Create Success

The Power and Promise of Desire

Last night in one of the Science of Getting Rich classes that I am teaching, we were discussing the importance of finding your passion in life, and the subject of desire came up. This is something about which most of us are lied to when we are kids. We're told in one way or another that wanting stuff (desire) is selfish. Being the literal minded little buggers that we are, we then apply that to our whole life and always feel a little ashamed to admit that we really want something. So we settle for unsatisfying lives, unsatisfying careers, unsatisfying relationships, and no money.

Here's the truth about desire - desire is your inner guide telling you what your purpose in life is all about! It's your passion for life, for full expression, trying to get your attention. The classic metaphysical writer Emilie Cady puts it even stronger - "Desire in your heart is always God tapping at the door of your consciousness with his infinite supply. It's the only way God has of letting us know of his desire to make it ours."

So rather than desire being somehow selfish and shabby, desire is actually a very spiritual quality that we should pay close attention to. Especially if that desire concerns how we spend our days - our work. If you're an accountant, but your desire is to be an artist, you've probably been told what a stupid, irresponsible idea that is. The advice we mostly get is, "You'll never make any money at that!" Perhaps all that good advice is wrong.

My friend Karen Leeds made that step a few years ago. She was very talented and experienced at marketing in the music industry, but her heart was not in it. She wanted to paint, and so she courageously stepped into the great unknown. She quit her job and started painting. When she was awarded "Best New Artist of the Year" in Scottsdale, AZ, it was clear that her heart was right. Was it easy? No. Was it scary? Yes. Did friends and family think she was nuts? Some did. Did she quit? No. Draw your own conclusions. You can see her work here.

There is something else very important about desire - desire carries with it the promise of the power to achieve it. Emilie Cady puts it this way, "If what you want was not already yours for the taking, you could not, by any possibility, desire it." We can not ever truly desire something that is impossible for us to have!

Sometimes the way our needs are provided for are almost spooky. I think of a kid in Arizona who wanted to be a stunt man. He started jumping off garage roofs at a young age and ended up as one of the top stunt performers in Hollywood. His specialty was high falls - spectacular leaps off higher and higher structures into those tiny looking air bags. He hardly ever got hurt, other than bruised up a bit. Later medical tests determined that Spanky Spangler has a genetic deficiency that makes his bones almost unbreakable. What a "coincidence", eh?

So what's your desire? What's your feeble excuse for not pursuing it? When will you start?

Let me know if you have any good desire stories. Post a comment below.

posted by Wes Hopper @ 10:14 AM