There’s a quiet trap many of us fall into—the belief that we must have everything perfectly lined up before taking action. We wait for certainty, stability, and the “right time,” thinking our dreams will be safer that way. But Judge Lynn Toler reminds us: if we keep waiting for all our ducks to be in a row, we may never begin at all.
Ducks, after all, rarely line up perfectly. Life doesn’t hand us neat rows and flawless timing. It gives us uncertainty, obstacles, and gaps. And if we wait for everything to feel ready, we risk watching life pass us by—our dreams stuck in the waiting room.
Judge Toler’s wisdom urges us to act, not when things are perfect, but when we have the courage to take the first step—messy, scared, but ready enough. It’s in that brave leap that growth happens. We stumble, we adjust, and in the doing, we discover just how capable we really are.
Rather than seeing lack as a limitation, we can view it as an invitation—to be creative, to be resourceful, to build something beautiful with what’s in our hands now. Readiness isn’t about perfection; it’s about momentum.
And we’re never truly alone in this. When we step out in faith, we often find others walking beside us—people drawn to our courage, willing to cheer us on or even join the journey. Our action becomes an invitation for connection, support, and shared growth.
Judge Toler knows this deeply, not just in theory but in lived experience. Raised in hardship by a single mother in Columbus, Ohio, she learned early on the value of grit and seizing the moment. From Harvard to law school, from the courtroom to the national stage, her path was anything but smooth—but it was real, fueled by resilience, and led with heart.
Her rise—from a municipal judge to a beloved TV figure on Divorce Court—was built not on waiting for perfect conditions but on pushing forward with what she had: wisdom, clarity, and unwavering honesty.
Her journey, and her words, remind us that the road doesn’t need to be clear for us to start walking. What we need most is already within us—courage, conviction, and a willingness to go anyway.
So don’t wait for everything to fall into place. Take what you have. Gather your courage. And make a run for it.
Quotes to Remember Along the Way
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“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” – Seneca
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“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas Edison
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“We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.” – Kenji Miyazawa
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“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau