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Publisher's Letter

Posted

Aladdin’s Journey

Dear Reader,

Remember when you were a child and wanted to run

away from home, like Tom Sawyer? Maybe you did run

away, maybe you didn’t, but some

part of you felt the powerful urge to

cut ties with all you knew and journey

forth in search of adventure.

That urge to go on an adventure-

-that’s just a part of us, from our

early years to our grave. We would

like to do great things, to be memorable,

and that stays with us for all

of our days. We want to put our signature on the things

we touch, to affirm, “I did this.”

Consider Aladdin--the original story from The Book

of One Thousand and One Nights. In our heart of

hearts, aren’t we all that poor street urchin living in

poverty, looking for a magic lamp that will transport us

to the heights of glory? Aren’t we all dogged by an evil

sorcerer of some kind that foils our plans--perhaps an

addiction, perhaps a bad habit, a poor choice that’s undone

our plans? Yet our true greatness doesn’t depend

on a magic lamp; it comes from being true to ourselves,

to the full measure of our originality.

It’s generally understood that not all of us were born

to fly like eagles or to rule like lions, and so distinction

takes many forms. Even the armadillo has a legitimate

place on the continuum. As we trek on our solitary and

at times reckless journeys, we need to leap from the ordinary

plateaus. We need to ascend to the higher peaks

of individual destiny by investing that extra effort from

deep within us to do exceptional deeds—more than we

ever thought we were capable of.

In the end, we are not leaving behind mere hand

splotches on cave walls, nor light footprints on the

sands of eternity. No, we are imbuing the world with

our one of a kind spirit, laced with a permanence that

says our mark was valid after all.

We’re on an adventure to greatness... the wondrous

greatness of being.

 

Patrick Wood

Publisher

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