In 1802, John Forgo the 10th had an idea. He wanted to see what lay beyond the charted area of the newly formed United States. Soon John started the process of getting ready for his long surely to be perilous journey. He started by talking to historians that told him about how Christopher Columbus set off to find America. Then he talked to numerous natives who had passed along stories of life beyond the mountains. Finally, John set out to find a map.
John’s journey to find a map led him to many places in the charted United States. He started in Boston, where he had heard of a fellow that had been beyond the mountains. Upon finding this man, he learned, that he had only gone to the mountains. But the man told him of a man in South Carolina that had traveled far more than he had. So John set forth to South Carolina to find this famed traveler. Upon arriving in South Carolina, he met this man and found that he was not nearly as traveled as he was told.
After 3 years of searching for this mythical map, John was told of some old school friends of his that had set off the previous year to chart the land beyond the maps. As he learned that his friends Lewis and Clark, had set off on this journey, he wondered what they knew that he didn’t. So, John went to their homes to question their families. He asked them if they had found the map that he had searched long and hard for. Their response was troubling to him, as he had not even considered the idea. “They went to make the map.”
John set off on a journey to find a map, and missed out on being part of history. Why are we so eager to find a map? Shouldn’t we be making the map? Whether it is the latest social media trends, or the rules of marketing, we are looking for a map that will guide us to success. When you find that map, you will by definition be forgotten. The leaders in your field are out creating the map. Why is that not you?
