"The Way is not in the sky. The Way is in the heart." - Buddha

I need you to hear something that might challenge everything you've been telling yourself lately.

That gnawing feeling that you're "behind" everyone else.

That somehow life passed you by while you weren't paying attention

It's not the truth.

It's just the ego's way of keeping you small.

What if I told you that every detour, every seeming setback, every moment you felt like you were moving backward was actually the universe's way of course-correcting you toward something infinitely better?

What if your perceived delays were actually divine redirects?

The question isn't "Why am I so far behind?"

The question is: "Where is this path actually leading me?"

Steve Jobs and His Wilderness Years

Most people know Steve Jobs as the visionary who revolutionized technology.

But between 1985 and 1997, Jobs experienced what biographers call his "wilderness years"—fired from his own company, watching Apple struggle without him, feeling like a failure in his 30s while his former colleagues moved forward.

Jobs later said those 12 years of apparent failure were the most important of his life.

He started NeXT, bought Pixar, learned humility, developed his aesthetic sense, and discovered what truly mattered to him.

When he returned to Apple

He wasn't just the same ambitious young founder

He was a transformed leader ready to create the iPhone, iPad, and change the world.

The wilderness wasn't punishment.

It was preparation.

Why am I sharing this?

Because right now.

You might be in your own wilderness years…

Wondering why life seems to be moving you away from where you thought you should be...

Here's what's really happening:

Your apparent delays aren't cosmic punishment.

They're cosmic preparation.

Every door that closed, every opportunity that slipped away, every time you felt like you were starting over…

It was all teaching you something essential about who you're becoming.

The Tao teaches us that water always finds its way to the sea, but it doesn't flow in straight lines.

It moves around obstacles, carves new channels, and sometimes pools in places that seem like dead ends—only to break through later with unstoppable force.

This isn't about positive thinking or spiritual bypassing.

This is about understanding a fundamental truth: resistance and redirection are how the universe shapes us.

The Stoics called it amor fati—love of fate.

The Buddhists speak of it as right timing. The Tao calls it wu wei—effortless action aligned with natural flow.

What we interpret as being "behind" is often life protecting us from paths that would have diminished us.

Sometimes we need to lose the life we planned to find the life that's waiting for us.

This is the sacred work of becoming.

Allowing life to redirect us not despite our plans, but because of a deeper intelligence that sees what we cannot.

I want to share something deeply personal with you today.

Last year, I was sitting in my home office at 2 AM, staring at my computer.

My business—the one I'd built for over a decade—was gone.

While my friends were posting about promotions and new houses, I was explaining to my wife and kids why we had to move again.

I felt like a complete failure.

Thirty seven years old and starting over while everyone else seemed to be thriving.

The shame was suffocating.

I kept thinking,

"How did I get so far behind? How did I mess this up so badly?"

But here's what I discovered through the darkness:

I wasn't behind.

I was being redirected toward a version of myself I never could have accessed from comfort.

The business failure forced me to study the Law of Attraction deeply, to understand ancient wisdom, to rebuild not just my finances but my entire relationship with success and meaning.

That business failure became my greatest teacher.

It stripped away everything I thought defined me and revealed who I actually was underneath.

That experience taught me something profound about divine timing that has transformed how I approach every setback:

What looks like failure is often just the universe clearing the path for your real work to begin.

The ancient Way teaches us that everything in nature has its season—not just plants and animals, but human journeys too. Y

our season of apparent "falling behind" might actually be your season of root development, happening underground where no one can see.

In Bushido, there's a concept called kaizen—continuous improvement through small, persistent steps.

The samurai understood that mastery isn't about speed; it's about alignment.

They didn't rush to battle; they spent years in preparation so that when the moment came, they were ready.

This is the sacred rebellion against our instant-gratification culture: trusting that your timing is perfect even when it doesn't feel that way.

Every delay is developing something in you that success at the "right" time couldn't have built.

When you catch yourself thinking "I'm so behind," I want you to try this practice:

The Redirect Recognition Practice 

1. Pause and Breathe: Take three deep breaths and acknowledge the feeling without judgment

2. Reframe the Question: Instead of "Why am I behind?" ask "What is this teaching me?" or "Where is this leading me?"

3. Identify the Skills: List three capabilities or insights you've gained from this apparent detour that you wouldn't have developed on the "normal" path

4. Find the Pattern: Look back at previous times you felt "behind" and identify how those redirects ultimately served you

5. Trust the Timing: Write down one way this current situation might be preparing you for something better than your original plan

6. Take One Step: Do one small thing today that aligns with where you are now, not where you think you should be

Start with just noticing when the "I'm behind" thoughts arise. Don't fight them—just recognize them as old programming trying to keep you in comparison mode rather than creation mode.

Remember:

• Your timing is perfect even when it doesn't feel that way

• Delays are often divine redirects toward something better

• What looks like being "behind" is usually depth development

• The universe doesn't make mistakes with your path

Your Action Steps:

• This week, identify one area where you've been beating yourself up for being "behind"

• Right now, write down three things this situation has taught you that you're grateful for

• Practice the Redirect Recognition method daily when comparison thoughts arise

• Each morning, ask "How can I serve from where I am today?" instead of "How do I catch up?"

In your corner,

Gin

P.S. Stop measuring your progress against other people's highlight reels. Your path is unique, your timing is perfect, and your redirects are preparing you for something extraordinary. Trust the process. ✨