In many ways, our lives are very similar to the forest. When we walk into a forest, most of what exists there is utterly unknown to us. In fact – without a trail for us to follow, it can be confusing and scary, making it through to the other side. There are many possible paths you could take, and it’s easy to end up in circles and get lost along the way, but there is also excitement and beauty to it as well.
The truth is hidden in that scenario: most of what exists in our lives, and what could potentially exist are actually unknown, and yet we each have to live; we each have to make our way through that forest without guarantees.
It would be easy to let fear overtake you and just sit down on a tree stump and give up, but as human beings that’s really not us, as entrepreneurs that’s certainly not us, whenever we get lost or feel the fear of the unknown growing in us, whenever something doesn’t work out quite like we planned or hoped, do we sit down on that stump and give up or do we take a new path? Maybe we step back along the way we’ve already taken, learn our lesson and then take a different route altogether. Perhaps we take a look around us, see where we are, and then create a new one into an entirely new and unexplored section of forest.
In many ways, we follow the rays of sunshine that we see through the trees, knowing that they will lead us out into the sun.
As we work our way through the forest, we’ll come across landscapes we haven’t seen before, we’ll also encounter other hikers, we may make some new friends and acquaintances, some may join us on the same path, some for a long while, maybe some for just a moment. In all these encounters we can learn and expand our understanding of the forest, each person we meet will have trodden a different path to meet us, and will have some lessons to impart. Some of these people may become our wives or husbands, our partners, or colleagues; some may just be a brief business encounter.
In each moment, we’ll learn something new about our forest and how we interact with it. We might have to move some bushes and trees out of the way, sometimes we might have to dig one up, or cut one down, maybe we’ll even plant a few and expand the forest, who actually knows, after all, unless you take that first step, then another and another into it, the forest will remain mostly unknown.
All of our wisdom comes from not being afraid to venture out and adjust to the path as it unfolds. So today, take that first step and don’t allow yourself to sit and wait for rescue on a tree stump. You will learn so much about the landscape of your life by getting into your boots and trekking it.
