This morning while getting ready to check out of our hotel and head to Leo’s second match in Chicago, I had Moneyball on the TV. I’ve never watched the movie, despite liking the majority of Michael Lewis’s books.

The final scene I saw was the one in which Billy Beane watches his analytics-focused approach to rebuilding the Oakland Athletics fail at the beginning of the season. The team was on a losing streak, and the media and fans questioned why the team was struggling and called for Beane to be fired. He even asked himself what he was doing on a drive.

He was being tested.

I already know how the story plays out, and Billy’s focus on analytics transformed how professional sports used data going forward.

Billy’s conviction in what he felt was true for him and the team was being tested. He was being given the opportunity to turn back and go back to the old way of building a team—maybe he had gotten it wrong.

Like Billy Beane, you will be tested as you pursue your Authentic Life—it’s like the Divine needs to confirm that you are serious about the life you are pursuing.

I’ve seen this twice in the last few weeks with a couple of clients I am working with. I’m going to work with them to bring these examples to you in either video or a post on the Omens.

Without ruining one of the stories, one of my clients had a couple of months of frustration and doubt—most people would have received the test as a sign that they were heading down the wrong path. I can’t tell you how, but I knew it wasn’t a sign to give up, and shortly after he made a minor, but significant change to his offering, and he re-committed to his meditation and visualization, he was rewarded with an influx of new clients, even one that had gone quiet months ago.

The couple of months of frustration were a test to see how committed he was to his Authentic Life.

It’s safe to say he passed this test. It’s also safe to say there will be more tests in the future.

When you are being tested, it will probably be difficult to decipher whether the test is meant to be a sign to tell you that you’re heading in the wrong direction or to see how committed you are to your Authentic Life. From my experience, both my own and observed, the best way to know is to listen to your heart and your intuition. The mind will interfere and will make very compelling arguments, in both directions, but your heart will tell your truth.

This is why aligning your spirit, mind, and body is so important. The more aligned you are, the easier it is to tell the difference between mind and heart. It also helps to have someone to talk through things.

You will be tested.

The test won’t be fun.

Use the test to lean more deeply into your alignment to ensure you are receiving the right message from the Divine.

And finally, trust your Self.

See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC