E.J. Gold & Dr. Claude Needham: May You Walk in the Lucky Footprints

In today's 4-minute talk, E.J. Gold and Dr. Claude Needham investigate the idea of “walking in the lucky footprints,” that is, living a perfect life, right in the footprints of the best life that can be lived; Reverend Ike the Money Guru and his simple message that success is not a sin, having money won't damage you spiritually as long as you share it; and the simple reason why it makes sense to make peace with everyone you encounter.

Enjoy the talk.

Claude: “Well, I like the notion of ‘may you walk in the lucky footprints’ because it implies or illustrates the relationship that you can have with your participation in being in that zone.”

E.J.: “What they say in baseball, a pitcher pitches a perfect game. Or there's the perfect storm. That perfect.

“The perfect life is not a life where you're doing good. You know, oh, I'm doing, I'm a good do-gooder. That's not a perfect …

“A perfect life is a life that's lived right to the exact fullness and in the footsteps. Right? In the footsteps. In the footsteps of the best that that life can be lived.

“In other words, you lived it to the best. You lived at the highest possible level. You squeezed the most life out of it that anybody could. All the life there was to squeeze out of it, you squeezed out of it. Squoze out.”

Claude: “Yeah, it's like cooking that cut of meat perfectly.”

E.J.: “Bunch of years ago, I had a friend, Issac. He was very biblical. You know, he had a lot of Bible orientation.”

Claude: “Well, name set him in the right direction.”

E.J.: “Did indeed. And his dad was a minister, a preacher. And he became a preacher, I think in, I don't know, late 50's. He started to preach. As I remember, it was like ‘59, something like that.

“But he became known as Reverend Ike, the money guru, in the ‘60s.

“Let me tell you something. He never suggested that people be greedy and grab money, and be a money creeper or whatever. That wasn't his intent.

“What he said was, his simple message was, success is not a sin. To be a successful business person is not sinful. It's not a sin to be successful. It's not a sin to be smart or successful or prosperous.

“And if you share that success, there's no danger whatever that you would be spiritually damaged by the success. If you share it.

“If you keep it all for yourself, you should be dinged for that. That's stupid and mean. And you should get a ding taken out of your hide for keeping it for yourself, because it shows not only selfishness and stinginess, but stupidity. You don't realize where you're headed. You don't know where you're going.

“Do you realize that all the people that you've ever met, you're going to be seeing again? And again. All of them. And again.

“And the ones you've wronged, you'll be running into them too, again. And again. And again. And you'll be in constant encounter with them.

“At some point, it makes sense to make peace with everyone that you encounter, and to be at peace with everyone that you encounter, and to recognize in them the spiritual nature. That's everyone that you've ever encountered. Ever.

“Why? Because you're locked up with them in the same room forever, is why.

“You don't know that right now? OK, fine. Sometimes you slip into it, sometimes you don't.”