A good friend of mine, Sam, developed an incredibly unique approach to life. He said (at least) a couple of things that always intrigued me, and that have stuck with me over the years.

One of those things is the title of this post – Go where you want to be.

The first time I heard Sam say this was in reference to finding a parking spot, of all things.

We were going to meet up at a club in DC to hear a band play, and I spent about fifteen minutes looking for a spot. When I got into the bar, there was Sam, having a beer, looking relaxed, as usual.

“How’s it going, Josh?” he asked.
“Great. Took me forever to find a spot though!”
“Huh,” Sam said.

We talked some more, the band played, and then it was time to go. We walked out of the front of the bar and there was Sam’s car! Parked right in front! I hadn’t even noticed it on my way in.

“Nice spot!” I said.
Sam looked at me and paused, as he did once in a while – usually after I’d said something earlier related to a life-philosophy idea, and the time had come to talk about it.
“You have to go where you want to be Josh” he said.
I stared at him like he’d just told me I should eat a banana.
“What?”
“Yeah. I just go where I want to be. If I’m looking for a spot, I don’t drive all around the place looking for one. I drive right up to the front of the place first. That’s where I want to park. Usually, there’s a spot right there for me. When there’s not, I work my way out from where I want to be – not vice versa.”

We parted for the evening, but the words have never left me.

I think about this a lot, and apply it to much more than parking, and I think you should too. Think about places in your life right now, where you aren’t going where you want to be.

Then turn around and go there instead.