"F*ck where you're from it's about where you're at" - Buckshot of Black Moon,
Song: "Sh*t Iz Real"
Album: Enta Da Stage
They say to know where you're going you have to know where you've been. Although there's some truth to that, neither of these things matter if you don't know where you currently are. Knowing where you stand at any given time is the best predicator to understanding your past and forging your future.
One of my favorite books "The Art Of War" by Sun Tzu spent a chapter on terrain, which highlighted how much it impacts the outcome in confrontations. In order to control the battlefield you had to know what it was made of. Every nook, cranny, and blade of grass must be as familiar to you as the features you see in the mirror. By dedicating that focus to the details that define where you are, you give yourself a better opportunity to understand your surroundings so you can get to you're destination.
Topography as an art and science is not new. From the first draft done by Descartes of how he envisioned the world to bio-mapping human genomes to better study cellular structure, the lay of the land dictates the victory in battle.
In business, when we do not take the time to reflect on the world that is constantly forming around us there is no way we can shape our place in it.
That's the law of the land, so learn the lay of it.
How else are you going to move around?
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