One of the things I find most inspiring is meeting people older than me who are still deeply connected to their purpose and still impacting the world, many years after most of their contemporaries have retired.
People like this are one of the reasons I have zero interest in retirement.
More about that another week.
But I do want to tell you about something I learned from one of those inspiring people at last week’s Powerful Men’s Immersion.
I’ve been aware of Dr Bill Pettit for five or six years. Bill is pictured above with photographer extraordinaire Alexander Lossew who took all the pics with this newsletter.
I first came across his work not long after I stumbled upon the 3 Principles, an understanding that massively changed my life by giving me a completely different way of seeing how our experience of life is created.
Bill was mentored for decades by Sydney Banks, who first articulated the 3 Principles.
To say he’s one of the foremost teachers of this understanding would be an understatement.
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Bill personally for about three years, meeting him for the first time over dinner during one of my trips to Phoenix with Ankush.
My wife Jules has been coached by Bill’s amazing wife Linda, and through that connection Jules and I have enjoyed spending time with Bill and Linda on a number of occasions.
As a psychiatrist, educator, clinician and lifelong student, Bill has worked across many different environments, from hospitals and therapeutic settings to prisons, communities, families and professional training.
He’s now 84 years old.
He has an incredibly sharp mind and seems to have the energy of a man at least 20 years younger.
He’s currently on a two-month tour of Europe, speaking at 11 different events in seven countries.
Last week, I had the privilege of being in the room as he spoke over two days at the immersion.
Just watching Bill is an experience in itself.
He spoke passionately about the 3 Principles and how we create our experience of life, drawing from a treasure trove of insights, stories and decades of experience.
It was inspiring.
But it was watching him answer questions that I’ll remember most.
After he spoke, we bombarded him with them.
And he seemed to handle every question in much the same way.
He’d listen.
Sometimes he’d ask a question back to make sure he’d understood.
And then…
…he’d go quiet.
Sometimes for just a couple of seconds.
Often for 10, 15, maybe even 20.
There was no awkwardness.
No rush to fill the silence.
No need to immediately have an answer.
He just waited.
Bill wasn’t simply trawling through his memory looking for the right response.
He was slowing down and listening for what he called Universal Mind .
And he repeatedly reminded us that this wasn’t some special ability available only to him.
It’s available to all of us.
Eventually he’d look up and say something like:
“Here’s what comes to mind…”
And then he’d speak.
Sometimes the answer was wonderfully insightful.
Sometimes it was so simple it almost seemed obvious.
And sometimes it was genius.
Watching him, I had the sense that Bill had been practising this for a very long time.
Probably decades.
But perhaps more importantly, he’d learned to trust what came .
As I sat there listening to him, something started to change in me too.
I felt calmer.
More peaceful.
I was listening intently, but not in a serious way.
At one point I became conscious that I was simply sitting there with a smile on my face.
It felt like his energy was impacting mine.
Every now and then I’d get goosebumps as something he said connected deeply with something I already knew to be true.
Then, about halfway through his second talk, Bill shared a distinction that beautifully captured what I’d been watching.
He said that to better access Universal Mind, we want to move from being …
“Fast and furious”
to
“Calm and curious.”
That was the mic-drop moment of the day for me.
Because I know fast and furious very well.
Attacking my day.
Working through the list.
Moving quickly from one thing to the next.
Trying to get everything done.
And sometimes moving with such speed and energy that I’m barely present to the person or thing directly in front of me.
But I’m getting to know calm and curious better.
The feeling … the experience in the moment is completely different.
Less second-guessing.
Less overthinking.
Less stress.
Greater clarity.
More peace.
More ease.
Given the choice, I know which way I’d rather move through life.
I’m sure Bill isn’t like this every moment of every day.
But standing in front of us, he was the personification of calm and curious .
No rush.
No stress.
No panic.
No discomfort with silence.
Just a willingness to wait…
…and listen.
It was beautiful.
It was powerful.
It was hugely inspiring.
And perhaps more than anything, it was a masterclass in being .
Bill left us soon after his second talk to travel to North London for his next speaking engagement.
I’m fortunate that I’ll get to spend some more time with him during the Irish leg of his tour.
I’m sure I’ll have questions.
But perhaps one of the things I’ve already learned from watching him is that I don’t always need to be in such a hurry to find the answers.
Maybe I can slow down.
Get quiet.
Listen.
Trust a little more.
Move through life a little less fast and furious …
…and a little more calm and curious .
Much love
Peter