Dear Future Leaders...

When conducting interviews in support of my book, The 9 Dimensions of Conscious Success, I discovered that today’s successful people are worried about the upcoming generation’s ability to be successful and to be strong leaders. They see the younger generation through seasoned lenses and realize that today’s values and beliefs are different from past generations. Yet the basics remain the same for yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

No one sets out to fail in life. No one goes into the world with the aim to become nothing.

It is true that some may give up along the way, but most people desire a sense of achievement and self-worth. Success is a wonderful experience—no matter if succeeding at waterskiing or sealing a multimillion-dollar deal—so most seek success with a passion. The difference between us is our journey to get there. 

Some say,

“Be true to yourself, follow your passion, and make your way.” 

Albert Einstein said,

“Try not to become a man of success, but try rather to become a man of value.” 

And Leonardo da Vinci has been credited as saying,

“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” 

The models that grew out of my questions and the answers I received were created to develop tools and a matrix of success to help you move forward toward accomplishing your goals that will lead you to success. Each tool and matrix presented work for any and every generation when absorbed into your personal style and being.

We curmudgeons are a bit self-serving in our advice. We know the time is coming soon when we will rely on you to take care of the world—and us for as long as we are in it. We want you to succeed because you are our legacy. Whether we are your parent, your teacher, your coach, your mentor, or your Pilates teacher, we want, no, we need you to succeed because your success is our success. 

Our greatest fault, though, is the notion that our way is the only way.

Our way is one way you can choose, but by no means is it the only way. By adopting the models I laid out in my book, you can live life in a fully aware and conscious way. It will help you develop the core values that will expedite your journey toward success while at the same time allow you to explore, be creative, and recover quickly from failure—because it is the lessons learned from failure that really allow you to grow.