Be ambitious. Turn your vision into reality.

I once came across these words on the website for the new Porsche Panamera. (For some reason, the page I quoted from has since disappeared.)

“Be ambitious. Turn your vision into reality. Don’t just charge down the path you’ve already chosen. Keep challenging yourself to rethink every approach you can imagine. Find a different way.

Above all, it takes courage. Break with convention. Face every challenge with unwavering determination.Create a future that has yet to be seen.Have the courage to bring a new world to life.”

Ever since, whenever I hit a wall at work, I’ve found myself coming back to those words.

Of course, my work doesn’t carry the history and tradition of Porsche, nor does it have the same global reach. The obstacles I face might seem like “not obstacles at all” to someone looking in from the outside. And perhaps it’s presumptuous, given my situation, to find inspiration in Porsche’s words.

But when I read them, I feel something click into place. I find my resolve.

“There’s no time to be defeated by something this small. Even if I have to start over, I’m still closer to the finish line than I was before. All I can do is keep moving forward, one steady step at a time.”

That’s how I quietly rekindle the fire within.

There’s a path that’s yours alone.

I used to think of Porsche only in negative terms: “It’s such an extravagant indulgence” and “What kind of nouveau riche person buys one?” (I’m sorry!) But meeting my husband introduced me to Porsche. As I learned more, went to races, and discovered the Porsche philosophy, I found that it was now that very philosophy that was supporting me.

I never used to believe in fate. Now, though, I’ve come to feel that “there’s a path meant for me.” Turning away from it would mean giving up on my own life. It may be okay to step away sometimes, but in the end, I think I have to keep walking that path.

I used to seriously wonder, “Why do I always seem to choose the hard road? Am I some kind of masochist?” But because I kept choosing those roads, I’ve ended up in a fortunate place in life.

So when things don’t go quite right, or I start comparing myself with others, those are just details. All I have to do is keep taking one step at a time, along the path I believe in, toward my own goal. Every time I read those words about the new Panamera, that conviction rises up inside me.

Porsche is incredible. Truly incredible. (I’m not sure what I was trying to say in this post today—haha.)