Chapter 7: Change: How to Benefit From Constant Turbulence

When you're through changing, you're through.

—Bruce Barton,
advertising executive

What Is Change?

What is my definition of change? It's four quarters for a dollar. One thing changes to another. Change means to make the form or content of something different from what it is, or from what it would be if you left it alone; to transform or convert.

For human beings, change means life, and life means change. You can sit still and do what appears to be nothing, but change is still going on. The day changes from morning to night, the seasons change from summer to fall to winter to spring. The body changes all by itself. Blood flows through our veins, the heart beats, and food is digested and turned into fuel. We're living and dying at the same time. Even if we do nothing, nothing ever stays the same.

I, for one, do not want to sit still. If things must inevitably change, I want to be the one who makes change happen. I want to learn more so that I may change wisely. I want to change my body so that I may become stronger. I want to change my environment so that I will be healthier. I want to change my thinking so that I have a better attitude. I want to change my attitude so that I have a meaningful spiritual connection with the universe. I want to embrace change so that I may benefit from the opportunities it constantly presents. I want change to be something that moves me forward, as well as something that I look forward to.

I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.

—Jimmy Dean,
entertainer