Figure out where you want to go

So you can figure out how to get there

If a person doesn't know to which port they sail, no wind is favorable

Seneca

During your lifetime, countless opportunities will cross your path. What good are they, though, if you can’t recognize and utilize them? Think of your end goal as your destination, fortitude as your sailboat, and opportunities as your wind. You don’t want to endure harsh weather with a poorly maintained sailboat. Correspondingly, you don’t want to take on the struggles of achieving a hard-to-reach goal with a poorly maintained mind. In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People®, the 2nd habit is, to begin with the end in mind. Similar to what Seneca was articulating thousands of years ago. Generally speaking, it is safe to assume that whatever your end goal is in life will require overcoming hardships. Potentially you’ll figure out how or risk never knowing these universal truths. Alternatively, you can study the greatest minds in history who overcame many challenges, betrayals, and slavery, to name a few. Knowing where you want to go is not good enough unless you plan on how to get there; despite your uniqueness, you’ll undoubtedly face the same troubles they all did, the struggle to conquer one’s thoughts through the good and bad of your journey.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey (Author), Jim Collins (Foreword), Sean Covey (Contributor)