500

“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.”

Confucius

“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.”

Bill Cosby

“Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart.”

Rumi

Five hundred.

It’s really just a number.  It’s not a big deal.  Anyone can do this.  I’m not being idealistic or condescending when I say that.  I don’t mean anyone can write 500 blogs, though I think anyone could.  I mean that anyone could do something comparable, something that aligns with his or her Purpose.   Often when one has done something that others view as impressive, he or she will say, “If I can do it, anyone can.”  That’s true, but it doesn’t address the real issue, which is not ability, but desire. 

We find movies like Stand and Deliver or Lean on Me inspirational because they are true stories of people who overcame great odds to create change.  Jaime Escalante says all one needs is “ganas,” – desire.   Desire can overcome inability, lack of knowledge, fear and all the odds.  All the odds?   Maybe.  Maybe not.  Yet one must act as if this were true.  So many things that were once thought impossible are now commonplace.  Who knew, even twenty years ago, that most telephones would come equipped with cameras, maps and access to almost all the knowledge in the world?  That would have been deemed impossible not long ago.

So anything can literally happen.  I can write 500 blogs.  I can write 500 more.  You can pursue your dreams.  This was a lot of work but looking back, very little of it seemed difficult.  I had the desire to do this.  I had no idea it would become what it has become.  I have no idea where it will lead.  What I do know is my desires:

·      To keep writing

·      To improve

·      To learn more

·      To bless others

·      To do what I have been born to do

·      To spend the rest of my life with my Muse in our house on the beach.

Another interesting thing about this is that it hasn’t seemed like a very intense exercise.  Yes, it was difficult at times, but really all I did was write one blog at a time.  I had my goal of 500, and now 1,000, but all I did was write one blog at a time.  Without realizing it, I kept my future orientation while staying in the present.  That may have been the greatest gift I was given in writing these blogs.

All of this has been a gift.  Since I started this, my entire life has changed, and for the better.  When my Muse took me by the hand, I had no idea where she would lead me, but it’s been a good journey.  It’s had difficulties and problems and even tears at times, but it has still been the best journey of my life.  And it isn’t over.  In fact, it has only begun. 

Success isn’t writing 500 blogs.  Writing 500 blogs is success.   I have had success over my fears, my lack of focus and self-discipline, my inability to believe in myself, and my inability to believe I could do something so ordinary and so amazing.  It’s amazing because it’s 500 blogs.  It’s ordinary because anyone really can do this.  They just need ganas.  They just need to Get Started and to Keep Going.