THE ULTIMATE SECRET OF JOSE FOR SUCCESS

Zohar Ginosar
Aug 31, 2018 · 4 min read
drawing by Sara Gutman @ Pebbles

I could have easily overlooked the lonely man on the beach.

The intensity of voices and activities, generated by the enthusiastic surfers venturing into the waves of the sea, did not allow me the peace of mind to perceive the miracle of balance that was occurring in front of my eyes on the shore;

drawing by Sara Gutman @ Pebbles

The towers of loose rocks, created by the person sitting at the waterfront, were standing steady, indifferent to the winds and the waves breaking on the shore.

I watched with awe the measured movements of this man in his late forties. He demonstrated a rare combination of focus and tranquility. It was evident that the storming surfers and waves around him did not crack through his complete serenity.

It seemed like there was nothing more stable than the fragile structures, brought to life by his extraordinary patience.

Something about him fascinated me.

My feet carried themselves on their own towards him, although I was hesitant. I sensed that I might break the equilibrium; the fragile balance which was evident in this man, who was sculpturing nature in such a meticulous manner.

After several measured steps between the stones, I found a spot on a rock in his vicinity, and sat down gently — watching and waiting.

To my surprise, the man turned his eyes towards me with a broad smile, as if he was expecting this intrusion.

For a moment, it seemed like our unseen conversation started before I even began approaching him.

”Jose,” he said, and reached out for a strong handshake. “A pleasure to meet you!” And then, without further ado, he began telling his story: “You know,” he said. ”This is not what I do in life…”

That is quite evident, I thought. It is hard to make a living by piling stones.

“I work as an R&D engineer in a High-Tech company here in Haifa, and my life is not easy; it is a startup, my boss is under constant stress, and I am responsible for a whole team of engineers who work day and night to keep up with the projects. The job is interesting, but most of the time I am under pressure.”

I kept silent, waiting.

“So you must be asking yourself, how on earth does this person have time to build stone towers and why does he do it, but this is exactly the point…” he added and a childish spark appeared in his eyes.

”Several years ago, I was working in Canada, where I lived with my family. One day, I went for a walk near a lake in Toronto and I saw a person balancing stones on the lake’s shore, as you see here. Later, I learned that this is called “Rock Balancing.”

“So I looked at him,” continued Jose. “And I saw him patiently building multiple, beautiful stone-sculptures, one after the other, in tranquility, like so — without falling apart. It blew my mind!”

”And, just like you, I was unable to stand still. I approached him, like you just did, and began talking to him; he was really nice to me and told me what I had to do, which is how I learned.”

Jose looked at me with a childish smile and continued:

“Since I learned to do this by myself, it really helps me to get my head straight, especially when I’m under pressure. So, every weekend, or when I have time, I come here to the beach; I balance the rocks and balance my thoughts, and the pressure is gone…”

I looked at him, overwhelmed. “How long did this take you?” I asked.

“8 minutes,” was Jose’s immediate answer.

This is a typical engineer’s answer, I thought to myself. I meant to ask him how long it took him to study this amazing art, and he related to the time it took him to build the last stone-sculpture.

“What, in fact, did that person from Canada tell you, which enabled you to learn all this?” I tried a different approach.

“Ah,” said Jose with a grin. “It’s simpler than you think! As I told you, I approached him, like you approached me, and asked him in the same manner. He replied with just one sentence:

YOU JUST KEEP TRYING UNTIL IT STANDS…””

Jose paused and looked at me in silence with a mischievous smile, measuring the impact of his words.

As a student of the peaceful rhythm of the sea, I also stood there, in silence.

I felt that I needed to first balance in myself the wave of disappointment, caused by the blunt simplicity of this explanation. Something in me expected a step-by-step technical instruction.

Still — those words had their own echo, a sort of back-wave of recognition of the depth of this perception.

The undeniable fact was that this simple phrase worked; those rocks were indeed standing steady, in an unimaginable balance.

This was Jose’s secret.

It may come in handy for other situations where balance is required.

In fact, this is the way I have chosen to write this blog…

I am still trying.

______________
If you want to keep trying — feel free to clap, and read more here.

Zohar Ginosar

Written by

Working with governments and leaders on designing a better future, whilst trying my best to be a worthy father to our twins, who are its residents.

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