The Vision Is Expanding

Vision without patience can turn into impatience wearing nicer clothes.

Expansion is usually associated with speed. Fun fact about space: our Milky Way is moving through the universe at something like 1.3 million miles per hour. That kind of scale is hard to even picture, but it does shape how we tend to think about growth. We imagine movement. Acceleration. Proof that something is going somewhere, really, really fast in every direction.

When I was younger, that was the version of growth I wanted too.

I wanted proof that whatever I was pouring time and energy into would pay off, and I wanted that proof quickly. Sometimes I wanted the affirmation — “See, it’s working!” — before the outcome had really even shown itself.

Maybe that’s where my head is because it’s my birthday week. I’m 47, but I don’t feel a day over 37, and I’ve found myself reflecting on how much age and experience have changed the way I define growth. 

Now, I think about restraint almost as much. It takes discipline not to rush something before it is ready, not to overbuild it, not to celebrate so early that you lose sight of what still needs to be protected.

These days, I care more about whether something can hold up over time, and if it can grow and still remain recognizable to itself.

That thought came into focus for me this week.

Jay, a local artist and keepsake maker, reached out with extraordinary news: his company had been selected to provide commemorative bracelets for U.S. Soccer staff at the new National Training Center. It was one of those moments that deserves a real pause. Historic. Earned. Absolutely worth celebrating. So we did.

Then, I asked him what came next. What’s the plan if U.S. Soccer says yes to additional collaboration? What are you doing with 1,200 extra keepsakes? How are you thinking beyond the initial win? That, to me, is where growth starts to actually change its shape. It stops being only about getting noticed and becomes about being ready.

That’s a big part of why I said yes to serving as Jay’s Entrepreneur in Residence through Launch Fayette. The work is not just encouraging people when something good happens. It’s helping them think clearly enough to build on it, and do it well.

I found myself thinking about that again when the Town of Tyrone’s City Council voted to allow Night Market in Tyrone, which means the event will take place outside of Peachtree City for the very first time.

From the outside, it might look like a leap. To me, it feels more like a continuation of something that has been in the works for a while. Some things, like Night Market, are designed to widen over time, and the widening only works if you don’t force it too early.

Then Friday night in Peachtree City, it may have been the best Night Market yet. Operations felt smooth. The weather gave us a perfect evening. The sunset did its part. The Full Throttle Formation Team flew over. Two local bands delivered some of the strongest sets the event has had.

People kept telling me it was the biggest one ever. I pushed back at first, mostly because I still measure that by the old elbow-to-elbow density from years past. But by the end of the night, I could admit they might be right.

How I know this is because Night Market still feels like Night Market. It still has its own energy. It still feels human. It has grown, yes, but it hasn’t turned into a flatter version of itself, and it hasn’t stood still either. That balance is harder to maintain than people think.

And the older I get, the less interested I am in proof for its own sake. I still care about momentum. I still care about growth.

But I care even more about whether the thing being built can grow with the people building it. Whether it can move into new spaces, new partnerships, new communities, and still feel true when it gets there.

To everyone who has or will join us for Night Market, thank you. Thank you for showing up, supporting the vendors, listening to the bands, and helping create the kind of atmosphere that makes the whole thing feel alive. Events like that only work because people choose to be part of them. 

That is the kind of expansion I want.

And if that kind of growth resonates with you, come visit The Nexus at Trilith. We’re building a place for people who want to connect, reflect, and create what’s next in good company.

Or, if your Mondays could use a little more clarity, join us online for the next Mindful Monday session on Facebook Live. It’s a simple way to pause, reset, breathe, and start the week from a better place. We go live on Facebook every Monday morning here: https://www.facebook.com/nexus.community

The Nexus at Trilith
461 Sandy Creek Rd, Suite 4109, Fayetteville, GA
Monday–Friday starting at 9:00 AM