“Only as a warrior can one withstand the path of knowledge.  A warrior cannot complain or regret anything.  His life is an endless challenge, and challenges cannot possibly be good or bad.  Challenges are simply challenges.”  -Don Juan- Carlos Castenada

Tonight my husband told me that he had just finished re-reading the second Don Juan book after some thirty years.  He said that it is remarkable how much it is influencing his development, again. “There are no excuses for a warrior,” he paused. ” It is all about what you do.”  I asked him what he meant and he replied, ” In the end, it doesn’t matter what you think or say or write, it only matters what you actually do.”

As I get closer and closer to launching a new chapter in the business, this conversation is timely.  It is easy to get caught up in endless questioning and reconsidering all in the name of making the right decision.  Easier still to get lost in my feelings, which for me are as changeable as the spring weather in Oregon. The thinking and talking can be valuable, but it can also turn into a way to avoid acting.

The truth is that we rarely ever really know whether we are making the best choice. In many ways this process of interviewing the CEO candidate has been a profound  education for me.  More than once, these wise and experienced leaders told me to trust my own ability to lead. One man who had run one of the largest corporations in Oregon confided in me ” …Most of the time you have to go with 60% certainty…   More important than being 100% certain before you decide is moving forward with 100% to try to make it work.”

I know that the real challenge isn’t knowing the right course or right answer- it is making the best of whatever situation you choose or find yourself in. It is moving forward and not looking back with regrets or grumbling along the way.  Right action is taking the leap with the information you have and calling it all good  or at least nothing more than a challenge.