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Journey

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Chapter Two:  Journey

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Garvey knew he would miss The Waterfront once he was gone. It had taught him how to use the Journey. What to do in Stages One, Two, and Three . . . What to do if the path took a turn . . . How to find a new path, and keep going. He had not known that before.

His education had explained how to write a business plan. It had not taught how to change the plan on the fly. That had happened a lot on The Waterfront. They had constantly run into the unexpected, and had suddenly found their plan obsolete.

The Journey was more tactical — it aimed for the horizon while focusing on the ground. It assessed the situation and re-charted the path constantly, but only as far as the mind could see. Garvey had found it familiar, like hiking across unknown terrain, pausing often to gauge conditions and adjust the route. He was an avid hiker.

So now, he could see where he was. He had focused on what mattered, reset his compass, and set a path to his new life.

T.J. had said to him: “To turn a dream into a Vision, you must first start the Journey. To complete the Journey, you must stay on the path.” It had taken him twenty years to realize that he had stepped away from his Life Journey. But he was on the path again, to stay.

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Chapter Two:  Journey

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Garvey struggled with a question: How was he going to make the Journey from his old life as Legend to his new life as a free man? He couldn’t get to his house without the Wantin Club barging in!

He had personal dreams from long ago burning a hole in his pocket: the car, house, life, love and legacy. So which of those did he have so far? Just the car! Much as he loved his work, he had to get away, clear his head, and fit his dreams back into his life.

So he was keeping it simple. Forget Stage One. Just get to Hilltop One — his focused space, then do Stage One from there. He had to do two things: find a house where he could focus on his new life, and keep Randall & Garvey running while he was gone.

The problem was he could not do it himself, not with the Wantin Club poking around! He had to do it in secret. And there was only one person he knew who could help him with that: Dev Randall! He had never been able to get Randall to do a thing.

But Garvey had not faltered once on the Journey to The Waterfront. And his new life mattered more. So he shifted gears, and focused on his next step: What would motivate Randall? And how could he get his help, without giving away anything that mattered?

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Chapter Two:  Journey

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Randall savoured the moment. It was the perfect day to stand before this window in the Randall Tower, and look out. He had seen himself doing this since he was fourteen years old. But his path had twisted early on, and he had never reached that place where he could focus on the Empire’s Vision and Journey. But then he had looked at his life from a new perspective.

He had recalled what his father had taught him about the Journey and its Stages:  Create – Transform – Achieve. Use the Journey to create a Vision that matters, and that will inspire you to finish the Journey. He had absorbed that advice, but had not understood what it meant until his world came apart and nothing seemed to matter. Then he had found he needed a Vision that inspired.

He had asked: What if he walked a Journey to create a new Vision of himself, one with all the capabilities he would need to run the Empire? He could seek out specific experiences, and tailor his expertise. When the time came, he would be ready to do it justice!

And so, he had reset his compass and set out on a Life Journey. He had transformed himself, and now here he was, ready to achieve the next Vision — far more ready than anyone suspected!

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Chapter Two:  Journey

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No one knew the secret to The Waterfront, though plenty had ideas. “It’s the roads,” said some. “The urban plan,” said others. Still others believed it was the old towns coordinating, like they did for all those programs.

Van den Broek snorted. Those towns were obsessed with programs — for businesses, seniors, the homeless, for everyone. They always started small, in one town, but soon they’d have a stream of folks going in and out. Then after a bit, the stream would dry up.

Then they’d start up all over The Waterfront, and streams of folks would be going in and out, until all those streams dried up too. Van den Broek had some idea of what was going on. The towns would create a program, try it in one place, then run it everywhere. And like that — 1-2-3 — they’d have success! It made sense at first.

But then things would stop making sense, because instead of axing a program when all the streams dried up, the towns would keep it going. And cheer that nobody needed it anymore!

If he were Garvey, he’d shut down those programs, axe the staff, and turn that prime land into profit . . . though other places had done that, and none were like The Waterfront. So what was that secret?

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Chapter Two:  Journey

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Garvey considered his partner’s expression. “My people didn’t invent the ‘model’ in Model County. Your people did that. Ask The Historians of the Way. They were in Stages Two and Three.”

Randall stared into the distance, recalling what his father had said long ago  — We’re going to create a Better World! Randall had thought that was just an expression, but his father had died soon after and he had never clarified what was meant. Now he knew that it meant a Model County. Randall came back to the present. “The Historians created the ‘model’?”

“They know who did,” said Garvey.

Randall knew that Stage Two perfected the test model until it worked exactly as the Vision said, and Stage Three set it up to live the Vision into the future. Both involved practical people solving tangible problems — the opposite of Stage One, where creative people turned dreams into innovations. Randall honed in on the critical question: “So do we still have people who can re-create the model?“

Garvey tapped the report. “Someone updated this, and they knew exactly what we need for a Model County. So . . . yes, I think we can . . . but in five years, Dev. Five.”

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Chapter Two:  Journey

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After the meeting, Anastasia sat in her office and reviewed her Map of the Journey. She eyed the stretch from dreams to Hilltop Three, where they transformed dreams into the ability to act and achieve. From nothing to something — that was creating!

The Founders had spent generations getting through that stretch. They had proven the Vision, and set a path to the Big Vision that everyone could follow. And now their success had attracted new people who wanted to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

People wanted to create another Model County. They were not afraid of walking into the unknown, or of learning new ways of thinking and doing. They wanted to begin at the dream — learn the Big Vision, help create the next Vision and Journey, then the Brief and Plan. They wanted to help get out the Starting Gate to Hilltop Three, and make sure the Journey continued to the Visions Beyond.

So Carrick Garvey could have his time away. Anastasia had new people to mentor, and walking them through the Journey to where they proved the “model” would cover a lot. And she was happy with where they all were — about to step into Stage One of Vision 2. It was one more step forward on “The Great Big Vision and Journey to the Stars”. And she was aiming for the Stars.

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Chapter Two:  Journey

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Garvey was eager to find his dream house, but he knew he would miss The Waterfront once he was gone. He had given it his best years. In exchange, it had given him more than he had imagined.

It had taught him how to use the Journey to evolve the Vision. What to do in Stages One, Two, and Three . . . How to use the hilltops to look ahead . . . What to do if the path took a turn . . . How to find a new path . . . And how to keep going, until he completed the Journey and achieved the Vision.

Now, he could see just where he was on his Journey. He had focused on what mattered, reset his compass, and created his picture. He had decided on the path to his new life . . . and found a bridge over gaps in the path — Dev Randall, of all people!

It had taken him twenty years to realize that he had stepped away from his Life Journey — but he was on the path again.

And he knew exactly what to do because he had done it for years, and drilled it into everyone else: “Start the Journey in Stage One — get the Vision right, get the path right, and get to Hilltop Three. Then just keep going.”