DESIRE And Its Place In Business

de·sire
dəˈzī(ə)r/Submit

noun
a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen.

 

After constant encouragement to read Napoleon Hill’s exceptionally popular book- Think and Grow Rich, I finally decided to go ahead read it. And I’m glad I did.

While this book was written nearly 78 years ago, there are many parallel’s that can be made to our business market today, including the shaky financial market, the need for service based leadership, and the place of customer as king.

One thing that stands tall and true for me in this must-read book, is the importance of DESIRE in business. That is why below I will give my thoughts on DESIRE, and what role it plays in business.

 

Here is one of my favorite quotes from the book:

 

 

One flaw that most of us have (myself included) is looking at other people’s middle, and comparing it to our beginning. There is no situation where this ends well.

When we compare ourselves to other people who have achieved success without also looking at their failures, we end up discouraging ourselves. We therefore put ourselves in a position where success of any kind seems impossible, and where the only thing within our line of sight is a bunch of obstacles.

 

Once impossible becomes a big part of our vocabulary, it is quite hard to eliminate from our daily talk.

 

So where does DESIRE come in?

 

There are certain things in this life you cannot control- the family you are born into, your intelligence, and for some people the quality and level of education you receive.
However, one thing is fully under your control, and that is your DESIRE.

When you are hungry for something- a relationship, a job, a promotion, a house, there is nothing other than that which you are hungry for that will satisfy you.

With DESIRE fueling you, you gain the ability to run over every roadblock in pursuit of what you wish to acquire.

 

This DESIRE can also be applied to business, where people often encounter obstacles that seem too big to overcome. These obstacles include qualifications, capital, and level of experience, and will always rear their ugly heads every time you seek to take a step forward.

However, DESIRE is yours and yours alone. It cannot be taken away or diminished without your say so, making it the most powerful weapon you can have when venturing out on your own.

Once you have the DESIRE for something, this DESIRE will transform into an IDEA, which can then be acted upon in order to achieve success. However, your DESIRE needs to be DEFINITE in order for you to succeed. You cannot have a vague and indifferent desire, which you have barely put any thought into.

 

When your DESIRE is DEFINITE, it is easier to transform that DESIRE into reality, through hard work, organization, persistence, faith, and quick-witted intelligence.

Regardless of whether or not you have the support of your friends, family, and peers, your DESIRE to win will propel you forward. Your DESIRE should be what is driving you, not the negative attitudes of those around you or the obstacles that you face.

Your DEFINITE DESIRE will inspire you to move forward when you are too tired to take another step.

 

If you do not believe in the power of DESIRE, here are a few popular examples:1.

1. Henry Ford founder of the Ford Motor Company is perhaps one of the most famous examples of success after failure.

With the stink of five failed businesses all around him, as well as pockets full of nothing, the only thing that Ford was left with was the DESIRE to create a horseless carriage. We all know how this story ends.

 

2. While we praise the genius that is Harland David Sanders today, the beloved KFC recipe that we all love was rejected a total of 1039 times.

Whether or not the offending restaurateurs lacked tasted buds is a story for another day. The point here is simple; Colonel Sanders lacked support, yet he went back looking for this support over 1000 times. If that is not DESIRE then I don’t know what it is.

 

3. Whenever someone makes a clever discovery, they are nicknamed ‘Einstein’. Albert Einstein was brilliant, no doubt about that, what you might not know was that he did not speak until he was 4, and he didn’t start reading until he was 7.

It’s quite laughable to think that the father of modern day physics and one of the most famous Nobel Prize Winner’s was once believed to be mentally handicapped. With a school expulsion on his record, and a rejection from a polytechnic school weighing on his mind, the only thing that kept this young genius going was the DESIRE to learn.

 

4. If you have watched the film ‘Soul Surfer’, then you know about the incredible talent and inspiration that is Bethany Hamilton. At the tender age of 13, Hamilton had her arm bitten off by a shark as she surfed the Kauai waters.

The logical ending to this story is a life where Hamilton no longer takes part in a sport that primarily relies on balance. Luckily, there is no logic to DESIRE. Hamilton’s DESIRE to surf again got her back on her board three weeks after the nearly fatal attack.

Today she is a professional surfer with multiple championship wins, and numerous number 1 surfing competition placements from around the globe.

 

5. If you have not heard of the Harry Potter franchise, then you are most probably living under the stairs. With thousands of people lining up outside Harry Potter book launching’s and movie premiere’s, it is quite difficult to imagine that J.K Rowling was once a broke and struggling single mother, living on welfare.

Hard work and determination helped her achieve the success that is the Harry Potter franchise, but her DESIRE to win caused her to get up after 12 publishers rejected her manuscript. Can you imagine someone tossing Harry, Hermione, and Ron in a bin?

 

This list is endless. Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Charlize Theron, Simon Cowell, Vincent Van Gogh, Franklin Roosevelt, Jay Z, Kris Carr, Thomas Edison, Stephen King, Richard Branson, Jim Carrey, Bill Gates, Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, Charles Darwin, Ludwig Van Beethoven, The Beatles, Emily Dickinson, Harrison Ford, Sidney Poitier, Sochiro Honda, R.H. Macy, and Walt Disney all faced rejection, bankruptcy, trauma, sickness, or humiliation.In fact, most of them faced all of these challenges, but today

In fact, most of them faced all of these challenges, but today they stand as leaders in their field. When the world was on top of them trying to crush them to pieces, DEFINITE DESIRE was what got them to try again.

DEFINITE DESIRE was what helped them overcome poverty, abuse, trauma, discrimination, learning disabilities, humiliation, rejection, lack of education, sickness, and FAILURE!!

 

 

Final Verdict

Note that I am not disregarding the enormity of obstacles that you might be faced with, I am fully aware of the cut-throat business world that we live in today. What I am doing here is stressing the big role that DEFINITE DESIRE plays in business, so that you can arm yourself for the trials that are part and parcel of doing business.

When the failures do come, and trust me they will, shake it off. Try again, and yet again, until you succeed.

With this in mind I urge you to take a step back and reflect on your desires, so as to determine whether DESIRE or INDIFFERENCE is driving your business decisions. If INDIFFERENCE is what is driving you then you will need to make a conscious decision to focus on what you DESIRE.

 

I hope that this post encouraged a spirit of DEFINITE DESIRE in you, and if you liked it then you will definitely enjoy my thoughts on Passion and Procrastination in business.

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Have a lovely day, and I hope to see you soon!