I use my GPS so often when I drive; I don't pay attention anymore. I just get in the car and go. I let the voice guide me to turn left or right. And at the roundabout, take the second exit. Even when I'm traveling to the same place for the tenth time, I still need the guidance of GPS.
And why wouldn't I? It's programmed to take me exactly where I'm supposed to be.
But what if the navigation system was off, let's say, by a mere one degree?
It would change my destination. After a mile, I'd miss my target by 92 feet.
If I was taking a trip from Kennebunk, Maine, to Los Angeles, California, I'd end up in Mission Viejo. And if I journeyed around the globe, I'd be 435 miles off course when I finally arrived.
So, what would happen if your business strategy or life plan was one degree off and you kept going for the next 30 years?
Where would you end up?
It made me think about how often we cruise through life on autopilot. We follow the same routines, take the same routes, and make the same choices without really thinking about where they're leading us. But small deviations, those tiny one-degree shifts in our daily habits and decisions, can dramatically alter our destination.
Maybe it's time to turn off the GPS sometimes. To look up from our phones. To consciously choose our direction instead of letting life's automated systems guide us. Because while autopilot might feel comfortable, it rarely takes us somewhere new.
Your future isn't programmed like a GPS. It's shaped by the small choices you make every day. So, wake up. Pay attention. And make sure you're steering toward where you really want to go.
