Get on the train

I direct your attention to two quotes, the first the more somber for the mature in heart.

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.”

Simply put if you have no idea what your goals or dreams might be, it truly doesn’t matter what choices you make. You can change jobs, stay in the same place, it doesn’t matter you chose not where you are going. When I entered college I had a five year plan with a number of goals. I found this list recently during my move and remarkably enough with the exception of one I have met each of them. Maybe there is something to be said for subconsciously making choices to accomplish what we lay out to do. So my goal for this holiday season is to lay out my next ten year plan. Where do I want to be when I hit the unthinkable age of 37? Will advise as I start solidifying key objectives. But time for the second quote.

“The most important thing about trains is not where it is going, is getting onboard to begin with”

This is otherwise known as the key to any trip is the journey not the destination and I am a firm believer. Taking the first step which may be scary or uncomfortable is the key to growth and satisfaction. Deciding to change jobs, move houses, transverse difficult personal pilgrimages or even deciding on a vacation to a remote location can be a major deal to some, but the rewards are more than worth it. Can we all imagine the poster that professed “No Guts, No Glory?” Well do we not believe it to be true? Even if one fails on an enterprise, I don’t mean just fail, I mean utterly and completely fail, one still learns. Take Walt Disney as an example, Walt went bankrupt twice on his journey to become the giant he was destined to be. Did he take the failure, even the second failure as an excuse to give up? Nay, rather he picked up the pieces pushed his mind to try something completely new and look at the rewards. He got back on the train put his destiny back on track. We all need to take setbacks, even failures as a push onward and upward, who knows what lessons we learn from the small decisions, only to aid us when we come to larger opportunities.

Thus endeth the lesson.