"Anything is one of a million paths. Therefore, a warrior must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if he feels that he should not follow it, he must not stay with it under any conditions. His decision to keep on that path or to leave it must be free of fear or ambition. He must look at every path closely and deliberately. There is a question that a warrior has to ask, mandatorily: 'Does this path have a heart?'"

~ Carlos Castaneda, 20th century mystic and Toltec warrior from The Teachings of Don Juan

I’ve read this passage dozens and dozens of times.

And, I’ve read it several times at life-changing moments when I was about to commit to something significant that just didn’t quite feel right. You know what I mean?!? (I actually read that quote to a mentor once who was recruiting me to run his business… it was amazingly powerful…)

…

Got any big things on your mind? Any big decisions?!

Ask yourself this simple question: Does this path have a heart?