Wandering In the Woods

Me standing in the woods next to an axe.

"Sometimes you just need to go wandering in the woods before you figure things out."

A friend and fellow entrepreneur shared that wisdom with me a few months ago, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since.

Over the past several months, I've spent a lot of time in those woods, and I couldn't be more grateful.

I've always been someone who wants to get to the destination as fast as possible. My wife will gladly confirm this. I'm the guy who turns every drive into a race against the GPS.

But life doesn't follow a straight line. And there's rarely one "right" answer. More often than not, clarity isn't found in the left lane. It's discovered off the path, where things feel uncertain and uncomfortable.

That's where I found myself after a major career shift.

I remember one night in particular. Laying in bed on our final night of vacation. Eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling, mind racing. Am I doing the right thing? Can I really make this work? In that moment, it felt less like freedom and more like failure.

I started asking myself questions I wasn't ready to answer.

Did I walk away from something I shouldn't have?

What if I never figure out what's next?

Am I wasting time or building something I can't see yet?

I didn't have clear answers. But I kept showing up. Walking. Writing. Listening. That's when I realized that maybe the uncertainty isn't a detour; it's the work.

In that wandering, the late nights, long walks, and random scribbled thoughts, I started to hear myself again.

Sometimes, when you're out there, you get to enjoy the scenery, chipmunks darting across the trail, deer pausing to watch you, the stillness of the forest.

And sometimes, you pick up an axe.

You clear out the dead wood, make the path a little more passable, and gain just enough clarity to take the next step.

If you find yourself out there, unsure of the way forward, don't panic.

Don't be afraid to go wandering in the woods.

But take an axe with you. You never know when you'll need to clear the way.

Clarity isn't always found; it's made.