Roads and railroad tracks both lead us toward a destination, but they have one major difference.

 

When you’re driving down a road, you decide to turn right or left. If you realize you’ve gone the wrong way, you can turn around. If you see something interesting along the way, you can take a detour. You can even change your destination altogether.

 

A train running on tracks doesn’t have that freedom. Even if the engineer wants to turn right, the train can’t go there unless the tracks lead that way. Unless someone switches the track, the train continues in the direction already laid out for it.

 

In some ways, I think this is similar to the difference between being an employee and being an entrepreneur.

 

There is nothing wrong with being an employee. In fact, staying on the rails has many advantages. There’s a defined destination, the route is in place, and you can move forward quickly and with confidence. A company also provides structure, responsibilities, a salary, and a system for evaluating your work. Sometimes, that structure can take you places you could never reach on your own.

 

The problem comes when the track’s destination is no longer where you want to go.
“I want to do something different.”
“If it were up to me, I’d do it this way.”
“Someday, I want to start my own business.”

 

Have you ever had similar thoughts while waiting for your company or your boss to switch the tracks for you?

 

Entrepreneurs don’t have tracks laid out for them. They decide where to go, when to turn, and where to stop. Naturally, sometimes they make mistakes. But when they do, they can change direction.

 

Freedom, in this sense, doesn’t mean doing whatever you want.
It means making your own decisions and taking responsibility for the results.
I don’t believe everyone should become an entrepreneur. Staying on the rails is also a perfectly valid way to live and work.

 

But every once in a while, I think it’s important to ask yourself:
Do these tracks lead to where I want to go?
If they don’t, don’t wait for someone else to switch them for you.
Get off the train and choose your own road.
So, which will you choose: the road or the rails?