We burst from the womb, wide-eyed, hungry for discovery, thirsty for adventure.

Eyes probing, fingers poking, tongues licking, minds chewing, bubbling through life in constant, exultant motion.

Joyfully disturbed are we, jittering with an insatiable “why,” rapturous with possibility, taking nothing for granted.

But over time, our flames of curiosity are extinguished.

We succumb to adulthood, our zest for life drowned by routine and responsibility, our innocent curiosity suffocated and replaced by vain ambition, the thrill of discovery strangled by apathetic comfort.

Renowned psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi reveals how creative people are cultivated and how they keep the spark alive in his enlightening book Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. He writes…

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You remember, of course, the wildly successful “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” Old Spice ads.

You may not know, however, the radical philosophy that spawned them.

The ads were created by Wieden+Kennedy, one of the most innovative and successful ad agencies in the world.

On a wall of their headquarters in the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon hangs a huge white canvas filled with tens of thousands of clear plastic pushpins.

It’s only by stepping away from the pushpin mural that the slogan appears: Fail Harder.

As an abject failure myself, I’m enamored with the motto.

I love a good failure, and I have the greatest respect for people who fail frequently and productively.

I have little respect for people who fail from a lack of trying, and I steer clear of those who fail often but never seem to learn the right lessons.

Productive failure is the fastest and most valuable school — provided you have the right attitude.

As Henry Ford said…

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How can people gleefully slaughter 800,000 people in 100 days using nothing but machetes?

The same way we justify poor health habits and irresponsible credit card use, and for the same reasons we scream in rage at referees when they make a call against our team, then cheer raucously when they make a call against the “enemy.”

Whether we’re talking about genocide, heated political debates, or little white lies, our daily justifications and rationalizations are explained by “cognitive dissonance,” a phenomenon labeled in 1956 by social psychologist Leon Festinger.

Wikipedia defines cognitive dissonance as:

“a discomfort caused by holding conflicting cognitions (e.g., ideas, beliefs, values, emotional reactions) simultaneously. In a state of dissonance, people may feel surprise, dread, guilt, anger, or embarrassment. The theory…proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by altering existing cognitions, adding new ones to create a consistent belief system, or alternatively by reducing the importance of any one of the dissonant elements.”

Put simply, it is a psychological mechanism that drives us toward internal consistency between our beliefs and behaviors.

Festinger coined the term after observing the reactions of a UFO cult when…

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Pioneer wagon wheels cut eternal ruts in plains and rocks across the American west.

Likewise, our habits forge irreversible patterns in our brain as we migrate toward our eternal destiny.

Free will comes with the shackles of consequence.

Choose our actions we may, but consequences are unavoidable and non-negotiable.

And no consequential shackles are as unyielding and unforgiving as the power of habit.

Charles Duhigg’s recent life-changing book, The Power of Habit, details the science behind how habits form and how to change them, including the following six inescapable laws…

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“To every man there comes,” said Winston Churchill, “…that special moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a special thing unique to him and fitted to his talent. What a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared or unqualified for the work which would be his finest hour.”

We were born for greatness. But how do we prepare for it?

Through years of tireless, thankless, recognition-less goodness.

Mother Teresa was an unknown nun in India who humbly served the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying for 29 years before her goodness was recognized with a Nobel Price in 1979.

George Washington transcribed his “Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior” as a teenager and strove to live them for years until he eventually was called to become the revolutionary general and later our nation’s first president.

Rosa Parks was little more than a good woman, a domestic worker virtually unknown to the world. Until one day, on an obscure Alabama bus in 1955, she sat down, tired, and felt a soft tap on her shoulder.

True greatness cannot be achieved in the absence of goodness. More precisely, sustained goodness is the only reliable foundation of and certain path to greatness.

As Aristotle said…

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An ancient Chinese parable is told of Yu Gong, a 90-year-old man whose travels to and from his home were inconvenienced by two large nearby mountains.

One day Yu Gong said to his family, “These mountains are too inconvenient. Why not get rid of them?”

His son and grandson responded, “What you say is true. We shall start moving them tomorrow.”

The next day, they began moving the mountain, carrying stones into the sea.

They worked nonstop through summer and winter, rain and snow.

Observing their work, a man said, “Yu Gong, you are so old. Do you really think it is possible to move the mountains?”

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The American Dream, though dimmed by bad laws and bad news, is still alive.

I know this because Queen Karina and I discovered Shark Tank, an enthralling TV show for entrepreneurs and investors.

After watching the first season, I found myself overwhelmed to the point of tears with a deep respect and even reverence for the American Dream and those who dare dream it.

So today I honor you, the Dreamers, Risk-Takers, Pioneers, Innovators, Entrepreneurs, and Producers, upon whose intrepid backs has been built the greatest country in the history of the world.

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In a previous article I explained how your path to mission is illuminated by what angers you and what you fear.

But there’s a deeper principle at the heart of those two clues.

Those two clues shine light on the path. But they are not the path.

The path is bliss.

It’s ironic, I know. But think it through.

Underlying what angers and scares you is what brings you the most rapturous joy.

Anger is a manifestation of passion. Passion is the fuel of purpose. And living on purpose is sheer bliss.

Swat your butterflies and push through to the other side of fear, and waiting for you is ecstasy, euphoria, exultation.

Follow your anger and fear to discover your path. Then walk the path by following your bliss.

The scholar Joseph Campbell happened upon the power of bliss by studying an ancient Sanskrit word.

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“Your mission in life,” taught the Buddha, “is to find your mission in life and then to give your whole heart and soul to it.”

You were beamed to earth, “trailing clouds of glory,” for a purpose.

You have something noble and profound to accomplish. None other can take your place.

“Let your light shine,” commanded Jesus.

Your unfulfilled mission is a gaping black hole of squandered potential. Statues will be erected to honor your name when you fulfill your mission.

The challenge is that finding mission in the first place is usually tougher than actually living mission.

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It’s easy to feel inspired, positive, strong, and optimistic when life is great. When the sun of opportunity is radiating and everything turns out just right.

But what about those times when you’re exhausted from long hours and lack of sleep, bored stiff from stale routines, terrified to take action, tempted by vice, or drowning in depression?

What do you do when everything goes wrong and life is dark and uncertain?

That’s when you need an “Inspiration Library”…

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