The statement, "you can do anything you put your mind to," leads us to believe that all you must do is imagine what
you'd like to accomplish, set your mind to the task, and wait for success．
To a certain degree this is true．Focused intention combined with action is a powerful force.But the statement is
misleading because it fails to mention the difficulty and necessity of focusing your mind on a special goal．
Most of us don't know what we want．We think we do, but we really don't．we only know what we don't want．
We don't want a boring job．We don't want to be poor．We don't want to disappoint our loved ones．
Knowing specially what you want is much different from knowing what you don't want．When you only know what
you don't, your intentions aren't focused．Consider this example．
Pete doesn't want to be poor．He's sick of earning less than his friends, and he's determined to raise his position．
To accomplish this goal, Pete could take many different paths．He could train for a high paying profession．He could
start his own company, go into real estate, or do many other things that would lead to acquiring wealth．
But Pete isn't sure what he wants to do．He doesn't know which path best fits his skills and personality, so he doesn't
make a decision to follow any particular path．
Hoping to answer this question, he investigates a dozen possibilities, but as soon as he runs into adversity, he decides
that path isn't for him and moves on to a new solution．
Pete's actions aren't focused．Although he works very hard, his efforts don't build on each other rather than building
one giant inaccessible sand castle, Pete has built twenty small ones that are easy to collapse．He ends up confused and
discouraged．What's worse, Pete's lack of focus leads to failure．
What if Pete had chosen a specific path? A set of specific goals is much easier to achieve than an unclear goal like
becoming wealthy．Being focused on a path gives Pete a logical set of actions to follow．Each accomplishment is one
step closer to thefinal goal．
I think we can all agree that committing to a clearly defined path, regardless of which one, gives Pete the best chance
of becoming wealthy．
But how can he choose a path if he doesn't know what he wants? Maybe money isn't his only goal．Maybe he wants
to do something he loves at the same time．Maybe he can't afford to go back to school．Reality is complicated, and
Pete doesn't want to commit too soon．And that's why he failed．
