It was in 1996 that my uncle and I made the agreement. I was supposed to make all A’s in my key subjects. The reward was a laptop. My uncle showed me the laptop. You don’t know what that meant in 2003! I didn’t know anyone who owned a laptop. Not everyone had a computer back then. If you had a computer, it was most likely not yours but the family computer –which was really a desktop so this was really big for me.
So I fantasized about this laptop all day for weeks, for months and years. I got every single issue of Computer Mag and read through all the internet trends. It was hard to be connected to the internet at that time. In fact, I’d never been on the internet. But every new issue of Computer Mag had a review of the latest new website. And I saw myself browsing these websites.
I worked hard that year for the grades. I made remarkable achievements that year; achievements I wouldn’t have been able to without this impetus. This and many more examples like that have proven to me that the very first step in achieving anything is the desire. Hey! I didn’t say ‘want’. I meant a desire. And that desire has to be renamed very strong desire. It’s not strong enough when you’ve not gone to research that which you desire. It’s hardly strong enough if you’ve not questioned if that desire borders obsession. It’s not strong enough if you don’t think about it so very frequently. It’s not desire enough if it’s not on your vision board.
I remember when I left the University. Every night, I would go on the internet to read up on web development methodologies, tutorials. I didn’t stop there. I would print out lessons, comments, guidelines and samples. I would go to bed at 5am knowing I had to be up by 7am. I hadn’t started doing it professionally but everyone knew about this passion of mine. Same with every other thing I have truly learned.
In fact, I have come to the conclusion that if you’re not spending time researching, viewing, obsessing over details everyday concerning this, then it’s not desire enough.
I have a few things I am looking to acquire. My laptop’s screensaver has a picture of it. I have gone on Google countless number of times for this. I have also talked to so many people, asking questions about this thing I want to acquire. I will be sharing more details about this when I eventually have it. Of course, I WILL get it. You can subscribe to my private email list to get ‘inside gist’.
Oh, I can relate with this big time. Growing up with a lot of financial challenges that pushed me to sweaty, dirty places, I had a desire that I put right in front of me. it was my sleeping and waking thought. Now…