Mark & Jack: Principle #3 - Decide What You Want

September 2, 2009 by Mark T. Rafter

This is the third week in my series, Mark & Jack: 52.4 Weeks of Living the Success Principles, my quest to master the Success Principles as written by Jack Canfield in his book of the same name. Last week’s blogs were about being clear why you are here and finding significance and meaning in your life. It can get pretty philosophical if you allow yourself to go there but can come down to a few simple questions if you allow that instead. If you didnt read it, check out how I applied this in my own life and some tips on how it can help you to be successful.

This week’s Principle is Decide What You Want. What DO you want? Aladdin’s lamp type question: if there were no limitations on your asking, what would be on your list?

“If they granted you one final wish, would you ask for something, like another chance?”
- Steve Winwood, fr. The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys

Understand one thing: this is one of the most important things in your life for you to decide. Consider this:

If you dont know, who does?
If you dont say, who will?
If you dont put these things (what you want) in front of you as goals, values, objectives, dreams … whatever you want to call WHERE I AM GOING TO TAKE MY LIFE, how do you think you are going to get there.

And the other thing that I have found is that it is harder than you think. Next time I’ll post some of what I have learned in doing this in my own life and how you can make some progress on this in your life.

While I am thinking about it, here is one of my favorite quotes on this subject:

Cheshire Puss,” she began, rather timidly… “Would you tell me,
please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where…” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll