I had a friend who was seeking given career advice recently, and someone told him “Be careful what you choose, because ‘If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster’“. I don’t know exactly what the original context of this quote (by Stephen Covey) is, but I take issue with the way it’s intended here.
The thing is, I think if you’re doing excitingly ambitious things, there is no wrong wall. It’s the only way I know of really being able to stay true to yourself in the long run. The life is the journey, and destinations are overrated. You don’t need to climb a ladder to reach the life that you want. Of course, short/mid-term goal-planning is important to actually keep you on track, but I don’t think that you should ever see your life as a ladder you have to climb before you can actually get to something good.