is the thing.
It's being in absolute touch with your energetic self, your emotions, your thoughts and ideas, and being in a receptive state where you can connect with everyone else, and everyTHING else around you.
Your Uniqueness Comes From Presence
The Full Potential of your uniqueness can't come from only you.
No one wins alone.
But your uniqueness also can't be discovered if you aren't completely present in the now. With your actions. With your ideas. With your relationships. With your energy and vibrations.
To lack that presence is to live in the past and the future. To dwell and to worry. To make actions and reactions based on imaginary scenarios. Even the real that has happened in the past becomes imagination when you hold onto it in your mind.
It's no longer real because the only thing that is real is the present moment.
In TGA we talk about learning and growth quite a lot. In order to reach your Full Potential and live a life of Purpose and Meaning, you must grow. You must grow into that space.
Growth and learning are application of new ideas in real life.
And it's through that interaction, through that Engaging the Field, as you learn and grow where you have the opportunity to discover yourself.
If you are present.
When you take a new idea, you think on it and then you apply it in The Field ...
The only way to learn about yourself and who you are in that moment is TO BE PRESENT. To connect your full energetic self with the current moment and just be there.
That is what Dr. Jeff does when he steps into the room.
He just is, completely, in the moment. With us. Sharing the deepest most important understanding he can to help us life a live of Purpose, to find our Full Potential. Because that's who he is.
Presence Reveals Demons
There is no light without dark.
We all have demons. They aren't always noticeable.