Passion versus Appetite
So I’ve just celebrated another birthday and commemorated another year of life... and something occurred to me.
It occurred to me that when you hit the 50 year mark, you get to thinking more and more about your legacy and what you are going to leave on the planet.
The lessons and wisdom you’re going to leave for your kids.
In my case, I’ve been thinking about the one thing that would make all the difference to the quality of my kids’ lives. The one thing that would help them to live their full potential and have a life of abundance and joy that I know they, and we all, deserve. So I began reviewing all my successes and failures, specifically the impact I’d had on my clients. I reflected on the core thing that differentiated the clients who experienced success, who evolved for the better and unlocked results, and the ones that didn’t.
What I realised is there was 1 core driver that differentiated these clients, a core driver that I myself had used throughout my life. And to this day, it’s a driver I constantly see in others... be it sports people, business owners or wellness leaders... which makes all the difference. This core driver is having an APPETITE for what you want to achieve; in essence, the rule seems to be that hungriest person wins. It’s the person with the deepest desire (appetite) to achieve their goal at any cost. It’s the person who is willing to climb over hot coals (appetite) to achieve the goal they set themselves.
Appetite and Persistence We’ve all been there when someone’s said they going to commit to trying something, but then give up way too soon. However, Steve Jobs famously said that the one key ingredient to success is ‘persistence’.
Appetite and persistence go hand in hand, working in tandem to empower you to reach and in many cases exceed your goals, dreams and desires.
Yet the sad fact is that current statistics show that only 8% of people who set a goal, dream or desire, actually fulfill it. 47% will get some of the way, whilst the remaining 26% either never get started, and 19% never make a goal, dream or desire in the first place.
So what does it take to get into the 8%? In my experience, I too often see people getting caught in a passion bubble, believing that they need to be passionate all the time to reach their dreams. They believe that passion is the core factor that leads to life enjoyment.
The Pitfall of Passion
The issue is that there are things you simply won’t be passionate about, especially in business or any field for that matter. For me, I’m passionate about presenting on stage, but I haven’t always been that way. When I put myself through a 12 week public speaking course some 25 years ago, I wasn’t passionate. I was terrified and most nights as I made my way to the stage, preparing myself to present to over 100 people, I would make a mad dash to the toilets to vomit.
But I knew that if I wanted to reach the corporate goals I was aiming for at the time, then I had to conquer my fear. Back then, passion would have told me to go skiing or hang out with my friends, but appetite... the appetite to climb the corporate ladder, to better myself and have more influence... drove me to get out of my car every night, when all I wanted to do was climb under a rock and hide.
You see, your appetite is the thing that will drive you to push through all the things that you find daunting or uncomfortable.
Take Facebook Live, for example. If you really want to get your message out to a bigger audience - and in turn make a bigger difference on the planet - then Facebook Live is a great way to share your wisdom and build rapport with your audience.
Yet most wellness leaders are scared if not terrified at the mere prospect of doing a Facebook Live. In this scenario, you’ve got to realise that passion isn’t going to help you. Passion will only urge you to do things that make you feel comfortable, and not what you truly need to go out and do.
The Answer is Appetite
Appetite, on the other hand, will drive you to do what you have to do, because you know that it’s going to help you to deliver on your goals, dreams and desires. Appetite will help you to hold onto the bigger vision you have for yourself and the planet, and will empower you to push through those things that you find uncomfortable. It’s why so many people put things like administrative work or running a Facebook Live off, delaying and procrastinating and ducking from these responsibilities. They’d rather shift that responsibility into the inevitable future, where things you know need to be done but never get done, exist.
Appetite will help you to do more of the things you are passionate about. When you have time, location and financial freedom, you’re going to be able to spend more time with the ones you love the most, work from anywhere on the planet, and retire so you can live your passions every day.
In other words, getting into the 8% is all about how hungry you are. How big is your appetite to achieve the goals, dreams or desires? How big is your appetite to live up to your full potential?
It’s what we all want, to be self-actualised and become the biggest version of the best version of ourselves. To share our wisdom with the planet and in turn help as many people as possible.
That’s why we got into this line of work, right? As I mentioned before, it’s the secret of all successful business people, sports people and wellness leaders.
Which takes us to the pivotal question: how do you create a big enough appetite to move through all of the internal blocks, fears and phobias? To overcome the fear surrounding tech, know how and resources?
But here’s the thing to realise… those with a big appetite, who’re hungry for success, are the ones who overcome their adversities regardless of what those barriers are. They want it bad enough that they’re willing to do literally anything, as long as it doesn’t harm another, to make their success happen. The 3 Ingredients of Increasing Your Appetite
The essential ingredients are:
1. A vision that is bigger than yourself…Your big WHY! As an example, for Andy and I it’s ‘to move the world to wellness’. We literally want to make the world a better place. This vision needs to be big and bold, and in some cases audacious - exactly as it is for us!
2. A clear catalyst bigger than yourself… The WHY of your WHY! The catalyst will help you to remember this vision every day and help you to hold onto it tight. Ask yourself: why this vision? In our case, our kids remind us of the why. Why move the world to wellness? Because we want to make the world better for them. We then review our vision and catalyst every month to make sure it’s still relevant, that we’re on track and that we are still inspired and our appetite is still there.
A clear commitment bigger than yourself… A commitment to DELIVER on your vision, no matter what!
This is the final key ingredient, and it’s all about making a commitment to your vision, a commitment that leaves you no choice. There is NO going back.
This is more a mindset thing than anything else. The person who is backed into a corner and has to win to survive is more likely to reach their goal than the person who doesn't HAVE to.
Something Andy and I often joke about is that we have no choice but to develop Wellness Leadership Academy, so we can move the world to wellness.
Essentially, give yourself a no ‘get out of jail free’ clause, as this is the reason you’re here: to deliver on your full potential. There’s actually no out until it’s over. Why not get on with fulfilling your full potential, get clear on how to do it and commit to achieving it full on? This is how you get into the 8%... because you HAVE to.
Your Choice to Make
Now this is obviously your choice. But if you’re like us and you know that you have something beautiful to share with the planet, that you have wisdom, knowledge and gifts to help move the world to wellness and empower people all over the globe or in your local community, then reaching the 8% is a necessary goal.
Everything else will leave you feeling hollow, as you haven’t yet completed your mission here on earth.
The bare bones of the matter is that the world needs you to step up and get hungry. There is a whole tribe of people waiting for you to show up and share your amazing gifts with them and help move them to wellness. Your entire being is waiting for you to show up and live to your full potential.
This is your mission, should you choose to accept it.
… Only joking, you already accepted it. And it’s now your choice as to whether you achieve it or not. Up to you!
We’re here to help support you on this journey, and if you’d like to you can book in for a free strategy session or join us live, where we’ll provide some key mentoring, thoughts, ideas and wisdom on how you can make your goal, dreams and desires happen, quicker and easier than you’d believe.
Get ready to experience the fulfillment of reaching the 8%.
