The Point is to Have Some

Hopes, dreams, aspirations, they all basically give us a reason to get up and go do things. These words from Samuel Johnson remind us that as simple as it may seem, our aspirations are the very things that bring about our opportunities. Success happens when opportunity and preparedness meet, so without aspirations we may be selling ourselves short.

I have a friend who is a triple degree black belt. She weighs less than one hundred pounds and is the nicest person you have ever met. I asked her once how she got a triple black belt, and she said it took a while and when she looks back it was easy. She set her sights on the first belt, then the next and then the next. Before she knew it she had a triple degree and was the only woman in her dojo. She kept her aspirations high and never looked backwards. She did not balk at the work it took to get each level, so before she knew it her work habits and her aspirations lead her down the path.

I’m not sure I would call all that hard work “easy” and yet she calls it that. It was easy to her because her sights were only on the next level, nothing higher, nothing more than just that one goal. Once she hit it, she moved to the next one. Bite size chunks, continuous preparation, and the path to success was “easy”. How did she start doing Karate? She took her daughter to karate class so she would know how to defend herself, and instead of just sitting on the sidelines she joined the adult class next door. FYI, her daughter is a triple degree black belt too…at age sixteen.

Whether we have the aspirations ourselves or have them waved right in front of our face, the point is to have aspirations. Things you want to do, to accomplish, to set your sights on achieving and never look back. Be it saving for a dream vacation, earning a promotion, redecorating your home office space, or running a marathon. Whatever it is YOU want to do, get up, get out there and start doing it. Time is our friend until it isn’t. Don’t let those sofa cushions lull you into a false sense of comfort. Get up and get going!