The thing about obstacles

When I was doing my undergrad, one of my teachers gave us a great piece of advice. When you want to achieve something, you need to be clear as well on how much does it take to achieve it. That way, you will make an informed decision. If you decide that this goal takes more than what you\’re willing to pay, you won\’t be a \”victim\”.

Many of the obstacles we find in our path usually derive from our short-sightedness. If we don\’t understand what it takes to achieve something, we will be surprised and defeated by these obstacles.

How many times we have abandoned our dreams and goals because things became difficult and we decided it was too much effort to keep working on them? If variables are in our control, most likely we will try to outgrow our challenges. But only if we want those goals as much as we want to breath.

Some years ago, I read the story of a young man who wanted to be successful. He met with his coach and asked him, what he needed to do to be famous. The coach asked him to meet him the next day at the beach, at 4.00 am. The young man complained, but he went anyway, as he understood that some sacrifices must be made. His coach asked him: How bad do you wanna be successful? He said: \”Real bad\”.

The coach asked the young man to walk with him into the water. So he did. When the young man is waist deep into the water, he turns around and asks his coach if it\’s enough. The coach asked him again \”How bad do you wanna be successful?\” He said: \”Real bad\”. The young man, of course, starts wondering if the coach is ok.

The coach continues walking until the water is up to their chests. The young man says \” I wanna make money, I didn\’t ask to be a lifeguard. I wanna make money and be famous.\” The coach then took the young man\’s head and pushed it into the water. The poor guy tried to get free, started struggling and panicking. He struggled for some seconds and the coach let him go.

The guy was spitting water and tearing up. The coach asked him again: \”How bad do you wanna be successful?\” The guy had forgotten about wanting to be successful at that point. The coach said: \”When you want to succeed as bad as you wanna breathe then you will be successful.\”

If you want to achieve something more than you want to be in your comfort zone, sleeping late, having fun with friends, traveling or watching TV, you will most likely achieve it. Otherwise, obstacles will start showing up. Of course, there are difficulties that appear, as not everything is in our control, but when we really want to achieve something, we will find a way.