Get Your A$$ Down to Georgia
When the universe leaves a voicemail, listen — even if it makes no sense yet.
“Get your a$$ down to Georgia, girl!”
I was sitting in rush hour traffic, tears streaming down my face, when this message hit my phone. My friend Tommy’s deep booming Lynyrd Skynyrd voice filled the car’s cabin. Fifteen minutes earlier I’d hugged my son goodbye and watched him make his way through TSA before disappearing into the belly of the departure gates.
It was early September. Another summer was coming to an end. And so were some other things in my life. I just didn’t know it yet.
And here was an invitation to join an exclusive women’s leadership retreat in the North Georgia mountains.
I’m telling you, Universal Intelligence is no joke.
Traffic came to a stop. I grabbed a Kleenex from the box behind my seat. Wiped the tears from my cheeks and blew my nose. I listened to the message again.
“Get your a$$ down to Georgia, Girl!”
I didn’t even need to check my calendar as I typed one word back.
It was one of the easiest yesses of my life.
I couldn’t have known how far that yes would take me.
That was two years ago. When I trace back what’s happened in my life since I accepted that invitation, I’m astounded. Steve Jobs’ comment about it’s only possible to connect the dots looking backwards has long since become a cliche. But as with all language, cliches have a ring of Truth to them.
My story is no exception.
I make reflection part of my on-going practice through journaling, but sometimes I make extra space for a longer pause to really dig into the path I’ve recently traveled. It’s part of a new skillset I teach about becoming a cartographer of your life, especially in the algorithmic age when our attention is always being sold for parts and then repackaged on the trading floor.
To do that effectively, it’s essential to take time to reflect, or as Jobs talked about, connect the dots.
Some of my dots include:
-A significant romantic relationship abruptly ended
-I wrote and published three books
-I joined a high-level Mastermind that has continuously added value to my life both personally and professionally
-I forgave myself for past decisions that didn’t serve me or others well
-I crossed the 500 episode mark on my podcast
-I made new friendships and strengthened existing ones
-I let go of some old beliefs that were keeping me trapped
-I learned more about my family history and actually paid attention to it
-I increased my investment in my personal growth and development through deep study (books, podcasts, courses)
There’s more, but this paints a decent picture.
Seeing it all laid out like that, I’m reminded how much change hides in plain sight. Two years isn’t long, but it’s enough to rewrite a life.
Sitting here in the quiet after my book launch, connecting these dots, I see it more clearly than ever how important developing map-making skills is. Not just to survive, but to live a life of purpose and meaning, what most people crave more than anything.
We want to matter. We want who we are and what we do to matter.
Looking back to connect the dots helps. But so does developing the ability to step into the far unlit unknown, that space where we don’t know what’s going to happen, or how we are going to do what’s required next.
And that’s where the fun really begins. Seeing the unknown not as a threat or something to fear but as an opportunity to expand, grow, and prosper.
Two years later, I still hear Tommy’s voice sometimes. Not through my phone, but somewhere deeper. Whenever life slows to a crawl or a new chapter looms, I can almost hear him again: Get your a$$ down to Georgia, girl. It’s become shorthand for saying yes to what I don’t yet understand — the truest compass I know.