Henry David Thoreau is someone from the 1800s who decided to do an experiment with his life.
He moved into an isolated hut in a forest, lived simply, consciously and with a purpose. He wanted to figure out how life worked so he dedicated two years of his life to figure it out. He then wrote his famous essay titled “Waldon”, where he shared some truly profound learnings.
One of the most famous quotes attributed to Thoreau is “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and endeavours to live the life which he has imaged, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
Let’s unpack that and put it into today’s terminology.
If one advances… Translation: Move forward in life.
… in the direction of his dreams… Translation: Have a destination. Have a vision. Have a goal.
… endeavours to live the life which he has imaged… Translation: Actively step into that vision. Act as though you are living that version of your life that you have envisioned.
… he will meet with a success … Translation: Get the results of that vision.
… unexpected in common hours. Translation: In a way that seems surprising to what you would normally expect.
So, what’s he saying?
Move forward in life. Have a destination, a vision or a goal. Actively step into that vision which means acting as though you are living that version of your life that you have pictured. By doing that, you will get the results of that vision in a way that will surprise you.
This experiment by Thoreau was done back in the 1800s and it’s a sound teaching that, if you were to follow those instructions, well, can you just imagine what your life could be?
There are so many possibilities!
However, you must purposefully advance.
Get moving!
