There Is No Secret Ingredient

*pssst* C’mere. Yeah, you sitting over there searching for the Meaning of Life on the internet.

How many times a day do you see messages fly by on your favorite social network beckoning you to buy this program, or that program, or read the one post that will totally change your life forever?

Maybe it’s a new piece of miracle work out equipment or an exotic herb that will grant you your every desire? Perhaps it’s a new book chock full of inspirational words from “experts” who’ve been right where you are and want to share their secrets of success?

Or maybe you’re a lowly noodle vendor like Po who dreams of becoming someone important by unlocking the ancient mysteries of the Dragon Scroll?

Po? Who’s Po?

Good question, glad you asked.  Po is a dreamer. He works for his father making the best noodles and dumplings in their tiny village. Po had a dream of becoming the greatest Kung Fu Master in all the land.

The reality was, Po was nowhere near Kung Fu Master material. He was big, clumsy, out of shape, had no training and most of all, didn’t want to disappoint his father by not following in the long tradition of the family’s stock and trade. After all, the restaurant had been in the family for several generations – having been handed down from father to son for two generations, and before that, was won in a game of Mah Jhong by his great grandfather.

Despite this, Po felt he was destined for greater things.

I’m sure many of us feel that way at some point in our lives. What we do for a living isn’t what we want to do to live. We toil away at our jobs and lives doing what everyone expects us to do. Some of us realize early on that it’s a means to an end. We do what we have to to survive.

These people know what they want all along. They have a goal and they don’t need anyone to tell them how to reach it. Then there are others who are constantly looking outside of themselves for guidance. These are the people who take the word of Gurus as law. That what made these people a success will do the same for them.

What Works For You?

Po did get into the Kung Fu school, but not in a way he expected. He was chosen by the top Master to be the Dragon Warrior, a position coveted by all the students who had trained for years at the school. There was plenty of jealousy and resentment against poor Po.

No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t learn Kung Fu the way the others did.

One day, Po’s Master figured out what motivated the panda.

How does this relate to you? Well, let’s go back to all those How To programs. How many times have  you spent good money and time doing everything the books and gurus said, only to end up empty handed and frustrated? Or simply giving up halfway through?

Does this mean you have a lack of willpower, that you can’t follow through? Why did it work for them and not for you?

Motivation. What motivated these people and made them successful isn’t necessarily what will get you fired up about a project. You may be fired up at the prospect of success, but once you dive in, the novelty wears off. When that happens, discouragement is right around the corner.

The Secret Ingredient

Once Po finally completed his training, he was ready to read the mysterious Dragon Scroll. Legend had it, the Scroll would enable him to do miraculous things. What Po didn’t realize was that completing his training was a miracle in itself.

Presented with the scroll, Po opened it and looked – only to find there was nothing on the scroll at all. What he saw was his own reflection in the silk staring back at him.

It wasn’t until everything looked like it was going to fall apart and Po went back home to his father that he realized the truth. At that point, his father let him in on the secret of the family’s recipe. The truth? There was no secret ingredient. The one thing that made the noodles so special was the little bit of self put into the making of the dish – or anything else for that matter.

Bam! The lightbulb went on and Po understood the meaning of the scroll. Everything he needed to know, he knew already.

And you do too. You may need a little bit of technical training and brush up on your skills, but your ability to succeed is right there inside. Nobody on the outside can give that to you.  You either believe in yourself or you don’t.

What If I Fail?

If you fail, you pick yourself up and try again. Failure isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sure, it’s upsetting, but the hurt doesn’t last forever. Scraped knees heal. Cut yourself a break, especially if you know you’ve put your heart and soul into the initial attempt. Not every inventor got his invention right the first time around. All we see is the end result and not the hours of sweat and blood that went into getting to that point.

If our ancestors stopped trying to make fire the first time they got burned, we’d all be sitting around in the dark eating cold pizza. Alright, maybe not pizza, but you get the idea.

So, did Po give up and go back into the noodle biz? Hell no. He picked himself up, fought the bad guy and saved the village – all on his own.

What about you? Are you going to make noodles all your life or will you become a Kung Fu Panda?