From "The Maxwell Daily Reader" by John Maxwell:On a wall in the office of a huge tree farm hangs a sign. It says, "The best time to plant a tree is twenty-five years ago. The second best time is today." There is no time like the present to become an expert at your craft. maybe you wish you had started earlier. Or maybe you wish you had found a better teaching or mentor years ago. None of that matters. Looking back and lamenting will not help you move forward.
A friend of the poet Longfellow asked the secret of his continued interest in life. Pointing to a nearby apple tree, Longfellow said, "The purpose of that apple tree is to grow a little new wood each year. That is what I plan to do." The friend would have a found a similar sentiment in one of Longfellow's poems:
Not enjoyment and not sorrow
Is our destined end or way;
But to act that each tomorrow
Find us further than today.
You may not be where you're suppose to be. You may not be what you want to be. You don't have to be what you used to be. And you don't have to ever arrive. you must need to learn to be the best you can be right now. As Napoleon Hill said, "You can't change where you started, but you can change the direction you are going. It's not what you are going to do, but it's what you are doing now that occurs."
