How exciting it is to be self-aware! We can be delighted to be human; especially in our ability to experience the many parts of life in ways that provide us joy in the present and hope for the future. Our abilities to reason, and to increase our collective knowledge, makes us unique as a species and support the idea that we are, thus, responsible for our development. This book is one attempt to help us understand ourselves better; our history, our progress, our foibles, our limitations and, most of all, our potential. Destiny is not about foregone conclusions. Destiny is about self-actualization of the human race.

Those of us with the benefit of living in a place and time marked with rapid growth are aware that Humanity has come a long way since the cave dwellers. We are dynamic, not static. Our history clearly indicates that our progress is a direct result of our curiosity to learn and propensity to apply knowledge of all types. This is not to say we are free of mistakes, for our history is full of examples of harmful human decisions, but you will read about that later.

We are, to our best, current understanding, unique among all forms of life on this planet in our ability to grow beyond closed-loop programmed behavior, such as what we see elsewhere in the animal kingdom. That growth ability is a reason for joy and an awesome responsibility, for we decide whether we will grow or regress and what our progeny will inherit as our legacy to them.

We recognize our finite life span and reasonably seek to do the best we can for ourselves during that time. The process of achieving security during our lives is fundamentally simple with regard to our actual physical needs and our use of the resources of our planet to sustain us. Fulfillment of our potential, however, is a different matter. Our actions have frequently resulted in damage to each other and to our environment. The repetitious nature of those actions is examined in Destiny, with focus on breaking the cycle. That we are finite is clear in a physical sense. That most of us choose, generation by generation, to confine our focus to our immediate wants is also clear and unacceptable.

Destiny was not written as light or escapist reading material. It is a "take off the gloves" critique of our history and our present, combined with some very direct challenges for change that will support our growth beyond our current and obvious limitations. You will be challenged to discard much of the "knowledge" that comprises your worldview and your cosmic view, to open your mind to your role in rationally planning and realizing the future of Humanity.

That task is by no means simple. The words daunting and impossible come to mind. Also the consideration that my grasp of the problems and the opportunities necessarily represents only my experiences and what I have been able to determine from indirect experience, e.g., formal education, to my satisfaction. Yet, I proceeded with the belief that we can help each other understand how to make the experience of life far better than it has ever been.

We may have very different backgrounds, but consensus can be found in our highest goals and needs in common and translated into direct actions. The foundation concept for human advancement predates us by thousands of years. Aristotle created the Greek word entelechy ( en' te le key ) to refer to inherent potential. Entelechy means the full realization of form-giving cause or energeia as contrasted with mere potential existence (Webster). We have the seeds of progress within us. Our entelechy is our achieving our inherent potential.

As the author of Destiny, my purpose in writing this book was to express my understanding of reality, my hopes for our future, and my views about what we must do to achieve that future. I do not expect many of you to share my viewpoints easily, particularly on some specific topics, but I do expect you to rethink your own perspectives. I believe most of us have good intentions regarding the future and that we are possessed with awe regarding the very fact of life. Most of all, I hope to awaken you to your potential to contribute to our future. The decision rests with you.