When we were little kids, our imaginations had no boundaries, no limits. We could envision navigating a spaceship underneath the blankets on our beds, or sailing the seas inside of a pirate ship.
As we grow up innocence fades away and for most of us, reality begins to settle in.
Our dreams and imagination from long ago get pushed to the side while we focus on what we’ve been programmed and conditioned to think and believe.
Get a job (and work for the next 30-50 years), get married, get a house, have kids, etc.
But inside, deep within, whether you can still feel it or not, a burning desire remains ablaze.
A desire to fulfill and achieve certain aspirations.
F the BS: Let’s rediscover your burning desire from within!
I recently began reading a book that was written all the way back in 1937 called Think and Grow Rich (to date the book has sold more than 100 million copies!)
The author, Napoleon Hill, discusses the idea that if you want something bad enough, you must be so determined to obtain it (sometimes to the brink of obsession) that at some point you convince yourself with full certainty that you’ll possess it.
Almost 7 years ago, right after graduating from college my burning desire was put to the test (definitely not for the first time).
Looking back at it today through reflection, this specific situation had a tremendous effect on the trajectory and path of my life as well as my brain’s wiring that back then in that moment I obviously had no clue about its potential significance.
I had taken a unique approach to finding a way to make some money, as well as simultaneously gaining first hand experience in the internet marketing world.
Unfortunately, I was faced with rejection.
A real blow to the gut.
Thinking about that day, I vividly remember sitting at the dinner table on my laptop in the house I grew up in. I had read the message and immediately skyped my business partner to tell him the bad news.
During that crucial moment of defeat (temporary of course as all defeat is temporary!), we had a very important decision to make.
Instead of throwing in the towel and soaking in our failure of not being able to close our first client, we let our burning desire, determination and imagination take over. We decided with all of our might that we simply wouldn’t accept defeat. That there was no possible way of taking NO for an answer.
Our like minded brains reacted with the logic of, if we can’t retain this client the way we best thought we could, let’s look at things from another angle and find a way to secure his business through how he would best see it fit.
And it worked.
That experience, from rejection to being able to work around the bump in the road, to actually working for the client and gaining the necessary skills to work in internet business, was paramount to allowing me to put my first steps forward to commence the paving of the path for where I’ve eventually come to today.
The concept of simply not accepting defeat paired with actually going through with using it almost seven years ago to the day (and building up the confidence to continue to use it), has compounded and paid out it in dividends throughout my life (both personally and professionally) that I never would have imagined back then.
The lesson that I hope you can learn from this story is that life is all about perception. You can’t let defeat or a minor setback prevent you from going after your lifelong dreams.
Never let that burning desire from within fade away. Dive into your inner childlike imagination and use your determination to go after your ambitions. More likely than not, once you do, you’ve already won half the battle. Your goals are only an arm length away at best.
“When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.” – Napoleon Hill