A.I.M.: The Powerful 10-Step Personal and Career Success Program

Chapter 6. Reviewing What's Important

There are pauses amidst study, and even pauses of seeming idleness, in which a process goes on which may be likened to the digestion of food. In those seasons of repose, the powers are gathering their strength for new efforts.

—J.W. Alexander

Human beings are creatures of stories. In the early days of our existence, we gathered around campfires in the evenings to relive the stories of the days hunt and hear the sagas of those who had come before us. We have always used stories to learn, to connect us with each other, and as reference points as we move in new directions. In simple terms, stories tell us where someone started, the challenges they faced, and how they overcame them. Good stories are sequential, logical, and instructive. They are told in a way that allows us to take away our own lessons and apply them to our lives.

Over the past few chapters, while you may not have been conscious of it, you have been writing your own story. We have moved from abstract thoughts about your situation in life (What is the challenge that I am facing? Why am I unhappy right now?), to focused introspection (What have been the highlights in the various decades of my life?), to honest discussion about what you do well and what you do not (What are my strengths and weaknesses?), to more concrete brainstorming about directions you might like to explore (What are some options for me?).

The exercises you have completed to answer these questions have taken what might ...