In George Bernard Shaw's remarkable book Man and Superman the fictional hero, Don Juan, is faced with an interesting choice. He has been sent to hell and has to consider the consequences of his condition. He has been given a choice to return to heaven, but the devil is persuasively and deftly trying to get him to stay. Hell, in this instance, is described as a very nice place to be-sophisticated, pleasant, easy, and not the fire and brimstone of mythology. In the end Don Juan wisely chooses to return to heaven, a choice scoffed at by the devil, who asks why. Our hero simply answers that "to be in Hell is to drift; to be in Heaven is to steer." The devil is rendered speechless.
Hyrum Smith has long held a special interest in the principles of productivity and achievement. Hyrum has been blessed with the ability to electrify and enlarge the minds and aspirations of his audiences. His energy forges a compelling pathway to something he calls inner peace; a profound by-product of achieving congruity between what is of most worth, based on the highest priorities and acts of behavior. As he explains in the following pages, incongruity happens when we veer off the path of what matters most and lose our way. You will recognize that condition; it's a common malady in life-in his life, our lives, organizations, and, perhaps most especially, the life of our nation.
We live in a world of incongruity and confusion. Yet finding inner peace is a process that is surprisingly easy to learn and apply-the remedy for much of the chaos lies within the pages of this book. Will being influenced by the wisdom shared here and applying it in our lives change us? Can our organizations become more focused and productive? Could it heal the nation? Well, that depends. Are we ready to change ourselves? If so, the fruits of that effort will be rich.
We, like Don Juan, can choose to drift or steer through our lives. Although this is not a book that offers heaven as a reward, Hyrum extends an emphatic opportunity for us to steer ourselves in the direction where our highest ideals, great accomplishments, and the contentment that comes from being whole lie in wait. Read on. Make a difference.
Richard I. Winwood, cofounder of Franklin Covey and Developer of the Franklin Day Planner
