The State Of Mind

There's a famous story about a farmer who hears tales of diamonds and begins dreaming of vast riches. He sells his farm and hikes off over the horizon, never to be heard from again. Rumors say that years later he died destitute, never having found the diamonds he spent his life seeking. Meanwhile, the man who bought that farm found a large and "interesting looking" stone in a stream that ran through the property. He put the stone on his mantle where a visitor recognized the large stone as a rough diamond. It turned out to be the Hope Diamond, the largest such stone ever found. That stream bed was littered with diamonds, and the new owner became fabulously wealthy. No doubt he also lived happily ever after.
But doesn't something in that story set strangely? What about the guy with the burning desire and the grand vision? He ended up disappointed and broke, dying far from his family and friends. Not a happy ending. Meanwhile, the guy who just wanted to do some farming got all the riches. Make no mistake, the new owner already had money, or he could not have bought the land. There's nothing in this story to make us think he was dreaming about riches, vast or otherwise. No burning desire. But he got the goodies.

Was this just another little prank, courtesy of a mischievous Universe? Or is it possible to get good things coming your way with only mild desire -- maybe even a calm indifference?

Many inspirational writers have assured us that a burning desire is one of the prerequisites of acquiring a fortune. I've even said it myself, although I added the qualifier that the powerful desire is not so much for the Universe. It's for you, to help you overcome and battle past your own doubts and resistances.



But haven't you seen people who seem to coast into good things, like the farmer who found the Hope Diamond? It wasn't an occasional fluke. Why? Truthfully, I don't think the deciding factor was the desire. Lots of people come to a place  but never quite find out how to stay. Many of them end up losing their toehold and slinking back home. On the other hand, the ones who do stay are often not especially hard working, dedicated, sensible or qualified.

Achieving dream doesn't appear to have a lot to do with burning desire. Instead, it seems to be more a matter of what they can allow themselves to have. Some people call this a sense of deserving. Others call it a sense of entitlement. No matter what term you use, it's basically the same thing. Either way, it's governed by who you think you are and what circumstances you accept as appropriate for you. In other words, it all starts from who you are in your own mind.