How Bad Do You Want It?

I had breakfast with a friend recently who wanted to discuss personal branding. They felt that if they determined what their brand was or could be, it would change everything. But the truth is the real problem wasn’t necessarily their personal brand but their passion.

Right of the top we put cost on table. “How much might this cost me Ed?” they asked. I just as quickly threw $5,000. at them, knowing the reaction – “5 grand, whoa that’s way to much.”

Think so?

Here’s the thing, 5 grand was not the issue. $100 might be too much, who knows. The issue here is passion. How bad do they want it. I know that they just went out the week before and dropped 5 grand on a flat screen TV. It didn’t take much too thought either, as a matter of fact they went out “just to look” and came home with the baby.

I asked them at this point – “How much is your personal grow worth to you?” and of course they said – “A lot”, this is where I jumped it an retorted – “Obviously not as much as a big screen TV.” That last comment was just for fun. The truth is they were passionate about their entertainment, not so passionate for personal growth.

At this point in the conversation it got pretty SELF-analytical. My friend wanted to know what might be wrong with them, that they just can’t get their act together as far as their personal growth aka personal brand. My opinion was there is nothing “wrong” with them, they simply didn’t want it bad enough. They love talking about it, they loved planning it, but they don’t really want it, or they would do it. They replied ” no way, of course I want it.” “If that is the case,” I asked, “why is it that for the last few minutes you told me several reason why you CAN’T do it instead of why you CAN?” You can’t find the time to work out in a gym because there is no passion to work out, BUT if your doctor say’s you will die if you don’t, then guess what, your passion to live opens that gym door.

YOU DON’T WANT IT BAD ENOUGH, YOU DON’T HAVE THE PASSION.

Not having the passion to improve your brand, personal or corporate is not really a bad thing but a personal determination of goals. What do you want out of your personal and corporate life? What is your overall definition of success? If you are passionate about a goal, then money is not so much of an issue. What is more important in your life, professional growth or the big screen TV? There is no right or wrong answer to this. It is what is important to you right now at this point in time.

The one thing you have to come to gips with is the truth. Don’t lie to yourself about where your passion lies. If you truly want to grasp greater things then you have to come to grips with your own personal demons and ignite your passion to obtain it. Stop talking about it and DO IT! If the big screen TV is where it’s at right now, then embrace it and enjoy the sucker with everyone you love.

Passion is why we do the things that are truly important to us. To say you are a procrastinator is just a crutch to not have to come to terms with the fact that there is no passion in doing tasks set out in front of you. Find out what motivates your passion and embrace it. If you feed your passions with positive energy, you will do it. Even if you fail in the attempt, the approach is re-directed but the passion doesn’t die, as a matter of fact it is stronger.

Passion feeds on our efforts, just as little effort starves passion. How bad do you want it?