What’s your path?

I’ve come to believe that there are two approaches to life.

The first, followed by most, is the “paint by numbers kit” approach to life. You do what other people say. You follow a well-traveled path. You stay within the lines. And you end up with a nice, pretty – and unimaginative – picture.

The second, followed by few, is to start with a blank canvas and try to paint a masterpiece. It is a riskier path, a harder path, a path filled with ambiguity and creative choice. But it is the only way to make your life itself a creative work of art. To paint a masterpiece requires a concept, a place to begin, a guiding context in die absence of the comforting numbers and lines in the premade kit.

(Michael Ray, The highest goal)