Imagine waking up every day feeling lost and adrift, like a ship without a rudder.

Too many people wander aimlessly. They have no waypoints to guide them. Without direction, they’re left unmoored in a sea of uncertainty. Some of them are content to stay lost forever.

The vast majority of us, however, crave purpose. We’re at our best when we have a clear mission or goal that gives our lives meaning and direction.

You must set your own course, and this is how you start.

I. Dream Big And Create a Scattered Vision

When choosing a path, the power of dreaming big cannot be understated.

Dreaming big means setting ambitious goals beyond what we currently consider possible. Conan O’Brien said, “It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique.”

Consider the most extreme example of Elon Musk. He has set his sights on colonizing Mars and transforming how we travel with his high-speed rail system. These are his big goals, but en route, he has innovated in many other fields, encouraging a whole generation to seek jobs in science, engineering, and technology. This shows that dreaming big not only inspires us to reach beyond what we think is possible but it can have a ripple effect that impacts others around us. By setting a scattered vision for ourselves and filling in the gaps as we go, we can make the impossible possible.

Dream big but start small, and don’t worry about doing it badly. By taking small steps toward your ambitious goals, you can progress and build momentum to help you achieve even greater things. Everyone who did anything significant in the world started with a scattered vision.

Create a scattered vision and decide where you want to go.

II. Envision The Path Ahead

Every endeavor has a path to walk.

You won’t know what’s on the path until you start walking it. Even then, the best you can hope for is lamp posts along the way, keeping you going in the right direction.

Once you have decided where you’re aiming, you can create a roadmap. You will compile this roadmap by collecting bits of direction from those that walked a similar path. You want your roadmap to help the next lamp post shine brighter. That is where you are right now. Knowing where you want to go is like having a compass that helps you stay on course even when the path ahead is unclear.

Rumi said, “It’s your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.”

You can spend a lifetime choosing the right path, but whether you realize it or not, you’re always going somewhere. Better to choose the way yourself.

When you envision the path ahead, you will be ready when obstacles arise.

III. Expect Obstacles and Test Like a Scientist

Once you begin down the path, you will realize the obstacle is the way.

The only way to discover something new is through repetition and observation. Every scientific discovery so far has come through trial and error.

You must adopt a scientific approach to the process. A scientist goes to work to test a hypothesis, and often, that hypothesis proves to be incorrect. The failure of the first experiment provides insight into building a better hypothesis. A scientist will go through that process as many times as necessary to prove the final hypothesis. And all along the way, that scientist gained valuable understanding for future experiments. This is how you approach your path.

Continue to test your hypotheses. You want to conduct regular experiments, trying to find obstacles on the path. For every obstacle you encounter, you will gain useful understanding as you overcome it.

You might be tempted to avoid the obstacles, but remember: nothing will show you the way better than lived experience.

IV. Don’t Wait for Someone to Show You the Way

The trap of living vicariously through someone else is real.

With so many people claiming to know the way and with so many directions to go, it’s easy to lose ourselves in other people’s stories. But you are the only one that can change your life.

No one started where you are, knowing what you know. The only person that can truly show you the way is you. Jocko Willink has a book and a mantra titled Extreme Ownership. The essence of this philosophy is that you must take responsibility for your life and decisions. If you don’t choose where you’re going, someone else will choose it for you.

The hardest part is accepting yourself as you are, exactly where you are. You have to start from where you are. Once you do that, you can start there rather than wishing yourself further ahead in an imaginary future.

Find your starting point and leap.

V. Act Before You Are Ready

“He who jumps into the void owes no explanation to those who stand and watch”
– French-Swiss filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard.

You will never feel ready.

Think back to anything you’ve ever accomplished. Did you ever feel fully prepared to do it?

The more you fall into the habit of preparing, the harder it will be to take action. If you’ve read this far, you probably know that pain well. We have another opportunity to take a scientific approach. We don’t need a detailed hypothesis to test it. By taking action before we’re ready, we extract experience and knowledge that can help us grow and hone our process. It will feel uncomfortable. That feeling is an obstacle for us to learn from.

Taking action before you are ready is the single most important thing you can do to change your life. Testing ideas in the real world gives us the best information and opens doors we couldn’t have imagined. The world is full of magic if you dare to seek it out.

When you take action, you set into motion a plethora of possibilities.

The more you ask of the world, the more it will provide.