Quote Of The Day By Carl Sandburg: 'I'm An Idealist. I Don't Know Where I'm...'

Carl Sandburg was one of America's preeminent poets of the 20th century. He was considered a "Poet of the People" because much of his free verse writing reflected everyday life and hardships faced by many working class Americans, according to the National Parks Service. Sandburg was born in Galesburg, Illinois to Swedish immigrant parents. He dropped out of school when he was 13 to work and help bring in money for the family. At the age of 19 in 1897, he left Galesburg, described as a hobo as he traveled by train through Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska and picked up odd jobs along the way. In 1898, he enlisted in the army during the Spanish-American War, and then in 1899, he enrolled in Lombard College. He didn't graduate; however, he was the editor of the school's newspaper, and his first published work was reportedly in a Lombard publication.

Sandburg continued writing after leaving college. His first major book "Chicago Poems" was published in 1916. A few years later, he was awarded his first Pulitzer Prize for his poetry book "Cornhuskers." Along with poetry, Sandburg wrote a multi-volume biography on Abraham Lincoln, part of which won him his second Pulitzer in 1940. His third in 1951 was for his "Complete Poems."

Sandburg's final book was "Honey and Salt," a book of poems published in 1963. He died at his 264-acre farm near Asheville, North Carolina, where he'd done much of his writing. The farm became a National Historic Site the year after he died. It was the first time a poet had been honored in that way. His insights on life and the human condition may not have been written recently, but many of them still ring true, including today's quote of the day.

Carl Sandburg once wrote, "I'm an idealist. I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way." This quote is from Sandburg's book "Incidentals," which was one of his early works. It combined both poetry and prose with some of Sandburg's thoughts on life. This quote gives us a taste of Sandburg's personality as well as a lesson we can apply to our own life — keep moving forward and stay positive even as you face the unknown.

Carl Sandburg's quote acknowledges how life is full of unknowns, and you don't need to actually have your entire life mapped out to successfully move forward. It sounds like the sentiment may have come from Sandburg's time traveling around the Midwest at age 19; he didn't know exactly what he'd be doing for work or how long he'd stay somewhere, but he figured it out as he went. He would go door to door looking for enough work to get a meal with the optimism that he wouldn't starve.

While we don't have to follow in Sandburg's literal footsteps and catch a train to find our next meal, we can follow the general attitude. Have an idea for what the best of life could look like for you and trust that if you keep moving forward, good will come to you. You don't need to have everything mapped out and planned for your life to be successful.

However, it's not that those dreamed for things will just come to you. As the last part of Sandburg's quote highlights, you have to keep working and progressing, even in the face of the unknown. You can't let yourself get stuck in indecision or start overthinking what you'll do next; you have to get on with life. It may not lead where you thought it would, but if you keep moving, something beautiful will unfold. It may be what you'd dreamed of or something you could never have imagined for yourself.

• "It is necessary now and then for a man to go away by himself and experience loneliness; to sit on a rock in the forest and to ask of himself, 'Who am I, and where have I been, and where am I going.'"
• "The fog comes / on little cat feet. / It sits looking / over harbor and city / on silent haunches / and then moves on."
• "Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have and only you can determine how to spend it. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you."
• "I tell you the past is a bucket of ashes."
• "Nothing happens unless first a dream."