The Easy Path is the one with the least reward

This is so true. Look at trust fund kids who haven't made a living fir themselves. A lot of them mess their lives up. They got money through an easy path but didn't really learn how to manage their lives properly.

you are correct ..most people would stop at the fence and if they didn't give up and turn around that would call someone for advice wait for devine intervention on what to do ..or wait untill someone else comes along to see what they do ..

most people want to follow a recipe ..want someone else to tell them what to do.. or some power from up high ..

the problem is there is no recipe to do what a trump does , a bill gates ,or a warren buffet ..heck even warren buffet isn't doing 1/10 the stuff people say warren buffet would do most of the time .

the easy thing to do is to give a bunch of money to a berni madoff who had a track record of amazing returns for a long time .

i just get annoyed a simplified cliches that tend to give people the wrong idea .

the most rewarding path is the most challenging path you can handle and beat.. or almost beat but makes you want to try again

the most rewarding paths make us better and push us to do thing we never believed we can do ..

at the same time if it is your first day skying you might be better off sticking to the easy slopes and building skills .

but going back i understand the true meaning of the picture ..and it does point out the sad state most people live in ..doing jobs or going through parts of life just trying to get to the next part ..without getting the reward for being there ..dooming themselves to a live of missed rewards ..

Aaron; In most cases, there is no fence. Or you can make the fence disappear.

There are easy paths, but those paths rarely lead to the same place as the difficult path.

And (I'm feeling especially wise today ) the benefit of a difficult path is what you learn on the way. Getting over a few fences teaches you the most effective path over the fence. You get stronger, smarter. That's the real payoff, in my opinion.

I made that all as cryptic and non-specific as possible. It makes me look both wise, and mysterious. Sort of like an older Batman.

Odahh;8093226; OK, you were serious, so I'll be serious.

The great thing about fences is that they have no intention. They don't care if you find an easy path over them, around them, or if you turn around and go home.

After a few decades of solving problems, and trying to learn from it all, I can give you a little insight. Here...

Your problems are never as bad as you think. Never. There is always a solution...there is always one more thing you can do to make it better. Always.

For a few years, I had back pain so bad that I would cry...not because I was sad...but because the pain was unrelenting.

I still worked, selling vacuum cleaners in people's homes.
And about ten years ago, the pain just went away. Do you know what I have now? The certainty that I can withstand any pain, and keep going.

Ever get a call that your brother has been beaten to death?
Ever watch a loved one die...right in front of you?

We can take it. We can take anything.

Haven't you solved every problem that you've faced years ago? And years from now, you'll look back at the problems you are facing now...and they won't even make a good story, they will seem so minor.

The reward of scaling a high fence is that now you know how to scale a high fence...and eventually, you'll become almost fearless. Or you'll give up.

I feel so sorry for people that are given everything they need. They don't develop survival skills. They can't identify with pain. They don't know what we know.

Much of what we think about, and anguish over, is because we have no real problems. Don't feel motivated? Suffer from low self esteem? Worried that a girl doesn't love you?

Spend the night in another country without knowing the language. Run from a gang that wants to beat you to death. Weigh your options while on a sinking ship...in the middle of an ocean. Your life is heaven, as it is now.

Our lives are picnics compared to any life 100 years ago.

You have a computer. Really? NASA would have killed 50 years ago for a pocket calculator. Do you have air conditioning? Really? Local stores where...for a few dollars...you can buy food that you would spend a season to grow.

Want to make a phone call...for free? to anywhere in the country? 30 years ago, you would have been called a crackpot for saying it was possible. 200 years ago, you would have been called a witch.

Our life expectancy used to be 40 years. Stop complaining. Every tool you need to create a successful life is within reach.

Children.