It’s Labor Day Monday so… most of you are reading this on Tuesday! And it’s good that you are. Labor Day celebrates all Americans who work to support themselves, their families, their communities, and pay their taxes thereby supporting their nation. It’s the one day of the year we set aside to celebrate the working man and woman and give them an extra day of rest.
Tim McGraw’s song, “How Bad Do You Want It?” is on my cycling playlist, but it’s been on my exercise list for years. Even my boys listened to it years ago when gearing up to compete in a national motocross event back in their heyday. It’s an anthem about what it takes to see a dream through to fruition. It’s a tribute to those who say they want something and have the guts and fortitude to do what it takes, the stuff others won’t or don’t do, to make it happen.
Every time someone asks me what it takes to make it in my business, my response is similar to Tim’s lyrics:
“Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Is it a fire that burns you up inside? How bad do you want it? How bad do you need it? Are you eating, sleeping, dreaming with that one thing on your mind? Cause if you want it all, you’ve got to lay it all out on the line.”
Tim has it right. If you want to be a huge success and you want to do what you love and get paid well for it, you’ve got to want it bad enough to put in the work, see it through, find the answers, keep showing up, and find ways to do what others will not do.
On this holiday which celebrates hard work, if you want something different or better or just want to keep moving your marker of success forward… the question is never: Can you do it? The real question is always, “How bad do you want it?”
Tim McGraw: How Bad Do You Want It?
“When I’m here on this highway
Breathing diesel smoke
Driving hard for hours
Trying to make that Memphis show
People always ask me
“Son what does it take
To reach out and touch your dreams?”
To them I always say
Are you hungry?
Are you thirsty?
Is it a fire that burns you up inside?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
Are you eating, sleeping, dreaming
With that one thing on your mind?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
Cause if you want it all
You’ve got to lay it all out on the line
I get to make my living
Doing what I love
Every night I give my heart and soul
Sometimes that ain’t enough
But brother, if you’re like me
Looking down that road
Be careful of that wild wind, son
Sometimes it don’t let go
Can you feel it?
Can you taste it?
Can you hear it knocking at your door?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
Are you eating, sleeping, dreaming
With that one thing on your mind?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
Cause if you want it all
You’ve got to lay it all out on the line
There’s always a price you pay no matter what you do
If you’re gonna climb that mountain to the top
It always comes down to
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
Are you eating, sleeping, dreaming
With that one thing on your mind?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
Cause if you want it all
You’ve got to lay it all out on the line”
“There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen,
those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened.”
~ Mary Kay Ash
