I want to tell you a short feel-good story about a young man that I know. His name is Ryan Layman and he is achieving some amazing things in his young life. This weekend he is graduating from Air Force flight school and will be flying A-10 Warthogs. Wow!
I feel very proud of and for Ryan. And that is a good pride. An encouraging pride that supports Ryan instead of myself. He worked on my team just prior to applying to get into flight school and I got to know him quite well. He was a valuable member of our group.
I first met Ryan several years ago when he played soccer for my son Brad’s college team. Brad was his coach. He wasn’t particularly impressive aside from his work rate. He was never outhustled on the field. That impressed me. I later spoke to athletes and coaches on the topic of leadership and Ryan was visibly very engaged. That also impressed me. Now he is a “fly boy” and I am beyond impressed. You see, Ryan is an average young man that accomplishes above average goals because he has an amazing work ethic. That is what separates him from those of us who do average things. To accomplish what he has accomplished takes focus, determination and desire.
One of the more passionate words we know is “desire”. Leader, speaker and author John Maxwell contends that “We never consider that something cannot be accomplished in our life when we have already done it in our heart.”
Intensely wanting or desiring something has the ability to overcome just about anything that you lack. You can lack talent and still achieve big things if you want it badly. You can lack experience and still attain your goals if you have a burning desire to be successful. You can even lack a good plan, and I am very big on planning, and still hit a home run in life if you are passionate about winning. Your commitment to pulling something off will make all the difference between making and breaking. It makes up for what we lack in our life when we are “on fire with desire”. It provides us with the energy to carry us forward.
You may have read in my book, Inspired Selling or in other blogs where I write of a beautiful young woman named Alana Nichols. Alana is a cherished friend of mine who is also my hero. Her courage and desire turned a tragic snow-boarding accident into a record-setting, storied Olympic career. She went from being a broken rider and softball hopeful to becoming a gold medal winning skier and basketball player. She did both while sitting because she is paralyzed from her waist down. Alana’s passion overcame her thinking of the daunting task ahead by supplying her with the energy to be an Olympic champion. I have never seen greater determination.
Ryan didn’t have the setbacks that Alana did, but he possesses similar wanting to become who he is about to become. Thus, he works very, very had to make it happen. His never say die attitude exudes confidence that he will be successful and finish the race.
You and I have that same opportunity to overcome obstacles such as Alana has and stay laser focused and determined as Ryan does. It is all a matter of how much we want it. I know when I really want something, I will put forth more effort to accomplish it. There have been many times when I didn’t give something my best. When that happens, it is because my heart is not fully in it. Or described another way, I didn’t want it badly enough. In most cases that was a complete waste of my time and what effort I did expend. Have you ever had such an experience? If so, I’ll bet you regret it now.
I think if we skip those half-cooked wants and only go after those burning inside us, we will be much more successful, not to mention gratified. It is sort of like setting goals. If you set B and C importance ranked goals, they will detract from the A goals and you may never fulfill your biggest dreams. For me, B and C goals no longer exist because they are not important enough for me to get fired up about, so why even bother? Review your goals and test yourself on how much you really want them before you waste any effort. Then, when clear to you, go for it. Catch fire with desire and give it the “Ryan try”.