Words have power. They take on extraordinary power when you make them into a "declaration" --even if you have no clue at the time as to how you are going to achieve what you just declared.

John F. Kennedy's declaration that the US would put a man on the moon and return him safely in less than ten years time is a perfect example of this kind of power. Keep in mind, that when he first spoke it, we were blowing up more rockets on the launch pad than those that ever made past the gantry —much less into outer space. Our scientists and engineers really didn't know how we were going to do it. Yet through the power of that great leader's declaration, we did it, and on schedule.

There is something transcendental about a true declaration. It is made up of far stronger stuff than just the typical wistful musings of those who "want to". Declaration leaps right over "I want to" to "I will" and sometimes even "I am", its most powerful form. Within the depths of declaration is the "knowing" that a way will be found to achieve it, even if none are immediately apparent. Within declaration, resolve turns to steel. Not in the form of an ego-based dominance of will, but rather in the quiet acceptance that you just made a "space" or clearing for what must become. True declaration is the start of a process, not the naming of a goal.

Almost ten years ago, after many months of seeking the answer to "for what purpose was I born?", I made the declaration, quietly and determinedly, that I would be an international speaker —one who affects many people's lives in positive ways. Had no idea at the time how that was going to happen, but just knew it would.

The memory of my declaration hit profoundly home a couple of weeks ago during one of my speeches. I asked the audience to consider whether they were in the career for which they were born. At the end of the program, when we considered the question again, I told them they were looking at someone (me) that was doing and being exactly what he was born to do and be. I remember the exact moment of saying it because the deep rumble of resonance with a declaration made years before stirred within me.

Life is too short, my friends, and we are much bigger beings than we give ourselves credit for. One of the surest paths to being "big" is to declare ourselves so in some way that reflects the uniqueness of who we already are. Whether you make a declaration about business or your life, be ready for an adventure that will take you places you otherwise could only have dreamt of being.

(PARTING THOUGHTS are musings of whatever happens to be on my mind or in my heart at the time I sit down to write them. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I do sharing them with you!)