Back in the esrly 2000s, I always felt sad reading Napoleon Hill.
I wanted success.
I just didn’t want it enough to call it a burning desire.
I tried wanting it more… but that didn’t seem to work.
I tried coming up with more reasons why… but that only changed it a little.
I tried coming up with more audacious goals (why make millions when I could make trillions)… but the bigger they got, the more distant and unlikely they seemed.
Karate sort of answered the question for me.
I spent years reading books about martial arts… and watching kung fu flicks.
Then I spent years looking for a good martial arts school in northwest Florida. All told, I visited over 20 different schools.
In most cases, the style didn’t look like something I wanted to learn. In some cases, I couldn’t imagine training with the instructor.
Any time I found a place I really liked (two, that I can remember), it was too far away to train regularly (60 minutes in one case and 90 minutes in the other).
Then I moved to Colorado Springs.
And as luck would have it… the third school I walked into was the one I trained at for the next 7 years.
It was a special time in my life.
I was doing something I loved, and I was doing it for me. It was frequently painful… but it was the kind of pain that lights up your eyes.
At first, I mostly went in twice a week.
Over time I started showing up as often as I could… three to five times a week, and sometimes multiple times per day.
In 2005, I earned my Black Belt in Coppock’s Kenpo Karate.
Where did I get the Burning Desire?
I don’t have a complete answer, but I have an important piece.
Gradual persistence.
I kept coming back.
And I continued to invest more over time.
Too much too fast, and I quit.
But the implementation of my karate obsession was gradual.
I also had fun on the path. I really enjoyed training in kenpo. Even before that… I enjoyed checking out new martial arts schools.
There was also a strong community. I really liked my fellow students.
And possibly more important… I found a great instructor.
You don’t have to have all of these to discover your burning desire… but if you don’t have any of them… you’re gonna have a Hell of a time.