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Last night, I was reading a book to my 2-yr old daughter Maeve before she went to bed and was not only pleasantly surprised, but almost floored by Dr. Suess’ message. I will never forget that “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” was Maeve’s first in a long line of personal development books.
Did Dr. Suess mean to have this effect? Not sure. Am I crazy? Perhaps. But, take a look at the following passages and tell me how you would perceive it:
You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…
…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
“A most useless place…The Waiting Place…” That is brilliant! Maybe it’s because I value self-development so greatly that I took it this way, but can you really deny his point? I think it is absolutely awesome!
I explained it to Maeve (let me reiterate that she is two) that you cannot wait around for things to happen; that you make your own way in life. Those folks that wait around for the world to come to them are the same ones complaining about how unlucky they are. Do you think she got it? I do.
It was really a great learning experience for the both of us and I’m so happy we got to share it last night. I gave her a big hug and kiss and thought to myself, “That little girl is going to be alright.”
Even if you don’t have kids, please take the five minutes it takes to read this book. It is totally worth it and it will make a great gift for the little entrepreneur in your family.
I love to hear all of your feedback, especially if you had a similar experience, so please leave a comment and pass this along to anyone you think may enjoy it.
Your partner in success,
Ryan
Ryan…loved the analogy…motivation can come from the simplist places.
Thanks
rebecca
Glad I took the time to read this today,inspiring & true! Thank you, Andrea
Hi Ryan, I envy your daughter for the nuggets you’re providing her at such age.
I agree with the moral of the story.
Thanks.
Peter
Ryan – Thanks so much for this post today. The waiting place is such a bad place to be. I was in that place for a very, very long time in my life. Your children are very lucky to have a father that is teaching them a different way.
.-= Debi´s last blog ..How bad do you want to breath? =-.