“It’s not the blowing of the wind that determines our destination, it’s the set of the sail.” — Jim Rohn
This is my all time favorite quote.
I am a water person, I am always happy when I am close to any body of water. Hence my love for the ocean. Hence my love for island life. And this is my happy chair:
I recently read that John F. Kennedy said in one of his speeches that we, humans, have in our body the same percentage of salt that the ocean has. Our blood, tears, sweat are salty, like the ocean.
So we must all have a real connection with the ocean, right? Maybe some people are more attracted to the ocean than others. My personal feeling? Every time when I go back to the ocean, weather to swim, sail, or just watch, I feel that I go back home, where I belong.
Going back to the sailing quote.
A sailboat needs wind to sail. The sail is the structure made of fabric that uses the power of the wind to propel the boat. The set of the sail, which is under the control of the sailor, determines the direction of the boat.
So it is not the wind! The direction of the wind doesn't matter.
Each of us are captains of our own boats. We sail on the ocean called LIFE. Our destination is in our hands. The only thing that we can not control is the wind. Sometimes the wind blows us hard, sometimes it pushed us ahead. But we can use the wind in our advantage by learning. Knowledge leads to wisdom and power.
The main problem with us, humans, is that we get tempted to wait and wait for a favorable wind, instead of learning how to set our sails better. I am referring to the comfort zone and not taking action issue.
How many times you've been in a bad situation and you thought that "it's not fair", and hoped things would pick up? I got distracted like this many times. I was waiting for something to change, instead of taking action.
But I caught myself. I realized that I must step out of my comfort zone. I realized that I am the only person that have control over my sail. And I took action. Here is me now, where I wanted to be, on the top of my world.
My tool to fix my sail was in my mind. And that tool is my own philosophy towards life.
To summarize it, I believe that I can not control my past, but I can control my present, so I must focus on NOW.
The wind is always changing, so I must adjust the sail constantly. I must be aware and stay awake, like Buddha said.
What are you thoughts on this quote?
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