You Gotta Want It

Boldness does not mean we have no fear or uncertainty. It means we begin even though the entire road has not yet revealed itself.

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”

~Goethe

I first saw that quote hanging in someone’s office. I do not remember whose office it was, but I remembered the words. They meant a lot to me when I have struggled to keep going. As a matter of fact, I have it framed on my mantle.

Perhaps it was because the quote did not merely say to dream. It said to begin.

There is a difference.

Dreaming lets us imagine what could be. Beginning asks us to take a chance on it.

It is not just Goethe’s quote that keeps me going. It is so much more. It is the songs I sing, the books I read, and the people I meet. And it is finally the possibilities ahead.

When I am on the road, I often sing “You Gotta Want It” by Jordin Sparks. I have sung it for years, and I still sing it now.

It is a football song about defeating your competitor, but I have never thought of it as being only about football. To me, it is about life.

You have to want it.

You have to want it enough to keep trying when the road is longer than you expected. You have to want it enough to get back up after disappointment. You have to want it enough to continue when the first attempt does not work, the second one falls apart, and the third one still does not look anything like success. I have experienced that many times in my life.

Other days it is “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” or “I’m Coming Out,” or “Carry On Wayward Son” — whatever the moment calls for. Sometimes I sing simply to keep myself motivated enough to carry on. Perhaps I have created my own traveling motivational concert. No audience, no stage, just me, the road, and whatever song reminds me not to quit.

I have learned that you have to fight in life.

Not every fight is against another person. Often, we are fighting discouragement, fear, exhaustion, disappointment, or the temptation to decide that something is impossible before we have truly tried.

Sometimes we are fighting the voice that points out everything we do not have.

Not enough time. Not enough money. Not enough help. Not enough experience. Not enough energy.

Those things may be real. Pretending they do not exist does not make us stronger.

But they are not the whole picture.

Life becomes far more rewarding when we learn to see the prospects in front of us instead of staring only at what is missing.

What can be done with what we have? What door is still open? What can be learned? What can be repaired? What can be built? What could happen if we begin?

Years ago, I read As a Man Thinketh by James Allen. Its message I have never forgotten either: the thoughts we allow to take root within us help shape the direction of our lives.

That does not mean we can merely think about something and make it appear. Life does not work that way. But what we continually focus upon affects what we notice, what we believe is possible, and whether we take the next step. If I look only at what is not there, I will always find a reason to remain where I am. If I look for the prospects, I may discover a path.

The path may climb a mountain. It may require a fight. It may demand more of me than I originally expected.

But perhaps that is where boldness enters.

We dream. We begin. We fight for what matters.

And when the road becomes difficult, we turn up the music and remind ourselves:

You gotta want it.

There may be a mountain ahead, but that does not mean the journey is over.

Carry on.

NOTE: The book As a Man Thinkith’s link it to a free copy.