KNOWING THE EAGLE - Realising Desires; Needing Nothing

Hermit Wei glimpsed three eagles soaring above him. Calling them down to him he requested of the first: ‘How much to carry me across the plains to the neighbouring state, please?’
‘It’s a two day flight at least and you are a heavy load,’ replied the first eagle, ‘I would like ten fish, a goat and a flagon of soya milk.’
‘So much,’ said Hermit Wei, and turning to the second eagle
asked, ‘What will you do it for?’
‘It is right you are a heavy load,’ answered the second eagle, ‘yet as I am due to go in that direction in any case, I would want five fish, a kid-goat and a flagon of rice-water. It is along trip that will require sustenance.’
Asking the third eagle what the charge would be, the hermit was surprised to hear: ‘Five fish and a litre of water.’
‘What kind of fool answer is that?’ Wei shouted. ‘Why do you possibly ask for an amount that will not even sustain you for the trip?’
‘I needed the order,’ said the crestfallen eagle.
‘Needed the order!’ the hermit returned angrily. ‘Well my desire to go will not be at the mercy of your need. In compromising your worth you compromise my life!
Come,’ speaking to the second eagle, ‘let us plan our trip. With your desire to go my way and your considered charge, I know my journey is assured.’

There are more parables like this in The Teachings of Billionaire Yen Tzu Volume II Lesson One.

In the words of Yen Tzu - 'Healthy desire is the starting point of all achievement. The desire to live, for instance, is the unconscious motivation to take our first breath of life. There are,
however, polarities to our desires, so that, depending on how much we want something, we can unwittingly bring about adverse conditions. A simple illustration of this can be seen by an
ambitious individual, who desiring to impress others, brings about the opposite effect.'

This makes so much sense to me - sometimes we want something so much that we overlook the obvious. We make compromises just to get what we want and then end up begrudging the people that take us up on our promises.

Guiding the Horse - Governing your Willpower

The horse reared in fright as the shrouded man walked unexpectedly onto the path and startled it. ‘Ho there,’ cried the carriage driver, struggling to regain control of his animal. ‘What devil does such a thing! What do you think you are doing suddenly appearing like that?’
‘In peace, I am no devil, moreover, if there were a demon it is within your hand, creating a rein of terror upon unsuspecting travellers,’ answered the man.
‘You are either a sage or a simpleton, speaking as you do,’ said the carriage driver. ‘The former, I’ll wager, for any fool can see that this powerful horse has been finely trained and is well harnessed.’
‘Of what good is the strength of a horse and the control of a harness, if the direction of the will guiding the driver’s hand is elsewhere?’ said the sage. ‘It is clear that you are on this road against your will.’

For the rest of this Story see The Teachings of Billionaire Yen Tzu Volume I - Lesson 5 - it is worth reading to the end I promise.

According to Yen Tzu "Our will is the greatest power available to us and the very element that determines our success or failure. Will is the basis of our power of constancy, the virtue that encapsulates our tenacity, steadfastness, determination, resolution, perseverance, and fortitude; the basis of our zeal, faithfulness and devotion to that which is important to us."

I would love to be able to tap into my willpower. The will to be a better person, lose weight, stop spending too much money. I am hoping that this Lesson 5 is going to give me some tips on how to do these things. I will let you know how it goes.