My family and I have been watching the new TV series “Once Upon A Time In Wonderland” on ABC. We have enjoyed it, being fans of the original series “Once Upon A Time.” The story is a spin off of Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. I got me thinking about one of the interactions between Alice and the Cheshire Cat in the original story…

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” said Alice.

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the cat.

“I don’t much care where –” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the cat.

~ Lewis Carroll, Alice In Wonderland

Like Alice if you don’t know where you want to go, then you will have a very hard time trying to get there. You have to begin with the end in mind. Have a starting point for where you want to go in life. If you have no reason to go where you want to go then you won’t have the motivation to begin to step in the right direction. Destiny does not just appear on your doorstep packaged ready to go. So the question you have to start with is “what do you want to do?” What is it that you envision for your future? You need to make sure you direct your life in a way that you are passionate about. Don’t go in a direction with your life just because someone else told you to, find your passion. If you try to live life without a passion and drive to do what you do, you will probably come up short. Make sure that you have a “why” you want to start. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does need to be compelling.

You get a starting point from your passion, a question, a struggle, a desperation, a message burning within. Find a purpose that has life to it. If you are stale in your spiritual walk you will have a hard time finding life within. True abundant life only comes from God. In John 10:10 Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” So what side of the comma do you live on? The left side with only life, or the right side with abundant life? There is a big difference between just living and living abundantly. Once you have abundant life in you, you will begin to approach each day with joy.

The first step to greatness is to start right. If you don’t start right you can finish very wrong. Your decisions will determine your direction in life, and your direction will determine your destiny! So make sure that you get a clear vision of what you want your life to be about. When you know your “why” you are well on your way! If you don’t know your “why” and the direction your life needs to go, seek out God’s plan for your life. Get into His word, talk to Him, and get around passionate followers of Christ! God WILL begin to reveal His direction and “why” for your life!

Don’t just accept your life, lead your life! Make the choice to start in the direction you want to go today! Famous basketball coach John Wooden said, “There is a choice you have to make in everything you do. So keep in mind that in the end, the choice you make, makes you.”

The lesson I have learned from Alice is this…Make sure you know where you want to go!