Prescriptions are appealing. They offer clarity and the promise of improvement, and sometimes, they actually work. Somehow, offering a prescription for performance, rather than one for success, seems more honest to me. Success is an individually defined outcome, and as with most outcomes, has a wily life of its own. The route to success eludes facile formulation, and our attempts to control it, for at least two reasons:

First, each of our earthly roles is unprecedented, and countless paths lead to personal, financial and community profit. Some people succeed well without business plans, market research or around-the-clock commitment; some people profit with them. Undercapitalization buries one entrepreneur and resurrects another by forcing a lean, disciplined strategy. It seems that linear and intuitive approaches are equal candidates for success and failure, depending on time, place and people.

Second, contrary to current well-intentioned, yet egoistic thinking, there may be forces larger than our personal strategies which determine the eventual outcome of our enterprises. So, it's fine, but only possibly rewarding, to scan the press, hire consultants, go to seminars, and then do feng shui in our office or studio. At the end of the day, if our fate is to succeed, -a tornado in our workspace could blow in the key to our new market, and if our fate is to drown, as the Yiddish saying goes, we can choke on a teaspoon of water.

Yet, not to dismay, there's an OtherWise perspective... carry on.

A synthesis of Eastern and Western crazy wisdom masters suggests that success is determined by destiny, luck and right effort. We cannot say much about destiny. We have some influence on attracting luck with right attitude and responsiveness. And we may have a lot to say about the kind of efforts we make.

Here, then, is an OtherWise prescription:

We can be humble enough to consider the possibility of a plan more powerful than our own; we can set ourselves up for good luck with strong preparation, and then go play our game 100%, letting Mr. Destiny and Madame Luck do their jobs. That's not our business. If doors open, we know what to do... If they shut, we listen carefully and reconfigure. If they swing back and forth, welcome to a more interesting game.

Daily Dosage

How do we play 100%?

Consider these 7 enduring principles which have proven to be effective, independent of era and culture.

1) Daily, clarify and strengthen your intention in whatever wise or foolish way you can; to do so is good form and rewarding for its own sake, no matter the outcome.

Intention is a magnetic field which creates movement and attracts energy in the form of possibilities and help you might not have expected. When intention (yang) is balanced by receptivity and acceptance (yin) - when the polarities are harmonized within us - sustainable success is likely. Where there is imbalance - where there is attachment, in other words, either to your intention or to your notion of acceptance - the success of your enterprise will likely suffer, sooner or later.

2) Enjoy your self, daily. It is a very becoming thing to do. The universe and other people take well to it and naturally gravitate to your cause.

3) Enjoy other people. It is also a very becoming thing to do. The universe and other people take well to it and naturally gravitate to your cause.

4) Expect opposition and conflict from one source or another: people, pernicious machinery, weather, global events, etc. It is in the nature of material incarnation. How you respond to it is the art of your business. A practical and poetic tome on the subject is: "The Way of the Owl: Succeeding with Integrity in a Conflicted World", by Frank Rivers. As with any recommendation, you are invited to listen to your own wisdom first, before adding more to the pantry.

5) As a moment to moment practice, condition your frame of mind to expect, yet not demand, to succeed. The lightness that accompanies this frame of mind sets a fluid pace and spacious timing of your efforts. Looking at this idea as a question, ask, "how would I be and what would I do, if I simply assumed I would not fail?" When your internal state shifts from tight to pliable, and your corresponding actions show up as purposeful and balanced, the tone of your being in the world is felt as graceful, rather than gripping. Naturally and lawfully, you attract openings and opportunities.

6) Whatever the present moment brings, be grateful for the opportunity. All circumstances are clay for the unfolding of our best Self.

7) Stay fair, maintain balance and let it rip. More often than not, you have little to lose except face from time to time. The cosmos seems to smile benignly on your willingness to be game for that.

These words get up and walk somewhere useful when, more than reading them, - we embody them in daily action.

Today's invitation, then: Revisit the seven principles above. Pick up on one that speaks to you most strongly and look to this very moment as the time to begin living it.