When the journey IS the destination

We work so hard to achieve the goal. We’re taught at an early age to set a goal and then try like heck to achieve it. Sports, politics, business…they all teach us that there is first place and then there is failing. That if we don’t reach the destination then we haven’t achieved anything. But sometimes if you pay close attention, the journey can actually BE the destination.

One of my favorite comedians, Anthony Jeselnik, was interviewed recently by Bill Simmons on his podcast, The B.S. Report. Jeselnik’s dream as a young person was to write bits for late night shows. He thought that would be the coolest job in the world. As he started to get into that business, he was told by an executive that the best way to get experience would be to do standup comedy. By doing standup, he would be able to craft jokes and see what resonates with the audience.

So he started doing standup and wouldn’t you know, he was really good at it. Eventually when he was offered his dream job of writing for one of the biggest late night shows, he turned it down because he realized that he had found his actual dream job, standup comedy.

A lot of my friends are about to embark on a new journey. And at the moment they really can’t see where the path will lead or what to expect. My hope is that they fully embrace this new challenge and appreciate that the journey itself could be the destination. That maybe somewhere along the way they will find themselves in an altogether unexpected place and that is where they were supposed to be all along.