Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.
Seneca
4 B.C. – 65 A.D.
Many years ago, I owned a sailboat. We lived in New Orleans and primarily sailed on Lake Pontchartrain, but most summers we took the boat to the Mississippi Gulf Coast at the beginning of June and sailed it back after Labor Day. That way, we could enjoy sailing on the Gulf during the summer months.
On one occasion, we invited a couple and their young daughters for a day of sailing. We’d had a very nice outing, going some 8 to 10 miles offshore, and had started back.
In the south, there’s always a possibility of afternoon thunderstorms in the summer, and they range in strength from mild to intense. As we turned the boat and headed back to shore, we could see menacing clouds moving in and knew were going to get caught in a fairly severe storm. We took down the sails, stored all the gear and sent the girls below deck to the cabin.
The storm proved to be quite a nasty one. The rain was driving in sheets and the wind was pretty strong. It was impossible to see more than a few yards in front of the boat. And the wind was constantly changing direction.
When you’re caught in a storm, the basic sailing tactic is to keep the front of the boat pointed into the wind. So we had to adjust our heading with every shift of the wind.
Like most afternoon thunderstorms, the intensity only lasted 45 minutes to an hour. But as the rain subsided, it was impossible to tell where we were. We’d been turning the boat continually to keep it headed into the wind, and we were far out of sight of land.
I took a look at the compass and couldn’t believe how much we’d changed direction. Just for fun, I asked our guest which way he thought the harbor was. We’d been headed to shore when the storm struck, and it wasn’t really possible to tell how much we’d shifted during the storm, so he guessed that land was straight ahead. He was way off course. Without a compass, I might have been tempted to believe the same thing. I turned the boat some 100 degrees and headed for shore to find dry clothes.
Now here is the lesson. Life is full of storms. We often get tossed and turned and lose our way. After enduring a storm in life, you’re likely to head in the wrong direction — unless you have a compass for life.
What is a compass for life? It’s what you stand for: your principles. You need strong principles that can lead you through life’s inevitable storms.
If you don’t have a strong sense of where you’re going in life, a storm can come up quickly and totally throw you off course.
It’s too late once the storm hits. Develop your guidance system before you encounter rough weather. Then rely on your principles to guide you safely through the storm and restore you to the proper course.
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow as the night the day
Thou canst not be false to any man.
Shakespeare
1564 – 1616
Copyright © 2008 John Chancellor