Chapter 1
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Why "The Starting Point"?
Some people begin a book by scanning the entire book and reading the ending summary. But you may not want to do the same thing with this book, since the last chapters may not make total sense at first glance. And some people give conclusions to others, but do not give them the needed steps that logically lead up to those conclusions. With the subject matter in this book, if we first looked at conclusions it may be very easy to think that they are wrong. But if we start at the right place and step logically and sequentially from one place to the next, then I hope by the time we reach the last chapter it will not only make sense to you, but you will be thankful you made the reading journey. You now know the reason for this book's title: The Starting Point. It intends to start at a place that makes sense. It then steps from one place to the next, first looking at the bigger picture before exploring details. Lastly, it attempts to steer around those potentially tricky items that could hinder you from finding more meaning to life.
Approach to reading this book
Some of the material in this book may take you some time to digest – as it did for me when I originally learned it. To account for this, I have placed “checkpoints” throughout this book. Each checkpoint asks you if you understood a certain concept or asks you to contemplate certain questions before you continue reading. Some of these checkpoints also offer suggestions as to what to do if a concept was not yet clear to you. I have placed these checkpoints for you at specific places, so that the concepts that follow will build naturally upon digested concepts. I wish I could say, “All clear, keep cruising past the check point.” But since some concepts may take time to digest, I would not want you to be tripped up by reading conclusions based on thoughts that had not yet “clicked” for you.