Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by the Collegian or its editorial board.

Graduates, you’re about to start a journey towards thriving or just existing. Here’s a couple of quotes to keep in mind as you go through the ebb and flow of life, and work toward being who you want to be.

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” – Amelia Earhart

The most difficult step on this journey is often the first one. Once you’re on that journey, it’s simply a matter of maintaining. Steve Harvey likes to talk about it as, “jumping,” a metaphor for jumping off a cliff. You must get to the point where going backwards isn’t an option. I don’t know if ‘jumping,’ is always appropriate, because I think life sometimes pushes you off that cliff. Its fully up to you, but you must dive or jump, to be successful. Be like Amelia. Be willing to go down with your ship.

“Beware of vision, dream, and passion killers; it’s sad to even say this: Family and friends will often be the first ones to talk you out of something that you’re passionate about… People that have no dreams are the people that will try to talk you out of your dreams.”- Tyrese Gibson

“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it- then I can achieve it.”- Muhammad Ali

Most motivational speakers and highly successful people express similar philosophies on success. One of those general views is that you must have intention and a vision for what it is you’re going after.

Building on what Gibson said, it does not matter what that vision is or what your plan is; someone is always going to doubt you. Any successful person will have their naysayers. Don’t let anyone else tell you that you can’t do something; if everyone thinks you can accomplish what you’re trying to do than you’re probably not very ambitious. If you’re making progress, and have some general idea what you want out of that progress, you’ll get somewhere you want to be.

“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.”- Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming after all, is a form of planning.”- Gloria Steinem

General plans are necessary for success, but not being able to veer from those plans is a detriment. Coupling that with Steinem’s idea, if you lack imagination and abstract thinking than you’ll miss out on opportunities because you never saw the connection, or the ‘possibilities,’ as Steinem called them. Not everything’s a clear path and sometimes you’ll have to reassess the plan.

“You can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love,” – Jim Carrey

Many of us will take the safe route because we are afraid of failing. Just maintaining can become defeating as well. Failing implies you were trying to achieve something, there’s no shame in that.

The icons whom I quoted may seem like untouchables, but you should know that’s not true. There is an infinite amount of activities a person could engage in, so with a finite number of people in the world, you undoubtedly have the potential to be great at something.

Have a general plan or idea for yourself, believe your view more than others, and step towards even your most strenuous goals.

Goodbye 2017 graduates, go and take life by the horns.

Mack can be reached at letters@collegian.com or on twitter @MackenzieBeaul1