A lot of people want things, but few people actually make the changes in their lives that will result in the things they want.
When we speak of the things we want, we speak of our desires. Simply wanting something does not cause that desire to materialize. The only desires that come to fruition are those desires in which we employ personal discipline to achieve. Desire equals discipline. Let me explain with this story:
A student approaches a teacher and declares, “I desire to learn from you.” The teacher responds, “Very well, follow me.” The teacher leads the student to the ocean and motions for him to follow into the water.
When they are about chest deep in the water, the teacher grabs the student and forces his head underwater. At first, the student is calm, thinking, “This is just part of some test. He will let me up in moment and I will impress him.” After a minute passes, the student begins to worry and struggle. Soon, he is desperately trying to surface and becomes frantic.
The teacher holds the student under the water to the point where the struggling ceases and the student almost passes out. Upon releasing him, the student angrily gasping for air shouts, “Are you crazy? You almost drowned me!”
The teacher looks calmly into his eyes and says, “When you desire to learn from me as much as you desired to get a breath, then return, and I will teach you.”
A drowning man will do ANYTHING necessary to get air. True desire is equal only to what you will do (discipline) to get the object of that desire.
It takes a true, undeniable desire to achieve real success. A person may exclaim a desire (“I want to build a home-based business for my family”), but until that person is willing to do WHATEVER it takes (discipline; i.e., learning Internet business, making a plan, executing the plan), it is a mere statement of sentiment, not true desire.
Desire = Discipline
The quality and authenticity of any desire you may have is only as genuine and sincere as what you are willing to do to get it. What will you give up? What will you re-prioritize? What will you sacrifice? How will you spend your time and money? What actual choices are you willing to make to get that desire? Whatever those choices are; whatever discipline you are willing to exercise… that is the genuine measurement of your desire.
In Part Two we’ll see how “focus” is the third vital aspect.