I have three overarching philosophies that have served me so well over the years that I thought I would share them with you.

First, is a little mantra: “all change is good.” This means that whatever life throws your way, it’s for the better. It may seem like bad luck, but the new outcome will eventually turn out to be positive. There is one criterion for this statement to become a reality in your life: you must believe that it is true. Something magical happens when we inject blind optimism into life’s little (and big) challenges. We see evidence of

“One of the biggest factors in success is the courage to undertake something.”– James A. Worsham

What are you undertaking right now? Are you stretching beyond your comfort zone to make a greater impact, experience a deeper sense of significance, and reap a more abundant financial reward through reaching more people with your inspired message? Or are you merely thinking about taking some forward steps while staying safe playing small in the familiar, even if you’re not satisfied?

Living courageously is really about finding and feeding the “Braveheart” within you so that you are increasingly able to face and even welcome challenges with confidence and determination. (I wholeheartedly encourage you to listen and apply the truths shared by Margie Warrell in our first Business of Life Expert Interview. She wrote the important book Find Your Courage and it is imperative that you find yours to truly succeed).

I haven’t always courageously embraced my mission with the zeal that I do today. It has come in installments in my life, frequently propelled forward through tragedy and other difficult circumstances that I’ve chosen to rise and grow through …and quite honestly I still have my moments. But I never stop reaching.

Will you rise and keep climbing toward your mountain peak? Dr. Paul Stoltz in his excellent book The Adversity Quotient provides a mountain climbing analogy in discussing the pursuit of your dreams. He differentiates between three types of people whose identity is revealed when the going gets difficult, as it inevitably will. He challenges you not to be a quitter, or even a camper who settles for modest progress and a mediocre level of achievement and satisfaction, but rather to remain a climber seeking to realize and fully express the potential within you for as long as you live.

Sharing your inspired message and service with a world in desperate need is a mountainous undertaking worth giving yourself to. It’s a contribution with such powerful potential.

Communication is a foundational element of life, growth, and all relationships, and yet it is so minimally understood and frequently poorly executed. Communication is the act of making something known or common to others. It requires both “sending” AND “receiving” components.

Neurons transmit intelligent information from one area of the body to another. They carry specific targeted messages involved in perception, integration, and responsive action. However, en route to their final destinations, the messages must jump across synaptic canyons via neurochemical transmitters to effect changes at adjacent nerves.

If the gaps aren’t bridged, critical information for ongoing adaptation and health will be missed.

Just as information must flow unimpeded within a person for optimum well-being it must also be freely and clearly communicated between people to