Curious about Desire: Do You Know What You Want and Have a Burning Desire Strong Enough to Get It?

Definition of Desire : To long for; to wish for earnestly; to covet. To express a wish for; to entreat; to request. The natural longing that is excited by the enjoyment or the thought of any good, and impels to action or effort its continuance or possession; an eager wish to obtain or enjoy. Anything which is desired; an object of longing.

“Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.” - Napoleon Hill, American writer

“Desire! That's the one secret of every man's career. Not education. Not being born with hidden talents. Desire.” - Bobby Unser, American celebrity

I chose “Desire” for this week’s blog theme for several reasons. First, because I am re-reading “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill – you have just read his thoughts about the importance of a true desire. Bobby Unser agrees whole heartedly. But, most of all, because when people are asked about what they want and/or what are their dreams and desires, most say they don’t know.

I also feel that we settle on “not knowing” because if we do know, we will have to go after it or them, which produces a state of fear. We are afraid that we won’t succeed at receiving our desire and hate the idea of failure.

How about you? What is your burning desire? Realize that anyone who experiences failure is so far ahead of those who never try that it makes sense and is worthwhile to take the risk. Another known fact is that those working on a desire often experience a down turn just before the break through and success. It is easy to give up at this point. Don’t. Those who persevere and stick with it, do achieve and receive their desire.

Many uplifting quotations resulted from my search for “desire:”

• “The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire not things we fear.” - Brian Tracy, American author
• “My secret? A desire to work, years of dedication and loving what you do; I can't live without music.” - Compay Segundo, Cuban musician
• “Plant the seed of desire in your mind and it forms a nucleus with power to attract to itself everything needed for its fulfillment.” - Robert Collier, American publisher
• “Out of need springs desire, and out of desire springs the energy and the will to win.” - Denis Waitley, American writer
• “When desire dies, fear is born.” - Baltasar Gracian, Spanish philosopher
• “Have the courage of your desire.” - George Gissing, British novelist

A few more with a bit of a different twist:

• “I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” - E. B. White, American comedian
• “A desire presupposes the possibility of action to achieve it; action presupposes a goal which is worth achieving.” - Ayn Rand, Russian writer“
• "In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.” - Bill Cosby, American comedian
• “The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who... looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space... on the infinite highway of the air.” - Wilbur Wright, American inventor
• “It is psychological law that whatever we desire to accomplish we must impress upon the subjective or subconscious mind.” - Orison Swett Marden, American writer
• “This life is a hospital in which each patient is obsessed with the desire to change beds.” - Charles Baudelaire, French poet

In addition, two for the road (ones that speak to me especially):

“The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.” - Robert Kiyosaki, American author

“Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon must inevitably come to pass.” - Paul Meyer, French writer

What is your desire? Have you written it down? Do you state it several times a day and just before you go to sleep? Make it your focus, and we all will be celebrating victory before long.