Everything I Learned About Motivation, I Learned from a Teenage Pastor!

When I was in high school many many years ago, I was a part of a church youth group. I spent a ton of time singing in the choir, listening to sermons, and going out door knocking. It was a major part of my life back then. During this time, I had a friend named Eric Foust (Picture below with his daughter). Now Eric was an interesting individual. He always had such an amazing and positive outlook on life that you couldn't help but gravitate towards him. One of our youth leaders once jokingly said that he was so friendly he was annoying. I am laughing now just thinking about him, his goofy nature, and this comment. It really is too true. He is now pastor of his own church in Cincinnati, Ohio called Triumphant Baptist Church. I don’t think I ever told him this, but I owe a large part of my success to him.

You see, back when we were in high school he had a catch phrase that he used. He at first used it to be serious about some point he was making, but slowly over time it sort of became a joke. I believe he heard another pastor use this phrase in a sermon on tape and thought he would steal the idea, but the exact origins are unknown to me. The only thing I remember is the indelible mark one little phrase left on my life and that is:

“IT’S ALL ABOUT YOUR WANT TO”

The simplest meaning of this phrase is that if you want something bad enough in life, you will do whatever it takes to achieve it. If you “want to” you will find a way to make it happen. You will find the time, money, energy, and motivation to do the things you truly want to do and are passionate about if you want to make it them happen bad enough. If you want something bad enough there is nothing that should stop you or stand in your way.

Through high school he used that phrase repeatedly for the stupidest things. We would all be sitting around trying to figure out where to go eat and he would scream out, “It’s all about your want to,” at the top of his lungs. I would complain about not having a date for our prom alternative. “It’s all about your want to,” was his simple answer. Every time he gave this answer he would have a smirk on his face as if to say, “I know it’s annoying, but I’m getting my point across and it getting stuck in your head the way a bad song on the radio does.”

I heard this phrase so often in high school I would spend nights dreaming about it. There was more than one occasion where I honestly thought I might punch him in the throat if he said it one more time. The funny thing with this phrase is after a while it sticks with you and before too long everyone in our church youth group was saying it!

“IT’S ALL ABOUT YOUR WANT TO”

“IT’S ALL ABOUT YOUR WANT TO”

“IT’S ALL ABOUT YOUR WANT TO”

“IT’S ALL ABOUT YOUR WANT TO”

Years later as I began my weight loss journey and started dreaming about the things I wanted to accomplish I spent months pondering how I would be able to do it. Would I be able to handle it? Would I be able to do everything I wanted to do? Would I be able to make the changes necessary in my life? Soon there was an itch in the back of my lethargic overweight brain. The itch became a scratch and worked its way to a full on slap in the back of the head. The answer to my questions came back to me in the voice of my friend from ten years earlier, “IT’S ALL ABOUT YOUR WANT TO!”

So my challenge to you today is what do you want to do in life? What are the things you have dreamed about, but never thought possible? If you could do or be anything in life what would it be? Share your answers in the comments below and encourage each other because the answer is simple:

“IT’S ALL ABOUT YOUR WANT TO!”

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The Real Jonathan Blue