Passion, Experience & Growth

The Spark Of Inspiration

July 30, 2007

“It can take you places like never before” — The Corrs, Irresistible

The earliest inspiration for this book came on June 24, 2007, while I was returning home from a weekend in New York City.

Another trip scheduled out of the blue became an opportunity for a combination of business and pleasure. The time spent walking through the city, meeting old friends and new, and exploring what the city had to offer had recharged me, and for a couple of days, had given Joanne and I a wonderful chance to reconnect.

She drove up to meet me on Friday, arriving late in the evening, bravely driving her brand new hardtop-convertible VW Eos 2.0T into Manhattan, and through the busy Friday night traffic. After a weekend together—sleeping late, eating out, exploring the city, and much more—we were ready to head home on Sunday afternoon. With the convertible top down and the wind in our hair, we made the return home in style!

As has often been the case during long drives in convertibles—usually, along the California coast—our conversations ranged among explorations of each other, thoughts about the world around us, planning for the future, and brainstorming about future careers.

In the past, our brainstorming had been about her career. But, this time, as the discussion unfolded, it was my turn.

This book began with her enthusiastic comment “you should write a book about that!”

The “that” that she was referring to was the discussion we had been having about The Secret and The Disappearance of the Universe and how both books had helped perspectives on many of the questions of my childhood to snap into focus.

Many of my thoughts on those questions are now folded into the 369 topics within this book.

That day was just the beginning.