Just Keep Moving
David Freund, Chief Leadership Officer

Have you ever found yourself stuck? You don’t know where to go or what to do? A couple of weeks ago, that is exactly where I was. My wife and I, along with another couple, had planned a vacation. We had driven to Montreal on Friday and on Saturday morning we headed to Quebec City, where we would board a cruise ship for a seven-day adventure. Our trip would take us through the Canadian Maritime provinces, Maine, and Boston. My wife worked out all the details, and everything went smoothly until we arrived at the port in Quebec City. I had the port’s address on my phone, so we found it easily. We pulled into a parking spot, and I could see Holland America stacks on the other side of the terminal building. We started unloading our bags from the car when someone asked us which ship we were sailing on. Apparently, we were on the wrong side of the port. I cannot speak French, and this kind man’s English was less than fluent, so the directions I received weren’t much help; nonetheless, off I drove, looking for our ship.

I became very frustrated as I drove down one dead-end street after another. At one point, I told my passengers I just wanted to quit and park the car. I had succumbed to the desire for a very short pity party. Thankfully, I didn’t stop, and we kept moving forward in the direction of the ship. I could see it; I just didn’t know how to get there. After several dead ends and turning around to try another street, we finally arrived at the ship and were off for our week-long adventure.

This morning, as I spent a few moments thinking, I realized that there was a profound leadership lesson in my Quebec City experience. There are times when we know the destination but can’t find the path. Like me in a foreign country without knowing French, we may be tempted to quit. There may not be anyone who can tell us where to go, so the answer is to keep moving. Keep searching for the path that will lead you to your destination. In my recent travels, every wrong turn had a learning opportunity that, in the end, showed us where to go. Before long, we were sitting on a beautiful ship high above the port, where all the roads were laid out before us in perfect order. Had I quit, we would have never reached our destination.

You don’t need to know all the turns on the path; just keep moving, and slowly, they will be revealed. Your forward motion will illuminate the way forward. Enjoy the journey.