The
answer is found in the simple, yet profound, statement by
a Vietnamese monk, Thich Naht Hahn: “The path is the goal.” In
other words, finding your path in life is your goal in life. Your path is
not
your profession, how much money you make, your title, or your
successes and failures.
Finding your path means finding out
what you were put here on
this earth to do. What is your life’s purpose? Why were you given this
gift called life? And what is the gift you give back to life?
Looking back, I know going to school was not about finding my
life’s path. I spent four years in military school,
studying and training
to be a ship’s officer. If I had made a career sailing for Standard Oil
on their oil tankers, I would never have found my life’s path. If I had
stayed in the Marines or had
gone to fly for the airlines, I would never
have found my life’s path.
Had I continued on as a ship’s officer or become an airline pilot,
I would never have become an international best-selling author,
been
a guest on the Oprah show, written a book with Donald
Trump, or started an international education company that teaches
entrepreneurship and investing throughout the world.
Finding Your Path
This
CASHFLOW Quadrant book is important because it is about
finding your path in life. As you know,
most people are programmed
early in life to “Go to school and get a job.” School is about finding a
job in the E or S quadrant. It is not about finding your life’s path.
I realize there are people who know exactly what they are going to
do early in life. They grow up knowing they are going to be a doctor,
lawyer,
musician, golfer or actor. We have all heard about child
prodigies, kids with exceptional talents. Yet you may notice, these are
professions, not necessarily a life’s path.
Preface
xvi
