Rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river

Ever notice that rowboats are constructed in such a way that the rower has his back to the destination? In the picture above, I'm rowing a boat with a couple of friends. The person  who took the picture was quite impressed with my dexterous maneuvering abilities. I explained that I had had a lot of experience on my grandparents' pond as a kid.

On this little pond, however, there were many more obstacles that at Grandma and Grandpa's place -- other boats, for example, as well as an island, a fountain, ducks, geese and turtles (bunches of them!). Compared to the pond of my childhood, maneuvering the grown-up pond is not so easy.

Okay, so now how can I maneuver out of this "life is a big, scary pond" metaphor?

The point is, with your back to your goal, you just have to have a little faith that you're not going to crash too badly. No icebergs in small ponds, luckily. And speaking of luck, if you have people you know and trust with you to help navigate, you're in really good shape. Having the wrong people in your boat could steer you in the wrong direction. Take for example the Pondman Family  (it's a total coincidence that their name is Pond-man). The father seems to have taught these children a singing technique that will take years to unlearn before they will have any chance of being taken seriously in opera, or any other singing style for that matter.

So before you set out on your journey, make sure you've got the right people in your boat; anyone whose intentions are detrimental to your goals should be tipped overboard.