The Sunday Mail
Life Issues
FGK
“There is one thing in this world that I am determined to have, and that is a business association with Thomas A. Edison. I will burn all bridges behind me and stake my entire future on my ability to get what I want.”
This was said by Edwin C. Barnes, a man whose determination in chasing after his goals was unparalleled.
He set that as a goal, he was prepared to do everything in his power to see to it that it happens. He did not even care if Edison himself wanted to work with him or not, but he had a drive that no one could resist, not even Edison himself could afford to ignore a man burning with desire to have a goal fulfilled.
Barnes had a goal that he desired so much that he did not mind what society would cast at him. He had a drive that could not be ignored and finally he managed to get audience with the famous inventor, even though he was a nobody.
His goal was to be in business with Edison, the well-known inventor and one of the richest people during that time.
Later, Edison said about Barnes: “He stood there before me, looking like an ordinary tramp, but there was something in the expression of his face which conveyed the impression that he was determined to get what he had come after.”
Added Edison: “I had learned, from years of experience with men, that when a man really desires a thing so deeply that he is willing to stake his entire future on a single turn of the wheel in order to get it, he is sure to win.”
Barnes had no money to begin with. He only had little education. He had no influence. But he had initiative, faith, and the will to win. With these intangible forces he made himself the number one man with the greatest inventor who ever lived.
The lesson from this extract, from Napoleon Hill’s work, is that life is never to be lived without a goal. Goals should spring out from a goal. It is a goal that will give birth to your several other goals as you map your way towards achieving that one thing you desire so much.
Living without a goal is just like existing on earth like a lifeless creation. A goal is that one thing that must drive your lungs to breathe, motivate your kidneys to filter your blood and stimulate over billions of nerve cells in your brain.
Living without a goal is like shutting down that whole system. You have robbed every other thing within you of the right to function properly when you wake up without a goal. When God created you, He gave instructions to everything within your anatomy to work according to purpose and goal. Having you alive is enough proof that everything else in your body is living up to its goal.
Your hair is growing for a reason, to support a goal. The same goes for your abdomen when you get hungry. You even get thirsty just to support someone’s goal. When your hair grows, you will visit a hair dresser or a barber whose goal is to make people look good. When your stomach hungers, you will pay a visit to a supermarket, which has been built by someone with a goal. When you get thirsty, there is someone with a goal to provide clean drinking water, whom you will pay.
So everything within the ecosystem is working towards achieving its goal. You cannot exist peacefully with other creations when you are the only creation living without a goal. You expire and your days’ wither quickly for you to just disappear and become manure; maybe then you will serve your goal as an organic fertiliser.
Don’t just exist, live. Living means you are pursuing something.
Goals make ordinary people great. It is never in the size of the man, but in the size of their goal. Greatness is only achieved by a desire to make a difference. You cannot make a difference when your purpose is not defined. Focus and direction come by goal setting. Having a goal will create energy within you to get going each and every day.
You cannot then live without goals. Living without goals is parading your life as a suicide note. Everyone whom you come across will be your potential abuser. People with goals will make use of anyone who does not have a goal. You will become a tool in the hands of the goal-getters for a minimum wage for the rest of your life. When you do not have a goal, often you will become a slave of money. All great people we read about fought struggles to get to the reality of their dreams. Some of you have children, it will be an injustice to bring lives to this earth and never leave a legacy behind. Whilst you still live, give all you have got before the end of your time. Never let your children frown at your grave. Many parents have lived lives that do not inspire even their children, and it’s a shame. Be known for something.
Your goal will communicate your identity to the others. Living without one is an insult to your maker. Why would you live all His time without wondering why you exist? History is populated with names, dates and times of ordinary people who dared to dream and chased after their goals. Today we sing their names.
History is only made when a goal is achieved. Some are in history books just for how good cooks they were. Imagine just being remembered for cooking a good meal? Some of you reading this column are degree holders, but noone knows you for anything. Most of you are gifted, but you are sitting on your gifts because you are waiting for “the right moment” to manifest.
Wake up, do something. Moments are made, we do not wait for them. Chase after a definite goal, everything else will fall into place in support of your vision and purpose. Your goal will define who you are. When you don’t have a goal, you do not have an identity, which then means that you are not living.
Living without a goal is killing yourself. Do not be a suicide note!
Quote of the Week:
Living without goals is parading your life as a suicide note.
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