You'll never grow by staying on the well-worn path.

Standing at life's crossroads, which path do you choose? The familiar one that promises safety but limited growth, or the overgrown path that both scares and calls to you? This episode explores the profound wisdom behind Robert Frost's famous poem "The Road Less Traveled" and why choosing the path of uncertainty often leads to our greatest breakthroughs.

When we step away from comfort and into challenge, we discover parts of ourselves that remain dormant on the well-worn path. The road less traveled isn't just different—it's transformative precisely because it pushes us beyond our limits. While this journey may feel lonely and lacks guarantees, it builds the resilience and character that comfort zones never can.

Have you noticed how every success story focuses not on the arrival but on the struggle? The late nights, the sacrifices, the moments of doubt—these aren't just dramatic elements of storytelling but the very experiences that shaped the storyteller. We celebrate these journeys precisely because they weren't easy. You must be willing to live the struggle to have the story worth telling later.

Whether you're young and nimble like a speedboat that pivots easily, or carrying responsibilities like a cargo ship that turns more slowly, you always have the option to choose differently. Age doesn't eliminate possibility—it just changes the timeline. You don't need to be fearless to choose the road less traveled; you simply need enough courage for that first step. Sometimes that choice, however small, makes all the difference in creating a life that's authentically yours rather than one prescribed by others.

What might be waiting for you down that less-traveled path? 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:28):
no-transcript been following me.
I've got a lot of great quotesthat I like, some by Sidney
Smith, but I'm also a big fan ofthat Robert Frost poem, the
Road Less Traveled and why itMatters.
Two roads diverged in the woodsand I took the road less
traveled by and it has made allthe difference and that's kind
of how I was like trying to livemy life a little bit it's not
always take that same mundaneroad but to try different things

(00:48):
, and I've been lucky enough tobuild up enough resilience that
when I have done it many timesin the past it's kind of led me
out into a better outcome.
So it's a little bit moretrusting.
But look, we all know thesewords right.
We've seen them quoted ingraduation speeches, on mugs,
instagram captions.
But, like so many lines, we,you know, we take them for
granted.
You know, we really stop to askwhat do they really mean?

(01:11):
And, more importantly, what dothey mean to us?
For me, this poem is more thanjust a literary classic.
It's a personal reminder thatgrowth only happens when you
step into discomfort I've talkedabout this often when you step
into uncertainty and when youstep into challenge.
See, the road less traveled isoften the harder path.
It's the one without guarantees, that's why it's harder.
It's got no roadmap, but it'salso the one with the richest

(01:36):
lessons, and that's what we'regoing to talk about today.

(02:06):
So I often talk with people whofeel stuck at a crossroads.
Right, one path is well-led,it's familiar, safe, expected.
The other is dimly led, coveredin like overgrowth.
They can't really see what'sgoing on there and it looks like
it might be trouble.
But there's also something.
There's something calling fromit.
Right, and it's often that path, the one that no one else is
taking, that leads us to thesegreat breakthroughs.

(02:27):
I mean, that's the risk thatFrost is sort of talking about
in his poem though technicallythere are some other meanings,
but we're not going to get intothat right now and that's the
risk that many of us need totake in our own lives.
Now, again, I'm not saying justtake any risks.
Risks should to be calculated,but you should be willing to try
them.
Think of it like this, likestarting a new business when
everyone tells you to stay inyour secure job, well, you know

(02:48):
what?
Maybe it's time to try it.
Moving to a new city, eventhough you don't know anyone
there speaking up.
Right, this is another oneSpeaking up when it's easier to
stay silent.
These are all things getting outof the comfort zone, taking
that road less traveled,pursuing a dream that might fail
but might change your life.
I've often said this you willnot be guaranteed to live your

(03:09):
dreams.
You don't.
You can go after and chase andyou hear success stories all the
time.
I was listening to thisinterview today by Tom Cruise
because he's on the MissionImpossible tour and he's talking
about when he's four years oldhe set his goals, he set his
dreams, he knew he wanted to doand he's living them right.
And that is great and I'm notsurprised.
But ultimately it doesn'talways happen for people that
way.
But I always say, if you chaseyour dreams, and you chase them

(03:30):
fully and you go after them,even if you don't achieve them,
you might discover somethingelse and you will be better for
having to at least tried and notliving with that little word
regret.
Okay, but why does it make it sohard?
Why is traveling the road lesstraveled so hard for so many
people?
Well, for starters, you'realone.
Most people aren't going withyou.
You don't have 10 other peopletelling you what to do next.

