When I was in New Zealand this last time, I learned a lot as I tried maneuvering a boat. One time when I went out to sea, there were a lot of rocks below the boat and the waves were crashing pretty bad. When we lowered anchor, the anchor got stuck on the rocks and we couldn’t pull it out.
That’s when I met a native father and son. I asked them for help, and the man told me how to do it. He said you have to try moving the anchor around and figure out the direction in which it was caught. So you have to know what direction first. You figure that out by getting the line from the anchor straight and lined up with the boat. That gives you the coordinates or direction from which the anchor is stuck. Then when you push from there, you can get out.
But the thing is, I’d already tried that. It’s just that I wasn’t sure, so sometimes, because the boat wasn’t coming loose, if I tried pushing very gently, it would just force the boat into the water. So I couldn’t keep going. What you have to do instead is set the direction, and then push away relentlessly. Then, bam, you’re loose.
Once I had confirmation from the man we met, I experimented with the technique. It works 100%. But usually, you try a little bit and when it seems like the boat’s getting submerged, you get scared, so you don’t go all the way. Instead you try from a different direction, but going in the wrong direction won’t work.
I realized, that’s exactly how people live. If you know that you’re doing the right work, that you have the right direction, you need to give it everything you’ve got. When you push that way, you reach a breakthrough. But if you don’t do your best at that time, and all you do is give it a try and quit if you feel nervous, then you don’t get anywhere. When you feel that you’ve got the right direction, you have to give it all you’ve got and go all the way until you make it. If you use all your strength, everything opens up. Then you succeed.
Even if you die along the way, you’re glad. Why? Because you have no regrets. Because you gave your all.
You don’t have to do it alone either. Say you’re trying to move a boulder with your hands and you’re not strong enough. Put a lever in there. After one person tries for a while, get two people, and then as you keep going, if there’s a forklift passing by, you can call it over.
That’s how you change the direction of history.