We admire those who have the steely will power that seems to never break. We love watching movies with Rudy, Rocky and countless others fight on through seemingly insurmountable obstacles. We see ourselves rising to do the same, but do we? Do we start out strong and find ourselves fading under the heat? Have you ever emotionally beaten yourself up for your lack of will power? It's not your fault, no one has unending will power. Paul even told us that "The Spirit's willing but the flesh is weak." It's not about Will Power-- it's about Why Power.
One of my favorite movies ( by the way you will hear that a lot, I have a lot of favorites) is called "Iron Will". It is a Disney movie from about twenty years ago, based on the true story of Will Stoneman, who was a high school kid in 1917 in South Dakota. His father was killed in an accident that left his family in a financial mess and they were about to lose their farm so there would be no money for Will to go to college. Will decided to enter a dogsled race, that his father would have been in had he lived, from Winnipeg, Canada to Saint Paul, Minnesota because the award money would cover the farm loan and college. The challenge was that he was a kid, who had never raced before, against men who were seasoned professionals and ruthless.
His journey was brutal over mountains, through freezing water, in life threatening cold. He was bullied and beaten, his lead dog was injured intentionally by a competitor yet he fought on. He wasn't as good as the others, so he had to work harder, when they came in at night to rest, warm up, eat and sleep, he pushed on through the bone chilling cold. Of course he won, Disney made a movie of it, but it was pushing him to his last shred of himself. He gained national fame for his Will Power, but I will argue with you that it wasn't his will power at all, it was his Why Power that drove his Will.
He wasn't putting himself through hell on earth to beat these men and win that race, he was saving his mother's farm and home, and as a by product paying for college.
Our will power can only sustain so long. We will get weary. We will get bruised in our quest to accomplishment. If it was easy, everyone would do it. It is our Why Power, the thing that you really want in your heart that allows you to pick yourself up, brush yourself off each time you get knocked off your feet and charge on. What is your Why? If you have forgotten how to find it, try reading the book "The Magic of Thinking Big" by Dr. David Schwartz, it is the book that Lou Holtz gives credit to getting him off his couch as a 28 year old unemployed assistant coach to setting 107 audacious "Why" goals for his life that 102 have been accomplished as of 2011!
If your Why is Big Enough the Facts Simply Don't Count!
