Link The Line

At first sight, a challenging river rapid looks like a jumbled and overpowering mess of never-ending energy.

For many of us, when we imagine ourselves IN this river rapid, thoughts of "hanging on" or "bearing down" until the water calms would be understandable.

Whether we have a hand in its creation or it shows up unexpectedly around the bends of our own river of life, the often-chosen strategy for negotiating such a jumbled and overpowering mess is to wait for calmer waters.

When we choose to do nothing and wait for rough waters to subside, calmness eventually arrives and then...

The worry begins again... about what is around the next bend.

This vicious cycle kicks away the present moment and deprives us of an opportunity.

Which opportunity?

To experience discomfort.

To greet uncertainty.

To be more aware.

To grow.

The thing about a challenging river rapid is that there is a pathway through the chaos... provided we develop the disposition to see it.

A pathway through a rapid is called a line. Paddlers take their cues from river features such as rocks and waves to form their line through a rapid. Often, a rapid may have many lines. And rarely are the river lines straight.

The better you get at finding lines, optionality appears. As you navigate a line, you link together maneuvers that move you through the rough waters... in counterintuitive ways you previously did not see. More gracefully than you possibly imagined.

Here, your skills for navigating the river - the river of life - improve.

Starting in January of 2021, I developed a six month-long series of articles that dove deeply into these skills that I shared with my Sunday Morning Joe community every week.

But, I failed to name this agile way to navigate the river... and position this as a purposeful and accessible method to pursue flow and simplicity - even in the face of chaos, conflict, and transition.

Now, it is time to link the line... to name this unique method... which happens to be the title of my first book:

What I love about the cover is the white line that extends from the second "l" in Slalom. It represents your line - your personal journey through the challenging rapids in the river of life. The line is not straight and it passes through constantly changing water.

Slalom creates its line through "6 River Classes" built upon engaging and personal stories, reflections, concepts, and relationships from my 40+ years on the river that encourage the reader to consider how to:

Let go

Find flow

Live simply

Confront our rocks

Respond to change

Tune into what is essential

Develop counterintuitive choices

When we slalom, we do more than just engage with challenging waters.

When we slalom, we link together flow and simplicity to create a richer line through the river of life.

With gratitude,

-Joe 

PS - Kindle and print editions of Slalom are now available HERE. Check out the "Look Inside" feature to see testimonials from Olympians, CEOs, business owners, authors, professional coaches, and the mayor of one of my favorite cities!