In my last post I shared the ‘Basic Principles’ developed by Jack Zenger and Dale Miller, and their importance to living an emotionally healthy life. There is a fascinating story behind how I was prompted to write that post – one that reinforces our view that there is no such thing as coincidence.
Because of the influence the Basic Principles have had on me for a long time, Malcolm and I acknowledged Jack in our book, The Emotionally Healthy Leader. As a way of thanking him, I decided that I wanted to post him a copy of the book – only I wasn’t sure where it should be sent.
A couple of months ago, in July, Malcolm and I were driving through Utah on our way to the International Enneagram Association conference in Denver, Colorado. As we travelled I remembered that Jack has an office in one of the towns we would be driving through. Perhaps we would be able to give him the book in person?
I looked up the details of the office and rang the number, asking if we might be able to drop the book in the next day. The receptionist told me that they would be very pleased to receive a copy of the book but that, unfortunately, Jack would not be there. He was at a leadership retreat for three days.
She mentioned that the retreat was in Utah and she would find out and let us know exactly where, just in case it was on our way. After a few minutes, she came back to tell us that he was at a hotel in Park City, Utah and hoped that might help.
What she didn’t know is that we had stopped for the day … in Park City. It turned out that we had chosen a hotel right next door to where Jack’s retreat was being held.
What occurred from this point on amazed all of us – and at the same time we also knew that we were meant to be where we were and that this was the opportunity I had wanted.
Given it was around five o’clock in the afternoon, we quickly walked to the hotel next door, found where the retreat was being held and asked one of the group if Jack Zenger was still there.
We were directed to another room and there he was!
I introduced myself and shared both stories – the acknowledgement in our book and how we had found him. This both delighted and surprised him. It all seemed so coincidental, and yet Jack and I both knew, and spoke of, there being no such thing as coincidence. Our meeting was meant to be – given all the circumstances that led to it.
I’ve mentioned previously the world of QuantumThink®, developed by Dianne Collins, and its influence on me and Malcolm and the approach we take to the Global Leadership Foundation. QuantumThink distinguishes a principle of ‘allowing’, and it is this that I believe occurred in my search for Jack.
Unlike ‘intent’, which is an active form of creating how you want ‘to be’, ‘allowing’ is a passive form of creation that comes from having a conscious intent. Allowing is based on the quantum principle of ‘Nonlocality’ that means, as Dianne puts it, “you can make things happen without having to be the ‘local’ cause of them”.
So instead of working on predicting what would happen after I made my phone call to Jack’s office, and then trying to control the situation to fall in line with that prediction – setting up a time to visit Jack, planning a route that would ensure I drove by his office, wanting to deliver the book in person to ensure he would receive it – I simply went with what might happen from the moment of making the call.
My intent for the call was to be ‘gracious’ and ‘accepting’ that whatever result was possible from that call was right for that time.
What occurred was ‘allowing’ in action: the generation of a synchronicity that I could not have predicted. There was, as Dianne writes, “a non-linear connection that does not appear to have a logical cause and effect link”.
This is a perfect example of why I believe there is “no such thing as coincidence”. I would welcome your thoughts and shared experiences.
Gayle
