I was listening to an archived podcast from June 2, 2014 called “Here’s The Thing,” featuring guest, Jerry Seinfeld. Alec Baldwin hosts, and during their talk, Alec asked Jerry, “Who makes it?” Alec was referring to comedy, acting, and show business. Jerry’s answer was concise, “The people that make it are the ones that want it the most.”

While he was referring to show business and the entertainment industry, the idea of that statement resonates with many vocational and personal endeavors. Read it again. The message is clear, simple. The message is simple but the follow through necessary to attaining the “want” is not easy. I am not talking about, “I want a cookie,” or “I want to go to the movies.” The “wants” I’m alluding to are the wants that will enhance our livelihoods, give value to our footsteps and create purposeful actions in our daily lives.

Look at this more closely. The feeling of wanting something is not the same as the feeling you get when you take an action step toward that goal. One can want to travel. Unless there are plane/bus/boat tickets bought, or a map and full tank of gas in the car, the want doesn’t hold any value. If you want to write, you write. If you want to run, you run. If you want to become a nurse, you take the necessary courses. The derailing happens when that wanting dissipates and something else takes its place. How do we keep up the motivation and tenacity to get what we really want? When Jerry Seinfeld says, “The people that make it are the people that want it the most,” he is referring to the people that didn’t quit. He is referring to the people that reevaluated their goals, made action steps in a valued direction and kept moving forward.

Thomas Edison is known for making thousands of attempts at his inventions. He said,”Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Keep going. Continue the work.

Motivation lies in the belief as well as the action. A persons motivation can come, simply, from the belief that they can accomplish something. Or, the motivation comes when taking the right actions, and seeing the possibility of the goal through those actions.

“The people that make it are the ones that want it the most.” What actions are you taking to get what you want?