“The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going”

This quote from Epictetus reminds us that knowing what you want and where you want to be will open opportunities for you. If you have a goal, a path will open up for you.

That doesn’t mean that just because you have an idea of what you want to do in your life, there will be a specific path opened just for you. What it does mean is that by having a reference point of what you want, you will eventually come across opportunities.

It goes hand in hand with the idea that if you keep at it and keep trying, eventually you will put yourself in enough situations that an opening arises, and you can go from there.

If you have a direction that you are going, you at some point will create enough inertia for something to come up. If you are directionless, it will be much harder to create opportunities.

While it may seem like it sometimes, the world is not actively trying to prevent you from realizing your dreams and goals. The world won’t give you anything, but if you have a goal and keep at it, sooner or later, you will break through.