Setting goals and defining ultimate destinations in our lives seems to be an activity that we tend to tackle with the beginning of every new year.  I have always thought it a bit ritualistic to think of the change of the calendar as the “time” to do this.  It seems to me that the “goal” or the “summit” really should not  be the main focus; but rather PREPARING for those is what should monopolize our thoughts.  Preparing for something is far more than an intellectual exercise.  It should be an activity that is as loaded with passion as is the thought of the accomplishment.  Passionate preparation to me means that I think daily and momentarily about the “journey”  itself.  It has to be something I DESIRE to do all the time and it has to be a priority in my life.  Without this kind of passion in the preparation to reach our summits, they become only dreams. In 2012, Prepare with passion!