When There's The Will

When there’s the will, there’s always a way.

We go through life convincing ourselves we can’t do something.

Sometimes with good reason, other times we're just making excuses.

You don’t have time

You don’t’ have the energy

You don’t have the support

The odds are all stacked against you.

But reality is, what we don’t’ have is that strong conviction.

The drive to really pull through and live up to your promise

That deep understanding of what’s important and the strength of will to pursue it with everything you’ve got.

What is it that you stand for exactly?

What is the path you’ve committed yourself to?

How important is it and what are you willing to give up to get there?

Too often we make choices ad hoc based on how we feel

Whether its fear, despondency or you’re just not in the mood.

We wait for the next wave of motivation and inspiration and then try to ride the wave in when it finally arrives.

Problem is, sometimes it never comes.

Sometimes it comes for a fleeting moment only to disappear again.

It you’re sitting around waiting to ‘feel like it’, well, you’re a slave to your emotions

Rather than moving into your humanity and transcending them, you define your whole existence by them

They lead you, you don’t lead them

You’re an amateur, not a professional.

We often apply this ethic to our jobs, but not to our personal lives.

And this is a dangerous place to be, because emotions are irrational and can lead you astray.

So I suggest that you commit your life to something, to some one.

An idea or a principle

Some underlying ethic or value and then let that be your guide.

Use that as the basis for how you approach each day

How you approach your relationships

Be driven by your convictions, not by your emotions.

There’s never a right time

You make the time right – simply by the choosing and then doing.

There’s a sacrificial element to making it to paradise,

The road is not lined with comforts and no one ever said it was supposed to be easy.

But that's where the treasure lies.

It not by accident that these themes appear over and over in myths and religions – across all cultures and across all time.

So find those things worth fighting for, and then muster the will

Don’t let anything slow you down.

Because if it’s important enough you’ll make it happen

And when you have the will, and it's real, then you'll always find a way.