Becoming Findable

Ripening rather than pursuing

THE PRACTICE OF BECOMING FINDABLE is the art of not chasing what you want but creating conditions that allow what you want to find you.

Imagine: making yourself visible to opportunity.

Imagine: positioning yourself in luck’s path.

Imagine: sending up signal flares into the great unknown.

Imagine: You can’t control what comes, but you can influence who or what sees you, recognizes you, and knows where to look.

So the playful work isn’t pursuit but preparation. You ripen rather than hunt. Becoming ready is how you become found.

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Let’s talk about manifestation and goal-setting and all the hustle-culture clichés. Much of it’s based on the exhausting premise that you have to chase down the good things. With fire in your eyes and heroism in your heart, you supposedly have to force reality to bend to your will through sheer determination and positive thinking.

(The spiritual industrial complex does the same thing with awakening. It sells you the idea that enlightenment is a prize you achieve through the accumulation of meditation hours, retreats, purifications, reading holy texts, and maybe even some mortifications thrown in there, too. If you just push hard enough, you’ll break through to the other side.)

But there’s another way.

Think about how a flower attracts a pollinator. It doesn’t chase the bee. It doesn’t zip around the garden trying to convince insects to visit. Its brilliant strategy: to become so vibrantly, undeniably itself—so fragrant, so colorful, so rich with nectar—that the pollinators can’t help but find it.

The flower’s work isn’t pursuit but becoming more flower.

You can do this too.

Instead of frantically networking, what if you focus on becoming so good at your craft that people ask, “who did this?” Instead of desperately searching for your special person, maybe you concentrate on becoming the beautiful soul that a special person would want to meet. You don’t chase down opportunities, but locate yourself where opportunities are likely to pass by and hover.

This is strategy, not passivity.

The mycologist spends years learning to recognize mushrooms, and then suddenly they’re everywhere. Not because there are more mushrooms, but because the mycologist has trained their eye to see what was always there.

You can do the same thing in reverse: training reality’s eye to see you.

The work of becoming awakened or enlightened has similarities. The truth is that it’s not a possession you hunt down and capture, but an act of grace that finds you when you make yourself findable to it.

This inverts the usual spiritual narrative. Instead of “How do I achieve enlightenment?”, the question becomes “How do I become the kind of person that enlightenment recognizes? How do I position myself in awakening’s path? How do I send out signs that reality’s deeper nature can see?”

How BECOMING FINDABLE works:

First, you get clear about your signal. What are you actually broadcasting into the world? Not what you hope you’re broadcasting, but what you’re actually emanating through your your choices and your focus and your energy.

If you want to attract creative collaborators but you never share your work, you’re invisible. If you want deep friendship but you only show your polished surface, your true self is unfindable. If you want meaningful work but you’re hiding your real gifts behind what you think the marketplace wants, you’re camouflaged.

You can be found only if you are visible as your authentic self.

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The second thing you do to BECOME FINDABLE is position yourself in the path of what you’re seeking. This isn’t about “manifesting” from your desk or couch. It’s about going where the thing you want is likely to be and being what the thing you want is attracted to.

You want to be a writer? You read voraciously, study craft, write every day, put work into the world, connect with other writers, solicit critique every now and then, and show up where literary culture happens.

Not desperately and anxiously, but consistently. You’re not chasing publication. You’re becoming the kind of writer who gets published. You’re positioning yourself in the ecosystem where those opportunities circulate.

The musician doesn’t get discovered sitting alone in their apartment. They get discovered playing open mics, jam sessions, and dive bar gigs. They collaborate with other musicians. They’re not chasing a record deal. They’re positioning themselves where people who make record deals go looking for talent.

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The third thing you do to BECOME FINDABLE is that you prepare yourself to recognize what you’re seeking when it arrives. Many people miss this part.

Opportunities sometimes come disguised. The love of your life shows up in the “wrong” packaging. The career breakthrough looks like a weird side project. The answer to your problem arrives in the form of a random conversation with a stranger.

If you’re too rigid in your vision of what you’re seeking, you’ll miss it when it shows up looking different from what you expected. The practice of becoming findable includes developing the flexibility to recognize your own good fortune when it doesn’t match your fantasy.

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The fourth thing you do to BECOME FINDABLE is that you remove the obstacles that make you unfindable. Is there anything blocking your signal?

Maybe it’s fear: You’re not putting yourself out there because you’re terrified of judgment.

Maybe it’s perfectionism: You’re waiting to be ready when in fact your readiness comes from actual doing.

Maybe it’s bitterness: You’re so armored against disappointment that opportunity can’t reach you.

Maybe it’s distraction: You’re so scattered across 20 half-commitments that nothing can get a clear reading on who you are.

