In this private letter to a friend; the branding guru: Dean Crutchfield, August Turak explains who he is and what he is teaching.

Turak’s philosophy in the book was most inspiring and the most down to earth.

When you decided to publish my letter it gave me the courage to pass it to other important people in my life.

The Mission of Truliant Federal Credit Union is to enhance the quality of life of our members and become their preferred financial institution.

Surrender is something that HAPPENS to us when we’ve tried everything else and come up empty.

I have a service and selflessness challenge for you. Work on forgetting yourself and your flaws and your anxiousness over your performance, and focus beyond yourself…

Your work profoundly moves me. In fact, it has motivated me to try and guest work at a Trappist monastery next year as you did. Thanks for putting such good idea out there!

When I read history I’m always amazed at how hell bent for leather people used to live when living to fifty was something of a miracle.

The real challenge is the paradoxical problem that peace brings. To wit, what will a PEACEFUL society use to replace the urgency that war used to provide?

We have not just lost faith in Communism but in all “isms” including our own except perhaps cynicism.  And you can’t run a culture on cynicism.

We must remember that the movement is not just bottom up but also top down. The mission inspires and draws people into the process. The process transforms people so that they dedicate themselves ever more deeply to the mission.

Most people think inspiration leads to action. While this occasionally happens, most of the time action leads to inspiration.

Whether it is losing weight, getting in shape, making money, or becoming a Marine, human beings always seem to do better when working in a group.

Does Yoga really make sense or do you just like the girls in the Yoga class?

The true task of religion is to provide the certainty that transcends mere belief.

Being spiritual does not require a religious pedigree and church attendance. However, all too often people who opt for “spiritual” over “religious” simply want to sleep in on Sundays.

I will say that Western Civilization is suffering generally and that the problem is not economic. Our biggest problem in America is thinking our problems are economic and that they can be solved as such.

The biggest obstacle to service and selflessness is that we think of all the other people who need to change first. The last thing we think about is who we may need to apologize to.

The problem every executive has is the same problem a congressman has: are you elected to reflect your constituents’ wants and desires or to form their wants and desires?

Don’t start by sending it to committee or making any grandiose announcements. Start by deciding on a few ways you can change your behavior tomorrow and then do it.

Companies should have high missions that people can buy into, something that allows individuals to serve something larger than themselves.

IBM once thought it could train all executives in the exact same way. What they found was that the best executives were all extremely different. When tested they each fell at the periphery of the bell-shaped curve.

What people essentially want is transformation. Change of heart is what people go to the monastery looking for and what the monastic experience provides.

The most important aspect of service and selflessness is that it produces trust. Trust comes from promise and fulfillment.

Only a small percentage of people will say all they want is money, and even those people will tell you it wasn’t what they really wanted when they get it. Money primarily serves to take care of our physical needs.

Not only is there nothing wrong with making money, but in a good capitalistic system both sides walk away with more value than they had before. Transactions should always be [...]

What does service and selflessness have to do with money? The most important aspect of service and selflessness is that it produces trust. Trust comes from promise and fulfillment. The promise implicit in the dollar bill is that when I take a dollar for an hour of work, I will get the same value when [...]

Can money be an effective motivator in business? Only a small percentage of people will say all they want is money, and even those people will tell you it wasn’t what they really wanted when they get it. Money primarily serves to take care of our physical needs. The physical is important. Eating, having a [...]

What is wrong with being in business just to make money as long as you are not breaking the law?