(Usually) Hitting What You Aim At

It is generally that you hit what you aim at, though not always. I think I like the framing better that puts it, “You’re much more likely to hit what you’re aiming at, and less likely to hit what you’re not.” If you want to hit a target in a shooting contest, you aim for the bullseye, so that if in a twinge of miscalculated breathing or twitch of nervousness you misfire, at least you will likely hit the target itself somewhere. This can also translate, as a principle, to an allegory of life. If your intention is to help people resolve auto mechanic problems and have them pay you to do so, you will be much more successful in this endeavor if you attend a trade school for auto mechanics or an apprenticeship (if those still exist), have some business knowledge, and advertise said business than if you set up fruit stand on the side of the road with a sign that says “Jim’s Auto Shop”. Ironically, you might actually get at least one or two customers with the fruit stand for your auto mechanic business if you simply advertise it as “Jim’s Fruit Stand” than “Jim’s Auto Shop”. At least in the first instance, your fruit customers will have reason to believe your head is on straight and perhaps in conversation it will come up that you can also work on automobiles. In the second instance, they will be immediately inlined to think, with good reason, that you yourself are the fruit - or at least the nut - and that you don’t have the sense to sell fruit, let alone fix automobiles. The point is, actively pursuing an endeavor requires knowing where you are going so that you know how to get there, and it might be good to know where you are starting, as well. As another example, a trusted compatriot of mine took a trip to South Asia where he and his constituents were going to serve orphans and aid their orphanages physically, financially, and spiritually. This was their aim, and they largely achieved their goal. However, during their return trip home, there was a layover in a major city for a few hours and they went into one of the main tourist market areas in the city. One of the well-traveled members of the team intended to show the ease of achieving the goal of a different sort of aim that one may have if they had less than noble purposes for visiting that area, merely to demonstrate the prolific nature and sad reality of the situation. At once, he asked one of the many moped taxi drivers - most standing around unengaged as if they were waiting for just such a prompting - if he knew where they could find ‘young girls’. Almost immediately, there were swarms of middle-aged men asking the American travelers questions like “What age?”, “How many?'“, “What do you like?”; yes, the nefarious lifestyle of these otherwise seemingly benign moped drivers you can ascertain easily enough. The point is, if one were to have the intention go and serve orphans in South Asia, that target is there and can be hit. If, however, one has the malevolent intention to exploit victims of human trafficking in the same area, I am heartbroken to say that target can be hit as well. You hit what you aim at. Aim well!