Tony Williamson

"Some of us seem to accept the fatalistic position ... that the Creator accorded to us a certain position and condition and, therefore, there is no need trying to be otherwise."

- Marcus Garvey

Some years ago I was one of the main platform speakers at a large conference of life insurance and financial advisers in the Far East. I cannot now recall what I spoke on but, interestingly, I recall in vivid detail what the Taiwanese speaker dealt with as his topic. He spoke on desire which, he said, was the sine qua non of success.

What graphically etched his speech in my mind was a story he told about the type of desire that brings success. I shall tell you that story, and it is my hope that it will have a similarly deep impact on you as it made on me. Here is the story:

There was once an old African wise man who lived on a mountainside. Below the mountain, not far from his small hut, was a lake which glistened and shimmered under the hot African sun. The wisdom of this elder was legendary, Solomonic. People would beat a steady path to his humble cottage, seeking his wise advice and counsel. The sage spent many hours in front of his small hut, and as he counselled many, he rocked back and forth in an old rocking chair. When he was not giving advice, he spent hours on end in solitary pensiveness in that rocking chair.

Tribal warrior

One day, a young tribal warrior came to see him. He stood erect and proud, a spear in his hand, as the ivory rings of each ear seemed to signal a warrior destined for greatness.

"How may I assist you?" said the elder graciously. The young warrior replied, "I am from a distant village, but I have heard of your great wisdom. I have travelled many days to see you, for the great elders of my tribe have told me that you can give me the secret of happiness and success."

The old man listened intently but said not a word. He looked down at the ground for several moments, then, as if carrying the weight of future generations on his octogenarian shoulders, he rose slowly. He looked the young warrior intently in the eye and still, with not a word uttered, he grasped the boy's hand and led him on the path down to the gleaming lake.

Although obviously puzzled, the young warrior followed the wordless elder. Soon they reached the lake but, surprisingly, the elder kept walking with the boy. Out into the water the old man led the boy, getting deeper and deeper with each step. Soon the water was at the boy's knees. Then the further out they walked, the higher the water rose, to the boy's waist, to his chest, but still the old man kept walking. Now the water was at his chin, and finally, the lad was totally submerged.

The old man stopped and waited - 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds. Carbon dioxide began to fill the boy's system and at 60 seconds the automatic cerebral processes that override the will not to breathe were about to kick in when, with his lungs at the point of bursting, the old man turned him around and his head shot out of the water, gasping for life-giving oxygen.

They walked back to the hut in silence and after some agonising minutes, the old man asked the young warrior, "Young man, when you were under water, what was it you desired most?" Angrily, the boy replied, "Why, I was desperate for air. I was about to drown. I wanted to breathe, you old idiot."

Then the wise man spoke these words: "My son, when you want happiness and success in life as badly as you wanted to breathe, you will have found the secret."

What do you desire in life? When you desire it to the point where you can taste it, touch it, smell it, see it and hear it, it will be yours.

Indeed, deep desire determines destiny.

Tony Williamson is an international motivational speaker, sales trainer, author and lifestyle consultant. He can be contacted at tony williamson_57@yahoo.com.