"If you don't have the intention to succeed, it's better to go do something else. It's a drive that you have inside, and I happen to have an incredible example of that, first with my father and then with my mother. Because when my father came to America, at fifteen years old, by boat, with not more that $10 in his pocket, if he didn't have intentionality to succeed, I don't think we would be here. And when he passed away in 1960, my mother was thirty-eight with six children. She had never worked and was very young. She just sat at that desk and started working and was able to maintain a family and also keep a business. I just hope I can emulate one tenth of the intentionality that they had." - Massimo Ferragamo, Chairman, Ferragamo USA
When Massimo Ferragamo wrote about intentionality he was very likely expressing the innate contract we forge with ourselves when we commit to something wholeheartedly. However, the very essence of intentionality stands on the shoulders of three key elements:
Step 1: The Decision
Step 2: The Commitment
Step 3: The Perseverance
At each stage in our lives we are called to make a myriad of decisions, these can be as simple as to what sandwich to buy at the deli, whether to accept a job offer, or even whether to undertake a life changing task. And yet, in each of these the genesis, that defining moment boils down to a small, simple decision: Yes or No.
From the moment you say yes, you are automatically making a commitment to yourself to do whatever you can, within your power to make that decision a reality. This, is what Ferragamo was referring to by intentionality. If we have the intention, the conviction of achieving this goal, then that becomes the only feasible outcome.
The final stage, is where we loose sight of the first two in favour of succumbing to the trials, obstacles and difficulties that all decisions come across. The more far-reaching the decision, the more likely that there will be a greater number of these or more complex hurdles to overcome. Even so, if the decision has been set, and the intentionality firm, then these can be overcome and success is ultimately inevitable.
As a recent historical television series so neatly put it: "In a war there is always a point where both armies tire, it is the one who continues to attack who wins."
Intentionality is the will to keep attacking...!
