Wyrd Oft Nereth Unfaegne Eorl, Thone His Ellen Deah
[Fate often saves an undoomed warrior when his courage endures.]
— Beowulf, c. 1000 CE — from Britannica, 11th ed., vol. III
Don’t be timid. You don’t generally get things in life by being timid. In order to get what you want and be who you want to be, you must take risks. They don’t need to be crazy risks: I don’t take bets I have no chance of winning. But I don’t limit myself to sure things.
You need to be willing to stretch – take on fresh challenges, grow, and try new things, or you stagnate. If you play it safe, you stop growing. When you stop growing, you start dying.
Spend some time thinking about what it is that you want. Then, take the necessary steps to get it. Even if what you want seems incredibly ambitious, you must figure out what your next step is, and take it.
Set goals, and enlist others to help. Let people know what it is you’re trying to achieve. You’ll be surprised how many people are willing to help you achieve a worthy goal. But if they don’t know, they can’t help. Plus, telling people about your goal increases your accountability. The more people who know, the more likely you are to follow through.
Achieving your goals generally involves the willingness to take a risk, hard work, determination, and endurance. But it is so worth it. Keep your goal in mind. Keep taking those steps. As an entrepreneur, this is a daily mantra for me.
I will say this – not all goals can be achieved. As you’re taking your steps towards your goal, if you have a set back, you need to take a moment to assess. Is this an achievable goal? If so, is this the right next step? Perhaps you need to develop additional skills to accomplish the next step, or enlist help. Is this still a goal that you care about? Sometimes your ambitions/desires change. That’s OK. But when they do, change your goals.
All my life I wanted to be somebody. Now I see that I should have been more specific.
–Lily Tomlin
Be bold. Be specific about what you want be – it’s the only way to have a chance at becoming it. Figure out what it takes, and go for it. May fortune smile upon your endeavors!
Things I've Learned 