(03:54):
You're just you're, you'regoing about it yourself.
Now my new venture I've got mywife with me and I've got a
really supportive fan base offamily and friends who are just.
You know.
You know got that A lot oftimes.
You're going about it alonebecause even when people are
championing, it's still youthat's out there doing it.
You know, you got that fearthat you might fail and nobody
likes failure, nobody likesfalling around the net, right?
Everybody's always looking forguarantees but you don't get a

(04:14):
guarantee, you know.
But the good thing is, as youdo this and as you push forward,
you build resilience and guesswhat?
You're going to grow.
You'll grow because comfort iseasy, growth isn't.
You don't grow in comfort, buthere's the truth.
You'll never grow by staying onthat well-worn path.
You'll never grow.
I can tell you that the mostmajor transformations come from

(04:36):
people stepping into fear, notavoiding it.
My daughter she's really into TV, which is really interesting.
She's really into TV and film.
You know a lot of kids nowadaysare just into like the YouTube
and all that.
But she loves TV, she lovesfilm and she's discovered all
these like classics.
You know well kid classics andback in June watching Hannah
Montana and I was just sittingthere one day and I'm sitting

(04:59):
there with her, so I'm justhanging out, cause and Hannah
Montana had this quote, Uh, itsaid that life's what you make
of it, so let's make it rock.
And it's true.
I mean, I kind of looked at itI was like, oh, that's, that's
true.
You know, life is what it makeof it.
Let's make it rock, you know.
But behind that, you know thatand that show it you it's.
It's really important toremember that you are the author

(05:20):
of your life and you can eitherwrite a safe story that looks
like everyone else's or you canwrite one that's a little
messier, a little bolder and alot more you.
Okay, so if you're standing atsome crossroads right now, ask
yourself what's the road I'mexpected to take, and maybe you
don't know what that road is,but maybe you just want to try a
different road.

(05:40):
You know what's that road thatscares you a little but kind of
excites you a little bit, right?
What's the story you want totell when you look back on this
choice?
See, the thing is most of thetime actually, I'm sorry, let's,
let's throw out most of thetime, let's talk about all the
time.
Anybody who's gone on to do anysort of successful thing in

(06:03):
their lives or whatever it isand again I don't mean
successful in sort of themonetary sense you know became
filthy, disgusting, rich,whatever.
It is, just anything that theygrew on.
They never tell you about howawesome it is right now.
Everybody goes back to thejourney.
Awesome it is right now.
Everybody goes back to thejourney Everybody always tells
you about.
I was in that garage working 15hours a day, you know, just

(06:23):
boxing up books.
You know I was not sleeping for72 hours because I was trying
to get this thing done.
Or, you know, for three years,you know we ate noodles and you
know whatever it was.
Listen to everybody when theytell you their success stories.
They all talk about the journeyand it's always that road that
let's travel.
And it was a road that was hard.

(06:44):
It wasn't a simple road, youknow.
It wasn't like.
I don't know.
I just started a company.
Boom, it took off.
It's great looking me, I've gota $300 million yacht.
You know it always starts.
Everybody wants to talk aboutthe struggle to get there.
Everybody wants to talk aboutthe story, but you got to be
willing to live the story tohave the story, to go back and

(07:06):
tell others right.
So you don't need to befearless, you just need to be
brave enough to choose, becausesometimes that choice, small or
large, is what makes all thedifference.
And in case you need permissionfrom a stranger on the internet
, which could be me, you'reallowed to want more, you're

(07:26):
allowed to take the risk, you'reallowed to choose the road that
no one else is walking, becausethe thing is, you never know
what's waiting down that path.
All right, and that's what Iwaiting down that path.
All right, and that's what Igot for you today.
And if somebody is listening tothis I'm too old to do is
you're never too old.
It just might be a little bitharder.

(07:46):
I've talked about it in previouspodcasts, where you know, when
you're young you're like aspeedboat shooting across the
ocean and if you want to pivotyou just jack it around and
shoot right back the otherdirection.
But when you're a little bitolder, you got responsibilities,
family obligations, bills,debts, whatever it is.
You're kind of like a cargoship, but it doesn't mean you
can't turn it around.
It just may take you a littlebit longer, but it is possible.

(08:09):
All right, all right everybody.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Thank you so much for listening.
Continue to share with yourfriends.
Again.
Spotify apple wherever you listyour favorite podcasts.
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I really appreciate it.
Love to hear from you.
You can always reach me at mikemuldoon, at mike muldoon, lccom
.
Love to hear from you.
All right as always.
Have a great weekend, be safeand I got nothing to love for

(08:32):
you.
You.