Late yesterday night, I was lying in bed and about to doze off when a thought struck me, and I knew I had to write it down before I forgot it in the morning. That thought was about the advantages of being desperate. This morning, like a sad coincidence, I heard that Steve Jobs had passed away. What I wrote seems to be a fitting tribute to this great man. This is what I penned down last night...
In my observation of countless people, and myself, I strongly believe that a halfhearted and lethargic pursuit of a goal is the same thing as not pursuing that goal at all. The consequences of both approaches are the same. Neither lead anyplace worth going to.
There is no life to any goal until it is liberally laced with a hefty dose of deep desire and urgency. If you naturally feel like that about any ambition you have, then you are very likely to achieve it against all odds and in a shockingly short time. My experience has taught me that deep desire + urgency = good desperation.
Think about it, what is the point of wanting something if we didn’t want it badly enough? That which is worth achieving is also worth getting desperate and urgent about. If our goals are ethical, meaningful, and worth running after then why wait? That kind of desperation is good desperation.
Observe in your own life and of those around you – ambition that wanders about in varying degrees of wishful thinking dies an untimely death. Indifference breeds mediocrity and failure. Realizing our aspirations takes much more than that.
I am reminded of an ancient story about Socrates, the renowned Greek philosopher. A young man once approached the master and asked if he could teach him wisdom. Socrates took the young man to a nearby stream, and pushed his head under water. He held the man down until he was desperate to breathe air, at that moment, Socrates released his head. The man came up gasping for a breath of air. Socrates looked at him keenly and said that the young man needed ‘that’ kind of desperation to learn wisdom. The day he felt that desperation, he would acquire wisdom on his own. The same principle applies to so many things in our life.
In similar vein, many years ago, I desperately wanted to get out of my immediate circumstances and step out of India to meet people of other cultures, to learn from my travels, and work outside. It was an impossible dream for me in so many ways. Yet, the thought refused to budge, and I relentlessly pursued it in my mind until one day, by sheer chance, I happened to find a perfect opportunity. Within months I was living my goal. Honestly, I don’t think it was my talent or a special gift that helped me live my dream; it was the desperation with which I felt the need to fulfill my deep desire that did it. A deep desire combined with mental urgency helped me see an opportunity that I would have otherwise missed for sure. Our highest success rests on how badly we want to succeed, not just talent and intelligence.
If we want to genuinely get to any place worthwhile in life, let’s be desperate to get there. Let’s charge up our passion and put out our best self for the world to see. We only have so long to live this life. Might as well get moving today...
I can’t help ending this piece with a stunning insight from Steve Jobs – a legend while he lived – a rare honor in life.
"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. ... Stay hungry. Stay foolish." - Steve Jobs
Commencement Address by Steve Jobs to Stanford students, 2005 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc&feature=share
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