Miss Foley taught me to read. Mrs. Anderson taught me to learn from what I was reading.

These two women brought about an awakening in my life. They guided me from illiteracy to artistry. It was in second grade I discovered expression through haiku and creative writing, spinning tales regularly for myself and anyone else who I perceived was interested. Influential partners and teachers in our lives are Transformers. Revolutionaries. Together, they have power to change humanity.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Scholarship is to be created not by compulsion, but by awakening a pure interest in knowledge. The wise instructor accomplishes this by opening to his pupils precisely attractions study has for himself."

Lately I have been awakened through personal study of Renaissance period in history.

Renaissance. Merriam Webster tell us it can mean a specific period of time in Human history following Middle Ages or it can point towards a period of revival or renewal. Finally, it can be a personal experience of an expansion in artistic and intellectual activity.

When an old year becomes history and we are given a fresh new calendar, suddenly possibilities glisten and glean before our eyes. We stand taller, we make new commitments. We sometimes stand courageous where before we would stand in place of fear.

All because we turn page of a calendar from one year to next.

A couple years ago there was quite a period of unsettle as people concerned themselves with year 2000. All that negative, nervous energy was for naught. Worldwide, humanity collaborated to make a smooth transition from one millenium to next.

You can make a smooth transition, today, to stand tall and courageous in Your New Renaissance.

My theme for year 2002 is "My New Renaissance: Honoring All of Me."

Being comfortable: thinking I know what I'm doing, where I'm going and that it's all under control. My, how I can fool myself.

This realization hit me again about 10 days ago while attending NLP conference in Toronto. One of keynote presenters, Judith Delozier, brought up idea of The Hero's Journey in context of leadership, in particular self-leadership. I had heard term before and understood it to mean life's journey in which we come face to face with who we are, our deepest fears and desires, our weaknesses and our strengths. In other words, getting uncomfortable.

In this Journey Hero is YOU, and in my life, it is ME. The hero has a job to do. This job -- your job, my job -- is to be aware, trust and live in connection with your unique greatness. Sounds simple, and in essence, I believe it is simple. However, simple does not equal easy. It requires stepping out of your comfort zone.

As I've grown, I've become clearer and clearer about my journey (or I think I'm clearer). I believe my journey is to teach and lead and coach others to discover their own unique journey. I know this is true. I can feel it in my bones, in my gut, my chest and through my shoulders.

Still, for some reason I often resist. I resist owning fullness and potential power of my own journey. Getting through barriers, blocks and obstacles requires a journey to new and uncomfortable places of introspection and self-awareness. It requires work and being OK with not knowing. Thoughts and emotions of uncertainty and doubt float through my mind and offer me simple excuses to stop putting in effort. These patterns of distraction were clearly defined by Buddha who understood workings of human mind.