Do I have to Cultivate a Burning Desire

All great success stories begin with a great idea.  Well, sometimes the idea isn\’t so great at the beginning but it evolves into a great idea.  This idea is nothing but a thought and a thought without action is nothing at all.  The idea often gives people a temporary feeling of inspiration but cultivating a burning desire is what gets us all through the challenges and perspiration that is necessary to over come the inevitable obstacles along the way.

All successful people have developed a burning desire to achieve their goals and it is what drives them from beginning to end.

\”Give me a man of just average ability, but with that deep down burning desire to succeed and I will give you a winner every single time.\”-John Paul Getty

Every thing in life starts as a small seed.  Whether it is a mustard seed, the seed of a great Oaktree or the seed of an idea, what grows into success begins with a seed.  Desire is the seed for all great successes but in order to continue to enjoy the fruits of desire and individual often has to cultivate a greater sense of desire, in fact, a burning desire.

Does this sound familiar?  It is the beginning of something new.  Whether you are in the first two weeks of the new exercise plan, the beginning of a new relationship or the start of a new entrepreneurial experience you feel energized, invigorated and happy.  There is so much potential in the future and it feels motivating, as if you will be enthusiastic for weeks on end.

Except that\’s not how it really is.  This is how it is in the beginning for most things but it isn\’t how it is in the middle.  In the middle of something you are faced with obstacles and challenges to accomplish your goal.  You have to travel through the middle to get to the end.  And you must get to the end to accomplish your goal and achieve the results you desire.

So there is that word again, \”desire\”.  The goal or results you desire is what will carry you through the challenges you face.  It is what makes those obstacles challenges instead so that you can find a way to go over them, under them, around them or through them.  Desire is what fuels the fire and keep it burning brightly.

\”The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire.\”-Robert Kiyosaki

Desire is the starting point but a burning desire is what helps you accomplish your goal to the very  end.  There you are, stuck in the middle, facing challenges both at home and at work.  Your goal is financial freedom but your financial situation is less than poor, your recent investments has bottomed out, your last virtual assistant left without notice and your marketing executive has decided that it\’s more fun to play Tetras then it is to bring in new business.

Without a burning desire these obstacles are insurmountable.  You can\’t see a way around them and it seems easier to just quit then it does to find solutions.  After all, what is the point?  While it might have been exciting in the beginning it now seems like drudgery.  This lack of burning desire is what is at the bottom of many failures, whether it\’s in the sports field, the board room, the bedroom or personal development.

So the real question isn\’t whether or not you need to cultivate a burning desire but rather-how do you cultivate a burning desire?

RESOURCES

Steve Pavlina Personal Development for Smart People: Cultivating a Burning Desire