"If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable."-Seneca

That is quite an intelligent quote if you think about it. If you don't know which direction you are going in life, no assitance will be available to help you.

I have done some looking around, and this week I have found some good information and quotes on the meaning of success. So, since my last opinion article went over okay, here is what I have come to understand about the meaning of, "success."

"We can try to avoid making choices by doing nothing, but even that is a decision," Gary Collins was the one who spoke that quote, and I love it. Mainly, because it seems so true.

I think I said this before, but I will say it again. I have come to understand, every single thing you do reacts with someone or something else in some kind of way.

Everyday you are forced to make choices and decisions, from the minute you wake up, until the moment you lie down to sleep, and nothing can change that fact as long as you are alive.

So, from my standpoint, I believe you should come to understand those choices, and once you do, consider each one as clearly as you can.

Here I am, a senior in high school, waiting for the time to go to college, and then from there, who knows where I will be headed. But, one factor is a big key to me, whatever I choose let me be successful at it.

I have heard the motivational speakers telling me about life. I have heard the people who attempt to educate me on money management. Most of all, more than ever lately, I have heard the speakers talking to me about goals, leadership, and success.

From all these speaches, I have learned one essential thing. Whatever you do, wherever you go, whatever direction you choose, go with all your heart and you can and will achieve. Maybe, not the way you thought you would, but you will succeed in some way.

"This one step-choosing a goal and sticking to it-changes everything."-Scott Reed

How many people reading this article have some kind of goal set in their mind? You should, if not, what are you living everyday for?

Keep your goal in mind, and go accomplish it. Defeat is not a failure, not trying is.

Robert F. Kennedy spoke about this situation well when he said, "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."

Last week, I went to Louisville on a state DECA trip and I had the opportunity to meet the international president, Chris McCoy. Listening to him talk showed me just how much motivating yourself and having faith in yourself can take you.

He said a phrase that reminded me of the way we all should view life and our goals, "Shoot for the moon, because even if you miss you will land on a nearby star."

Wow! I mean, how true is that? I believe it is very true, and everyone else should too.

How many people are sitting somewhere reading this article and have already been reminded of something else they wanted to do with their life? I know there is something all of you haven't done that you want to do before you leave this life. No one could of possibly done everything they have wanted to do. At least I don't think that is possible. But, why should we lose track of our goals and aspirations and not try?

Is there another job you wanted? A vacation you have wanted to go on? Do you want to go back to college and get a degree? Maybe, there is just a hobby you would like to pick up, or something you use to do that you haven't done in a long time.

Listen people, we are living right now and we only get a shot at it once, go accomplish what you have always wanted to, and do it right now!

Sit somewhere and think for just five minutes, and figure out what it is you want to do.

"The idispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want."-Ben Stein

It might be hard to do, and I have learned one thing, stuff will get in the way, but decide what you want. I mean in the words of Henry Ford, "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal."

So, here is another challenge, figure out what you want today, set yourself a goal, and live everyday to try to accomplish that certain goal, and success will come. No matter if your goal is a tiny idea with little relevance to you, or something that you think can change the whole course of your life. Just set one, because no matter what you think, everything changes the course of your life.

Do whatever it takes to make yourself happy, then you will find success. Only you can make yourself be viewed as successful. Here is a little quote of my own, "Success isn't the measure of yourself in other eyes, success is the measure of yourself in your own."

The meaning of success can only be defined by you, so set yourself out to retrieve the meaning and feeling of the word, "success."

But, if you want a little assistance on finding the meaning, let me leave you with this last quote:

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; wheter by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success."-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I hope this article has made one person regain their track to a goal, because we all know life can make us easily step off a path.

I will close this article with an astounding poem that I was lucky enough to find and have the experience to read;

You Mustn't Quit:

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest! if you must-but never quit.

Life is queer, with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about

When you might have won if you'd stuck it out;

Stick to your task, though the pace seems slow-

You may succeed with one more blow.

Success is failure turned inside out-

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt-

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems afar;

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit-

It's when things seem worst that YOU MUSTN'T QUIT.