Blaze a Trail

Recently, I noticed a bumper sticker on a rickety old car. It said simply: “I go where I’m towed.”

I chuckled for a moment, then thought, “we’re all like that old car to a certain extent.” We go where we’re led; we do what we’re told; we learn what we’re taught. It’s true that by following good advice, we can avoid mistakes people have made in the past and benefit from the knowledge and experience of preceding generations. In most cases, this is a good thing. It starts our feet on the right path to learning, integrity and achievement.

But, once our lives are on a strong foundation, each of us must take responsibility for our own attitudes, beliefs, and thinking. Creativity and innovation demand thinking outside the box to generate ideas, concepts and solutions that previous generations could never have imagined. We must be willing to reject outdated notions from the past to embrace new truths–without discarding the wisdom of the past. Great leaders and achievers build on the knowledge and successes of previous generations, then move forward: discovering new ideas, surpassing previous accomplishments, blazing new trails.

Success Tip: Don’t just go where you’re towed. Learn all you can from the past. Then, have the courage to move ahead of the crowd and blaze a trail.