Intention is a framework for the creation of reality. It is the building plan for reality. Before you can formulate a plan, you must have an intention, that is, the thought of what you want to see happen or where you want to go or what your goal is. From that beginning, you can start developing plans. Sending your intention out to the Universe creates energy. Once you send out this energy, you create an energy cycle that is outside of your control. So you’re not just acting from your own center; you’re also enlisting the aid of a host of other seen and unseen powers outside of you, stirring up the pot of energy that the Universe makes available when you create a sense of what you want to do and why you want to do it. Think of an intention as the ripples of a stone skipping along the surface of a pond. Each time the stone touches the water, it generates a series of ever-expanding concentric circles, and at some point the sets of circles intersect and overlap. The pattern created by an intention is similar to the surface of the pond after the stone skips across it. Because the medium is life and not water, however, the reverberations travel like light and do not lose strength as they contribute to the fabric of life. Most leaders do not have a strong enough appreciation of the power of their intention as a force for shaping reality. People do or want to do so many things that their intentions are not always clear. So it’s very important for leaders to be clear in their own mind what their intentions are—not only what they would like to see happen in a particular set of circumstances or in a particular dynamic, but also what motivation lies one step beneath the goal itself. In addition to knowing what your goals are in any given set of circumstances, you should—to the extent that it’s possible—ask yourself about your primary motivation. This is a personal process between you and your inner or higher self and, perhaps ultimately, the divine. That internal dialogue about what you want to do and why you want to do it ignites the spark that goes out into the Universe as an energy field. For example, you could have the goal of losing weight, but your underlying intention is to be healthy. Understand that your intention is more fundamental than a goal. In fact, your intention can even create a set of goals. The goals themselves are not the intention; the intention is underneath the goal and explains why. Why would you want to be healthy (beyond the fact that everyone does)? Your intention to be healthy may tie into your need to have sufficient energy to make a more positive contribution to the world or to meet your professional responsibilities. So intention ties into a more fundamental set of reasons about why you want to do something. In your role as a leader, the intentions that carry the most force are the ones that will benefit people other than yourself. But that doesn’t mean that your intentions can’t also benefit you. You can benefit from being healthy, but by being healthy, you are in a better position to serve others. Intention is part of the dance of attunement between you and the Universe, a term Paul Houston and I use to imply a higher spiritual power. When you’re attuned to the Universe, everyone benefits. When you’re out of attunement, no one benefits. And that’s a good reason for wanting to be attuned with the Universe because whatever happens for the Universe happens for you, too. There is always a mutual interplay between you and the Universe. When your intentions are strictly selfish, the Universe is unlikely to assist you; consequently, the Universe will not benefit either. So you have to be thoughtful, with some sense of clarity, when you formulate your intentions. We all affect eternity by our thought patterns, our words, and our deeds. They emit energy fields that contribute to the fabric that constitutes the unfolding pattern of life. Again, what we think, say, and do always has a crucial underlying element, which is our intention or intended purpose. Our intention can be expressed in countless ways, but the better we know ourselves the more aware we can be of our own true intentions. The more our intentions are aligned with our inner being and our life’s purposes, the happier and more fulfilled we are, and the more effective we are as leaders. Intention also serves as a powerful force in attracting people, material resources, and other energies that can help us transform our intentions into reality. Wise leaders are aware of their intentions and naturally focus them on serving others rather than merely serving themselves. It is important to remember that intention without action is just wishful thinking. Intention is the starting point. We must take action to transform our intentions into reality. Intentions are powerful and necessary, but they are not sufficient to bring about desired ends unless we act on them. Wise leaders:
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