Muriel used to feel passionately about starting a business, but somewhere between grading tests and completing report cards she lost her enthusiasm.

For as long as she could remember Muriel, my coaching client, had secretly nurtured a dream to own her own business. But like many women in her age group, she had chosen a safer, more socially acceptable, occupation. She was a teacher. Now that she was close to retirement, she was beginning to realize that it might soon be possible to fulfill that hidden dream and start a new career. This time she would do something that would allow her to utilize many of her gifts and talents. She would own a business. With this rediscovered dream came strong feelings of desire and hope-powerful emotions called 'rockets of desire.'

Like Muriel, many of us are afraid that if we don't maintain that emotional high we won't get our heart's desire. What we fail to realize is that the initial 'rocket of desire' is only a rocket. It takes off fast and rises quickly with a flaming burst of delight. Then it descends back to earth leaving us with the memory of its brief journey and fueling our desire to ascend again.

It is this memory that motivates and sustains us to find a way to actualize the 'rocket of desire.' Once we have tasted the thrill of owning a business, a new automobile, a new home or vacation, once we have felt the rush of excitement and delight in our imagination, then we begin to move toward that desire.

The secret of getting your heart's desire is to keep your attention on what you want-on that idea or goal which caused the 'rocket of desire.' What happens to many of us is that after the rocket has returned to earth, we begin to observe reality; the way things are now. We focus on reasons why we don't have and probably can't have that desired outcome and effectively put the brakes on our 'rocket of desire'. Unless we can look beyond what is present today and picture ourselves as we want to be, we may never attain the level of belief necessary to receive the 'rocket of desire' as our new reality.

Muriel had come to our coaching session focused on her lack of passion. She was so worried about her waning emotions that she was not paying attention to what had shown up for her that week--a potential business partner. However, once Muriel saw this little graph and understood where she was in the process she was able to recognize the significance of meeting her potential business partner and to continue the work necessary to realize her dream.

Just like Muriel, we can get the most from our 'rocket of desire' by recognizing it for what it is--the exhilarating emotion necessary for creating a memory that sustains our hope until the 'rocket of desire' becomes our reality.