Did you ever notice how nobody says “I kinda want to be successful,” or “I sorta want to accomplish that goal”? Yet, how many people are actually willing to put in the hours, the energy, and the wholehearted devotion to achieve that goal?
Eric Thomas, a “guru” in his own right, tells the story of a wealthy guru approached by a young man desperate for all the guru’s riches. The wise one promised to meet his mentee at a beach the next morning. Sure enough, young man makes a positive step in the right direction by showing up at the beach. But then the guru proceeds to walk him out into the water … further and further. Young man isn’t impressed. He doesn’t want to be a lifeguard. He wants to make money. Wealthy man walks him all the way out until the water is consuming him, and the young man is gasping, struggling to breathe.
The moral of this story is not “Don’t put your trust in homicidal, wealthy mentors” BUT “You must want to succeed as much as you want to breathe.” Or, as Thomas puts it: When you get to the point where you want to be successful as bad as you want to breathe, then you’ll be a success. Many people may say they want that success as desperately as they might want just another breath in a life and death situation but few, he said, want that success as bad as they want to party … or sleep … or “be cool.”
That said, how bad do YOU want “it” – whatever “it” may be?
For me, my next “it” is represented by a marathon. After a slump where it took all my power just to get out the door, I’ve signed up for my first 26.2. I WANT to run a marathon so much that I’m on board for the hundreds of miles and hours required to go that distance competitively.
Same concept can be applied to other goals:
Want to be successful like the guru’s mentee? Work hard.
Want to improve? Put in the effort.
Want to really live? Fight to breathe.
And, yes, sometimes when we’re in the thick of whatever that journey is to reach our goal, be a success or improve, we may seem that we can’t breathe. We’re sinking in paperwork, lost in a day full of complex cases, or exhausted as we round the last stretch of an 18-mile run at race pace. It’s those moments when we need to dig in and find a way to steel ourselves for another long night, or find just enough energy to still pump those arms and take in the air needed to finish strong. Just as that kid in the Thomas story found out, though it hurt, he somehow still found a way to get the air he so desperately needed. There are times when we encounter physical, mental and | or emotional pain or trauma in our quest to be better and accomplish more.
That’s what separates the individual who just “kinda wants it” from the counterpart who genuinely “will do whatever it takes” to reach that goal.
Happy New Year, my friends! Here’s to CRUSHING many new goals in 2012!
