A proliferation of self-help styled books has blanketed the market – a seemingly endless stream over the past three decades. They come from all corners of the globe. They are offered by everyone, from respected educators and esteemed writers to redeemed born-agains and stand-up comedians. Some are pithy and densely written while others are light and breezy. Many are worldly-based and of late, many are personal, somewhat vain and narcisstic exposes. I think the most educational ones are those that reveal life-lessons gained through real-world experiences – both good experiences and bad ones.

One common theme that jumps out from any thumb-thru of this genre is that you should always follow your bliss and find your passion.

The question is – how in the heck does one find their passion? Where do you start looking? Where do you go? Do you go it alone or take along your friends? Will it be out there to be found? How will you know it when you find it? Are there any short-cuts to take? How much time should you plan on looking? What do you do once you find it? Will any of the process be blissful? Are you lesser of a person if you can’t find it? Have you failed your destiny without it?

Simple-mindedly, I always thought you were born with an inner, innate passion – and that some folks were and some weren’t. This conclusion can be easy to reach when you consider a child-prodigy or an athletic prowess – one whose never-ending practice and all-consuming attention to their craft defines their being. If this is so – where does it leave us “regular folks” – those of us that try out all sorts of things along our life’s travel-path?

Well – even though I have never stopped searching – after my last book, I think I found something.

I was labeled a work-a-holic very early in my career. I accepted it as a sort of badge of honor. Although I loved creating things – and being productive – doing not delegating – I knew that all work and no play makes for a dull life. Once a pattern takes hold though, it can be hard to change.

One thing to do is to look for the silver-lining in your life-patterns. The chef, Mario Batali, says, “Never let anyone else’s recipe for success intimidate you or get in your way. Know your own truth and live by it.”

The truth is – I take great pride and satisfaction in worthy-work. Winston Churchill was known to believe, “Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential”. I like to do the kind of work during the day that lets me sleep well at night. I like making an effort to improve and contribute to our world – whether through sensitive preservation and conservation of the environment or the design and construction of beautiful, lasting built-environments. Work is good. The creative process is stimulating. The pursuit is gratifying and pleasurable. Results are usually satisfying. As Theodore Roosevelt observed, “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing”.

In that regard, I think the 23 years of sweat-equity that we invested in the collaborative-creation of this St. Augustine golf course community is one of those worthy-works. Sure – there is always room for improvement – but for the most part, I think we were able to create a great foundation and framework for what should endure as a wonderful and comfortable place to live, work and play. We think our passion is evident – manifested in what you see and experience here. We believe we built the basis for a great place. We hope you too will find it a worthy-work and that your life will be passionately-enhanced when you join in to live, work or visit here.