Excerpted from Dream Big

Years ago, I was at a motivational conference when the speaker asked the group what at the time seemed like a simple question. She asked us what we would do if we knew we would not fail. If we were guaranteed success, what would we attempt? I find that question to be one of the most clarifying we can ask ourselves. When we eliminate all of our self-doubts and remove all our inner (and outer) critics, we have a better chance at getting at the truth.
Therein lies the answer to the age-old question: What do I want to be when I grow up? Think about it. What would you do if you were absolutely guaranteed success? Would you be a stand-up comic, an architect, a photographer, a social worker, a café owner, a clothes designer, a midwife? Whatever your fantasy, that’s what you should be doing—guarantee or no guarantee.
I truly believe that discovering our own passions and finding the courage to follow them are our greatest callings. When people ask me what the single most important tool is for unearthing our dreams, I tell them solitude. In order to find our authentic purpose, our passion, we have to spend lots of time listening, really listening, to ourselves. It seems so simple really, but how many of us actually do it? Our days are so overflowing with to-do lists and phone calls and emails that we rarely just unplug and hear what our hearts are telling us. At the beginning of something there has to be nothing. We have to give ourselves a clean slate—and permission to dream.
By giving myself that permission to dream, I gave birth to a company that has been one of the most worthwhile adventures of my life. My hope is that through telling my story and sharing a few of the lessons I’ve learned (usually the hard way!), I will inspire you to dream big, too.

Eric Harvey

My son Alex and I at my Father Son Weekend.

*note: we get plastered when we make a cast of our face

Talent is God-given; be thankful
Praise is man-given; be humble
Conceit is self-given; be careful
-Dave Driscoll

I have indepth conversations with my patients. I'm thinking of writing a book, Musings from the Table that would contain wonder revelations and insights. What do you think?

Author Unknown

Emasculation happens in marriage as well. Women are often attracted to the wilder side of a man, but once having caught him they settle down to the task of domesticating him. Ironically, if he gives in he’ll resent her for it, and she in turn will wonder where the passion has gone. Most marriages wind up there. A weary and lonely woman asked me the other day, “How do I get my husband to come alive?” “Invite him to be dangerous,” I said. “You mean, I should let him get the motorcycle, right?” “Yep.” She shrank back, disappointment on her face. “I know you’re right, but I hate the idea. I’ve made him tame for years.”

"If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track, which has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living."
— Joseph Campbell

If I am content with what I have, I can live simply and enjoy both prosperity and free time.
If my goals are clear, I can achieve them without fuss.
If I am at peace with myself, I will not spend my life force in conflicts
If I have learned to let go, I do not need to fear dying.

excerpt from the Tao of Leadership by John Heider