There are so many things that I want to write about. Literally, I have made a list of more than 50 topics that immediately come to mind that I want to write about, but I must pace myself. And, I need to be careful not to exhaust you.
Ironically, I do not love the word harmony. It has connotations that don't quite hit the mark. But after much searching, no other word seems to capture it more accurately.
HARMONY. The synonyms I like:
accord, agreement, peace, peacefulness, amity, amicability, friendship,fellowship, cooperation, understanding, consensus, unity, sympathy,rapport, like-mindedness;
The definition makes sense:
har mo•ny (ˈhɑr mə ni)
n., pl. -nies.
1. agreement; accord; harmonious relations.
2. a consistent, orderly, or pleasing arrangement of parts; congruity.
3.
a. any simultaneous combination of tones.
b. the simultaneous combination of tones, esp. when blended into chords pleasing to the ear; chordal structure, as distinguished from melody and rhythm.
c. the science of the structure, relations, and practical combination of chords.
A consistent, orderly, pleasing arrangement of the parts OF LIFE.
I read a definition somewhere that stated that harmony was the ability to find the "next note" that worked in pleasing affect with the notes before.
If you accept that life is constructed from moments.
And, if you accept that each moment has the opportunity to create harmony or disharmony.
Then, you can understand that living life is like creating a wonderful piece of music real-time. I think of the movie "Amadeus" where Mozart is creating music real time and his partner is watching him in awe, lost in the genius of the creation and in the beauty of the composed piece.
The metaphor truly works.
When you hear a perfect piece of music, and then someone plays the fundamentally wrong note you feel it deep in your soul. And, if the piece goes on and corrects itself, you are bound to even forget it and lose yourself once again in the music.
In every moment, we play a note in our lives. And, I KNOW that if we play the note by anchoring ourselves in the "nucleus", the absolute truth, of the moment, and then play it to where we want to be... it is a harmonious moment.
It is a moment that builds on the one before.
It is a moment that draws people near.
It is a moment that makes us and those around us think and consider.
It is a moment that we want to be a part of, and deliver on.
If, instead, we play a moment, or a note, "wishing we were something different". If we allow ourselves to wish we had done something different, wish that a mistake hadn't been made, wish that we could have started something sooner, wish that anyone around us was someone different than who they actually are... the moment is disharmonious.
I know this sounds touchy feely. I know this sounds soft and amorphous.
But, I am telling you - its as clear in our lives as it is in a great piece of music or art. And, its a whole lot more important.
FACT: I lost 40 lbs in about 2 months in mid 2012 thanks to the concept of HARMONY!
I have kept the vast majority off. It started in a single moment. I remember it. The "absolute truth" of the moment was me accepting that I did NOT know how to eat right and I needed help. But, I could never have accepted that I needed help, if I had not accepted the truth that I just did not know how to eat the right quantities. I still dont. I joined a program called "Ideal Protein" and by focusing on moment by moment... I have lost the weight and have kept it off. NOW - I realize that I can start gaining it back JUST as quickly as I lost it - if I give up too many moments. Those who know me - know that this was a huge goal that had been a"WISH" for decades. Embracing my absolute truth was step 1.
WISHING - DISHARMONY - "I wish I hadn't eaten that", "I wish I had faster metabolism", "I have only lost 1 pound in the past week", "I wish I had started this diet sooner", "I wish I didnt have to go out to dinner, its harder to eat healthy out." THESE MOMENTS ARE WASTED.
TRUTH AND WANT - HARMONY - "I am committed to living healthier", "I have already lost a pound in a week, and I can do even better.", "I am going to make my next meal my best one." THESE MOMENTS ARE BRICKS IN OUR FOUNDATION, THEY ARE ONTO THEMSELVES - SUCCESS, WE JUST NEED MORE OF THEM.
FACT: A company I worked with, making nearly $50 Million per year with 70% gross margins was sold in distress, and everyone who owned equity in the company walked away or was terminated without a dime of value - simply because we built a strategy ignoring our "absolute truth" and "wishing we could be in a different space".
It was a great team. It was a group of intelligent, dedicated, committed people. It was an amazing time and a tremendous company - and it was sold essentially worthless despite a great team and wonderful products because we had embraced a strategy that was in DISHARMONY with who we were. I could talk for hours on this example.
FACT: At my current company, we went from making virtually NO money in 2006 to making $10 Million in 2007 by embracing an operational structure with HARMONY. That's right essentially 0 to $10 Million in 1 year...
We had spent alot of time before 2006 "wishing that we could forecast our sales". We were hammering on sales, beating people up, jumping up and down. The "absolute truth" of our business however is that our own clients don't know what deal is going to hit next or for how much. We WANTED to be profitable and our truth was that we had significant variability in our workload. Our fixed costs where too high. So, we embraced our truth in the direction of our want. We created a more variable operational model that allowed us to be profitable within the expected workload range - and we rocked it! 0 to $10 Million...
It's not always this significant... 40 pounds or $10 Million is pretty cool. So often, the vast majority of moments are not that. They are small moments. There are are thousands and thousands of moments every day. Moments that we can ignore. Moments that we can waste, wishing for things to be different in some way. Or moments that can be leveraged. Moments that can be built on. Moments that can be and deserve to be enjoyed.
Harmony happens one note at a time.
Life happens one moment at a time.
Great music, great art, and great lives are all composed.
The irony is that we can only ACT in the moment... we can only AFFECT the moment, but we get our momentum, we get our happiness, we make our dreams come true from the consciousness and deilberateness of our awareness of harmony.
A friend of mine at Procter & Gamble said to me, "With everything you say or do, you either give life or you take life away." That single thought has stayed with me ever since. It was a statement of the possibility of harmony or disharmony in every moment. It was a single moment that placed a cornerstone on this puzzle of life.
"With EVERYTHING you say and DO, you are either giving life to yourself and those around you, or you are taking life away."
Is it overwhelming? I guess it can be, if it is conscious.
But, I believe that by committing to it, it can become subconscious. (NOTE: It's not easy, and at times it takes courage... We'll talk more about that later...)
Just as we breathe automatically, as our hearts beat... we can integrate the concept of harmony into how we show up in every moment... into the default filter of how we see our lives and how we make our decisions.
It is a life altering consciousness... and, it is as real as inches of my waist or earnings for my company... It is as real as the smile on my face and the warmth in my heart, and the focus on my ambition, and the hugs from my sons...
It's not the perfect word - but its a perfect and powerful concept.
HARMONY...
It's not for the faint of heart... It's for the bold of heart and for those with dreams...
Nestor Benavides