Years ago I purchased a Tony Robbins tape set. I wonder if he still does the Unleash the Power(?) series? All I remember is a grinning giant in a helicopter on an island. “Yeah, I want all that [stuff].”

I’m left thinking that a balanced approach to the present and action is called for in my life.

I think Kent Thune is onto something in his post at the newly renamed “the Change blog.” He shares the following quote to start.

“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”
Henry David Thoreau

In another article back on Kent’s blog, the Financial Philosopher, he starts..

“All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; but to make them truly ours, we must think them over again honestly, till they take root in our personal experience.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

So where do we go with all of this? I think there’s significant truth to being here ‘now.’ Dwelling in the past or future seldom yields more than a fleeting warm memory but can often create hours of unease. It’s the action that I take now that makes me whole.

Recent surveys have shown that the vast percentage of society holds religious or spiritual beliefs. It is also interesting to note that a majority of these people have broken from childhood teachings in order to seek out a belief system that holds greater personal meaning to them.

I can appreciate this quiet revelation given that my own spiritual journey took me far from my childhood path.    In the end I agree most strongly with two key ideas in David’s article, “spirituality is not religion” and “spirituality is deeply personal.”    Those views and an open-minded approach, allow me to find common meaning and purpose in almost everything around.

In conducting research for one of my books, my co-author and I interviewed more than 200 high-potential leaders from around the world. A key question that we asked was: “If you stay in this company, why are you going to stay?”

The top three answers:

1. “I am finding meaning and happiness now. The work is exciting, and I love what I am doing.”

2. “I like the people here. They are my friends. This feels like a team—like a family. I might make more money if I left, but I don’t want to leave the people here.”

3. “I can follow my dreams. This organization is giving me the chance to grow and do what I really want to do in life.”