What It Takes

“Intense, burning desire is the motivational force that enables you to overcome any obstacle and achieve almost any goal.”—Brian Tracy

I recently read a story where a young man met with the Greek philosopher, Socrates. While they were together, the young lad wanted to make the most of this meeting. So he asked the sage of a simple question: “What is the secret of success?”

To answer, the question, the scholar took the boy near a river and he surprisingly forced the boy’s head into the river. Keeping him underwater until the boy was about to drown. At that dangerous point, Socrates pulled the boy out of the water and the first thing the boy did was to gasp and take a deep breath of fresh air.

Did you notice that the first thing the boy did was not to resent and vent at Socrates for wanting to kill him? He was supremely concerned for nothing but his own survival—his life.

Now Socrates said to the boy, “When you want success as badly as you wanted the air (underwater), then you will get it.” 

And he concluded: “That is the secret of success. There is no other secret.”

As the scholar demonstrated in the story, if we really want something, our desire for it must be strong enough to keep it uppermost in our minds. 

But for most people, that level of desire doesn’t just happen, and this explains why very few among us persevere long enough to achieve extra-ordinary results. 

To be like the vital few, we must embrace our challenges.

Use Your Pains for Good

Based on the books that I have read and my personal experiences, I can say that intense desire comes from pains; it comes from troubles; it comes from disgust, and it comes from challenges. 

At that critical point when you are extremely out of comfort like the drowning boy in the above story. And you become desperate for freedom the same way the boy needed the next breath of air; you are instantly committed to do whatever it takes.

The simple lesson of this article is that we must use our troubles and challenges to awaken the giant within us to aim at something worthy of our best. 

We don’t know how strong we are until being strong is the only option we have. We do have what it takes; we just need to use it.