After our recent jumpstart session, Jen Lee sent an email. She said:

"Thank you for reminding me of all that I am doing well, and that I'm not in this alone.  I'll be thinking about the hamster and the monks for a long time, and looking at how I can take care of the parts of me that are open to the world.

You pointed me back to the heart of my work and all that truly matters, with so much compassion and love." (reprinted here with her permission)

My message isn't about speeding up the process of "being on the social web." My message is one of discovering balance in it, and off it. 

In order to best give the way I love giving, I'm taking October off to retreat from the web, and renew. I'll be on retreats in the States this weekend and next. I'll be doing spa treatments in the Utah desert. The next week I'll be in California wine country drinking wine through a straw. After that I'll be in San Francisco drinking mugs of chai. And then I fly home to leave again. For Japan.

In Japan, in addition to retreating and riding my bike a lot, I'll be teaching at our studio, Yoga Garden. If you're in the Tokyo area in October, please swing by. We'd love to have you.

During all of this retreating, Kirtsy will be hosting one hundred free Hands on Small Business sessions which will be rocking the entire nation. Yes, unbelievably they are free, thanks to Microsoft's generous sponsorship. They are educational and DIYish sessions in which to meet like-minded friends and business owners and entrepreneurs-to-be. We hope you can join in.

In the month and a half since Chris Guillebeau and I launched our Unconventional Guide to the Social Web life has been a whirl. Reviews have poured in. Reviews that stun me with their spot-onness. Yes! That's what I meant! Rockstar Jumpstart sessions that, even at just thirty minutes, pack a wallop - I help you help yourself jumpstart your social web practice (or find balance in what some refer to as an avalanche of information). Emails like Jen's that have touched my core.

During these sessions I've met entrepreneurs of all types. Those just starting out their consulting work. Those leaving the corporate world for good. Those that would rather craft than do just about anything else. I record the session and some are added to the package. Chris is forever updating the guide, about which Web Worker Daily says, "figuring out the best way [to promote yourself on the web] can be difficult. Chris Guillebeau and Gwen Bell have brought together a guide that demystifies the process."

Demystification. Sounds nice. Like what happens after the fog lifts. 

Today and tomorrow I'll be taking a few more sessions and calls. After that, work will pause until November. I'll still blog. You'll still find me on the web a bit. More important, during that time I'll take a lot of deep breaths and come back to you with bigger news than you're expecting. But now, to incubation and resting. To the journey.

How are you moving toward the heart of your work right now? How do you balance your online "presence" and offline "responsibilities?"