Ignite a fire in your heart and improve your English.

If I think of my own life, in 2006 I rode a motorbike from London across Europe, the Middle East, and down East Africa. Arriving in Cape Town 9 months later, dirty, thinner, forever changed, and successful. It didn’t happen overnight. It took 4 years of planning and saving before I set off. But I loved biking so much that it was easy to get focused and take the actions required. One early morning, while riding my first little 250cc bike, I decided to ride across Africa. It was as simple as that. I made the decision. And then every month, I took action toward that dream.

It wasn’t without setbacks. I was delayed by an entire year. You can only safely cross the Sahara Desert in October. For various reasons, I wouldn’t be able to get going on time and reach Egypt in time to cross. It delayed my trip by another year. In that year, I broke my ankle learning off-road skills. So, I had to decide if I wanted to train more or preserve my body for the trip.

I made a decision that I would face my journey without fear. Without fearing death. Without fearing the desert. Passing through countries experiencing unrest… None of that would deter me. It was easy because I LOVE RIDING MOTORBIKES.

Because I was so passionate about experiencing this adventure trip, I never questioned my devotion to doing it. There was no obstacle big enough to prevent me from taking action toward my dreams.

On the other hand, I also have a personal story of what I’d call not-so-successful: my journey in learning the Spanish language.

I’ve been living in Spain for 6 years. Total immersion should surely mean I’m fluent by now! However, I’d say I have functional Spanish. I can make bookings, buy things, and get through most situations we face living here. But even as I sit here, I have tons of excuses and reasons why I don’t need to reach a fluent-conversational level.

Why is this a story of not achieving my best? Because the passion isn’t there. The demand, the necessity doesn’t drive me to achieve a higher level. If I'm honest, I feel satisfied with the so-so journey, even though I know I can do much better.

Day to day I work and teach from home, and my life isn’t actually local at all. If my best life depended on my speaking fluent Spanish, you could bet your bottom dollar I’d be doing it. But that just isn’t the case.

How are these stories relevant to your journey of learning to speak English?

Well, you need to ignite your passion and stop making excuses. Rather focus on crushing the problems and achieving more.

What drives you? Where is that passion or that dream? Are you seeing it clearly enough? Do you desire it enough?