“German Proverb: The Trees do not Grow up to the Sky”
That is what came in my fortune cookie the other night. There are a couple funny things about it. The first being that a German proverb was in a Chinese fortune cookie. The second being that it most definitely isn’t a fortune, per se (but it is better than the fortune i got that said “someone is watching you from afar”–>creepy!) When I read it, it made me think…
Whether it’s personally or as a business, you first must realize that there is no ceiling to your growth. There’s no point which you can sit back and say “Okay, we’ve grown about as much as we can.” Even if you’re the “tallest tree in the forest,” if you don’t keep growing, you’re going to be sucked up under the canopy of the other trees.
On the other hand, even though the sky is unreachable, you always need to be aiming for it. The fact that the sky is unreachable shouldn’t discourage you, it should motivate you. This may seem silly, but even if you know a goal is impossible, you have to convince yourself it is 100% feasible and get as near as you can to achieving it. You know it’s impossible to create the perfect computer, but in striving to produce it, you continually come closer and closer to perfection.
Who knew a little fortune cookie packed so much useful content?
Image from CraftyGoat.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Jackie,
This was an edifying post. Reminds me of the old adage that goes shoot for the moon land in the stars. Not sure if you’ve read it, but Paul Arden’s book “It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be”also comes to mind when I read this post. Thanks Jackie for a great post.
Kevin, thanks so much for your very kind words (and taking the time to comment)! I have not read Arden’s book, but I may have to check it out on Amazon
Always looking for books to add to my wish list. Glad you found the post helpful and I’d love to hear your comments any other time on other posts too!