“I want to write a book”, I said.
“Oh yeah, what about?”.
Aegir didn’t look up from his plate, giving the impression that my lofty ideas were a well-worn topic in our friendship.
“Oh I don’t know”, I mused, “changing the world?”
Aegir lowered his fork, took a moment, and cleared his throat.
It was October 2002, autumn half-term. Being a teacher, this was the only time Aegir could spare for our four-day adventure.
After hiking in the Pyrenees for a few days, we headed straight to a quaint restaurant in Pau. It was our last night before heading home.
We were tired and hungry, having lived off bread, brie and soup in the mountains, and the conversation wasn’t in full flow yet.
We had done a similar trek in the Swiss Alps 12 months prior. I had decided then that I wanted to start a business. It seemed a crazy idea for a shy introvert such as myself but Aegir’s enthusiasm was infectious. This time, he seemed less certain.
“Is that something you know a lot about?” he enquired.
“Not really”, I said with diminishing authority, “but I’d like to give it a go anyway”.
“Well”, he said, “Maybe you should wait until you have more to say”.
That was over 20 years ago and there’s still no book, but the die was cast. I set about identifying how I wanted to change the world and Aegir, as a truly great teacher, has spent the last 20 years quietly doing it all the while.
You don’t have to think big to change the world. It’s enough to have a sense of where you’re heading. The key to progress is to begin (and someone to run your ideas by).
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As this is my first post in this category, I’d like to clarify the concept of “no fate”. It originates from the Terminator movies where Sarah Connor knives into the wood, “there’s no fate but what we make ourselves”. I think that’s true. By and large, we shape our own destiny.