If the mountain doesn't come to the prophet...

Why it is good to go the extra mile. Why dreaming big and making small steps is the way to go.And why it is even better to expect the unexpected. 

A few reminders that serve me powerfully on my entrepreneurial journey.

Let me tell you a story to illustrate that.

Vienna, 2019. It is a warm, early summer day in May.

I think about something that I’ve been thinking over and over and over again: The Trainer for Mindfulness In Organizations education is cool, but it somehow seems a bit old-school to me. How are others doing it? How are others making this mindfulness thing accessible to people? There must be another way. Maybe I can volunteer somewhere and learn how they do it?

I am driven by a strong curiosity, and an urge to expand my horizons. Also, expanding my reach outside of Austria is important to me, and I have an energetic connection going on with Istanbul as well. It is my favorite city.

The exact place where I grew up for the first 14 years of my life was where the defender of Vienna during the first siege by the Ottoman Empire in 1529 lived - and passed away one year later in 1530. Literally the exact coordinates. You can’t come up with this stuff.

Back to the story. Driven by my curiosity, I ask the internet for help. Maybe I can find something there. I go to the website of the institute. I go to their partner page. “Mindfulness Alliance” is listed among them. Nice logo. And the guy - Erhan - looks nice and friendly too.

To be honest with you, I can’t remember why I wanted to follow that particular thread so much. Anyway. Intuition nudges you in ways the mind will never comprehend.

Next step: find a way how to connect 

What is the most direct way you can think of? LinkedIn. There, people are only one message and connection request away. It is probably better than E-Mail because he can see my profile and get a sense of who I am and what I do.

This is 1% of the mind chatter that was going on. I was so scared and excited. But I learned that fear is excitement without the breath, and I asked myself: what’s the worst thing that can happen?

And that one is a BIG one for anyone building a business or project: If you don’t ask, the answer is no. If you ask, the answer might be yes. So ask. Please ask. Also when you think everything is against you. Ask.

So I send him this message on September 26th:

His reply: No reply.

Okay, then it is not meant to be, I say to myself. It’s ok. It was worth a shot. But immediately after I’m thinking: wait, why not just follow up one more time? Why not?

Again the question: What’s the worst that can happen?

Truth is: there can be 1231234134324 reasons why someone does not respond. I learned this when he wrote me on the 7th of October, that he deleted the LinkedIn App from his phone and did not check the messages.

Can you believe it? I thought of everything but this.

In the message, Erhan shares with me something along the lines of “of course, we can meet - here’s my number”. And that my friends - that message set a series of actions in motion. 

October 7th: Christian gets incredibly excited

October 7th: Christian thinks: what if I do the crazy thing and just go to Istanbul? But what if he can’t make time? Then you spend a few days in your favorite city. Nothing to lose.

October 8th: Christian books flight

October 8th: Christian takes flight and arrives in Istanbul.

As I settle into my Airbnb in Besiktas, we text a bit back and forth. He has time. It is going to happen. Wow. This is so surreal. I am 29 at the time and this is the very premiere of meeting someone in this way. That particular night I did not sleep much. I am overwhelmed by everything. Maybe - and looking back most probably - the endless black tea supply from my host contributed to that sleepless night too.

The next day we meet at a bakery in the Kanyon mall. We stay there for a few hours. We drink the famous Turkish black tea, we have cheesecake.

Erhan shares with me his excitement too. I did not see this due to my tunnel vision, but he said that he appreciated my efforts and that it was the first time he’d experienced something like this.

He asks me about my dreams. And how he can assist me in achieving them. I remember saying to myself: I can’t remember that someone ever asked me that…

As we speak, he keeps making notes and draws on his notepad. Before we leave he says: let’s take a picture. Ok. But what did you write down? What does it say?

It says:

Dream big.Take small steps. Start now.

This meeting marked the start of a year-long connection that evolved into a friendship. It is something I will never forget for my entire life.

It would have not happened, if I had not dreamed big.It would have not happened, if I hadn’t taken the first step. It would have not happened, if I hadn’t booked the flight.

I know this is sometimes easier said than done. Yet I want to encourage us to remember. The path unfolds as we go. In ways that we can’t possibly imagine.

Much love,Christian

What are you dreaming of right now?

What is a small step you can make today?

Dreams become more real when shared. Let me know :)

What’s your experience with dreaming big, making small steps, and starting now?