I’d like to pose a question to the community: How does one cultivate the characteristics of ambition and drive?

In order to find our hearts we need to commit ourselves to a lifetime of self-cultivation. When we fully embrace this way of living we discover the means for achieving all of our goals. No singular method will solve our problems and bring us what we want in life. Instead, we must learn a new attitude of heart and approach to living. It requires the development of a new kind of spirituality. We need a re-creation of what in Sanskrit was called a Bhakti Marga, translated as a path of devotion. We actualize our potential through the sacred undertaking of devoting ourselves to the discovery of our heart. The goal is not some end point, or even some final success. The goal is an immersion in the process itself. The finding is in the seeking. This is what gives us strength, courage and self-confidence. Those who try to take a short-cut through life never reach their destination. How can we rush becoming a person? It is in this slow, ongoing process that we truly evolve, that the heart is made manifest. The journey of finding the heart is a moral approach. It involves developing our virtues through continuous self-reflection. It is a commitment to realizing the full measure of our love. It involves devoting ourselves to the activities of our day to day lives -- to our partners, children, work, chores, play and health. This concept of self formation, of cultivating our human essence, is the ideal of our new spirituality. Self-cultivation means that through the absolute investment of our thought, emotion, will, imagination, acts and love, we form our own character. When we plumb to the depths of our own nature we come to know our highest purpose. By seeking within ourselves, overcoming every obstacle is possible. Through great effort, when we truly comprehend the intrinsic order of our natures, knowing what to do becomes simple, and doing it becomes easy. What is involved in this daily process of self-cultivation? One aspect is to study the words of those who have traveled the great journey of finding their hearts before us. For thousands of years this practice of studying wisdom was considered the heart of education. The purpose of education was to guide us toward becoming the best possible person.

I've been doing my deep philosophical diving thing, exploring the question from many different schools of thought and religions: what is the good = the best way to live a life? Socrates and Plato, the great Greek philosophers, say that the answer is something that can be learned, which gives you wisdom, and then once you gain that wisdom, you can live out that best life. This reminds me of why I have Wisdom as the 5th attribute of the heart. The purpose of learning isn't to accumulate knowledge - it's about how to become your best self, or how to live from the good. Wisdom isn't some abstract thing - it's what the Greeks called phronesis - practical knowledge of knowing the right thing to do in any circumstance and being able to do it. So, let's have this as this week's prompt. Learn something that will bring you closer to wisdom, to knowing how to live your best life and how to do it. Watch a YouTube, TikTok, read something, ask AI. (Watch one of the videos in this Classroom!!!) Sharewhat you learn here in the Community. (I just did it right now!)

on this Sunday morning

Every morning, before the day begins to pull us in a hundred different directions, we’re given a small but powerful invitation: the chance to return to ourselves. Daily self-cultivation is not about perfection, dramatic breakthroughs, or forcing change. It’s about engaging in small, intentional acts that help us grow a little more aligned, a little more aware, and a little more at peace with who we are—and who we’re becoming. When we take a moment to pause, breathe, and check in with ourselves, we send a quiet message to the nervous system: *You are safe. You are allowed to slow down. You are allowed to be human.* From this grounded place, we can meet our challenges with clarity rather than reactivity, and we can respond to life instead of simply surviving it. Self-cultivation can look different for everyone. For some, it’s journaling before the world wakes up. For others, it’s stepping outside for fresh air, listening inward during a moment of stillness, or practicing one act of honesty or courage. What matters is not the ritual itself, but the intention behind it. When we consistently nurture ourselves in these small ways, we strengthen our emotional resilience. We become better partners, parents, friends—and most importantly, better companions to ourselves. This is the quiet work that lets us grow from the inside out. So today, I invite you to ask yourself one simple question: "What is one small thing I can do today that brings me closer to the person I want to be?" Let that be your practice. Let that be your beginning. And remember: growth is not a race. It’s a relationship—with your own unfolding self.