Commitment!

There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in something, you do it only when circumstances permit. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results. – Author Unknown

This week I had the special privilege of meeting a Hollywood celebrity, Mark Wahlberg. A Boston native, Wahlberg was in town for the local premier of his new movie The Happening. I was introduced during a charity event and had the opportunity to see him interact with the crowd. The opportunity allowed me to reflect on how few people actually make it very far in the pursuit of an acting career, yet here was a guy who has achieved remarkable success at a relatively young age, which begs the question…How? I could not help but come to one conclusion: commitment. I don’t know enough about Wahlberg to know at what point he decided to dedicate his efforts to becoming a successful actor, but I do realize that he had to be 100% committed to his success and most likely took a no prisoners attitude towards achieving that goal and kicked down many a door, obstacle or detour on his way to success until he had achieved it. Clearly, you must have some level of ability within whichever arena you choose to compete in life, but like famed coach Vince Lombardi said: “the quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”

My thoughts about commitment carried over through the week as I sat in my car watching airplanes take off and land at a grass airport on a spectacular day. I looked up just in time to see a small plane approach the grass track in what seemed to be way too steep of a pitch…I watched fascinated as the plane seemed to pick up speed as it raced toward the ground and flew what seemed to be only feet above the runway. Disappearing behind a group of trees, the plane whined and my heart raced as I thought I was about to witness a crash as the pilot seemed to be careening towards a batch of tall, unforgiving pine trees…but just before the end of the runway the pilot pulled the plane sharply to the right, averted the trees and maneuvered into a beautiful sweeping curve! Spectacular move! So there it was again right in front of me! Commitment! This pilot had committed to bring the plane down along the runway at a high speed headed straight for the tree line…thoroughly committed to his expertise and knowledge of how to handle himself in the middle of a high risk stunt!

So what about you? What are you committed to? Is it your family? Kids? Spouse? Do you really try to be the best you can be or are you going through the motions? Do you commit yourself to your job or business or are you just hoping that things will turn out okay? Maybe commitment is hard to latch on to because you don’t really know why you are doing what you do! It’s time to get focused on something you really want and commit to it wholeheartedly! I’m not talking about working hard…I’m talking about really letting your passion loose and going for it. Commitment is by no means a guarantee that you will get what you seek, but it certainly is a great tool that if sharpened on a regular basis will help you cut through any obstacles that stand in your way as you pursue your wants and needs! If you can make a commitment then you will begin to behave in ways that are consistent with that choice! So get in that plane and fire up those engines…head for the tree line and make your move…fully COMMITED!!