Life consists of process and content. Process refers to the way we do things; content to what we use for and enter into the process. When a cook prepares a sumptuous feast, he or she will spend hours viewing, smelling, tasting, touching and as such arranging all the different ingredients – all the content – that will be used to prepare the deliciously looking and tasting meal. During the actual cooking – the process –, on a very precise timing and with balanced quantities, the cook will use the ingredients as and when needed. While the waiter is already on his way to serve the meal, the cook will quickly add some parsley on top of the potatoes to finish it off.

Everything we do is a process. Cooking a meal is a process, so are drinking coffee, reading a newspaper, writing a presentation, negotiating an agreement and anything else we do. Each process has a natural flow, a course that is just meant to be and which automatically will provide for the optimal outcome. In business life it is called ‘Best Business Practice'; in private life it is called the ‘ River of Life '.

Unless influenced by mankind, a river flows like it flows, always reaching its destination. Along the way it could merge with another river; another time it diverges from it. While it flows, natural elements within and outside the river will influence at any point the depth, the width, the direction, the current, the colour, the amount of oxygen, the inhabitants and any other element of the river. At no point the river will be the same, yet it will reach its final destination, no matter what. Life is the same. Quality in life is provided by understanding one's own river and finding ways to follow it, so living life the way it is meant, while managing the elements around it.

In this book the "River of Life" is presented. The structure of the book is set up according to the P10 model, as shown on the next page. The model incorporates all elements of a process and as such presents a process in its entirety.

This book has been written for those that are seeking to understand life. Life comes with many mysteries. At the same time life comes with many facts. Understanding these facts, accepting them, for the reason that they are just the way they are, and respecting them, by living your life in harmony with them, makes living life easier.

This book has been written for those who are looking for and hanging on to their own identities. People want to belong, want to have an identity. This need to identity can result in narrow-mindedness and related behaviour. Yet ultimately we are all human beings and human beings are the same all over the planet.

This book has been written for those who are thinking in good and bad. In reality in most circumstances it is not clear what is good and what is bad. Life is perception; the situation and the perception of a human being make him or her choose to think in terms of good and bad. Yet, if one looks at the same situation from a different perspective, something bad might suddenly be perceived as something good.

This book has been written for those who think and communicate in black and white. The 80/20 rule, known as the Pareto rule, will always prevail. There will always be exceptions to a rule. They however don't make the rule void.

This book has been written for those that are looking for security in life. The only true securities a human being has in life are the four fundaments of life, which are ‘you were born', ‘you live and grow older', ‘one day you will die' and ‘life goes on, with or without you'.

This book has been written for those that have lost their dreams in life. There is a time and place for everything, so also for making your dreams come true.

This book has been written for those that are afraid of life because of what others may think or say. People will gossip and judge, no matter what. Yet, the only person you defend your life to at the end of the day is you yourself.

This book has been written for those who prevent others from having a purposeful life by forcing upon them a river of life, by taking away necessary resources from them, or by not allowing them to obtain knowledge, so to learn. Please evaluate your own River of Life if you are such a person.

This book has been written for those who are in need of a holistic structure for writing a document. The P10 elements as used in this book guarantee that a document is written in a complete, correct, consistent, coherent, and customary manner, as such resulting in optimal communication. This is referred to as C6.

The author of this book is founder and CEO of the Align Group, a group of companies that researches fundamental business improvement models and guides companies in applying them. The Align Group's Business Alignment Toolbox (BAT) is a patented methodology framework that houses the models. As shown in this book, the fundamental models like C6 and P10 can also be applied to private life. See www.align-group.com for any information on BAT and any other related information. Please feel free to provide any feedback on this book via the same website.

The book has been illustrated by a special “Mekong II Series” edition, consisting of twelve etchings made by Jan Montyn.

The author gratefully thanks Jan Montyn for providing the inspiration to write this book and for providing the etchings that illustrate the book.

Robert van Geyn
Thailand, 2004