The Similarities Are Striking When You Take A Closer Look

Jan 16, 2025

I have publicly stated in numerous articles and communications that I am a confirmed Catholic, albeit not a very good one in terms of following prescribed observations and things such as going to church every Sunday. However, I have also stated that I am probably one of the most spiritual people that I know. My personal spirituality has been greatly enhanced through my travels to 23 countries around the world and actively listening and trying to learn about other people’s spiritual and religious beliefs.

I have no intention of changing religions as it was hard enough to get to where I am today, let alone trying to start that piece all over again. However, because I am a professional student, I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about other religions and beliefs and making note of the similarities in terms of core beliefs and values systems. Over the decades of being a supervisor, manager, and director of other people, I have sat back to observe how people who report to me, people I report to, and people who never worked for me…demonstrate their leadership skills…for better or worse.

I have also found it interesting that in many respects, great books on personal growth and leadership skills and qualities tend to match up closely with core principles and values found in many religions and spiritual enlightenment. At the end of the day, the big takeaway for me from my own personal life journey and learning about how other people handle opportunities and challenges…I have concluded the following which have already been shared in various ways, shapes, and forms throughout humanity’s existence and no matter what we decide to call Her, He, It, Whatever…I believe the following is a GOOD first place to start. Which is….

Before you can help and heal other people from the outside and the inside…you must first do the same for yourself in order to be most effective.
The more you give to help other people build a community and try to do at least one GOOD thing each and every day for someone else…even if it’s just giving them a smile or a wave or a simple “Good Morning…will provide you with more peace in the Mind, Body, and Spirit…than anything money can buy.
You cannot buy peace…it has to be earned through Hard work, Dedication, Education, and Training.
If everyone simply treated each other the way they wished to be treated, then we would all be living in a very different world right now that we would be proud to pass down to future generations.
If everyone simply took some personal responsibility at having the knowledge and training for basic survival skills, then we all would not be so reliant on needing money to pay for other people to do what we are more than capable of doing ourselves.
Work can be fun and can be healthy both physically and mentally. People are the ones who screw up work being fun. I personally love to work at doing nothing every day and have no intention of changing now.
If everyone believed there are no failures and only opportunities and challenges that will be overcome…and one of the most valuable things you can give to someone else is your lessons learned so that they may be more successful.
We are only as strong as our bond to work together to help each other as a community living on the same planet with other creatures…all of whom share the same Mother Nature.
When all else fails from the above and if you only could say one thing before your time is up…just remember to smile and wave…and look your fears straight in the eyes and say…”Dude, Be Kind”….alternatively and one of my personal favorites…”Go Ahead, Make My Day.”

Here are some additional links and videos to show how the Mind, Body, and Spirit work hand-in-hand with have a happy, healthy, and successful career as a professional…and as a person.

These videos are not listed in any particular order other than they probably should be…however, I just provide information…I am not the one who makes the decisions. The person who makes the decisions about how your life turns out is…YOU. Now take some ACTION and do something about making the CHANGES that you know are necessary…one baby step at a time. It’s ok to step backwards every now and then as long as there are lessons learned that get shared with others so that we all may move forward together.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey - Animated Book Summary

The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness - Stephen Covey

Dr. Jordan Peterson Explains 12 Rules for Life in 12 Minutes

I want to give a shout out to FightMediocrity - there is a nice collection of works of some of the best authors and thinkers of our time. There are numerous videos to give a summary of the basic concepts and then point you to the resource for additional research.

Deep Change, Robert E. Quinn - this too is one of my personal favorites and I have gifted this book to many people over the years.