"Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world."
                                                                                                              — Joel A. Barker

Each of us is born with a vision—an inner knowing of who we’re meant to be and what we’re here to create.

Think back to your childhood. Remember how limitless your imagination was? You didn’t just dream—you became your dreams. I personally wanted to be a cartoonist, a doctor, an astronaut… even a superhero (and yes, at five years old, I was Batman).

These childhood visions weren’t just whimsical fantasies. They were clues—guiding us toward the path of expressing our unique gifts and making our mark on the world. This gift isn’t reserved for a select few. It’s in all of us.

So, if these visions are embedded in our hearts, why do so many of us allow them to fade? Why do they become distant dreams instead of powerful realit...

“Action cures fear.  Indecision, postponement, on the other hand, fuels fear.

                                                                                                       - David J. Schwartz, Ph.D.

We certainly live in uncertain and challenging times.

In times of challenge, it is understandable for us to be in fear.  It is a natural reaction. 

While unpleasant, one could argue that sometimes fear can be a good thing.  Being aware of potential danger and having concern for our personal safety can keep us out harm’s way.  It can also provide us with a surge of power to overcome an immediate threat that confronts us.

As an instructor in adrenal self-defense training for over twenty-five years, I have witnessed time and again, students using their fear as a catalyst for accessing their inner power.  When they do this, fear becomes their friend, their asset, and their secret weapon.  It allows them to access a power inside themselves that they didn’t even know tha...

“Sometimes you never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.”

                                                                                                   - Dr. Seuss

I originally wrote this blog in 2021, in the Las Vegas airport, awaiting my connecting flight back to Denver as I am coming home from my 40^th High School Class Reunion in Wisconsin (just to be clear, I was only 2 years old when I graduated).

It was an amazing time, reconnecting with so many friends, many of whom I have known since 1^st grade, reminiscing about memories of old and laughing about the times we shared together. 

While physical appearances had changed, many miles were between us and years had separated us for sometimes decades, I was so wonderfully surprised to see how much I still recognized, loved, and appreciated these awesome people from my past; many with whom I shared the most beautiful and exciting times of my younger years, as well as some of most challenging.

It cau...

“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.”  

                                                                                           - Joel A. Barker

I believe we are all born with a vision for what we want in our lives inside of us. 

Just think back to when you were child and the numerous visions you had for what you wanted to be in when you “grew up”.  Your imagination was boundless.  I personally wanted to be a cartoonist, a doctor, an astronaut and a super-hero (Actually, when I was 5-years old, I WAS Batman).  

I believe these visions are set inside of us so that we have a path of expression to share our innate gifts and make our world a better place.  This is not just available for some of us, but for all of us. 

However, this begs the question:  If this is true, why is it that so many of us allow those visions to become merely dreams that fade away because we never take actio...

Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.”  

                                                                                           - Joel A. Barker

I believe we are all born with a vision for what we want in our lives inside of us. 

Just think back to when you were child and the numerous visions you had for what you wanted to be in when you “grew up”.  Your imagination was boundless.  I personally wanted to be a cartoonist, a doctor, an astronaut and a super-hero (Actually, when I was 5-years old, I WAS Batman).  

I believe these visions are set inside of us so that we have a path of expression to share our innate gifts and make our world a better place.  This is not just available for some of us, but for all of us. 

However, this begs the question:  If this is true, why is it that so many of us allow those visions to become merely dreams that fade away because we never take action...

“Action cures fear.  Indecision, postponement, on the other hand, fuels fear.

                                                                                                       - David J. Schwartz, Ph.D.

We certainly live in uncertain and challenging times.

In times of challenge, it is understandable for us to be in fear.  It is a natural reaction. 

While unpleasant, one could argue that sometimes fear can be a good thing.  Being aware of potential danger and having concern for our personal safety can keep us out harm’s way.  It can also provide us with a surge of power to overcome an immediate threat that confronts us.

As an instructor in adrenal self-defense training for over twenty-five years, I have witnessed time and again, students using their fear as a catalyst for accessing their inner power.  When they do this, fear becomes their friend, their asset, and their secret weapon.  It allows them to access a power inside themselves that they didn’t even know tha...

“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.”  

                                                                                           - Joel A. Barker

I believe we are all born with a vision for what we want in our lives inside of us. 

Just think back to when you were child and the numerous visions you had for what you wanted to be in when you “grew up”.  Your imagination was boundless.  I personally wanted to be a cartoonist, a doctor, an astronaut and a super-hero (Actually, when I was 5-years old, I WAS Batman).  

I believe these visions are set inside of us so that we have a path of expression to share our innate gifts and make our world a better place.  This is not just available for some of us, but for all of us. 

However, this begs the question:  If this is true, why is it that so many of us allow those visions to become merely dreams that fade away because we never take actio...

“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.”  

                                                                                           - Joel A. Barker

I believe we are all born with a vision for what we want in our lives inside of us. 

Just think back to when you were child and the numerous visions you had for what you wanted to be in when you “grew up”.  Your imagination was boundless.  I personally wanted to be a cartoonist, a doctor, an astronaut and a super-hero (Actually, when I was 5-years old, I WAS Batman).  

I believe these visions are set inside of us so that we have a path of expression to share our innate gifts and make our world a better place.  This is not just available for some of us, but for all of us. 

However, this begs the question:  If this is true, why is it that so many of us allow those visions to become merely dreams that fade away because we never take actio...

“Behavior wags the tail of feelings…..We do, then we feel.”

                                                                                - David Reynolds

How many times in your life have you said you will finally get to something that you have decided is important to complete when you “feel like it”?  I know I have. 

My weekly project list can be littered with things I have noted as important enough to have put my attention towards; but have remained incomplete.  While some of our mundane tasks do not bring with them a penalty for their incompletion, the problem I see is we often apply this way of thinking to the things we have identified as being the most important in our lives to complete. 

The phone call we need to make, the conversation we need to have, the project we need to complete, the book we want to write, the nutrition or exercise regimen we know we need to begin, all get put off until we “feel like” starting them.

However, as one of my teachers once asked m...