The most powerful lesson I learned from Dr. Seuss came from his book Oh, the Places You’ll
Go!
In it, he described roughly seven locations that, once I knew them, completely changed
how I perceived my own life.
And now, in my own words, I’d like to share these locations with you.
You have one goal in life: to get to The Great Place.
Every Great Place sits at the top of a mountain, and it’s where your wildest dreams come
true.
It’s the place where you finally become who you always wanted to be: an NBA superstar,
a doctor, a singer, or a lawyer.
But the journey to The Great Place is difficult, and there are many dangers along the way which
you must be ready for, otherwise you’ll never make it.
You live in a small town with your friends and family.
You feel safe here.
You feel at home here.
There are many well-trodden roads for you to travel, and many of these roads can get
you started on your journey to The Great Place.
Some of you will even find a path that goes directly to your particular mountain, but
be careful.
A well-mapped road doesn’t make the journey any less difficult.
But many of you will have to leave town and venture into The Great Wide Open.
Anything can happen in The Great Wide Open.
You’ll come across exciting, new adventures, discoveries, and moments of transformation.
But you’ll also face danger, pain, loneliness, confusion, and fear.
But the journey begins in joy!
Welcome to The Heights, the moment when you finish your first dance recital, make the
basketball team, or get an A+ on your story, and you take your first big step towards The
Great Place.
You might actually make it there.
You’re moving forward, and everything feels easy, fun, natural, and effortless.
But no one stays in The Heights forever.
Your hot air balloon catches a branch, and you get stuck in a Lurch, swinging back and
forth.
Your peers fly off into the sunset, as the cold evening air approaches.
You’re stuck, stagnant, left behind.
You’re not moving anymore.
“It’s not fair,” you say, “What did I do to deserve this?
I’d give up anything to fly again.”
And what happens next?
You quickly fall into a dark Slump.
A hundred paths lie in front of you, but which one do you take?
Where is the way out?
You run and hide from the monsters that want to peel the skin from your bones.
Poverty, Misery, Stress, Sickness, and Doom lurk in the shadows, but where is Hope?
Is The Great Place even worth it?
Is anything worth it?
You keep running until you approach a crossroads.
On the left, you see The Waiting Place.
People sit around in their rocking chairs, waiting.
Waiting for what?
Approval, permission, an offer, a solution, a promotion, an email, a text message, a hero.
They’re waiting for someone, or something, to get them out of the Slump.
But they’ll wait forever here.
No one is coming.
So run!
Become your own hero!
Take the other path, and never look back.
Become the one who runs, not the one who waits!
And even in the darkest depths of the Slump, you’ll hear a faint sliver of music.
Follow it!
Rediscover that initial joy you once felt—that feeling you had when you started your journey.
Where did all the fun go?
Find it, and follow it, like the thread of Ariadne, and use it to get out of this labyrinth
of misery.
And as you run from the monsters of the night and rediscover the joy that you first felt
when you started, the music will get louder and louder, until finally,
You’re flying again!
And there may be more Lurches and Slumps ahead, but as long as you avoid The Waiting Place
and constantly rediscover the threads of your joy, the feeling that set you on the path
in the first place, the fun where it all started, you’ll give yourself the best chance of
making it to The Great Place.