“Our circle of comfort is surrounded by a wall of fear. There are few fears greater than leaving the place where we are comfortable , but there are few  rewards more meaningful and purposeful.” 

Those are the words of ROAR founder Joe Sturniolo, and form one of ROAR’s 13 “lessons to be learned” for people who want to discover, awaken and stir to action the “Lion Within.”

That fear can be crippling. For me, it brings to mind the first time, as a nine-year-old, I nervously climbed to the top of the high dive board, looked down, and wondered if I would survive the fall. But I stepped off. And I survived.

Twenty-five years later, I had the same feeling of trepidation as I walked down the corporate hallway to tell the president of the bank I worked for that I was quitting to start my own PR and marketing agency.

I was leaving my comfort circle, a secure job as VP in charge of marketing for one of the state’s largest banks. I had perks galore - a very comfortable salary,a  company car, five weeks of vacation, stock options, and a job lots of people envied.  And I had a young family to take care of.

But I nonetheless stepped into the president’s office and, with tightness in my gut, stepped off the high dive.  I survived and went on to do what fulfilled me and stirred my passion - not without pain sometimes, and not without new fears. But doing what I was meant to do.

To me, that’s how you summon the courage to break through your wall of fear.  You close your eyes to what you fear.  Then you just step off.

Herminia Ibarra, a professor of organizational behavior in France, authored a book back in 2003 called “Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career,” in which he proposes a number of unconventional strategies for taking your career in a new direction.  Being from France, home of Sartre, Camus and other existentialists, it’s not surpising that he exhibits a predisposition to act first, think later.

Forget self-assessment tests, he says. Don’t let others try to fit you into a neatly defined box.

Act first, then reflect.

Don’t over-analyze. Step out and pursue a path. See how it feels.  If it stirs your passion, go farther down that path.  If not, take another. 

Abandon rational analysis and pursue what your heart tells you is true. You’ll know it when  the feeling grabs hold that you are doing the thing you were born to do, making the contribution to the world you  were destined to make . 

Dan Christopherson is an original member of the ROAR team

and co-authored The Caterpillar that Roared

with Joe Sturniolo.

 I just saw “Bright Star,” a film about the the last months of the life of poet John Keats.  Though later acclaimed to be one of the world’s greatest romantic poets, in his time critics were either lukewarm or downright hostile to his poetry; no own would buy his books.  Judging himself by the poor sales, he thought himself a failure.

He was tormented by his love for a woman of means and the limitations of his poverty that precluded marrying her. He died young (of tuberculosis), alone and impoverished.  

As Keats’ life illustrates, living your passion is by no means any guarantee that you will gain financially.  For many people the best they can hope to gain from their pursuits is “psychic income” and the chance to make a difference in the lives of other people.

But there are those fortunate few whose passions and purpose reap large financial income, too — a  surplus of what they truly need.  For some, the surplus proves to be their downfall - for themselves, their families and their quarreling heirs.  For others, it is an opportunity for philanthropy, giving away a share of their surplus.  

 With Thanksgiving fast approaching, it is time to be thankful for your family, friends, freedom, good health, and the ability to turn your surplus into a “plus” for those who are in need, including those whose psychic income may be far ahead of their fiscal income. 

One of the most common questions I get from people involved with ROAR is how do I find my gift?  Most people resonate with the fact that they are here for a purpose and that to give back to others is the ultimate goal.  Where some people get stuck is what exactly they are the most gifted at, and hence should be giving from. 

I want to challenge this thought today and ask the question, what if you could make the most impact with your greatest weakness, not your greatest strength?  As I think about the people in my life that have made the biggest impact, it dawns on me that they all share a commonality, and that is they have been able to share some struggle, weakness or tribulation they have overcome or are humbled by that allows them to touch people in the way that they do. 