Becoming findable often means subtracting more than adding: clearing the static. You say no to the things that dilute your signal so you can say yes to what amplifies it.

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The fifth thing you do to BECOME FINDABLE: You trust the timing that isn’t yours to control. This may be the hardest part.

The fruit ripens when it ripens. The bee comes when the flower blooms. You can’t force anything to arrive faster by wanting it harder.

Your job isn’t to control the timeline, but to keep doing your work. You tend your garden and send out your signal even when nothing seems to be happening.

Especially when nothing seems to be happening.

Because here’s the secret: Becoming findable is a practice that works on a time scale you can’t see. You’re planting seeds whose harvest you may not see for seasons. You’re creating conditions whose effects might not be visible for years.

The writer who gets their first book deal at 45 didn’t suddenly become a good writer at 44. They were becoming findable for years—writing, learning, failing, improving, connecting, positioning, preparing.

And then one day, the conditions aligned. The right agent read the right pages at the right moment. The writer was findable because they had been practicing findability all along.

The scientist who makes a breakthrough discovery didn’t just get lucky. They positioned themselves at the intersection of multiple fields and asked questions no one else was asking. They made themselves findable to a breakthrough by standing in the place where unlikely but rich possibilities converge.

Art by Aramara

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This is the opposite of the hustle narrative that says you have to grind yourself into dust chasing your dreams.

The practice of becoming findable says:

What if you stop chasing and start ripening?

What if you stop hunting and start homing in on your deepest authenticity?

What if you stop trying to force doors open and start standing in doorways?

The Taoist concept of wu wei gets at a similar approach: effortless action, non-forcing. It’s not about doing nothing. It’s about working with the grain of reality instead of against it: creating conditions and then letting conditions do their work.

You plant the garden, but you don’t make the seeds grow. You practice your instrument and tap into your yearning for self-expression, but you don’t force the music to do your bidding. You show up, prepare, position, and signal—and then you allow what wants to find you to arrive.

This requires a different nervous system than achievement culture trains you to have. It requires you to be active and receptive simultaneously. Intentional and open. Directed and flexible. Working hard and letting go.

You trust that the universe isn’t indifferent. You truly believe that reality has a responsiveness to it. And you know that when you make yourself genuinely findable, magic responds.

Think of it this way: You’re not trying to capture opportunity. You’re trying to become a habitat where opportunity really wants to live.

You’re not trying to force love. You’re becoming the kind of person who’s recognizable to the kind of love you actually want.

You’re not trying to manufacture success. You’re positioning yourself where success already circulates and preparing yourself to recognize and receive it when it arrives.

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Keep doing your work and refining your signal. Position yourself in the path of what you seek and keep clearing away the obstacles that make you unfindable. Prepare for what you don’t yet know is coming.

And then, live your life. Find joy in the practice itself, not just in the results. Be present to what’s actually here, not just fixated on what you want to arrive.

Here’s a final secret: The practice of becoming findable isn’t separate from the life you’re playing and working to create. The preparation, positioning, and ripening are the life.

You’re not becoming findable so your real life can finally begin. You’re becoming findable because that’s how you participate in the great circulation of gifts and need.

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Links to all my other stuff: linktr.ee/robbrezsny

