He doesn’t send out too many newsletters, but when he does they’re worth reading. Yesterday’s newsletter had an article that I wanted to share with you. It very much applies to the mindset of successful freelance writers. He was gracious enough to grant me permission to share it with you in this post:

It’s Your Baby

In a remote region of the Andes, two tribes were feuding. One lived high in the mountains, and the other in the lowlands. One day the highlanders raided the village of the lowlanders and kidnapped a baby.

The next day the lowlanders assembled a team to climb the mountain to find and retrieve the child. But they did not know the trails, and they were not skilled at mountain climbing. The search party struggled to make their way up the steep slope, but after a half day of climbing, they could not ascend anymore. Discouraged and disappointed, they packed their gear to return.

Suddenly, to their amazement, the rescue team saw the baby’s mother coming down from the mountain, holding her child in her arms.

Baffled, they asked her, “How were you able to scale this steep mountain and rescue your child when we were unable to do so?”

She answered, “It wasn’t your baby.”

Desire and motivation are the precursors to achievement. If you want something enough, you will find a way to do it. If you are not very motivated, you will either not attempt to reach a goal or, if you do make an attempt, your efforts will be halfhearted and you will attain no measurable results.

Do not assess your possibilities on the basis of the beliefs or unsuccessful efforts of people less motivated than you are. Their results are not so much a function of reality, but rather, a product of their beliefs and intentions. Nor do you require their permission to do what you want and need to do. In the story of the mother who retrieved her child, she did not ask the search party’s permission or even discuss the project with them. She just knew what she needed to do, and she did it.

You have a “baby” that you love and believe in. It is a dream, goal, or intention that may seem mountain-high. But if you love your baby enough, you will find a way to bring it home.

From It’s Your Baby by Alan Cohen as published in his E-Newsletter. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For more information on Alan Cohen’s books and programs, visit www.alancohen.com .