I have found that there are two types of individuals; those who turn keys and those who tag-along. Another way to illustrate this is the Truck and Trailer example.
A truck has a motor that gets started by the turning of a key. It has the means to transport itself down the road under it's own power. It can go both forward and in reverse when something impedes forward momentum. It has breaks so it can stop and it has a steering wheel to change the tires in a different direction.
A trailer has none of these things. It is a container with tires that are fixed in one direction. It has no power to drive itself forward or to go in reverse. It cannot turn unless it is pulled through a turn. It will only move with the power of a truck and it will have no influence where it will end up. If left unhitched it may roll downhill on its own until it crashes. It can only follow where the truck leads.
People who know what they want and are willing to go after it are trucks. They are self-motivated and driven toward their goals. They see success as the gasoline that keeps their motors running. They will push hard and often can drive over other trucks as they race toward a destination. Entrepreneurs, leaders, politicians, and commanders are trucks. Even some parents are trucks. They often will drive themselves to exhaustion and if they don't do regular maintenance they may end up broke-down on the side of the road.
People who want to get someplace but don't want to do the work are trailers. They are motivated by the successes of others and want to tag-along where the trucks go. The trailer carries the majority of the load. One employer who is a truck might have hundreds of employees who are the sales team or who perform the services. Trailers are excited when the truck is driving fast, but can be unnerved and overturned when the truck makes a sharp turn they are not prepared for. Often, the truck is focused so much on what is ahead they can miss the fact that the trailer has a flat tire or needs repairs. Sometimes, a jack-knifed trailer can bring ruin to both truck and trailer.
People are either trucks or trailers, turn keys or tag-alongs. Some people will have keys to open doors to opportunity. Others will only tag-along where others will take them. The choice is yours which you want to be.