“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” This from John F. Kennedy’s address at the Rice University on 12th September 1962. JFK did not know at the time how it was going to be accomplished, all he knew is what he wanted his country to achieve.
The combination of a huge problem, a radical solution to that problem, and the breakthrough technology that just might make that solution possible, is the essence of a moon-shot. Instead of a mere 10% gain, a moon-shot aims for a 10x improvement over what currently exists.
You don’t need to a country’s president to determine your own moon-shot. Pondering about your grand vision is a question that is beneficial to yourself and humankind. It provides us with great insight to our true purpose and allows ‘alignment’. The alignment nurtures and provides abundance as well as focus.
How much energy do you spend in imagining that the sky is not the limit? Where does your inspiration come from and how do you keep it buzzing? Do you consider your alignment with your purpose and are you fully engaged with it? Do you trust that this purpose will provide for you and keep you on the path?
Especially in our profession, it’s hard to spend time exploring our grand vision because we spend so much energy with and on patients. Also, the environment and circumstances we work in are not always conducive and there are lot of interruptions to our natural flow. But without having a vision of yourself and determining the impact you are wanting to create it’s hard to feel supported and confident. Establishing a natural flow that comes from your unique purpose is much easier than just making money with being a Chinese medicine practitioner.
Let’s not forget either, that everything in this dualistic world is cyclical: from creation to expansion to cessation. And no matter how much we dislike it, we can’t change it, it’s a part of our existence. To be going through the ups and downs without remembering why we are a practitioner is laborious. Each time when there is a down cycle, we feel despondent, experience lack in confidence and struggle to pay for a life that we deserve. To understand that its part of everyone’s journey makes it somewhat more acceptable and the point I am wanting to bring to your attention is that in having a bigger vision when you are in the dip will generate renewed energy to once again get you through it. Come out the other end with more insight, sharper focus or ideas that will strengthen your alignment.
From my personal experience I have found that the more intensely I engage with moon shot thinking the more energy and purpose becomes available. I actively engage with this process through observation of myself, conversations I have with others and putting time away musing about it. A process is “a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end”. The final product in this example is to establish the essence of you own personal moon shot: a combination of a big problem that is close to your heart, your proposition of the radical solution to solve that problem and a proposition of breakthrough technology that just make that solution possible. “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!” – Audrey Hepburn
Today’s celebrity most associated with moon-shots is Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of PayPal and Tesla Motors, whose ideas are super ambitious. In 2015, he announced that his team Space X successfully launched and landed its Falcon 9 rocket, a revolutionary step towards affordable space travel amongst other wild things.
Imagine what could be achieved on this planet, if we would all adopt this type of thinking. Start today, like right now and don’t be distracted by the busyness of your current existence. In fact, the sooner the better because it will make such a big difference to how your life will flow and how you engage with it.
We underestimate the impact that we can have as Chinese medicine practitioners. But our work is so important because we work subtly, and we have seen many patients having big shifts during the process of receiving acupuncture and were able to witness patients greatly improving on Chinese herbal medicines. We know that many individuals seeking our help have tried a lot of other modalities and are desperate.
By you being fully engaged and aligned with your purpose and the unique style that you bring into your practice, you will have a powerful bearing on your patients. Those individuals being well, healthy and mindful can then create influence in their own environments. So, in the end, you are creating healthy and inspired communities.
Humans have abundant potential that we tend to naturally shy away from. Don’t underestimate your power in creating a better life for yourself and your patients. Our governments won’t do it, big corporations or charity organisation will not either, the state of todays’ world speaks for itself. But, we can make a difference.
The better you are aligned, the easier it will be but to determine your configuration, you need to break out of the daily routine and tap into your moon-shot thinking. This is when we realise that the sky is not the limit and that there is much more there than apparent.
I have experienced our industry as being shy and sheltered if not obscured. The interaction between practitioners is not open enough or taking into consideration common goals or shared visions. I miss the moon-shoot discussions on the practitioner only pages in the social media domain.
Moon-shot thinking creates a vast space of openness and expansion. I can see our industry flourish and thrive. Our patients being on top of world (literally) and our modality being a principal choice for health and well-being. It’s up to us to fully engage, clearly align and adopt a space of consciousness that is beyond this world.
There is no way that the sky is the limit!
