Columbus Day: A Time to Make Your Own Discoveries?

If you were among the workers fortunate to have off yesterday for Columbus Day, we hope you enjoyed your long weekend. While some holidays lend themselves to reflection, such as thinking about gratitude at Thanksgiving or freedom on Fourth of July, Columbus Day often passes without much more than being happy to sleep in or catching a few celebratory sales at the local mall.

But perhaps Columbus Day should be a time to think about discovery. As we learned in school, this Italian explorer set out to find a western sea route from Europe to Asia. He ended up failing at that mission but in the process made one of the greatest discoveries in history. His courage to venture into the unknown may not have led to what he wanted (though he went to his grave believing he had achieved his goal), but it ended up changing the world in a drastic way.

Looking for some inspiration to discover your talents and passions or take your career to the next level? Ponder these famous words about discovery:

• “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” -- Andre Gide, French writer, 1947 Nobel prize for literature.

•  “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” -- Marcel Proust, French novelist.

• “One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his greatest surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't.” -- Henry Ford, American industrialist.

• “What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson, American poet.

• “When it's time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived.” -- Henry David Thoreau, American essayist.

Image courtesy of Thinkstock/Comstock.