Are you struggling with achieving your goals? Do you find yourself frustrated because you’re having a hard time accomplishing things you want to do? Well, I don’t have a magic formula, but I do have some encouraging, inspiring and challenging words for you. I don’t have all the answers, but I have a leadership rhythm that helps me and it might just help you too.
Whether you work in the ministry, a salesman or an entrepreneur, I find that there are three important elements in reaching your goals. We may not all do the same job, but we all share the same desire to succeed. We have different titles, yet we’re tied together by a common bond of wanting to make a difference in our world.
1. Passion
For most people, passion is where it all begins. You either saw something that ignited in you or you heard someone speak and it caused you to feel it. Whatever it was that helped you discover it, has caused a burning desire within you and it will not go away. You dream about it, talk about it and even write about it. You can’t escape it. This is a good thing because passionate people not only want to get things done, but they understand why they want to get it done. Sure, there are people who are emotional that just want to do something, but I’m talking about the ones that have passion with purpose. They don’t just want to do something, they have something specific they want to get done.
You must realize that your passion is the foundation for something great and even bigger than you. What you’re dreaming about could change the lives of so many people. Whatever you do, don’t take your passion for granted. It’s not an accident that you’re having these feelings or may have had them for a long time. You’re at your best where you are the most passionate.
2. Knowledge
Many times you will become passionate about something that you don’t know a lot about. This second step is very pivotal. You must move from passion to knowledge. Two things are essential in this.
A. You have to personally learn more about where you are passionate.
B. You’ll need people other than yourself to achieve the goal.
When these two things are not accomplished, after a while, your passion will start to fade. No matter how excited you are about something, if it doesn’t start to go somewhere or you don’t see results, you will become completely frustrated and discouraged. Then you start to question yourself whether or not you even decided to do this. Here’s the problem. You tried to survive on passion alone and that didn’t last. You probably kept talking about what you wanted to do and never figured out how to do it. Most likely, you tried to do everything yourself and didn’t ask for help. It’s your dream, so how could anyone help you achieve a dream that you had? Maybe you weren’t willing to listen to other people’s opinions. When you move from passion to knowledge, you become the student, not the teacher. You have to be willing to learn and to let others that know more than you do in certain areas help you.
3. Discipline
It’s ok to be driven by passion, but once you have the knowledge, you must be disciplined to action. Great things are accomplished when motivation connects with determination. You have to want to get something done, get the knowledge so you know how to get it done, then discipline yourself to make sure it gets done. Discipline is what seals the deal. It’s what brings it all together. Discipline takes passion and knowledge and makes the difference.
Can you see how these three things work together? You can have passion and discipline, but if you don’t have the knowledge or the help, you’re basically stuck. On the other hand, if you have passion and knowledge, but you keep procrastinating, you will eventually feel frustrated. Also, if you are working in an area where you have knowledge and discipline, but you lack passion, chances are, you are completely unfulfilled. It takes all three working together to make your dreams and goals happen.
This is a simple leadership rhythm, but it can change everything for you. Start with passion, move to knowledge, then discipline yourself to get things done.
So true!