Commitment in Two Steps
For those of you who may not know, when writing for a magazine, more often than not one is not allowed to go rogue (especially me). Now, what I am talking about is there is a theme to every issue. When I learned the assignment for this month was commitment, I felt like a deer in headlights. The first thing that blew right through my little head is how many gazillions of people have spewed on about that subject in a gazillion different ways. Then, the next objective was tying it all into special finance, but when it all came down to really putting fingers to the keyboard I realized how easy it is for any of us, particularly me, to lose sight of what commitment really is all about.
It reminded me of the hundreds of diets I have started or how I was going to go to the gym every day! As car people, we come up with thousands of reasons why that never works—the hours, eating on the fly or whatever else fits our fancy! I found as many excuses for not following through with commitments to match the numbers of people who write about them.
What it all seems to come down to is commitment is hard! The principles are simple, yet we struggle with it every day. It comes with a firm responsibility to carry out the action that you have obligated yourself to do. Now isn’t that a mouthful. Mario Andretti said, “Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”
Successful people are willing to do the things that average people do not want to do. Average people either don’t try or just say, “Hey, I will give it my best shot.” Driven folks simply do what they say they are going to do, make sure they follow through and get the job done in the time they said they would. When it really comes down to it, we appreciate people who do follow through with what they have promised to do, and those people stand out from all others in all aspects of our lives.
We all know the economy has taken one heck of a beating and in some places it has been a real blood bath! We hear it every day, and it seems like there is no escape from the constant barrage of negative banter that comes our way. Sometimes we wonder how we are going to stay motivated to meet the goals we have set. We cannot control what is on the TV, radio or in the papers, but we do have control over what lies within ourselves. What are we willing to do that will separate us from everyone else? Are we the successful or the average? Do we desire to achieve a personal and professional greatness above the rest? Those are some pretty big fighting words! Those words just keep directing us back to our goals and the commitment we have made to them.
The principles of commitment, as I said earlier, are pretty simple. First, one must be accountable. What that means is write your goals down! Every well-planned trip needs a map; every great building needed blueprints. What do you want out of your special finance department? Do you have a game plan, map or blueprint for 2010? What are your personal goals? I have found in my 20-plus years in this crazy business that there isn’t even one degree of separation between who I am and what I do.
Simple step two, take action! Knowledge truly isn’t power; the power lies in what we do with that knowledge. I know a lot of really smart people who have done nothing with their careers and lives. It all factored on action!
Anthony Robbins said, “I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent. As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret.”
I couldn’t have said it any better myself. I do believe if you are reading Special Finance Insider, then you are still in the game. I have no fancy way to tie any of this into special finance, but I do know we all want to succeed in today’s market. Surely we do not want our careers to end up like many of our diets or exercise programs. We cannot just try or say we’ll do our best. “It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required.” Those are the words of Winston Churchill. When all is said and done, you will not achieve anything without those two simple principles of commitment—holding oneself accountable and taking action.