Keeping our Focus on What's Important by Mirtha Solis

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For those of you that have known us for a while this may be a familiar story, although stories always sound different when told in retrospect. Even though most of what I’m recounting is about the last year, it really started over 7 years ago in an apartment in NYC with what was then a dream.

After having spent over 13 years working in the addictions field in NYC, Pat & I had reached a point in our lives & careers where a change was needed. We were tired of the political games that existed in our line of work and in the agency we worked as well as being drained by the fast-paced life we had cultivated in NY. We had been trying to have a child for several years and had been unsuccessful. We were at a point of a huge life transition and we were ready.

Then one day in that NYC apartment the dream began to come true. Pat and I sat at our computer and put together what would be the Meta Institute logo.

We had started to put form to our thoughts and desires about having our own business and we knew that NY was not going to be its permanent home. We began a planning process that was not only about creating a business, but also about totally revamping our lives.....the way we worked, lived, and utilized our resources.

We strategically planned everything....when to give notice at work, where and when to move, how we would carry out this move, etc.

We also did a lot of work on getting ourselves congruent, to make sure that our business values reflected who we were and what we wanted in our lives not just in our jobs. When the Meta Institute opened its door in the spring of 1996 (in that NY apartment), we were well on our way. At that point we had purchased our home in Mpls., given notice at work and started the grueling sorting and packing process that would be a two-part move over the next 6 months. I was engaging in a level of risk taking that was not habitual for me, yet it all felt right.

When we arrived in Mpls. on Nov. 20, 1996, we knew very few people, had no income and were in a new and very different place from NY......not to mention , of course, that we arrived in a pretty big snow storm. One of the very first things we did was to do a formal business plan. We put down on easel paper where we wanted to be in 5 years.......in our life, work, financially, etc. We utilized and created a process that was a combination of different processes we had learned over the years. We were very clear that we wanted to have a family, have our own business in our home and by the 5 year mark be able to have a larger space for our business. It was important for us to have the Meta Institute reflect who we were and our purpose, as well as provide us with the flexibility and support we needed to start a family and be able to raise our child at home.

In July of 1997 when The Meta Institute opened its doors in Mpls., we had no idea how this plan of ours was going to unfold. I was both nervous and curious. There have been times in the last five years that Pat and I have looked at each and wondered if we were on the right path. The universe has provided us with so many tests to prove our strength, our flexibility, creativity and to clearly demonstrate to us that there is a lot more going on than we can imagine. All these experiences we have had have also shown us the value of being congruent and aligned with self, with who we are and what we value. There have been times when we could have easily taken the signs from the universe and interpreted them in very different ways.

This past year has certainly been a poignant example of that.

In the Spring of 2001 with the help of our dear friend Tina, we had finally put on paper what had been our dream program. Nameless at this point, we knew this was it. It was the program that felt right for us. At the same time we were experiencing the economic shift of a new government administration that was affecting many small businesses throughout America. By late summer we were at a cross-roads. Zachary (our son) had turned one and it was getting crowded in the house. It was becoming more difficult to keep him quiet while we worked (our business space was in our basement). Business had been slow for several months. We revisited our plan and once again, looked at what was really important to us....what did we really and truly value in our life and in our work?

We decided to yet again take an enormous risk (this was becoming a bit of a habit for me now!).We decided to change our work calendar and launch our new Therapeutic Coaching program. We knew that all of the things we had been teaching over the years had tremendous value and we had often felt that something was missing in the way it was all put together (or not). On September 7th, 2001 our newsletter announcing the program had gone out to over 5000 people. Four days later.....September 11th happened and the world stood still. When we came out of our fog a couple of weeks after Sept. 11th, we realized the phone had not rung, people were still in shock and we had a new program opening in less than 4 months. Simultaneous to that, on Sept. 15th we had received a letter from the state letting us know that to run the kind of program we wanted to run we had to be licensed as a school, a tedious and costly process. There we were again looking at each other and wondering, “what is all this about?” Pat and I considered just shutting the business down and going to work for someone else. That thought nearly put me into cardiac arrest and made me cringe. We checked in with ourselves and what was important....we both still wanted the same things. We just had no idea how we were going to do this and how it would all unfold. We made a commitment to just go forward and do it and take the feedback as we went along.

As part of the licensing to become a school, we found out that we needed to have 2 exits from our office and training space and again this would be a costly and arduous process. Once again we decided to take the risk. We were then informed by the city that we needed a variance to build on to our house. The process we had to go through cannot be briefly explain and needless to say we got an education on the idea of private property (and what do you really own when you own property).

The next few months would be a true test of our strength, patience, trust in each other and in the universe. Suddenly the Meta Institute’s business became neighborhood business. A couple of neighbors thought it was their duty to get involved in the decision making about what we wanted to do with our home and our business. They objected to the variance, the business and basically anything we would do.

Today, of course, we can only thank them. If it hadn’t been for all the chaos they created we wouldn’t be where we are. All those obstacles that we initially perceived had turned into opportunities. We got more creative, resourceful, flexible and more congruent, which of course expanded our vision. We stepped up to the plate and went for the home run. We believed in what we had and what we wanted and made it happen. And if those people and things that seem to get in the way had not diverted our path, we wouldn’t be here now. Isn’t that ironic!

The one thing that was consistent for us throughout the last 7 years has been keeping our focus on what’s important to us and staying congruent. No matter how difficult things have seemed at times, we have managed to pull through and come out in a better place.
So many of those dreams we wrote down years ago have come true for us. We have a beautiful 25 month old son (our true pride and joy), a wonderful and successful business doing what we are passionate about, our business now has its own 1,400 square feet of space on the new second level of our home and we have double our personal living space. All this without ever leaving our home. Our son can run and play at home and know his parents are just upstairs and that he is being cared for by those that love him most. Our Therapeutic Coaching Program is very successful and sought after. Life couldn’t be better.
There are so many metaphors for the way things have unfolded for us and we have been blessed with so many wonderful people in our lives. We are so grateful to our family, friends, students and colleagues that have helped, supported and listened to us during the past 7 years. We are indebted to those that helped us with our move and supported us through the whole process. And of course, our gratitude to those angels in disguise who diverted us from what seem to be the right path so that we could be on our path.

Thank you Pat, thank you Zach, thank you Spirit!

By the way, WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO YOU?