But I will never know. Because, as many times as I thought to make this overture, never once did I act upon it. And being that I have been blessed to have been in a position many times in my life to have 'been there' for people who were depressed, and even suicidal, I again, did NOT ACT UPON IT.

Guilty? Yes, I am.

Of course, I cannot afford to even begin to blame myself, a total stranger to her, for what she felt she ultimately had no choice to do. On other hand, I could have chosen to do something, and act upon my desire to at least try to help.

The obvious questions arise. Would she have accepted my invitation to a coffee shop, or for a walk down trail? If she did, could I have made even a small difference in her life and actually see her smile -- at least once? That, would have been wonderful to me. Or, could I have made even a small impact that would have ultimately led to, well, her deciding NOT swallow overdose of medicine that she did?

Thing is, I will never know, because I chose NOT TO ACT. Too busy, of course. Too many other things going on in my personal life. Too many other things going on in lives I was close to. Too busy in my business life.

If I can take away one lesson with me from this dark experience, it is one I wish to share with you -- when your intuition tells you to do something not only once, but many times, ACT UPON IT. Your intuition is your biggest friend, whether you know it now, or not.

It honestly hurts to know that I did nothing to follow up on my own intuition in this sad, sad case. It is even sadder to know that I never even knew name of this pretty woman.

I dislike, and try to hardly ever use, word, "if". It is usually used in context with a negative circumstance. In this case though, I can now only wonder would have happened, "If Only . . ."

© Rick Beneteau

Why do I tell this story? Simple. It's a simple story of real success! No, Jim is not famous. Probably never will be. Nor is he rich as I could tell, or any of those things that people usually associate with term 'success.' If this man won lottery today I'd bet farm he'd be planting poles and stringing wire and having fun with his crew very next week. He is, judging by my brief encounter with him, a simple man who possesses one of true keys of success: He loves what he does!

Let me ask you this? Are you doing what you love? Are you having fun with your 'job'? Do you feel a real sense of purpose and genuine passion for what you are offering people, be it your labor, your customers or your employees? Do you bring those people around you great value that they deserve and that you are capable of giving? Are you respected by those around you for what you do? Are you, well, happy?

Let me assure you, if you answered "no" to any of above questions, it's far from too late to change everything in your life!

In my top-selling eBook, Success: A Spiritual Matter, I had extreme honor of interviewing 14 very successful entrepreneurs. One of those, Paul Lemberg, offered this: "Make sure your work is personally meaningful. If it's not – change what you're doing!" He continues, "Figure out what your purpose is. Not a purpose for you to shellac to a piece of wood and put on wall. Not a purpose like a check box for your business plan. But a purpose like "what are you here on earth for?" That kind of purpose."

One of famous quotes of legendary Jim Rohn goes like this: "Turn your vocation into your vacation."

One of highlights of putting Success: A Spiritual Matter together was conducting a live interview with Jim Rohn. He made this amazing statement: "Beware of thief on street that's after your purse. But also be aware of thief in your mind that's after your promise."

Don't let that thief steal your promise and keep from world everything that you have to offer. You CAN do what you love. You CAN start right now.

Contemporary mythologist, Joseph Campbell, offers 3 words as number one rule of life, which pervades all cultures and religions: "Follow Your Bliss".

Isn't it about time that you followed yours?

© Rick Beneteau