I applied for over 432 teaching positions before I finally got hired.

Four hundred and 32 rejections.
Four hundred and 32 silences.
Four hundred and 32 unanswered prayers.

Or were they really unanswered? 

You would think that would be enough to break someone. And for many, it is.

But I didn’t give up.

The good Lord, waiting for the perfect opportunity as he had me hold my skills and my patience.?!

Why did I not give up?
Because I wanted it.
Because the “why” burned hotter than the disappointment.
Because something in me refused to believe that rejection gets the final say.

Most people don’t fail because the goal is too big.
They fail because the why is too small.

We live in a world obsessed with “how”:
How to get rich.
How to go viral.
How to build muscle.
How to find love.
But none of it matters until you answer this:
Why do you want it?

The power of your why is what gets you through when the hype dies, when motivation fades, and when everyone stops clapping.
It’s what keeps you going through the boring, mundane, grueling labor most people quit during.
It’s what woke me up for job #401.

Let me paint a picture for you.

If I lay a 10-inch-wide, 30-foot-long wooden plank on the ground and say,
“If you walk across it, I’ll give you twenty dollars,”
You’d do it, easy.

Now imagine that same plank suspended between two 100-story buildings.
Wind howling. Death waiting.

Would you walk it for twenty bucks? Of course not.

But what if someone you love—a child, a spouse—was on the other side,
and the building was on fire?

You’d sprint across.

Because when the why is great enough,
the how becomes irrelevant.

Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Your “why” is your treasure map.
If your treasure is shallow—comfort, ego, approval—you’ll quit.
But if your treasure is legacy, truth, calling, God—
then you’ll keep going long after others give up.

I’ve learned this:
Your life doesn’t rise to the level of your plans.
It rises—or falls—to the level of your desire.

So today, don’t just ask what you want.
Ask yourself why you want it.
And if your answer brings you to tears—
don’t you dare stop walking.