Thursday, July 30, 2009

Getting what you want....what do you want?

There are some people who seem laser focused on what they want out of life. Those people don't know the meaning of the word "no". Those people are usually the ones who change the world around us. They certainly change their world but often their vision is so clear and grand that it changes the world. Every one of us has this power whether we know it or not.

One of the biggest obstacles that people have is really deciding what they want. Think about it. That is amazing. Most of us would say that we want a ton of money. But why is it that so many people that have a ton of money are miserable. Money is not going to help your life find purpose. By the other token, people who have found a purpose in life have no problems finding the money they need to fulfill their mission. When you have something that you need to do with your life you find the way to finance it. Its not taking "no" for an answer because you can't live without moving towards your goal. Bill Gates did not start out with the drive to be the richest man in the world. Starbucks did not start as a company with the goal of having a shop on every corner of the world. Colonel Harland Sanders started by serving fried chicken to customers at his service station. Not one of these examples had a mission to become filthy rich. They all did, but it was simply a by-product of following their individual dreams. They all had a passion that had to be pursued at any cost.

Imagine that you had 250 million dollars in your bank account. You never need to work again. It sure would take a lot of pressure off, wouldn't it? So, what would you do? Take a minute to explore it. Dream a little bit. Doesn't it feel good to imagine that you could actually do anything that you want? Take the need for money out of the equation. Now come back to reality. Forget about the money needed but remember how good it feels to put yourself somewhere where you can do what you really want. Now...why can't you do it? No really, I mean it. Maybe you can't take your own private jet to travel the world, but you sure could do it if you really wanted to. You could get creative. You could stay at youth hostels. You could work really hard at your job for two years and put away extra money so you could take a year off.

This is the point where most people's minds immediately begin to come up with all the reasons that they could NEVER do that. As much as it felt good to let go and dream about it they say that it is not reality. It really can become your reality if you chose it. It might take huge sacrifices to do it. You might become more selfish, but if you chose it you can do it. You just have to decide if your ok going to your grave without achieving it. If that thought scares you then maybe it is time to take the first step towards deciding what you want. It all depends on how clear you are on what you want. It all depends on how honest you are with yourself. We have got to get out of the mindset that we can't do what we want because we don't have enough money. It is an excuse. There are tons of examples of people who had nothing and built fortunes because they used their mind to figure out how to get what they wanted. Money follows when great ideas are pursued with passion. Henry Ford said, "Whether you think you can or think you can't, your right."

Tomorrow I will share an uncomfortable thought about getting clarity about what you want.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I envy the people who know what they want out of life. I personally choose to strive to make fearless decisions as if I have nothing to lose, including money. For example, I would not stay in a job I hate because you fear losing the paycheck. It's not a valid reason. And sometimes I imagine I am very wealthy before making a big decision to ensure I am not factoring in money-based fear.

Taking this a step further though, my biggest problem is that when I envision winning the lottery I still don't know what I want to do. I know I want to change people's lives for the better and I am 100% sure I am just the type of person who can have that effect on people. But I also know I have to feel passionate about whatever I do in order to create and sustain whatever it is I'm doing to help. That's where I am stumped. It's not enough to find a need people have, I have to be drawn to the dynamics of helping fulfill that need because I can't fake it.

I think the reason I'm drawn to your blog and personality is because it appears you struggle with this as well and it reassures me that I'm not alone. More than that, it inspires me to learn from your experiences some things to try to get there myself. Maybe I can return the favor through my comments.

Keep writing. -X

Nathan Sanel said...

It sounds like we obviously share the same struggles. It would be great if you had a blogger id so I knew who you are, but even so, thanks for reading and thanks for your comments. Keep them coming.
Nate