False Promises

"You can have anything you want - if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, have anything you desire, accomplish anything you set out to accomplish - if you will hold to that desire with singleness of purpose."

Robert Collier
Writer and Publisher

I got this little note on something I get called Insight of the Day. Most days I love getting these nuggets of wisdom. While I understand the purpose of the above quote - we should expand our horizons and not limit our potential - I am concerned about the messages that tell you can have anything you want. Think about it.

There is nothing on this earth that I would like than to be a professional baseball player.

Yesterday, Tiger Woods didn't with the PGA Championship. I can't imagine anyone wanting to win more than he did.

And how about Tyson Gay? Do you think he didn't want to win the 100 metre final badly at the World Track and Field Championships?

In Tiger and Tyson's instances, other people just happened to perform better than they did. In the case of my desire to be a professional baseball player, while the desire might be there, I don't have the body of twenty-two year old anymore.

I imagine Robert Collier might say that Tiger, Tyson and I didn't want it badly enough or hold to the desire with a singleness of purpose. I like to think of it, rather, of having a touch of reality in my life.

Unlike those who send money to televangelists who lead extravagant lives on the promise of God giving them more money than they can imagine, I just give what I can towards anything. In other words, I give it my all. Yes, I have an objective or goal in mind, and some of them come true. But I do allow for the fact that sometimes in life your strongest desires, your fondest dreams just don't work out. That doesn't mean that you have failed. It just means that there is something better for you around the corner. You just have to keep on walking.

Don't give up on your dreams. They are wonderful to have. And there are some that will be difficult to let go, but don't pretend that they will all come true just because you desire them. That just isn't reality. Of course the people who do believe and have their dreams come true will preach this hope to you, and usually charge you to hear their inspirational message. Why? Because they figure that is what got them where they are. And there is some truth in what they say, but to come out and say you can have anything is stretching it a bit far.

Just so I don't sound too negative, here is a recent one that I really liked.

"Living consciously involves being genuine; it involves listening and responding to others honestly and openly; it involves being in the moment."

Sidney Poitier
Actor and Author of The Measure of a Man

Good quote and great actor!