JUNE UPDATES

The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Long term projects are my kryptonite. When I get to the mid-point, I often lose focus and feel tempted to pursue other things.

Seth Godin calls this long slog between starting and mastery, The Dip. The reality is that struggles are always waiting for you beyond the initial excitement.

But, if you’re trying to succeed, you are either -- Moving forward; Falling behind; or Standing still.

So today I am proud to announce that I am hitting the 500-mile mark (walking home from the office as you read this) towards my 1,000-mile goal for melanoma. Achieving this prior to the mid-point of the year is satisfying.

If I am being honest, interest may have waned from my support group, not because they aren’t interested, but because of familiarity. I was feeling The Dip.

As a result, I put all my focus into ticking off the miles…

And thanks to a cousin from Italy and an aunt on my wife's side, I am finally progressing on fundraising again. Both of these relatives handed me cash last week and shared words of encouragement and touching stories of melanoma survival. 

Thanks to them and you, I am now just $975 away from the pivotal fundraising milestone of $70,000.

Thanks for supporting www.paulwalks.com and remember doing easy things never gets you very far.

What’s In Your 3rd Vault?

When interacting, we often steer clear of meaningful, personal topics…

It's as if there's an unspoken rule that we should stick to surface-level conversations. But why is that? What are we so afraid of?

Lately, I've reached a level of intimacy in some relationships that I never thought possible.

And it’s all because I've started asking people: "What's in your 3rd vault?"

Before I explain what that means, let me back up.

In the 18 months before my friend Chad passed from melanoma, we had deeper and more meaningful conversations than we’d ever had before. During that time, we got really close, and he became one of my dearest friends and confidants. I’d known him since we played Little League together -- he played; I mostly rode the bench.

Chad gave us all nicknames and he was the last person that I would have expected to get that depth of connection with. But it was right under my nose all those years.

Since Chad’s passing which, we honor at his Celebration of Life today, I’ve been determined to seek and develop stronger connections through more open and honest conversations.

The 3rd vault goes below the surface, and it is where the real magic happens.

To understand the impact of the 3rd vault, let's break down the three types of information which we can share:

• 1st Vault – Our Facts: These are the basic, factual aspects of our lives. Where we work, what we do, where we live. It's information that doesn't require much vulnerability.

• 2nd Vault – Our Stories: Here, we share our experiences and anecdotes. These are the tales that shape our identities but still often keep us at a comfortable distance from our deeper selves.

• 3rd Vault – Our Essence: This is the core of who we are—our spirit, our soul, our essence. It's what's truly going on in our lives, the things that matter most to us, and the feelings we often keep hidden.

The 3rd vault is the place where we connect on a deeper level, sharing our true selves. This vault holds the conversations about our fears, struggles, dreams, and triumphs. It's the essence of what we're experiencing in life right now.

Chad taught me that the 3rd vault was cool, and I am thankful for him, his example, and all those things we were able to share.

Want to learn more? Read Close Encounter of the “Third Vault” by Chip Conley. https://www.meawisdom.com/wisdom-well/post/close-encounters-of-the-third-vault