The moral is simple: If you want to get somewhere you must — in Minkkinen’s words — “stay on the fucking bus.” This doesn’t only apply to Helsinki bus lines, but also to any worthwhile endeavor in life. A meaningful career. A relationship. Finding a home. Collecting stamps.
Medium.com Author Stephan Joppich writing about the book Four Thousand Weeks
When I was 12 years old I went to a Boy Scout Summer Camp in Southern Oregon.
One of the camp leaders was trying to get us all fired up and excited as we took a bus ride to some activity nearby.
I don't recall what we were going to be doing, but I do remember when he tried to get the other camp counselors involved in some kind of a song or motivational chant.
In unison the camp counselors all said, "We're just bozos on this bus."
They were right.
These camp counselors were teenagers making hardly any money, eating crappy food, sleeping in canvas tents, being eaten by mosquitos and turning over every week a new batch of boy scouts, away from their parents, maybe for the first time in their lives.
Yup, herding kitties exactly described their role, and they obviously found it not very motivational.
The bottom line is that it takes perseverance to get anywhere worthwhile in life.
If you find yourself on the wrong bus, don't be a bozo, by all means, get off.