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

Week of November 20

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): A day on Venus (one rotation on its axis) lasts about 243 Earth days. However, a year on Venus (one orbit around the sun) takes only about 225 Earth days. So a Venusian day is longer than its year. If you lived on Venus, the sun wouldn’t even set before your next Venusian birthday arrived. Here’s another weird fact: Contrary to what happens on every other planet in the solar system, on Venus the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. Moral of the story: Even planets refuse to conform and make their own rules. If celestial bodies can be so gloriously contrary to convention, so can you. In accordance with current astrological omens, I encourage you to exuberantly explore this creative freedom in the coming weeks.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Let’s revisit the ancient Greeks’ understanding that we are all born with a daimon: a guiding spirit who whispers help and counsel, especially if we stay alert for its assistance. Typically, the messages are subtle, even half-disguised. Our daimons don’t usually shout. But I predict that will change for you in the coming weeks, especially if you cultivate listening as a superpower. Your personal daimon will be extra talkative and forthcoming. So be vigilant for unexpected support, Capricorn. Expect epiphanies and breakthrough revelations. Pay attention to the book that falls open to a page that has an oracular hint just for you. Take notice of a song that repeats or a sudden urge to change direction on your walk.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Awe should be one of your featured emotions in the coming weeks. I hope you will also seek out and cultivate reverence, deep respect, excited wonder, and an attraction to sublime surprises. Why do I recommend such seemingly impractical measures? Because you’re close to breaking through into a heightened capacity for generosity of spirit and a sweet lust for life. Being alert for amazement and attuned to transcendent experiences could change your life for the better forever. I love your ego—it’s a crucial aspect of your make-up—but now is a time to exalt and uplift your soul.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): What if your anxiety is actually misinterpreted excitement? What if the difference between worry and exhilaration is the story you tell yourself about the electricity streaming through you? Maybe your body is revving up for something interesting and important, but your mind mislabels the sensation. Try this experiment: Next time your heart races and your mind spins, tell yourself “I’m excited” instead of “I’m anxious.” See if your mood shape-shifts.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In the coming weeks, I invite you to commune intimately with your holy anger. Not petulant tantrums, not the ego’s defensive rage, but the fierce love that refuses to tolerate injustice. You will be wise to draw on the righteous “No!” that draws boundaries and defends the vulnerable. I hope you will call on protective fury on behalf of those who need help. Here’s a reminder of what I’m sure you know: Calmness in the face of cruelty isn’t enlightenment but complicity. Your anger, when it safeguards and serves love rather than destroys, is a spiritual practice.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The Korean concept of jeong is the emotional bond that forms between people, places, or things through shared experiences over time. It’s deeper than love and more complex than attachment: the accumulated weight of history together. You can have jeong for a person you don’t even like anymore, for a city that broke your heart, for a coffee mug you’ve used every morning for years. As the scar tissue of togetherness, it can be beautiful and poignant. Now is an especially good time for you to appreciate and honor your jeong. Celebrate and learn from the soulful mysteries your history has bequeathed you.

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GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Over 100 trillion bacteria live in your intestines. They have a powerful impact. They produce neurotransmitters, influence your mood, train your immune system, and communicate with your brain via the vagus nerve. Other life forms are part of the team within you, too, including fungi, viruses, and archaea. So in a real sense, you are not merely a human who contains small organisms. You are an ecosystem of species making collective decisions. Your “gut feelings” are collaborations. I bring this all to your attention because the coming weeks will be a highly favorable time to enhance the health of your gut biome. For more info: https://tinyurl.com/EnhanceGutBiome

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Why, yes, I myself am born under the sign of Cancer the Crab, just as you are. So as I offer you my ongoing observations and counsel, I am also giving myself blessings. In the coming weeks, we will benefit from going through a phase of consolidation and integration. The creative flourishes we have unveiled recently need to be refined and activated on deeper levels. This necessary deepening may initially feel more like work than play, and not as much fun as the rapid progress we have been enjoying. But with a slight tweak of our attitude, we can thoroughly thrive during this upcoming phase.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I suggest that in the coming weeks you care more about getting things done than pursuing impossible magnificence. The simple labor of love you actually finish is worth more than the masterpiece you never start. The healthy but makeshift meal you throw together feeds you well, whereas the theoretical but abandoned feast does not. Even more than usual, Leo, the perfect will be the enemy of the good. Here are quotes to inspire you. 1. “Perfectionism is self-abuse of the highest order.” —Anne Wilson Schaef. 2. “Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing.” —Harriet Braiker. 3. “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.” —Vince Lombardi.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Now is an excellent time to practice the art of forgetting. I hope you formulate an intention to release the grievances and grudges that are overdue for dissolution. They not only don’t serve you but actually diminish you. Here’s a fact about your brain: It remembers everything unless you actively practice forgetting. So here’s my plan: Meditate on the truth that forgiveness is not a feeling; it’s a decision to stop rehearsing the resentment, to quit telling yourself the story that keeps the wound fresh. The lesson you’re ready to learn: Some memories are worth evicting. Not all the past is worth preserving. Selective amnesia can be a survival skill.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A Navajo blessing says, “May you walk in beauty.” Not just see beauty or create it, but walk in it, inhabit it, and move through the world as if beauty is your gravity. When you’re at the height of your lyrical powers, Libra, you do this naturally. You are especially receptive to the aesthetic soul of things. You can draw out the harmony beneath surface friction and improvise grace in the midst of chaos. I’m happy to tell you that you are currently at the height of these lyrical powers. I hope you’ll be bold in expressing them. Even if others aren’t consciously aware and appreciative of what you’re doing, beautify every situation you’re in.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Your theme for the coming weeks is the fertile power of small things: the transformations that happen in the margins and subtle gestures. A kind word that shifts someone’s day, for instance. Or a refusal to participate in casual cruelty. Or a choice to see value in what you’re supposed to ignore. So I hope you will meditate on this healing theme: Change doesn’t always announce itself with drama and manifestos. The most heroic act might be to pay tender attention and refuse to be numbed. Find power in understated insurrections.

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