I watched a video of a man yesterday who was speaking to an audience of high school students about not giving up.  I was struck by it in particular because this man happened to have no limbs.  As he talked about falling time and time again metaphorically in his life he would knock himself over and talk to the audience lying on a table.  As he got to the point in his speach where he was encouraging not giving up, he miraculously worked his way back to standing.  He spoke about the feeling of hopelessness and that with perserverance you can pick yourself up from any fall.  

God seems to have no problem with choosing us in spite of, or maybe because of our weaknesses as well.  Just like Moses with his speach impediment who was chosen to lead God’s people, and David with his small stature to fight the Giant, time and again he uses the most unlikely characters for his most awesome work.

Can you look into your life today and find a weakness or vulnerability that can be used to make an impact on other’s lives?   

The obstacles to our transformation into God like creatures pursuing our gifts to impact the lives of others is absolutely overwhelming.   Without prayer and God’s help we are doomed to failure.  Grace is the only means to that end.  The transformation of the inner being is as much or more a gift of grace as is our justification before God.  Neither one is wholly passive.  If you want to be forever lost you merely need to do nothing. 

Projects of personal transformation rarely occur by accident.  Effective, long lasting transformation must have conscious involvement, developing from the “inside” of our personality.  That is how a new life becomes our life.  That intention followed by effort and prayer are manifested in a level of peace that transcends our circumstances.  I believe that peace is the reward and sign of a life that is union with God’s purpose for us.  Whether that is in our most personal relationships or job or play, peace is the result of pursuing God’s mission for us.

I know this is true in my own life.  Last year I spent thousands of dollars and numerous hours spreading the message of ROAR with very little results.  This year I gave all to God’s plan for me and waited on his direction as I pursued every person and message that I thought was from Him.  I am at peace with the direction of ROAR and with each stage in the journey this year.  It has also been true of my relationship with my wife.  Waiting patiently on the Lord for direction and guidance has produced magnificent results and above all a peace that defies any circumstance and challenge that I have faced this year and there have been many. 

I can testify to the message of God that if we intend to do His will in our lives that we will achieve more fulfillment and peace.  To ROAR is to find the Lion within, which is God in our lives.  We must trust that the real happiness that we all seek rests only in the hand of our maker.  He has a plan for us no matter what our age or position in life.  It is time to unleash the Lion within so that others lives are moved by our life. 

All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible.


T.E. Lawrence

People looking for a second, more fulfilling career in the traditional retirement years are finding that increasingly difficult to achieve. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that 430,000 people age 65 and over were actively looking for work in June - up 46 perccnt from the same month a year ago.  Money, not pursuing occupational dreams, is what’s driving the trend, according to a public policy analyst for AARP.

So for those who seek to activate the Lion Within during the latter stages of life, the best option may be to put skills and passion into use as a volunteer.  True fulfillment comes not just from finding, awakening and unleashing the Lion Within; it arrives fully when you use your gifts for the benefit of others.  And that’s where volunteering can play a bigger role in self-fulfillment than in pursuits involving drawing a pay check.

 Dan Christopherson is a member of the ROAR team

  Juliet:
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”

Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

We are all very valuable no matter what we are named or what we have done.  We are all equally as sweet.  In ROAR we agree that each person is given a gift by god at birth and that when that gift is in use we become fulfilled and significant.  In addition, we have an impact on someone else’s life.  The gift is the Lion Within.  Why a Lion?  Because the Lion represents majesty and magnificence. 

Growth in this area is accomplished by a relentless seeking of the will of God for our life.  Dallas Willard wrote in his book Renovation of the Heart, that there are four elements in our formation toward finding and unleashing the Lion Within:  the first element is for individuals to come to see themselves as whole, as God himself sees them.  We must regard ourselves as blessed, no matter what has happened in our lives.  If we place our hope in Him we must have universal hope in our mission in life.

The second element is abandonment of defensiveness.  This is the authenticity component.  We must be willing to be known in our most intimate relationships for who we really are.  It is not about looking good.

 The third element is that all pretenses vanish from our lives.  It is of no value to be something we are not naturally.   Not having the burden of defending and securing ourselves, and acting based on what we believe to be our Lion Within, we can now devote our lives to the service of others which is the fourth element.    

