Are you truly committed?

In business, as in life, success comes from commitment – a willingness to become truly engaged.

Are you truly committed?

This week, to get things back in balance after my post-Easter musings on that very subject, I have been thinking a lot about commitment. Really there is nothing that compares with the value of commitment in life and business.

I spent some time recently talking to one of Australia’s most successful businessmen. We chatted about life, business, etc. He has a very successful family unit and has been happily married for more than 45 years.

I asked him the key to his success of his marriage. His answer was simple: “commitment”. The conversation then drifted on to the subject of his incredibly successful business. Again, he attributed the success to one word: commitment.

Commitment is a very powerful word. My dictionary defines it as “engagement that restricts freedom of action”. Have you noticed that when some people say they are committed, you believe them. And when another says, ‘I am committed’, you are sceptical – a bit like celebrity marriage really – it’s just a show, just a word that has no meaning for some!

In other words, they marry but don’t really commit to restricting their freedom of action!! Or in business you know that they don’t have that deep commitment, they are just using words to try to keep you happy – like the slick salesman who will say whatever it takes to make the sale.

I believe that to succeed in business we must be truly committed. We do have to restrict our activities and focus on the main issues. We do have to see things through to the end. We cannot make excuses. We need to have the same commitment as an Olympic athlete, and think about the life, training, restriction of freedom that Olympic success requires.

It’s all about commitment.

In more than 12 years of university the word commitment was never included in business studies. Interesting… I like this definition. Many won’t because it means limits on freedom, but show me a successful person who has not had to give up something to succeed at something else.

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