Once a wise master had four students who exceeded all others in ability. One day the five gathered, and the master spoke to the first student, “Tell me what you see when you look into the world.”

“I see savagery. The planet is raped. The world hides from the truth. Contaminating material is released everywhere. There is particulate matter in the heavens and acid rain. The rain forests are being destroyed, and so is the ozone. There is such ignorance and selfishness. The world needs so much correction.”

The master replied, “You are right, and I shall call you Correction, for you by your vision have committed to a world of need.”

My work is to help people think. My clients write books, create innovative solutions, develop brilliant breakthroughs, and endeavor to make the world a better place.

During the last twenty years of working with business leaders to build their personal reputations, and to enhance the profile of their organizations, I created a system for developing intellectual property – ideas.

Not long ago a number of my clients turned the tables on me and suggested I take a little of my own medicine and organize my methodology. I eventually distilled my process down to eleven essential steps. I wrote a draft outline and circulated it among many of my clients, asking if it captured what they had found valuable. With their comments and further refinement, that system is what you now hold in your hands. I call it the Endleofon (END-leo-fahn), an old English word for “eleven.”

It may come as a surprise to you that you are attached to everything you desire. Behind every desire there is a dissatisfaction and resistance to what is and as the saying goes, “whatever you resist persists”. Your very desire forces you to focus on the absence in your life of that which you want and so paradoxically keeps it away from you. By desiring nothing, you are attached to nothing, and so allow yourself to create the reality of your choice knowing that you are free to choose any experience. Desire is the source of all attachment whereas choice is the gift of detachment.

As I mentioned earlier, 2009 may bring greater uncertainty and more unsettling economic news than recent years, but these circumstances should compel us to take a deep breath, and pause to think about our lives.

When things happen in the world that seem so far beyond our individual control, it can feel unsettling.

Don’t give up on your goals and dreams just because “the time isn’t good”… you can still make 2009 the year you uncover a whole new you for the better!

Even in tough times, you get to decide how to respond to certain conditions, opportunities, and outcomes – both good and bad.