Not necessarily, say experts.  No matter what is it you are pursuing in life that you are passionate about, things can get overwhelming from time to time.  Burnout can come from hitting the pavement on work that you were not intended or made to do, but it can also come because not enough rest is taken away from even the things that you do love and are meant to do.

It is easy to get excited and caught up in your passion, but without rest, even the most rewarding of talents turns into a job.  It can be wearing and confusing at times.  You may say to yourself, “Maybe this is not my passion after all.”  The key to sorting through the muck should always start with a slight step backwards.  Retreating for short reflection is helpful because it will give you the necessary time to recharge if you are just pushing to hard.  It will also give you a new perspective if, after that rejuvination, you are still not excited to get started again.  If that is the case you may need to do some extended reflection and exploration of what you were pursuing.  It sometimes takes starting down the wrong path several times until you get on the right one, but don’t just jump trails before you analyze the burnout.  It may only take a small sabbatical to get you back on track where you started.

And remember…there is a time for every season, even rest!

I read recently that a survey of young adults in America showed that they favor socialism over capitalism,.  Socialism is not evil.  It seems to work well - for the time being (until their economies collapse under the weight of lavish government giveaways) - in western Europe.

But the degree to which socialism spawns cradle-to-grave reliance on government, rather than on self, seems at odds with who we are as Americans. 

ROAR is all about helping people find the determination to break free from their “circle of comfort.” 

That’s why in the book Joe Sturniolo and I co-wrote and which was published last summer, The Caterpillar That Roared, three 16^th Century Italian caterpillars breech that circle and literally make a leap of faith. They jump from their perch high on a tree limb and into a donkey cart. They head in a direction their leader is drawn to, his own “true North,” to a destination unknown to all three of them.

Ultimately their break from their circle of comfort takes them to the wilderness of the New World. So, that’s not just jumping into a new, wider world. That’s a whole new hemisphere.

The decision we made as authors to have the caterpillars journey to the New World was inspired in good measure by another author, James Harmon McElroy, and his book, American Beliefs (1999, published by Ivan R. Dee, available, as is our book, through www.amazon.com, and other national booksellers).

American Beliefs is an historically-based examination of the American mindset that reflects and has helped guide the thinking behind ROAR

Reaching deep into the history of our nation’s founding, McElroy examined the genesis of our American beliefs – our convictions about equality, freedom, personal responsibility – and how they have shaped our can-do spirit and optimism.

McElroy asserts that the “Stone Age wilderness” that our earliest settlers encountered, and ultimately mastered, coupled with the practicality and self-reliance we gained from this challenge, forged our American character.

He offers up to his reader scores of fascinating insights into why we are what we are, and why we as Americans believe, among other things, in these principles:

 Improvement is possible. Opportunities must be imagined. Each person is responsible for his own well-being. Helping others helps yourself.  We must have the freedom to move and change in order to be successful. 

He notes that while there has never been a nation with such a diverse heritage, historically immigrants here have embraced this unique blend of beliefs, understanding that they form the foundation for what brought them here in the first place.

W can change our personal futures provided we don’t wait for others to do it for us.

  ROAR team member Dan Christopherson

When we move to become transformed toward our passions and significance, it rarely ever succeeds by accident, drift, or imposition.  Conscious involvement developing from the inside of our personality is how a life becomes our life.  Choice is what matters.  We must intend the vision of our life if it is to be realized.                                                                      It won’t just happen.   We also need the means to fulfill our vision.  If you sign up for a language course, you must listen to recordings, buy books, associate with people who speak the language, immerse your self in the culture, possibly spend time in that country and practice, practice, practice.  There are means that assure your success at moving toward your purpose and passion.                                                                                         The Lion within is only found with intention and means.  If the vision for your life is clear and strong, and the employment of the means thoughtful and persistent, then the outcome will be ensured and, basically, adequate to the vision and intention.