One of my favorite books as a kid, and even now, is The Neverending Story.
If you’ve seen the Hollywood movie that was made from the book, you might know there’s a boy in there named Atreyu.
Atreyu lives in the great land of Fantastica, and he has to go on a quest all around the borders of this immense kingdom.
How’s a little boy gonna be able to cover these vast distances?
No problem. Atreyu hitches a ride on the back of Falkor, a benevolent, furry, white “luckdragon” who happens to fly at great speeds.
Now I think this is a good image to keep in mind in your own life as well.
Because as much as I like The Neverending Story, these days I like another book even better.
It’s called Positioning, and it’s written by Al Ries and Jack Trout.
Positioning is all about how to market products, and how to find a mental slot for them in your customer’s mind.
But one part of the book also talks about positioning yourself, and achieving personal success. And it’s here that Ries and Trout make a throwaway comment that I found very meaningful:
“The truth is the road to fame and fortune is rarely found within yourself. The only sure way to success is to find yourself a horse to ride. It may be difficult for the ego to accept, but success in life is based more on what others can do for you than on what you can do for yourself.”
Like I said, I found this very significant.
Maybe because my tendency is to try to always do everything by myself. It’s very natural to me. But it’s also very slow and ineffective.
So if you too have similar tendencies, then maybe you’ll get some value out of the Ries and Trout quote above.
And maybe you’ll consider finding yourself a horse to ride. Or even your own Falkor.