Why do you have to be a nonconformist like everybody else?

—James Thurber

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

That sums up my outlook on life, and I am living the adventure. Of course, the “bowlines” in my case are the “typical” nine-to-five jobs, two-point-five kids, and two-car-garages that tend to keep people tied to a place, employer, or family situation. Though sailing away from the safe harbor has not been easy, it has been rewarding in so many ways. It is worth it!

Related: a recent xckd cartoon about adventures speaks to this same outlook. (Warning: the cartoon has an “R” rating for language.)

If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all. —Anna Quindlen

What is success to you? I often think about how lucky I am to be living my dreams. Some days I have to pinch myself in order to make sure it’s not that kind of dream.

Even so, I still struggle with the opinion of others about my life. There is also pressure to play the role that society wishes me to play. If I just do what others want me to do, that’s not success on my terms. That’s what the “feel good in your heart” is all about—it has to be your own success.

If your personal success is real and also happens to match the wishes of family, friends, and the world, then so much the better. But whatever you do, make sure that life’s successes are your own.

“There is no use in trying,” said Alice; “one can’t believe impossible things.”
“I dare say you haven’t much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

I have to catch myself when saying “That’s impossible!” when faced with challenging circumstances. This quote from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass is great for reminding me that nothing is truly impossible. If I set my mind to it, I can do it.