Only The Mistakes Are My Own

Only The Mistakes Are My Own
Originally uploaded by Jaqaroo.

This morning walking to work I started thinking about achievement and what achievements in my life I am proud of; the shortlist was a lot shorter than I would have liked.
What kind of achievements am I thinking of here though? The obvious public ones: climbing a mountain, publishing a book, establishing a business etc. Then there are the more private ones: err... can't think of a good example... running a marathon? no that's a public one.
Anyway, the point is that to achieve something you are proud of you need a clear vision of who you are and what you are. If you know that it gives you the direction you need. Then if you can apply dedication, commitment, persistency, consistency and hard work to the thing you love you will have a life of achievement and satisfaction.
If you don't have that self-knowledge and clarity of direction you may end up floundering around not knowing which way to go, running on the spot or treading water, which gets you nowhere.
If you are one of the lucky ones who knows their life's direction early on you can just get on with. And being young is certainly a big advantage. You can start at the bottom and learn the ropes, make mistakes, build experience and slowly climb higher and higher.
The important thing is that you have complete commitment and trust in your direction; that you know that this is what you are meant to be doing. That gives you the power and courage to keep moving even when things are hard.