As for goals, I don't set myself those anymore. I'm not one of

Hear, O seeker of wisdom, the words of Paul Kane, spoken not with the fire of urgency, but with the calm flame of endurance: “As for goals, I don’t set myself those anymore. I’m not one of these ‘I must have achieved this and that by next year’ kind of writers. I take things as they come and find that patience and persistence tend to win out in the end.” These are not the words of defeat, but of a soul who has walked the long road and learned the secret rhythm of time. For while ambition burns swiftly, it is patience and persistence that carve lasting monuments in the stone of life.

The origin of such wisdom comes from experience itself. Kane speaks not as the eager youth chasing every horizon, but as the seasoned traveler who has learned that rivers do not rush to the sea in a single day. The writer’s path, like the farmer’s, is one of seasons—planting in obscurity, waiting through silence, and reaping only when the time appointed arrives. To demand of the earth that it yield before its season is folly; to demand of one’s craft that it bow to deadlines of pride is likewise vain. Thus Kane lays aside rigid goals, not to abandon direction, but to walk with life’s natural current rather than fight against it.

The ancients understood this mystery. Consider the tale of Aeschylus, the father of tragedy. His earliest plays were clumsy, dismissed by the crowds. Yet he pressed on with persistence, refining his art year upon year. He did not command himself to be great by the next festival; instead, he labored patiently until, in time, his words became the pillars of Greek theatre, inspiring generations. His greatness was not born of hasty ambition, but of endurance, as Kane himself counsels.

So too in other fields, history teaches us the triumph of patience. Think of Thomas Edison, who tried countless times to make the electric light. When mocked for his failures, he replied that he had not failed but discovered a thousand ways that did not work. His victory came not by setting arbitrary deadlines of achievement, but by persisting until truth itself yielded. This is the path Kane speaks of: a path where the victory belongs not to those who hurry, but to those who endure.

But let us not mistake Kane’s words. He does not despise vision, nor deny the worth of striving. Rather, he rejects the tyranny of numbers and dates, the artificial goals that enslave the heart. Instead, he embraces a deeper law: that life unfolds in its own rhythm, and that true mastery comes when one aligns with this flow. The impatient may grow weary and abandon their quest; the patient endure and, by enduring, prevail.

What lesson then must the children of tomorrow take from this teaching? It is this: do not chain yourself to rigid milestones, but commit yourself to the journey itself. For in the journey lies the shaping of character, and in persistence lies the victory unseen at first. Goals may inspire for a season, but when they are unmet, they can poison the spirit. Patience, however, sustains through drought and storm alike.

Therefore, let your actions be thus: rise each day to labor faithfully, not because a calendar commands you, but because the work itself is noble. Welcome delay as a tutor, not as an enemy. When others fall away in frustration, stand firm in persistence. When progress seems slow, remember the river, which carves valleys not by force, but by steady flow. And when your season of harvest comes, you will find that though you did not set dates upon your destiny, destiny itself has been faithful to reward your endurance.

So, take to heart the wisdom of Paul Kane: let go of the anxious striving after arbitrary goals. Embrace patience as your shield and persistence as your sword. For in the end, these are the companions that carry the soul beyond fleeting triumphs into lasting greatness.