Go Perpendicular

Go Perpendicular: On vacation in Goa with my family. And I’m doing some relaxing and renewing. I’ve never eaten so much in my life. Yesterday afternoon the kids and I rented a little boat and headed down the coast. We hugged the shoreline, stayed close to land, never strayed far from home. This got me thinking. About Christopher Columbus. And about taking smart risks. Every explorer before him feared losing sight of the shore. They clung to the known. They opted for security. They didn’t dare. Columbus did something different. He was brave. Went straight out to sea. Went perpendicular to the shoreline. And found a new world. Good on him. Of course I needed to be safe with my kids. I’m just trying to make a point: Greatness, as a leader and as a human, sometimes requires that you leave the constraints of safety. Sometimes you just have to let go of the known. And sail out into the unknown. To try a new way. To think a new thought. To behave in a new way. And to go perpendicular when the rest of the world hugs the shoreline and clings to safety. Yes—I get it’s so human to feel frightened as we experiennce the Blue Ocean of change, transition and growth. But as Lord Chesterfield said, "It is not possible to discover new oceans unless one is willing to lose sight of the shore."