Quote of the Day: Muriel Strode on Life & Wisdom

If you’ve been waiting for a sign to start your next chapter, let this insight be the permission you need: “I will not follow where the path may lead, but I will go where there is no path, and I will leave a trail.” It’s a quiet vow to stop living by default and start living by design.

Most of us don’t fear hard work, we fear ambiguity. A clear path comes with social proof, instructions, and the comforting sense that someone else has vetted the route. But following the well-worn trail can also outsource your agency. Strode’s line isn’t anti-tradition; it’s pro-intention. It asks: Are you choosing your direction, or inheriting it?

Going “where there is no path” doesn’t require a dramatic reinvention. It can be a small, deliberate experiment: pitching the idea you’ve been polishing in secret, learning the skill your job doesn’t demand but your future does, or setting a boundary that protects your energy. The goal isn’t to be reckless; it’s to practice courage in manageable doses until uncertainty feels like a workspace, not a threat.

And “leave a trail” reframes ambition as service. When you document what you’re learning, share what works, and tell the truth about what didn’t, you build a map for others. Your originality becomes an invitation, proof that a different life is possible, and that leadership can start long before you have a title.

Muriel Strode, celebrated for poems and writings that explore nature, resilience, and the human spirit, understood that growth is often forged off the marked road, where self-reliance meets discovery.

Today, choose one place you’ve been waiting for “permission,” then take a single visible step: send the message, publish the draft, sign up for the class, or start the first ten minutes. Leave a small note about what you learned so someone else can follow your footprints. May your next step be brave, and may your trail make the world wider.