Inspiration or Desperation?
Which one more often leads to a success story? I can’t answer this question factually. But I can definitely take an educated guess.
There is no doubt in my mind that more significant success stories come from a place of desperation than inspiration. Think about it this way….everyone, and I mean everyone, comes up with multiple ideas that excite them in their life. But more often than not, they are not acted on. Why? Sure we could say that some people aren’t motivated enough at the moment to act…so that would mean they are not inspired enough to act, wouldn’t it? So inspiration doesn’t always lead to action.
Another component of inaction around inspiration is the fear of losing what is currently held. Many people are simply afraid to risk what they have to pursue what they want. Having something to lose is often a massive obstacle to inspiration. The more someone has to lose the less likely they are to act. In essence this goes to the idea that a level of success can become an inhibiter to a higher level of success. Certainly there is a level of prudence for someone who has accomplished much to be cautious in how much they are willing to risk. But I am speaking more to the everyday person.
On the other side, desperation usually means less to lose. How many times have you heard someone who was successful say in their story I had nothing to lose so I went for it. There are always situations where some people are paralyzed by difficult times…but this is leading to the entire point of this post. Personal development covers both sides. Someone who invests in growing and developing themself moves more easily past paralysis, and when they are in a desperate situation they KNOW it is only temporary.
On the inspiration side, the personally developed person knows what makes sense to act on given their values and goals (less developed people don’t have goals) and strengths. They also know that if they were to lose everything somehow, they would eventually rebuild. Because of who they ARE, not what they have. But Jim Rohn said it better than I can so I’ll close with these words of wisdom from the late Mr. Rohn.
“If we lost everything tomorrow, we could easily replace it all. Why? Because we acquired those things as a result of what we are. Assuming “what we are” has not changed, in time we will attract back into our lives everything we may have lost. The same applied knowledge, the same attitude, the same effort and the same plan will always produce the same results.”-Jim Rohn
