You Have the Raw Materials

The Earth has been here for 4,000,000,000 or so years. Humans have been here for a very short time, a blink really. During all the time we have been here, all the raw materials that we need to build the International Space Station have been here with this. I am using the Space Station as an example of something so difficult that it would seem impossible. Yet, there it is.

But even though the raw materials were here, it took us hundreds of thousands of years to reach the point at which a space station is in orbit around the planet without anyone thinking anything of it. What was missing?

Vision: The raw materials are important, but without a vision, those raw materials would still be scattered here and there, resembling nothing close to a space station. It’s the vision that begins the process of transforming the raw materials into something greater than the whole of their parts. This is true of anything we humans have created.

Knowledge: Until just recently, we lacked the knowledge to build and maintain a space station in orbit. It’s knowledge, mostly gained by trial and error, that allows us to assemble the raw materials into what we see in our mind’s eye. Even when the knowledge is missing, it is likely that someone, somewhere knows something. You can gain new knowledge to bring your vision to life.

Will: Most of the things worth doing don’t come without effort, determination, resourcefulness, and an unrelenting, unbending, unstoppable will. Without will, the raw materials, the vision, and the knowledge aren’t likely to amount to much.

As you no doubt know by now, this is about more than a space station. It’s about you. You were born with raw materials necessary to become the best ever version of yourself, the person that comes after the person you are now. To transform into the next you, you need a vision of who you are and who you will become. You may need to acquire new beliefs, new knowledge, and new skills. But it’s a safe bet that everything you need to know is already known.

Most of all, you need the will. You need to put forth the effort with a steely determination that allows you to persist until you become your vision of the you that comes after this you.

You have the raw materials already. The only the things you need to add are vision, the knowledge, and the will.