It Is How Good You Want To Be

paintbrush canyon Paintbrush Canyon. Credit: NPS Photo/J. Bonney (nps.gov)

Lately, I just re-read Paul Arden's "It Is Not How Good You Are. It Is How Good You Want To Be".

I read it for the first time back in the college, 3-4 years ago. I was surprised that this books is more relevant today for me in terms of work and life.

There are five sentence that I do not even highlight or bookmark but it leaves a great impression and thought in my brain.

The title itself and the first three pages of the book.

(1) "It Is Not How Good You Are. It Is How Good You Want To Be"

(2) "Nearly all rich and powerful people are not notably talented, educated, charming, or good-looking"

(3) "They become rich and powerful by wanting to be rich and powerful"

(4) "Your vision of where and who you want to be is the greatest asset you have"

(5) "Without having a goal it's difficult to score"

This five sentences alone is enough to remind me to keep looking and start defining what I want to be.


"You are" vs "You want to be"

"You are": the present

"You want to be": the future you want to achieve"

Focus on the future version of you you want to achieve, not the version of you today. Because when you know who you want to be your path is clearer. You know where to go to the next checkpoint and maybe how to achieve it.

Complaining about "who you are" will not move you closer to "who you want to be".


You will not become rich if you don't want to be rich

"Alice, do you want to be rich?"
"I don't know, just a couple grand of savings do me good I think"

Alice not sure if she want to be rich. Because she doesn't want to be rich her mind won't asking question "What level of rich i want to be", "How do I achieve that level of rich".

She will not thinking how to get rich let alone do the "how".

Replace "rich" with something the math is still applied.


Your vision is the greatest asset

Every road seems right when you don't know where to go.

When you know where to go, you will starting to find which road will takes you there and which road is faster.


Without having a goal it's difficult to score

A goal is consist of a set of criteria you need to achieve.

You probably do things that will not cross the checklist item.

But you don't know that if you don't have the goal and the checklist.


I will keep this five sentences as a reminder to keep looking for the "who you want to be" and hopefully have an answer for that.

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