Commitment the key

Vince Lombardi, the legendary football coach said, “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” The word “commitment” means promise, pledge, or vow. What have you pledged to enable you to design the life you want? What are you willing to give up so that you can live the life you imagine or achieve the goals you set? What are you willing to let go of to clear the pipeline for what will come to you? 
I was speaking to a group of leaders a few months ago about change and transformation. Though these leaders understood the concept of letting go of old ways so that they could transform the organization, I found them struggling and grappling with the thought of what they should let go of, because they liked most of the things they were doing. They were all in agreement that the business needed to change so that they could achieve their goals; however, they were not in agreement about giving up the various things each leader was holding on to. 

It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through — Zig Ziglar 

Commitment is a vow to yourself and those you love to design your life in a way that will bring the results you want. Commitment is the vow you make to stop doing the things that are negatively impacting your business results; the behaviors and attitudes creating conflict in your life and stopping you from living the life you imagine. It’s a vow to dismantle belief strongholds that have kept you down all these years. When you decide to change and commit to follow through with all the changes, success will be the ultimate result. I mentioned earlier that quitting is easy. I have seen too many people quit when they were closer to their goals than they thought. I have met numerous people who were once in sales but gave up too soon because of objections from customers. I read many years ago that salesmanship begins when the buyer says no! Objection is food for the champions of selling! 

Year ago, my dad was in partnership with a friend in their building construction business. I knew the business was doing great because of our lifestyle at home, the number of parties in our home — my dad loved parties, and the projects my dad was engaged in. As a young boy, I was very proud to see my dad doing very well and meeting the needs of our family. On one particular day, though, I saw a lot of people in our home, making a lot of noise and demanding to be paid. I found out later that my dad’s business partner had received the payment for the completed phase of a building project and run away with the money. This created a significant challenge for my dad, the whole family, and his business. My mother took on the challenge of taking care of the family by going into a small business to keep the family afloat till my dad’s business challenges got resolved. I saw my dad coming home very exhausted most days for several months. I could see that he was going through a very tough period in his life. Dad never gave up and never went under as a result of this challenging experience, but rather, he learnt his lesson about the challenges of partnership. Dad stayed the course till he brought the business back up, and then he handled bigger contracts after that. 
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Dad’s commitment paid off in the end and Mum’s commitment to lead the charge during the hard times saw us through. When you commit to your dreams and goals, nothing can stop you. True commitment enables actions to fly. When you commit and take the necessary actions, you have it made!