Blazing Life's Trail

Welcome! Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and read what is written here. My intent is to provide you with some thought-provoking ideas on life and leadership, and how we all get to lead the way for ourselves and our families.


So, "Blazing Life's Trail". That sounds pretty self-evident. For some, it sounds like a great adventure, for others a scary place to be, and for still others, a lot of work. For me, it has meant all these things at one point or another, and I think that is pretty typical of most human beings.


"If it is to be, it is up to me". I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard that phrase. Yes, I know, you're thinking that the saying used to be "I wish I had a nickel....". Well, hello! Inflation is a fact of life, is it not? Seriously, "it is up to me" is the core of life. It is up to each of us to blaze a trail for ourselves and make life the way we want it to be.


I know that makes perfect sense to anyone reading this. However, I ask you - do you live your life this way? Or do you coast along and drift in the wake of others around you? Like Hamlet's "To be, or not to be!", that is the question.


Here's my answer today: Very few things are black and white, and this one has gray areas as well. Consider the last flock of geese you saw flying over - no goose leads all the time. Each rotates into the lead spot. I think that is a good analogy for life, as well. No person can lead all the time. Sometimes we must coast a while and rest a little before taking up the reins again. BUT, be cautious here! This is dangerous ground we tread, as it can become easy to continue to coast and never assume the lead position again. I speak from experience on this - the longer one coasts, the harder it becomes to once again take the lead spot. In our lives that can be dangerous. I spent too many years coasting and am now facing the challenges of taking that lead spot again without a lot of muscle built up for it. Like anything else, if we don't train and practice, the muscles grow soft.


So how do we balance this? I think it starts with an inner certainty and faith that we can handle whatever life throws at us, and that we are in charge. It starts with a plan, laid out with milestones and benchmarks for measurement. And along the way, places to reward ourselves. When we hit a milestone, especially if we are ahead of schedule, then it is OK to stop for a moment and breathe deeply and rest for a short time. But we must always be vigilant and know the plan is there, and the next milestone beckons along life's trail.

Sometimes it feels like we are truly blazing a trail through the intertwined, overgrown jungle of life, and it is easy to forget that our goal is the mountain range on the other side of that jungle. How often do I get lost in the jungle and lose sight of that next goal and how often have I traveled in circles in the jungle? Funny you should ask. It seems to happen to me a lot, so I understand how easy it is.

So how do we get through the jungle? It is pretty simple. Focus on the mountain range, not the jungle. Keep the mountains in our minds, and just keep moving forward. Each day ask "What can I do today to move forward?" Maybe we take only a small step, maybe we walk for miles, but each day, we move forward. I am at my best when I do this, and at my worst when I lose sight of the mountains and forget where I am going.

So the real question of the day is this: What are you doing today to move toward your mountain range?