The Road Signs That Changed My Day Inspired by Burn Your Goals by Joshua Medcalf

The Road Signs That Changed My Day

Inspired by Burn Your Goals by Joshua Medcalf

It was early morning, and I was sitting on the back porch of my brother’s house in Wheaton, Illinois. The sun was just beginning to rise, and the air still had that cool northern bite to it—just enough to wake you up, but soft enough to enjoy with a cup of hot coffee.

We were getting ready to head north to Green Bay, Wisconsin. Bella was bowling in the Junior Gold National Championships, and I had a few quiet moments before we loaded the car. Barbi and Bella were still inside getting ready, so I took the book I had started—Burn Your Goals by Joshua Medcalf—and began reading a chapter titled “Road Signs on the Path to Mastery.”

At first, I didn’t think much of it. I figured it’d be another motivational page or two—some good ideas to tuck away in my mental journal. But then something hit me.

Joshua talked about a drive he took from Denver to Nashville. At one point, after hours of not stopping, not eating, and not even checking the map, he suddenly panicked. Am I still going the right way? He hadn’t made a wrong turn. He hadn’t gotten lost. But he’d been so locked in, he forgot to check in.

That question—Am I still going the right way?—snapped something open in me.

I wasn’t driving yet. But I knew the feeling. When you’re walking a long, quiet road—mentoring kids, coaching, building something behind the scenes—sometimes it’s easy to wonder if you’re still moving in the right direction. No fanfare. No signs. Just repetition.

I took a long sip of my coffee and leaned back in the chair. My brother came outside, sat next to me, and we started talking about it. Not in a deep, philosophical way—just casually, like brothers do. But I could tell the story hit us both.

Medcalf talked about these “road signs” that actually confirm you’re on the right path—even though they feel the opposite. Signs like:

• This is hard.

• I don’t feel like doing this today.

• Almost no one else is doing this.

• It doesn’t feel like it’s making a difference.

That made me laugh. Not because it was funny—but because it was true. I’ve felt every one of those signs this year. And not just in coaching or teaching, but in fatherhood, in faith, in life. Sometimes the clearest sign you’re on the right path is the quiet resistance that shows up along the way.

Then Joshua flipped it again. He said highways don’t just give us information—they give us instruction. Warnings. Speed changes. Cautions about sharp turns. On the path to mastery, you get those too.

And that’s when I really started reflecting.

He listed a few of those “instructional signs” that stuck with me:

• Talk to yourself instead of listening to yourself.

• Ask, What can I do to make this better? instead of Why is this happening to me?

• Live by principles instead of feelings.

That one right there—that last one—is the one I needed most. Because I know what it’s like to feel everything at once. And I also know what it’s like to show up anyway. That’s principle. And principle is often silent. It doesn’t give applause. It gives direction.

My brother refilled my coffee, and we just sat there for a minute, not saying much. It wasn’t a big, dramatic moment—but something in me shifted. I realized I didn’t need a billboard to know I was heading the right way. I already knew. The path is working on me, even when I can’t see the result yet.

Before we packed the car and hit the road to Green Bay, I closed the book and smiled.

Because sometimes, the road sign you’re looking for isn’t in front of you.

It’s the chair under you.

The quiet in your chest.

The peace you feel after doing the hard thing, even when no one’s watching.

That’s the sign.

And for today, that’s more than enough.