In his book, The Greatness Guide, Robin Sharma refers to a time in history when Hernando Cortes and his army landed on the shores of Veracruz, Mexico to conquer the land for Spain. As he sent his army into battle, he ordered one of his men to go back and burn their boats, ensuring that they would have no other choice but to stand and fight.

It’s an interesting metaphor for how we can choose to live our lives. For me, selling my house at this point in life is akin to a boat burning. There’s no turning back! And while I know ultimately where I want to live, if you were to ask me where I’ll be living 10 days from now when the ink is dry at settlement, I’d have to tell you that I’m not really sure. What I am sure of is that for as much as I appreciate having a place to live these past nine years, in some respects I’ve allowed my house to anchor me in a place and a mindset that was safe, but not expansive. In a place and mindset where the bills were paid but the work of my soul was not honored.

Now I’m not suggesting that you go out and burn your entire fleet immediately in an attempt to flee the safe harbor of the life you’ve created over the years. To do so would require a level of courage that frankly, not many of us can muster. But if you’ll take some time to reflect on where your life is at this moment, and where you’d like it to be, is there one area where you could make permanent changes that would alter the course of your life for the better?

As we’ve seen so often lately, the safety of a job, a steady paycheck, health benefits, and the “four more years and then I can retire” attitude are nice but illusory. We hunker down and hold on, because we fear what could happen if we make a change. I’m reminded of the following quote I read somewhere: “Most people tiptoe through life so that they can make it safely to death.” But that kind of attitude is not worthy of us. Our time on this earth is limited and we need to get on with the work of our soul!

It occurs to me that we have to be more proactive in life. We must summon the courage to move in new directions, growing and changing on the way to living our best lives. And there will be times when we realize that the boat we’re in is holding us back. So here’s my suggestion:

Find a match!

Carpe Diem!