I just completed reading the 1976 autobiography of Desi Arnaz, the late Cuban-born musician who married Lucille Ball and together created the legendary TV show, I Love You.
I love simple titles. His book is called A Book. It’s a joy to read. Desi was a riveting storyteller. He was smart, talented, persistent, creative, charming, and driven. He and Lucy became the most beloved television couple in history, as well as one of the wealthiest.
But he also went through hell before he ever arrived at success. As with most “overnight” successes, his career took decades to develop into something worth writing about.
What stood out for me in A Book is a lesson Desi learned from his father in Cuba. His father was mayor of Santiago. He was popular and successful. He owned land, businesses, and resort property. His father taught, “There is always a way.”
No matter what the challenge, problem, or circumstance, “There is always a way” to resolve it.
"There is always a way."
Desi saw this belief in action as a child. When the revolutionaries entered Cuba in the early 1930s, they burned down his family home, destroyed his crops, killed his animals, ran off his mother and family, and put his father in jail.
They went from a life of luxury to being homeless and penniless. They later escaped that country, went to Miami, and started a new life — with nothing at all.
But the belief, “There is always a way” kept them going.
Desi struggled, but kept working; kept taking action.
When opportunities came his way, he took them, even when he didn’t have the skills or experience on hand to pull off the opportunity. He knew he could attract or develop the skills as they were needed.
When asked if he could act, when he had never acted at all, he said, “All my life!” He then learned acting, appearing in several movies and of course later on television.
“There is always a way.”
When he and Lucy found themselves with the opportunity to be involved in a new TV show, they needed to find actors, raise funds, develop new camera methods, use a live audience, build a set, and much more — all firsts at the time with no paths to show what to do, and all with little or no money to make anything happen, and all under a time crunch that would make most people faint — they knew “There is always a way.”
Desi Arnaz autograph in my copy of "A Book"
When Lucy was accused of being a communist in the 1950s, Desi put on his fighting gloves and destroyed the rumor. Front-page headlines vindicated the redhead. Desi said the only thing red about Lucy was her hair, and even that was false.
Desi knew, “There is always a way.”
Reading Desi’s book was a real treat. Not only because I always loved him as Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy, but also because “There is always a way” is one of my beliefs, too. It’s in my book The Attractor Factor. It’s one of the prime directives in my operating belief system.
You may not know how to do something, but by taking action and moving forward you can find it, create it or invent it.
“There is always a way.”
I recently tweeted a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. that recaps this lesson from A Book:
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
You don’t need to have all the answers to begin working toward making your dreams come true.
You don’t need to have all the money to begin working toward making your dreams come true.
You don’t need to have all the experience or education or much of anything else to begin working toward making your dreams come true.
You just need to take action right now — while believing, as Desi proved — “There is always a way.”
Ao Akua,
PS – Right after reading Desi’s book, I read Lucille Ball’s autobiography, published after her death, titled Love, Lucy. Her early life was no party. She, too, struggled. But her persistence, talent, and hard work ultimately paid off. You can learn more principles of attracting what you want through my Miracles Coaching program. Meanwhile, enjoy Desi Arnaz in his prime and try not to smile in this early video of him that breathes the fire of life:
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13 Comments
Wow, i read your article in the perfect time. Recently I have a problem with my business, and that make me lost my passion to my business. Now, thank’s to you, I believe that there is a way to solve my problem.
Thank’s again.
Hi Joe! I really appreciate this article. God continues to confirm my current path and your article is part of the confirmation due to the timing. Thanks for the encouragement! Have a great day!
I was about to post similar to the ones I have seen here………
…………Then it hit me. It’s the roller coaster of life!
There will always be highs and lows and there will always be the right time for something like this blog post. So I guess it’s about appreciating fully what you already have, or taking full responsibility and going forward cleaning and clearing the beliefs which get you in certain situations.
When I think of all the things I have attracted I am surprised. And I don’t mean this in the positive sense of this statement.
But I can tell you for SURE that when you look clearly at all the things YOU have attracted, you make a list of them and look at them honestly, take full responsibility for them, it’s almost a relief. You don’t have to cope with them anymore trying to find an explanation, which is going to be ego based ANYWAY!
So I guess, when you go through the roller coaster of life, or want to get over certain tough situations, a way will show up when you are taking full responsibility and working on yourself to make those solutions clear in front of you.
Thank you Joe for all your precious teachings!
Hi Joe, This is unrelated to your posting, but I felt I just had to say what an Amazing book “Zero Limits” was. I felt your pain when you asked your teacher about whether or not your other books helped people. I truly believe they do and I believe in the answer he gave you – everyone is at different levels in their lives. They are on their OWN journey. They come to their OWN learning from so many angles. You have encompassed the beginning, middle and dare I say “end” to the emotional roller-coaster that is our lives. Blessings to you – Raymond
Such great words of wisdom. I agree that there is always a way, it’s just a matter of doing ‘the way’ once you find it. Many tend to find the way and not do anything about it. Thanks for that, Joe.
!
the law of attraction is really a very powerful law.
it allow me to transform my life into a very awesome one!
Here’s how I understand this principle – you can’t use something if you don’t believe in it – so if you don’t believe there is a way then you will never look for it. If you assume there is and act on that assumption, it will find you!
Hi Joe,
This was a great post! I then went to “google” Desi Aenaz and “A Book”, and found this interesting article on a fan club – it contains an outline for the next volume called “Another Book” that Arnaz never finished:
http://www.lucyfan.com/anotherbook.html
Is the miracles coaching available for international students?
Yes. See http://www.miraclescoaching.com
Hi Joe, I started reading your books and posts on september 2010, practiced your teachings and in just 3 months after wishing it (and taking action, obviously), got enough money to buy a brand new motorcycle (I´m from a poor southamerican country, so a new vehicle is not so easy to buy). Actually I´m having some motivation problems about my job and vocation (studied advertising and marketing but failed, so now I work for my local goverment), but Desi Arnaz´s quote is now pasted on my desk to remind me that, no matter how boring my life is, there will be a way to find succes. Thanks, you made my day happy with this post.
Dear Joe, I just read your book Spiritual Marketing. And was overwhelmed by the last chapter about Jonathan. I have totally misjudged you. Bless you.