As the story goes, way back before remote areas of the planet were explored, map makers put dragons, sea serpents and other creatures on maps with the words, “Here be dragons.” I suppose it was a kind of warning, like saying, “Approach at your own risk.”

Now in reality, this statement was only used on the Lenox Globe, but I like the story. I see it as one of the many ways we express our mistrust of the unknown, our fear of new and unexplored areas. I also like to think that there are people out there who, coming upon a map like that, would be intrigued: Dragons? Really?! That sounds cool! When can we leave?!

It seems like there are always many unknowns in life, that in order to find new opportunities we have to head into unmapped territory. Winston Churchill said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” I’m starting this week searching for dragons. How about you?