A Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
-Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
When I drove roughly 1,000 miles to Massachusetts last weekend, there was a pin in a digital map and Google provided step-by-step directions to get there.
We tend to think of career paths that way, too. You start heading towards your goal and 1,000 miles later, you’ll be standing on top of your personal Everest. Broadway star, New Yorker staff writer, cardiologist.
It’s not like that. Sure, set a specific goal, one that gets you out of the bed every morning. But where you’re standing in 1,000 miles might be a completely different mountain.
Every choice you make is a crossroads on your journey. Until the last 50 miles, you won’t be able to see the goal. So you have to listen to your heart and choose the path that resonates. That is your path, and it is leading you towards your mountain.
If you love the journey you’re on every day, it will take you someplace worth going.