Every now and then you truly “come home.” The homecoming I’m talking about is not when you drive by a house you once lived in and remembering what it was like back then – and pining for the “good old days.”

I am talking about a state of mind of being centered on where you belong. It’s where you’re nourished by just being there – wherever there is for you. It’s where you see hope for even better days ahead. Where the promise of enjoyment and fulfillment is being played out right in front of you. And, it’s where your dreams have not only come true but are breaking through on into the future.

It’s a place where the fears of poverty, criticism, ill health, loss of love of someone, old age or death have no welcome mat. It’s a place of conquered fear. It can be brought on by controlling your mind, or it may come to you when you’re at home with the people who make it so.

You can be miles away yet always present there. But, it seems to me there are some very special times when you do come together with those you love, and who love you in a place and time of unbridled joy.

I flew to Minnesota from my home in California last Friday. But I came home the very next day.

It started with a walk around the city and the new Twin’s ballpark. And, I think the first real moment of coming home for me, as strange as they may sound to you or outsiders is when I posed next to Kirby Puckett as he circled the bases on a walk-off home run in game 6 of the 1991 World Series with Jack Buck proclaiming, “And we’ll see you tomorrow night!”

Coming home is like that. It’s like circling the bases to win the greatest game of your life. It’s hitting that shot at the buzzer, or catching the pass in the back corner of the end zone as time is running out.

My homecoming continued later in the day while meeting up with all 4 of my kids, their spouses and 11 grandchildren. All of whom I had not seen for over a year and a half. And here the coming home part was to see how “at home” everyone was being together:  swimming in the pool, playing ball in the back yard, romping through the house, little ones crying and everyone laughing; eating and drinking and yes, eating someone’s birthday cake.

All these I know makeup the greatest game ever played, and will play still. The coming home part is not complete. It never will be finished. There are dreams to be fulfilled, hopes sometimes crushed, promises to be made, and adventures to be lived. It may not be a perfect game, but when you’re there in that moment it’s as good as it ever gets.

Coming home is not a destination. It’s an ongoing journey. You can live in it every day or choose to ignore it. But it’s there, waiting and ready for you to claim it, to live in it. You can tear it down or build it up. The choice is yours and the choice is mine. Let’s choose coming home.

Today’s my birthday. Something really grabbed me a few days ago as I was reading the chapter on “The Mystery of Sex Transmutation” (it’s not what you’re thinking) by Napoleon Hill in his classic work on the subject of achieving personal success, Think and Grow Rich. (You can follow/add to my hashtag on Twitter – #tagr.)

Here it is:

“I discovered from the analysis of more than 25,000 people that individuals who succeed in an outstanding way seldom do so before the age of 40, and more often they do not strike their own real pace until they are well beyond 50.” And, “The average person reaches the period of greatest capacity to create between 40 and 60.”

That got my attention. Mr. Hill, who wrote TAGR in 1937 gave ample evidence of people who didn’t become truly successful until well past the age of 40. People like Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie and James J. Hill.

I’m 59 and have never been more ramped up about creating and achieving something extremely worthwhile and satisfying. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve fallen down, started and stopped, tried this and that. The potential for greatness and doing something worthwhile with your life is always before you.

Some say they’re not lucky. They’ve had nothing but bad luck. Listen, we make our own luck in life. As Hill writes, “Favorable breaks can be made to order.” And, “The only break anyone can afford to rely upon is a self-made one. (Breaks) come through the application of persistence. The starting point is definiteness of purpose.”

Reminded me of what Robinson wrote in The Element about being lucky. “It’s not what happens to us that makes the difference, it’s what we do with it that determines the outcomes in our lives.”

Think and Grow Rich by Hill is first and foremost about having a burning desire. And then translating that to it’s physical equivalent through what he refers to as the 13 steps to riches. I’ll talk more about these from time to time. But for now, let’s just come together on the idea that what you think about and allow your mind to be dominated by (whether positive or negative) will become your reality.

You can not create or produce anything that does not begin as a thought in your mind. Control the thoughts of your mind and you will control your outcomes. You will make your own luck. No matter how young or old you are. You can be 59 and just be on your way to striking your pace, to achieving something truly remarkable.