The Way of the Warrior: An Ancient Path to Inner Peace

by Erwin Raphael McManus

A good follow-up question to ask yourself is, Am I prepared to do this? You may have the natural talent, but you haven’t paid the price to develop the skills necessary to succeed. You may have the natural talent to be a neurosurgeon, but I don’t want you in my head unless you’ve taken on the discipline of becoming a highly skilled medical professional. This may mean that it’s the right tree but the wrong timing. There are battles you will fight later in life, but right now it’s boot camp, and you’re still in training. Another marker to help you know if you are spending your strength in the right place is your passion and energy. If you are passionate about the process and not just the outcome, that’s a marker that you are on the right track. If you are energized by the hard work and not simply its promise of success, that’s a great marker that you are chopping at the right tree. An external marker can be the impact that your actions have on others. You may get sick every time you are invited to be a public speaker, but the influence you have on the audience is undeniable. Oftentimes I have seen highly talented people who are terrified by the callings that are on their lives, and the only thing that keeps them swinging the ax is a sense of responsibility for the good that is being accomplished in the lives of others. This for me is one of the most altruistic and noble reasons to be motivated to create wealth. For some, their responsibility is not simply to have a job but to...