There is no shortage of individuals who say they want something. Whether it is a new job, a new life, a new opportunity. The wants we have are abundant.
I myself have wanted a lot of things in my 31 or so years of life. When I was a kid I wanted to be a novelist. One of my favorite toys I had (aside from my growing Lego collection) was a clunky plastic typewriter. I would sit in my room for hours coming up with different stories and requesting my father always keep a fresh supply of typewriter ribbons and paper handy.
Although I do still consider myself a storyteller – I am not a novelist today. There have been other things I’ve wanted though. I wanted to buy a classic Mustang when I was in high school after my Camaro died on me. I wanted to own my own magazine (help launch three and personally ended up closing two of them). I wanted to be an actor (had one less than stellar audition and got a small gig doing voiceover work as “the killer” in a cheap indie horror film). I wanted to be a newspaper section editor (had a few quick editing jobs in college and have not touched it since). There are quite a few more – but you are getting the point here.
The commonality between these things is that there was never an application of effort in the long run. These, at the time, were wants. They were desires. The reason that I am not an actor, that I do not own a magazine, that I am not a newspaper editor and that I am not driving around in a Mustang is because I never worked to achieve any of them for more than a few months – maybe a few years at the most.
Which, in all honesty, is completely okay. Because I today do not want to be or have these things (except the Mustang – that would still be pretty awesome). I found what I did truly want, desire and am willing to work to achieve.
Thus when I hear things like “I want to be a fitness model” for example, I do wonder how long this want will last.
Will they work for it or just expect it handed to them?
If I put opportunities in front of them, how long will they continue to earn them? A month? Six months? A year?
There are a few talents who I’ve been able to work with consistently over the course of six or seven years. They not only want it, they are working to achieve it.
However a lot only make it a few months to a year, perhaps.
There is absolutely no shame in and nothing wrong with deciding you want something else – but it is certainly a fair question to ask… is this something you want enough to work for?
James Patrick
jamespatrick.com
instagram @jpatrickphoto
