You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage — pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically — to say “no” to other things. And the way to do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside.
Stephen Covey
Without the bigger “yes” burning inside of you, there’s no way you’ll continue making the uncomfortable choices over the long term for the sake of your goal.
The primary reason why I stuck to entrepreneurship, despite countless failures, was my intention to help my parents build a house in the countryside. It was their dream, and by extension, my dream.
This big “yes” had been burning inside me no matter what was happening with my business. Even after another big defeat, I still knew that I would never “lay down my arms” in the fight to become able to give them their dream. If you have such a strong “yes” inside you, you’ll also refuse to surrender the fight to achieve your dream.
Your burning “yes” will also help you pinpoint your priorities and disregard distractions. For example, if you decided to save money for the future education of your child, saying “no” to spending money on things you’d like to have (but don’t need) would be much easier than without such a powerful motivator. You would be focused on the long-view of where you wanted to be when your child was older .
If your biggest dream in life is to become a surgeon, you won’t feel apprehensive about declining an invitation for a party because you want to prepare yourself for an important exam. The “yes” burning inside you would be stronger than the fear of missing out on a few hours spent drinking with your friends.
Granted, as we’ve already discussed, there should be some balance in everything, but generally speaking, you’ll do well if you can discover a burningb reason why you want to accomplish a given dream and unapologetically say no to anything that might threaten your chances of making it come true.