Success Revisited

Have you achieved the level of success that you desire?

If the success that you envision has been elusive, perhaps the answer is not your goal, but your thoughts pertaining to your goal. One cannot achieve success without being committed to the task at hand ... no matter what the goal is. Without commitment one's ideas lack direction due to the inability to fully develop a strong path to follow, and ambitions never come to possess the burning desire that makes them a 'have to' instead of a 'maybe' or 'perhaps'. Commitment is the thing that gets us out on the water and puts wind in our sails so that we can successfully navigate around whatever obstacles that may surface. It puts us in the driver seat and sets us up for continued success. There is something addictive about setting your sights on a goal, working hard, and achieving the desired outcome. Commitment is the catalyst that produces concrete results.

But like everything else there are levels of commitment, and one-hundred percent commitment is necessary for real success. Anything less leaves room for vacillation which will eventually bring all forward progress to a standstill. Or worse, a lack of commitment could stop you from even starting a task. Jamie experienced the latter scenario first hand, and did not realize it until he had wasted a great deal of time and money.

Jamie had been thinking of expanding his business for the last six months. He read countless books, purchased new software, hired a new site designer, and lined up advertising. But no matter what he tried to implement, he was not achieving the expected results. After several weeks of this he sat down with his brother to try to isolate the difficulty. At the end of a lengthy discussion the brothers determined that the source of Jamie's problems was not what he was doing, but the fact that he was doing something that he really hadn't committed to. While he had taken the steps to expand his business, his heart wasn't in it because he hadn't been listening to his inner voice. His inner voice had been telling him that instead of adding more services, he should be finding and developing a niche for himself. When Jamie analyzed the situation, he stopped ignoring his inner voice and put a plan into action to develop the idea of finding his niche. Something he could really commit to! Within several weeks of recognizing his blocker he discovered a niche that he loved, was able to write awesome copy for his new website, and had the desire to learn the new software that had been sitting on his desk unopened. After months of spinning his wheels, a little insight and a commitment to following his passions has put Jamie on track for success.

Most important is the realization that when we commit to a task we are making a pledge to ourselves that should not be broken. People hesitate to break promises to others for fear of disappointment, but when half-hearted commitments to goals are made it's like breaking a promise to self. Should you treat yourself any differently than you would treat others? Repeated broken promises to others can create distrust and resentment. When multiple occurrences of lack of commitment to self-important goals take place, the result is distrust in one's ability and a poor self-esteem. Two things that should clearly not be sent out into the universe since like attracts like. Commitment is a gift, a pledge, a show of character and it should be thought of as an honor. It is an honor to ourselves for our ability to stand firm and follow through no matter what, and an honor to be bestowed on others ... the precious gift of a promise to deliver th e very best. In either case you have the makings of success.