The "somewhere" metric is different for everyone. Aspiring towards different things doesn't mean you went nowhere. For instance, I just released my first bit of open source code. I feel like I've finally reached a goal. Hence, I went somewhere.
I'm actually quite tired of people telling other people how to be successful. First, it's quite a vain goal.
Second, and more importantly, consciously knowing what actions lead to success/failure does not translate into one taking/avoiding those actions (e.g. most people understand that flattery may be insincere, yet many people fall prey to it. Nearly everyone know about honesty being the "best policy", and yet humans across the centuries have deceived (and have been caught)).
What would be more useful would be a "n ways to always practice what your mom told you". Dan Ariely's Predictably Irrational is a great start in the direction, but I doubt we'll ever find all the hacks to cure our innate stupidity.
Yes I agree that one should "follow their heart" to go somewhere. One thing to remember is that as the "awareness" of what is possible with their potential changes, their heart will start yearning for reaching that potential.
So, who you are with and what conversations you have on a daily basis will have a huge influence on what your heart will say.
Thank you. For those that are ultra-curious about this, please make it a point to read "The Biology of Belief" by Bruce Lipton. Quick summary there is - "Garbage in; Garbage Out." :)
This is true, but if it's an implied deficiency in the original post, I disagree. Both here and at the blog, there have been many defensive comments along the lines of "well, maybe they're happy with their lives and we shouldn't judge them". The author specifically addressed that in the very first paragraph:
> When you talk to them, you will realize that even they want to go somewhere, be someone and do remarkable things.
The post should be read in that context. There are a tremendous number of smart people leading mediocre lives, not because of choice, but because of bad decision making.
There is a gap between where they are and where they wish they were. They want something better, where better is defined strictly in terms of their own desires, but they can't make better happen. And the follow-on points laid out by the author are among the most common roadblocks these folks encounter.
