2024 - The Year of Reason

Identifying with the Source of Strategy.

Introduction (The Why)

The vision of the Square One Network is to build a community that offers practical solutions to your personal growth from a place of experience, vulnerability and the solid foundation of God. The world we live in today tends to celebrate the tools of personal growth because we live in a solution driven culture. However, what runs parallel to the world's solution driven culture is the world's self driven culture. This was where I found personal development to be problematic because the evidence of life points towards humanity being foundational to the problems we all face. Therefore having ourselves serve as the source of our solutions is counter intuitive once you understand that we are also the source of our problems. There is nothing wrong in craving solutions as long as they are provided by a faultless source. My experiences led me to the very revelation of the faultless source of life itself four years ago. I realised that my heart wasn’t searching for mere solutions to everyday human problems; my heart was searching for life. When a heart finds life, the heart denies the reliance of self for solutions and sustenance. Therefore, I grew a burning desire to build a community that would give people the practical tools to grow from this very foundation. The Square One Network is more than just the podcast, the newsletter or the personal development group-chat challenges. This is what is all about:

The development of practical tools to live generated by perfection personified through Christ.

I am not perfect, and I never have been. Consequently, I cannot provide you with the perfect roadmap to navigate through your life. However I know the person who is. My life-coach, my fitness instructor, my security, my nutritionist, my doctor, my financial adviser, my productivity planner, and my solution provider. If I was any of these things to myself, I would only be able to point you into a direction that is susceptible to failure. Furthermore, every man who operates as a pillar behind each of these disciplines is simply an image bearer of its original source. That is not to diminish the value of your work; but rather to reveal it. I believe that religion has trampled on Christ’s identity by turning him into a historical figure that fits into a man made story. But I know him to be ‘the’ eternal figure that came into history in order to redeem man’s story. So when you look at your growth, your mentality, your health and your productivity through the lens of this foundation; the road becomes extremely narrow but undeniably rewarding.

Reasoning Comes Before Strategy

Going into 2024, your priority should be understanding your why. No matter where you find yourself, “why” is the most important question you can ask when it comes to your existence, your identity, your career path, your relationships, your well being and the list goes on. Why pertains to the reason, which in turn serves as the anchor behind everything you do. The introduction above is an example of what it means to understand your why. My why has now become the root beneath every growth strategy I choose to implement within my life.

The Third Episode of The Back to Square One Podcast is titled, “Reasoning Comes Before Strategy”. If you haven’t listened to the podcast or this episode in particular I’d advise you to give it a listen! Everything I have written to you through these letters is to point you towards the reason. Instead of desiring a strategy to benefit yourself, desire the reason because that is where your tailored strategy will be found. Going into the new year I am sure you have goals, visions and what you want to get out of the year. My goal is to guide you along the way continuously pointing you towards the solutions found in the reason. This is what truly drives strategy.

Implementing Strategy

With that being said, the most common question I get asked is how. How is a question that directly points to strategy which is also important. However, what we are doing through this platform is understanding the relationship between the reason and the strategy; understanding the how as it relates to the why. Like myself, I am sure you have asked the following questions. “How do I stay consistent?” “How can I apply my daily life practices to my God given vision?” “How do I adapt my schedule according to the will of God?” My role is not to provide you with every answer, but to guide you down a path where you can discover the answers for yourself. Every letter from The Roadmap is designed to draw a link between your why and your how. This is the perspective shift that I truly believe will develop a generation that will change the world; where self is denied and the power of God through his love is embraced.

The How As It Relates To The Why

“How do I stay consistent?”

You stay consistent by keeping God at the heart of your desire for consistency. This means that the reason why you are consistent is more powerful than any disruptive force that can make you inconsistent. This means that the evidence of your consistency will look nothing like consistency by the standards of the world. This was answered in detail in one of the most popular letters I have sent out this year: “Defeating Burnout - Step By Step”. This is to highlight how the strategy behind maintaining consistency is ultimately driven by the strength of the reason behind it.

“How can I apply my daily life practices to my God given vision?”

Your God given vision is more important and trustworthy than your own inspired desires or imagination. If the vision was truly given to you by God then the strategy of it’s application will also be given to you by God. The key component to this strategy is faith. Faith will be required for every step you need to take because faith keeps you reliant on God. The practical application of your vision should follow the principle of filtration. Where you eliminate things from your daily routine that obviously don’t serve the vision. This is answered in detail in another Roadmap favourite titled: Vision: The Picture of Purpose.

“How do I adapt my schedule according to the will of God?”

This is a question that came up in response to the last letter I sent out to you: Your Only Fixed Schedule. I love this question because it already affirms that the will of God is the most important thing in your life and understanding this principle should put your heart in a state of rest. Two things can cloud your judgement when it comes to change and adaptation; fear and a lack of clarity. Setting up a schedule that serves as a reminder of you who ultimately governs it is the first step you can take in when it comes to changing it.

What To Expect In 2024.

THE ROADMAP

The weekly newsletters will continue but for now I am taking a short break. When I resume you can expect more letters from me designed to draw the stability of reason out of every beneficial strategy to your personal growth. I’d like you to think about the question ‘why?’ as it relates to every part of your life over the next few weeks.

COACHING

Furthermore, I will be making provisions for paid coaching consultations in 2024. This will be a limited service but I will love to serve some of you in a greater capacity When it comes to your spiritual, physical and mental wellness. If you are interested in getting personalised guidance beyond these letters then send me an email highlighting the reason behind your request. This will be a limited service therefore don’t be discouraged if I am unable to work with you; we are just getting started and growing in capacity.

PODCAST

The Back To Square One Podcast is making its return in 2024. Those of you who have been waiting; thank you for being patient with me. The break has been long but it has been necessary to move at God’s intended pace. If you are new here, then you also have something to look forward to.

COMMUNITY

Our community has been growing organically through these letters, the podcast and our social media page (@sq1podcast). In 2024 we plan to take things further by developing forums and hosting events that are specifically curated to spread our core message.

I can’t wait for the year that lies ahead. I hope you are all as excited as I am. For now its a bye from me, and a sincere expression of gratitude to every reader, listener and supporter of what we are building. It means the world to me. Happy holidays, and see you in a few weeks!