A friend of mine, a very successful businessman, once shared a story with me.

 

It was a story his father had told him, and it became the way he ran his business.

 

Not long ago, he caught a major error his company was about to make.

 

When I asked him how, he told me it was because of the story of the farmer and the box.

 

Here’s how it goes:

 

A successful farmer sold his farm to a buyer.

 

Six months later, he returned to check in, as promised.

 

The new owner told him the farm was struggling and asked how he had managed to make it so successful.

 

The man explained that he had a magic box that helped him.

 

He handed the box over to the new owner, but with one condition: you must never open it.

 

Instead, carry it each morning as you walk around the perimeter of your farm.

 

The farmer did as instructed.

 

Each day, while carrying the box, he noticed things —

 

a broken fence post, a horse that needed care, a gap where a fox was sneaking in.

 

And each day, he tended to what he saw.

 

Six months later, the original owner returned. This time, the new owner beamed:

 

“The box works wonders! Everything is thriving. What’s in it?”

 

The man said, “Open it.”

 

The farmer opened the box, and of course, it was empty.

 

The secret wasn’t the box. The secret was the daily walk of awareness.

 

A few weeks later, my friend was going through stressful times.

 

I shared with him one of my own “magic boxes”: meditation.

 

Years ago, I had a client in his 90s.

 

Sometimes when I arrived, he’d be asleep.

 

Knowing this might happen, I’d pad my schedule and often use that time to meditate.

 

On one particular day, while meditating, I came out of it and suddenly realized I had double-booked myself.

 

That moment of stillness helped me catch an error I might have completely overlooked.

 

So I told my friend: I too have a magic box. I walk it around, not my business, but the four corners of my mind.

 

Meditation may look like “doing nothing,” but over the last 15 years of consistent practice, I’ve seen what happens when I walk those inner corners:

 

I notice old beliefs
Overthinking
Anxiety
Self-doubt
Insecurity
Feelings of unworthiness
And slowly, I’ve been able to repair them.

 

I’m still a work in progress, but I’m also gentler, more present, more loving, and more at peace.

 

People often ask me what’s wrong with the world today. My answer is simple: most people don’t know how to be still.

 

Because from stillness, many of the things we do — the wars we start, the ways we harm ourselves and each other — simply wouldn’t make sense.

 

As Blaise Pascal said:

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

 

So I hope this inspires you to sit still and take a walk around your own mind.

 

Yes, you’ll find things that need repairing. But somehow, in silence, repair begins to happen all on its own.

 

The most amazing things transpire from this quiet. It really is remarkable.

 

Don’t just do something — sit there.

 

If you'd like to join my group health and life coaching 4 session package for $300 just hit reply back.

 

it's by zoom so anyone can join and will be 11/5,11/19,12/3,12/17 from 8:00pm to 9:15 ET.

 

It will be just the thing that could help you take good care of yourself for 2026.

 

Yes, start thinking about 2026 now:)

 

Much love and peace,

Bert