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The Difference Between Desire and Dedication
Why wanting something isn’t enough
Most people want to win. But not everyone is willing to work for it.
That’s what separates dreamers from doers. Coach Prime, Deion Sanders said it best:
“You have to want it, then you have to work for it, in order to win it.”
The want it is desire. The work for it is dedication. Without both, you have no chance to win consistently in whatever you do.
Desire is an emotional state, a strong feeling of wanting something to happen. It’s fueled by passion, dreams, or pain. It gives you a reason to start.
Dedication is a commitment to consistent effort. It’s the follow-through, the early mornings, and the stacked days when you don’t feel like it.
Desire is fleeting. Dedication is stable. Desire is the why. Dedication is the how.
If you want to grow, you need both.
To increase desire, connect to something emotional and short-term that pulls you toward action. Watch others succeed. Put yourself in situations that spark your competitive spirit.
To increase dedication, set clear stretch goals, break them into smaller priorities, add accountability, and remember: It’s not about intensity. It’s about consistency.
Because desire starts the fire, but dedication keeps it burning.
Desire starts the fire. Dedication keeps it burning.

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Use Your Gifts,
John Eades
Creator, The Leadership Lens & The Optimistic Outlook
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