From “The Set of the Sail”
by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
One ship sails East,
And another West,
By the self-same winds that blow,
‘Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales,
That tells the way we go.
The theme of my blogs is personal leadership. Over and over again (repetition is a key learning tool), I will return to the theme of personal responsibility. It will come in many forms, be said in many ways, such as:
- Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out
- Where there is a will, there is a way
- Your tendency does not have to be your destiny
- Luck is just the intersection of opportunity and preparation
It is the set of your sail that determines the direction you go. Sure, the wind can hinder you or increase your speed, but it does NOT determine your direction. That is yours and yours alone.
The more ways you have to remember this, the more pithy sayings you have to drive this truth home to yourself and make it the driving force at the very center of your being, the more successful you will be.
Remember: Where you are today, what you are today is the successful outcome of every past thought and action you have taken or failed to take. If you do not like where you are in life, examine your past actions and thoughts, for they led you to where you are.
How did you set your sails today? How will you set them tomorrow?
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