Book Introduction:

"And again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

...Matthew 19:24
"What gain then is it for anyone to win the whole world and forfeit his soul?"

...Mark 8:36

Life is a spiritual test. This is true, not just for the bad, but also for the good. We might tend to think that all the spiritual issues we confront relate to the negatives in our lives - such as addiction, abuse, illness, unemployment, break-ups, and the death of a loved one. But achieving our goals, being successful, being famous, well respected, and even rich, also present us with spiritual challenges, and they are often spiritual issues that are easy to ignore because of the comfort and respect that we have and the good life that we have achieved. We all know people who have blown it - no matter what the circumstances. And we all know people who have handled their success well and used it to manifest the Kingdom among us.

We live and work in the world, yet we often feel a tension between doing well and doing Good, between being successful in the world's terms without compromising our spiritual lives, knowing that sometimes they may demand opposite actions. We try to hear the still small voice that calls us, but it can be muted by our desire to accomplish and achieve on our terms.

For those of us working publicly in the world -- in careers that have the potential to influence others as well as impact the world -- our ability to pass the test and to be an instrument and partner with God becomes ever more important. Our commitment to actualizing the values of justice, compassion, tolerance, kindness, and goodness can have enormous influence on our happiness, our relationships with others, and our world.

All of us, of course, can do Good in the world - whether we're spiritual or not. But if you're a person actively working to bring the Spirit into your life, and if you're a person who wants to do work which you feel God wants you to do, and to express God's goodness through your work, new questions and challenges arise.

That is what this book explores - the spiritual challenges we meet when we want God in the center of our professional lives. The book explores the temptations, the resistances, the obstacles that try to keep us from getting through the eye of the needle. It explores processes we can use to move us from one step to another.

The book is divided into three parts, since the steps we take seem to fall into either the beginning - when we start on the journey, the middle when we're well on our way and meet a number of obstacles, and toward the end, when we are achieving our dream or have achieved it and find there are whole new issues to address when we've finally made it. Although each person might meet some of these issues in a slightly different order than are mentioned in this book, and there may be one or two you won't meet at all, chances are, you will have some interaction with each of these mentioned.

The book is written from a Christian perspective, but I hope that non-Christians will find many of the universal spiritual ideas in this book will resonate with them as well. 

Book Highlights:

• "Who am I?" and "What is the meaning of my life?" If we get the answer to these questions wrong, we get our life wrong.
• " For many of us who are spiritual, it's not enough to do our job well....We are looking to match our understanding of our identity with our Creator's call to be who we are meant to be."
• "...wordly success does not always lead to a fulfilled and authentic life."
• "True success is doing what God intends you to do and allowing Him to complete you."
• "Completion and going through the process of perfection is part of spiritual success."
• "Above all, we are called to be in relationship with God...building up the Kingdom of God through our work...."
• "...we should do what we are willing and able to do that others are not willing and able to do." 
• "Knowing our weaknesses and our strengths, and how our weaknesses can cause problems for us, and for others, helps us address what we have to learn."
• "Our sins - whether attitudes or actions - affect others negatively."
• "The way we respond to tragedy tells us much about our value system, our spiritual choices, and our spiritual priorities."
• "Tragedies have the potential to deepend and broaden us, in order to make us more able to do God's work."
• www.spiritualstepsontheroadtosuccess.com/index.asp
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