Enthusiasm - the four obstacles

The journey to enthusiasm:

If you are not selling with enthusiasm, then you may need to consider what Paulo Coehlo calls 'our personal calling', in his best selling book, The Alchemist. As we discussed previously, following one's personal calling can be scary stuff. It takes courage to confront our dreams and line up our passions with our talents. Why?

Because there are four obstacles that get in our way. Quoting from the introduction of the book, on pages vi-vii, let's look at obstacles one, two and three now and then continue with the final obstacle in the next churn.

1. First we are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible. We grow up with this idea, and as the years accumulate, so too do the layers of prejudice, fear, and guilt. There comes a time when our personal calling is so deeply buried in our soul as to be invisible. But it's still there.
2. If we have the courage to disinter (good word) dream, we are faced with the second obstacle: love. We know what we want to do, but we are afraid of hurting those around us by abandoning everything in order to pursue our dream. We do not realize that those who truly wish us well want us to be happy and are prepared to accompany us on the journey.
3. Once we have accepted that love is a stimulus, we come up against the third obstacle: fear of the defeats we will meet on the path. We who fight for our dream suffer far more when it doesn't work out, because we cannot fall back on the old excuse: "Oh, well, I didn't really want it anyway." We do want it and know that we have staked everything on it and that the path of the personal calling is no easier than any other path, except that our whole heart is in this journey. We must be prepared to have patience in difficult times and to know that the Universe is conspiring in our favor, even though we may not understand how.

Coehlo then ask this thought-absorbing question: "So, why is it so important to live our personal calling if we are only going to suffer more than other people?" And he answers:

Because, once we have overcome the defeats–and we always do–we are filled by a greater sense of euphoria and confidence. In the silence of our hearts, we know that we are proving ourselves worthy of the miracle of life. Each day, each hour, is part of the good fight. We start to live with enthusiasm and pleasure. Intense, unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable; the latter goes on for years and, without our noticing, eats away at our soul, until, one day, we are no longer able to free ourselves from the bitterness and it stays with us for the rest of our lives.

Are you selling with enthusiasm? Do you have the courage to disinter dream? Are you ready to face the fourth obstacle?